Paper Jewels

I’ve been on a “stars” kick lately. Possibly prompted by the coolness of Chris Hadfield and his music video from space – and by the way, here’s a link to his YouTube video via my Pinterest page. The guy is just great (and he can even sing!)

But anyway, all that just reminded me that I get a kick out of star earrings – and so did a special customer who wanted Green and White. Here’s a peek at her earrings:

Available by special order in your choice of colors – I haven’t even got them onsite yet. And oh that’s right – very temporarily we’re having a little shopping cart issue, so if you’d like to request some custom work, just send me an email – there’s a link on every page at Paper Jewels.

Gotta love little computer / shopping cart arguments! But it’ll be cleared up pronto

Yikes, it’s been a while since I’ve posted! Don’t know how that happened but I am definitely getting into it lately. And right now, just wanted to post a pic of a new necklace I just finished.

The kanji Ai, or Love, is probably the most popular and requested kanji for custom work. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised (and I think I’ve mentioned it before). When somebody is asking for a custom necklace or pair of earrings for a loved one, well, they want to convey that love! And hearts, well, to a lot of people in Western culture anyway, hearts mean Love.

And that’s a nice sentiment for a present, I think

I thought I’d show you another example of a request for custom-made earrings. These were more of a departure from the original pair…design does morph in interesting ways! This was the pair that started the discussion:

She wanted some purple in there, and maybe a floral pattern rather than the sort-of-geometric heart pattern here. So, well, one thing led to another – and did I mention she needed her earrings to be clip-ons? By the way that’s never a problem, I can always adapt a pierced earring style to make clip-ons. Or vice versa.

And after the back-and-forth process, here are her earrings:

And, gotta say, the absolute best part – is that she loves them

I recently had a request for a redo of a pair of earrings a customer had found online. I thought this would be a nice way to show that yes, custom colors are always possible!

Here are the earrings she saw onsite:

And here are the custom colors she requested:

They could have been radically more different, of course. Black background. Bright colors. The thing is, the customer – that’s you – you get to choose

It occurred to me as I was writing the title of this post that “green paper earrings” has more than one meaning.

The color is green, that’s the most obvious of course. But the materials are also green – as in eco friendly and non damaging to the planet. Also very sustainable. I use recycled paper for the inner layers of Paper Jewels – as well as for the padding inside my bubble wrap mailing envelopes. And I use post-consumer white recycled paper even for the ‘face’ of the earrings – it costs a bit more but of course it’s worth it.

Here’s my new design:

The Japanese kanji says “Ei”, or “Eternal”. And of course they can be made in other colors – her favorite, for instance!

Okay, maybe kaleidoscope. Or mandala (that’s what I first thought). Or even “snowflake” (remember the snowflakes we used to cut out as kids?) – that’s what these new earrings remind me of.

They’re big, colorful, and lightweight earrings – lacquered paper, with a bit of curve and a lot of shine. And available in custom colors, of course.

Just for fun

I’m calling this “Part One” because I’m going to come back in a day or three and post an update. I just found these lovely silver flower connectors – take a look, you can see a sort of hidden loop on the back:

Now, I know these aren’t paper. But I love combining media. So in a few days, I’m going to post some pics showing these lovely silver (over brass) flowers, paired with my paperjewels.

Stay tuned!

P.S. P.S. The flower connectors themselves are available in my Etsy jewelry supplies shop or just go there and send me a note if you can’t find them!

This is going to be exciting. I’ve been experimenting with a new technique – and some super affordable Paper Jewels.

One of the reasons Paper Jewels are expensive to make is because they are incredibly time-consuming. There are approximately 30 steps – and hours of work, in small increments, to complete each piece. So I thought, there ought to be a way to make a more inexpensive Paper Jewels line that incorporates some fun kanji designs – and takes less time – and, well, costs less too!

Well there is, and here’s a sample:

The kanji says Bijin, or Beautiful Woman (or hot babe!)

It makes a great gift for your sweetie. The paper design is behind a sheer glass cabochon – replacing layers of (time consuming) lacquer. The chain is an 18″ faceted ball chain, silver plated over brass – both easy to use and easy to trim to size if you like.

She’ll love it – and it retails for only $18.00.

If you and she are budgeting together, she’ll love that, too

Even though I’m not supposed to say it, I am crazy about these earrings – I love the color, I love the pretty floral accent, and I think the Japanese kanji is beautiful!

The deep pink adds a burst of color to your winter outfit – and it looks great in Spring, too. The kanji says Onna, or Woman.

They’re lightweight of course, and comfy, and the earwires are argentium sterling silver – argentium is a new sterling alloy that adds a bit of germanium to the sterling compound – they’re stronger than “regular” sterling, and practically non tarnish.

And they’re pretty!

Not surprisingly, the japanese symbol for “love” is one of the most popular kanji choices. Whether it’s used for earrings, a pendant or necklace, people seem to, well, love this kanji!

It goes without saying (well, okay, I have to say it) that “love” is a wonderful kanji to use for gifts, too.