KateOhKatie blogs

First of all, I’m just going to straight-up apologize for the crappy dark photographs you’re about to see.  It’s been raining constantly in St. Louis, and the only time I can ever take pictures is on the edges of daylight anyway.  But do bear with me, ok?

So y’all know I was in Kansas City last weekend, and I bet you know what that means, too.

Mom has really been branching out from the earrings, lately.  Like this sweet little necklace.

I got to design it, sort of.  The blue is called “found glass” and was made in Minnesota.  That little feather is just the perfect touch, isn’t it?  We played around with so many different ideas, but I think in this case the simplicity is best.

I just love everything about this bracelet:

The beads are ceramic, and remind me so much of the handmade glazed stoneware that I love.

All the colors mean that it goes with *everything*.  I’ve worn it almost every day since I got it.

And the best little detail?  The tiny silver “made with love” charm.

Of course, Mom hasn’t given up on earrings, either.

The beads are molded glass, and they’re the exact color of jade.  It’s hard to see in the photo above, but they’ve got some simple faceting on the broad sides.  Lover-ly!

I’m so ridiculously in love with these earrings.

The coppery wires, the simplicity, the OMGGONNADIEFROMALLTHEPRETTY teal beads…they’re just so perfect!

Love the little hammered detail on the caps:

I’m going to wear them tomorrow with my Stardust shawl, and all will be right in my world.

Little ones like these, apparently take my mom about 10 minutes to throw together:

But you’ll hear no complaints from me!  The sapphire-colored Czech glass beads will go perfectly with the sapphire necklace Jeff gave me for Christmas a few years ago

And finally, the piece de resistance of last weekend’s jewelry ’shopping’:

Wanna know why I call it the piece de resistance? It’s actually a pun.  Sort of.  Because I only photographed *pieces* of it, neglecting to capture the whole thing in one shot.  Failure – I haz it.

But anyway.

The darker beads are clay (and they’re actually dark blue, not black), with sterling silver spacers.  The white beads are glass, and they remind me so much of Depression-era milk glass with their opaque white color. The big huge nummy-looking red and white bead is agate.

Mom calls it a “smoke bomb” after the 4th of July fireworks.  I can totally see it.  Those rock my world – right up there with the black snakes and the roman candles (I have simple tastes).

Mom has started incorporating little extra touches into each item, like the single bead near this necklace’s toggle.  I think it’s really sweet

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So that’s what my mom has been up to! I really think her jewelry is developing beautifully.  I believe she plans to open her Etsy shop sometime this summer, once she builds up some more inventory for it (which probably means she’s going to stop giving stuff to me…).  I’m really proud of her, and excited to see what else she comes up with*!

*for me.