Giveaway: Pasadena Earrings ($18)

Pasadena is one of my favorite cities in California because I am a huge fan of the Craftsman era of architecture, and one of the most recognizable houses from that time is in this city. It's called the Gamble House, and it was built by Charles and Henry Greene in 1908. When I started making jewelry, I knew I wanted to pay tribute to California in some way, but I just wasn't sure how I was going to make that work. Sometimes I start with the city and try to find pieces that remind me of it, and other times I see the pieces and they represent the city for me in some way. As soon as I saw the cloisonne beads that make up this earring and necklace set, I knew instantly...they are Pasadena to me. The colors green and pink, the gold filigree bars in the necklace, the roses (for the Tournament of Roses and Rose Parade every year), everything just clicked. Arts and Crafts architecture is heavy on simplicity, but with an air of sophistication. There was an extreme attention paid to detail, not a lot of fluff, clean lines, natural materials, and beautiful stained glass. I tried to exemplify all of that in this set, because we all know I love an updated vintage look!

I know, this was more of a spotlight today, but these are some of my very favorite pieces so I felt like talking about them more than normal! Remember, you have until Thursday at midnight to comment 3 times on this post! Good luck to everyone! (Check out the FAQ's if you are new to this and need more information as to how Giveaways work).

Materials: Gold plated earwire and headpins, cloisonne enamled bead, pink mother of pearl beads