Heat colored metal jewelry

Another store from the Autumn Festival: Phoenix Designs

Very unique & innovative. Have not seen any like these before, a feast to the eyes! Enjoy!

Woven and braided jewelry

I finally managed to go to the Annual Autumn Festival in Minneapolis and have met multiple talented artists with creative hand crafts. I am going to blog about these folks in multiple posts.

The First in this series is about Jan-Ra Jewelry. This Artist makes silver & gold jewelry which is woven/braided and entwined.

Here is what Jan says about her passion on her blog:

"My journey here has been a bit convoluted. I have a B.A. in Biology and an M.S. in Wildlife Conservation. I used neither degree professionally, however, and spent 13 years as a licensed remodeling contractor. I have more power tools than most men! My need to work with my hands, however, has grown stronger over the years, and making jewelry is the current manifestation of that need."

Jan at work:

Pics from the Jan-Ra stall at the Autumn Festival. Unfortunately I do not have many close-up pics of the jewelry, however I insist that you look at much better pictures here and here. Adorable jewelry I must say, with an interesting twist!

Watch this space for more.

On my mind...

• I have not been posting much here.
• As I am away from home, I have not bought much stuff YET
• I have been trying to update Tangled Maze with my weekend activities. Check out when you have time.
• I might go to a crafts fair (I wish I could) sounds damn interesting! They promised "500 of America's finest artists & craftspeople from 30 states". So, watch out for more...
  

Downtown Minneapolis - this illuminated building looks much better than in this pic

Happy Diwali

Happy Deepavali to you & your family

Give him an inch and he'll take a yard....

I have been away from Aabharan for some time now.... Now, that does not mean I am not buying more jewellery!? That cant happen...This greed for Junk is never ending! Show me a store & I will end up buying the entire jewellery section!!

Don't these look like miniature kashmiri earrings with small coins dangling on a chain.

I could not resist these ...

And these...
Aren't these are the cutest pair ever? This pic does not do any justice... there are cute, tiny mother of pearl discs dangling down the hoops.


Watch out for more updates from me in the days to come...If I buy less junk, I promise I will at least update Tangled Maze.

Playful twist to traditional Jhumkas

I love Jhumka’s made of any metal, shape & size! They definitely add brightness to the person wearing them. Over a period of time I have collected some silver Jhumka’s with have a playful twist that can be accessorized with both traditional as well as Modern outfits.

Here is my collection:

Jhumka with long silver stem & Dark rose colored beads from Kalanjali in Hyderabad, priced at Rs.350/- (Length: 2 in.)

Finely crafted Jhumka with beautiful garnet colored beads. From an exhibition in Safina Plaza, Bangalore; Priced at Rs.550/- (Length: 1.5 in.)

Another beautiful set made with pearls of different sizes. From Auroville boutique, Pondicherry; Priced at Rs.250 (Length: 2 in.)

What about you? Do you like Jhumkas?

Saffron, White, Green accessories

May our great nation always bloom with happiness & prosperity... Happy Independence Day to you.

My accessories for the day, celebrating the spirit of Independence:

Dyed tri-color cotton crushed Dupatta ready to adorn my simple white khadi kurta and a green cotton salwar.

Tri-color bangles - We get such a wide range of beautiful bangles here in India, the best way to add a splash of color to any outfit.

Matching earrings & Trendy toe rings (Of course, I won’t wear all three – they are too cute! So I could not resist posting this picture here! These can be worn as finger rings too.)




This Independence Day post is an inspiration from Pooja of My Creative Ideas. She has come up with this theme: Saffron, White & Green for Independence Day week.

I have browsed through her earlier events to get an idea & I realized that most of the participants are extremely talented as they have created beautiful recipes to participate! Now, I am just a toddler when it comes to cooking – leave alone create something on my own! :( Sigh… However I love the theme & so decided to participate. Here is my entry.

Fridge magnets event

I am new to blogging, started some weeks ago. I never imagined that this would open doors to so many interesting, informative & beautiful blogs. The icing on the cake is the most interesting events hosted by fellow bloggers!

Veda from Iyengars Kitchen was the first visitor to my blog & she has been kind enough to encourage me. When I visited her space - she was hosting this event - Fridge magnets which is so simple yet interesting & cool! So, here is my entry to my first blog event!

I do not have many magnets here in Bangalore as most of my collection is in Hyderabad (Mom's place). This is my new collection with started post my marriage.

My favourite... Is'nt he cool :)

2-Aquamarine jewellery

Sparkling aquamarines are set in sterling silver to create a stylish, asymmetrical look. I have a beautiful pendant to match these Aquamarine earrings.

Fun facts about Aquamarine (Source: Wiki)

• Birthstones of Pisceans.
• Gemstone for the 16th and 19th marriage anniversary.
• It has a soothing effect on "just married" couples, assisting them in working out their differences and insuring a long and happy marriage.
• It is said to re-awaken love in long-married couples and signify the making of new friends.

Sterling Silver jewellery series: 1-Tourmaline jewellery

My dad was posted in Chennai for a couple of years; this was a perfect excuse for me to explore the various shopping avenues & food there. I love shopping at Spencer Plaza, they have beautiful stores…My personal favorites are the cute & colorful Juti’s store on the top floor right to the food court: these guys have beautiful Jutis/Chappal which are very colorful and decorated with beautiful beads, shells & glitter. Another place is the silver jewellery store beside the Ceylon shopping area on second floor I think. Unfortunately I do not recollect the names of both the places. This place has huge collection of silver jewellery. And if you know me any better – you would have guessed by now that I would have madly bought loads of jewellery from this store in multiple colors, I am the way I am - Beyond hope!

From today I am going to post multiple pictures of the jewellery that I have picked-up from this second floor store & other shops @Spencer’s. I promise that I will get the names of the places in my next visit.

Here you go…

First Post: Tourmaline jewellery

Striking Tourmalines are used in these impressive drop earrings with a matching pendant set in sterling silver.

Fun facts about Tourmaline (Source: Wiki)

• Birthstones of Librans.
• Multicolored Tourmaline is the gemstone for the 8th anniversary.
• Tourmaline is said to dispel fear, negativity and grief. According to legend, the tourmaline of all colors protects the wearer against many dangers and misfortune.

Lacquer earrings

One of my close friends got me my first pair of these simple yet amazing earrings from Rajasthan. I instantly fell in love with these - now I have almost all the colors that are available! (Yeah! we already talked about my fetish/madness/craze for such stuff)

These come in different colors, shapes & sizes. The ones in the picture are the most common ones. The pictures below don’t do any justice to the beauty of these earrings. They are simple yet graceful. These will definitely add an understated traditional touch to Any Outfit!

In Bangalore you can find these at Safina Plaza (Infantry Road), Commercial Street.





About Lacquer jewellery:
Lacquer is a type of resin excreted from certain insects. To make these earrings Lacquer is fused with etched beaten metal sheets. They join these fused plaques to make bangles, earrings & Chains. The finished jewellery looks beautiful with studded colorful stones & multi color beads.

Minakari Jewellery

This ornament is close to my heart as this is the first piece of jewellery that I bought (beginning of my junk jewellery journey, though this does not exactly fall into the “junk” category”). This is made of gold plated silver. I bought this hand crafted jewellery from a Rajasthani store that set up exhibition in Hyderabad a couple of years ago.

About Minakari Art:
Enamelling or minakari is the art of colouring and ornamenting the surface of metals by fusing over it brilliant colors that are decorated in an intricate design. Gold has been used traditionally for minakari jewelry as it holds the enamel better, lasts longer and its lustre brings out the colors of the enamels. Silver, is a later introduction.

Minakari is a hereditary craft and it is rare that outsiders are allowed to acquire any knowledge of this craft. The process followed is long drawn and complex in which a single piece of mina may pass through many expert hands before being completed.The minakars engrave the surface of the metal with intricate designs using a metal stylus which is then filled in with colours. The mina is then placed in a furnace where the colours fuse and harden to become one with the surface. Thereafter its gently rubbed with a file and the mina is then cleaned with a mixture of lemon and tamarind that helps to highlight the lustre of each colour. Enamel colours are metal oxides mixed with a tint of finely powdered glass where the oxide content controls the shade obtained. Before the enamel is applied, the surface of the ornament is carefully cleaned. In their raw form these mixtures do not always show their true colours, which emerge only when they are fired in the kiln. The average firing temperature is about 850 degrees Celsius.

Delicate floral designs with imaginative blend of traditional patterns and colors give Minakari jewellery a rich distinctive look.

Oversized pendant

I am neither a fan of over sized pendants nor the color green...until I spotted this beautiful chain with its over sized pendant while window shopping at Forum Mall. I just could not resist it. At that point I was not sure what I will wear this with. There was nothing in my wardrobe that would remotely match this. Now I do :) (Yeah, I am crazy! bought a chain for which I had to buy an outfit to match!!) Anyways....

The chain has multiple suede cords & some beads. The pendant is made of burnished gold tone metal with multiple shades of green enamel. I matched this with simple earrings in the same color combination from Estelle. This set will definitely add style & glam to any simple outfit!

Close up
Matching dangle earrings

Terracotta Jewellery

I bought these unique hand crafted Terracotta earrings in a crafts exhibition in Bangalore. These are hand painted with Lac & come in vibrant colors. One can accessorize ethnic salwars, kurtis or even denims with these.

I prefer bigger earrings, hence picked these cute jhumkas. Aren't they cool? They had a huge collection of pendants & small earrings too.

Kashmiri Jhola

I received this cute Kashmiri Jhola on my birthday from my best friend. This has beautiful bright colored hand embroidery on the exterior, thick cotton lining inside & a small inner pocket for my valuables. This can be closed with draw strings. cant wait to use this!!