Nina Designs Blog Partnering...

What a lucky duck I was to be selected to participate in the Nina Designs Blog Partnering!  For years I've been a fan of Nina Designs.  I love the clean aesthetic and polished look of the charms and findings they offer.  Another thing that I like is their dedication to corporate philanthropy; the company offers micro-loans to artisan tradespeople around the world and they've done fundraisers to help build orphanages in China.  So when I work with pieces from Nina Designs, I know that I am doing a good thing – I'm not only adding more beauty to the world, but I'm helping improve the lives of others.

My design aesthetic can be described as being .... a little over the top... at times.  But I think that when you've got a really well-crafted component, sometimes the best course of action is to let it speak for itself and to find subtle ways to spotlight and enhance the focal.  In the piece above, I used a bronze coral branch pendant.  I wanted to accentuate the nautical theme by pairing it with an ammonite and a pearl dangle.  I strung the dangle and the focal from a brass cable chain necklace.  I think the warm tones of the fossilized aquatic creature marry the rustic patina of the chain the modern flash of the pendant.

When I design bracelets, I like to think about movement and how jewelry will "sing and dance" with the gestures someone makes.  In this piece I utilized the brass jump rings with Swarovski Xilion Pendants in Chrysolite Opal.  I also used wire-wrapped dangles strung up with dark blue labradorite tubes to accentuate the movement in this piece.  In the bracelet, I also used an African brass tube bead flanked lotus petal charms.  The lotus petals are so highly polished that they dance with light when worn.  I like the palette of blue and gold; it reminds me a lot of ancient Egyptian jewelry and early Renaissance frescos by Giotto.  It has a rich and luxurious feel.

For the rest of the items sent, I incorporated them in earrings.  In the first set of earrings I played with the gold-tones of the tiny key charms and hook earring findings.  I used Sunflower-colored Swarovski crystal rondelles with Sand Opal drops with them.

In the second pair of earrings, I really loved the shape of the tiny feather charm.  I had some Amber Opal-colored mosaic Swarvoski crystal Galactic vertical pendants and thought that they went together perfectly.  I dangled these from a length of chain connected to gold-plated earwires bridged by a wire-wrapped link strung up with a Sand Opal Swarovski crystal.

In the third pair of earrings, I used the 3 Circle links.  I wanted to play with the negative spaces and dangled a Xilion pendant that I used in the bracelet.  I also added a fringe of wire-wrapped dangles with clear Swarovski crystal bicones.  I think they're very elegant and posh.

I had a lot of fun working with the components from Nina Designs.  I think they work beautifully with either rough organic shapes like the ammonite in the coral branch necklace or with glittering Swarovski crystals (which I picked up from Fusion Beads).  I highly recommend Nina Designs!

FTC Disclaimer: The featured materials above were provided as part of the Nina Designs blogging program.  The author of this blog has not received any payment from the above-mentioned company.  The post above represents only the personal opinion of the blog author.