Singing Heart Jewelry Designs has moved to
singingheartjewelry.etsy.com.
Feel free to contact me directly at singingheartjewelry@yahoo.com.
Thank you so much for looking! :)
When you've worn a special piece of jewelry, have you ever wondered about its history? About each bead or gem? Who made it and how it was made? Who may have worn it before you? Many of the "ingredients" that go in to Singing Heart Jewelry are not your average bead. Some are shells or stones I've found while combing the shores or mountains of southern Africa, and except for boring a hole through some, I use them as they are found. The shine or shimmer is natural. Several are unusual and only found in certain parts of the world, where they are handcrafted, bead by bead, while still others are old and rich in history.
| HAND MADE GASS BEADS FROM GHANA These beads are made using recycled glass. The recycled glass is crushed and poured into a hand made clay mold, then fired, usually in an outside kiln made of termite clay. No bead is ever the same, and typically far from perfect, which adds to its beauty. |
| BATIK BEADS Carved Cow Bone Beads from East Africa. This white, hand-carved bone bead is decorated with wax then dipped in boiled thick black tree sap which dyes the uncovered areas. The result is a typical East African look and can be found on textiles as well. |
| AFRICAN GLASS WAIST BEADS Waist beads are worn around the hip, usually as a type of lingerie by the women of Ghana. |
| FISH VERTEBRAE These fish vertebrae were found by the artist along the shores of Africa. The spines will be removed and the sharp edges filed. |
| ABO/BAUXITE BEADS These beads are created mainly by the Krobo people of Ghana. They are made from bauxite, a rock mainly consisting of aluminum ore that is usually found near industrial areas, specifically the Akosombo Dam, which created Lake Volta, one of the biggest man-made lakes in the world. They are each unique and imperfect, with the rich brownish-red color typical of African soil. |
| POWDER GLASS BEADS FROM GHANA These hand-made beads are typically from the Asante (Ashanti) and Krobo tribal areas in Ghana where they are made by a method that has been used for hundreds of years. Old recycled glass is pound to a powder, then carefully poured into hand made clay molds, into which a cassava leaf stem has been placed for the stringing hole. To add the stripes, a tiny stick is pushed down the sides into which darker glass is poured. They are then fired which burns away the leaf stem and fuses the glass to create these beautiful, individual beads. |
| ETHIOPIAN SILVER PRAYER BEADS |
| CARVED BONE BEADS |
| ALIKREUKEL "DOOR" This is a rare African beach find, the "door" of an alikreukel (pronounced alley-creek-ill) shell. It is exactly as it is in nature - I have done nothing to enhance it. The alikreukel is a large sea snail eaten in southern Africa. It uses this door to seal itself inside its great round shell. Normally it is round to oval shaped and is about 2 inches (5 centimeters) in length. The back is just as beautiful as the front. It is smooth and shiny black with swirls of deep earthy reds. See the picture below . |
| THE BACK OF AN ALIKREUKEL "DOOR" The shine on this "shell" is natural. See the description above. |
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