Announcement    Welcome to my Etsy page and to some fresh energy after a rather long hiatus. If you've been one of my faithful followers who kept coming back and back to see the same old 3 pairs of earrings, thanks for coming back this one more time to find, Ta da! Something fresh! Thank you for your loyalty!

I love to make my own beads and components. I've worked for years with polymer clay, so you are apt see my own polymer clay beads in my designs from time to time. I also like drilling rocks and glass to make my own beads. My beach rock beads are stones found on the beaches of Little Cranberry Island, where I live year-round. I drill holes in them in my studio. The sea glass beads are drilled from pieces of sea glass that come from the northeast coast of England. I've made friends with a few women who started selling their 100 year old pieces of sea glass on Etsy. Glass that comes from the tossed out dregs from English bottle factories in the 1800's.

More than any other medium, I love to work with Precious Metal Clay. PMC starts out as very fine, pure silver particles combined with a water-based binder to form a moldable metal clay. Once a piece is shaped and dried, it is fired in a kiln at a high temperature. (1500º to 1650º F.) The binder burns away and the particles fuse together in a process known as sintering. The result is a solid piece of pure silver, ready to polish, to become an earring, a bead for a necklace, a pendant, a pin or a necklace clasp.

Though I enjoy collecting and working with beads from all over the world, I will always try to include pieces that I've made myself in any of my designs. Whether it be a set of beads or a handmade chain and hook for an adjustable clasp.

I hope you enjoy browsing through my pieces as much as I enjoy making them. If you are curious about life on a small island, I encourage you to visit my blog!
http://barbarasfernald.com/