Mad about - earrings

I am mad about earrings!
It's how I started along this crazy path 16years ago.
Are you sitting comfortably? then I'll begin....

We'd been living in Tucson, Arizona home to the biggest bead and gem fair in the world and there was no shortage of fine creative types producing lovely and wondrous earrings.
Then we returned to Australia and nothing - no earrings! It's hard to believe now when there is such a flood of jewellery designers, but I just could not buy earrings that I liked. There were no earrings at the craft markets or gift shops. There were no on-line stores like etsy and madeit.
So I wandered down to the local Spotlight store and found some beads and decided to make my own. Of course I didnt have all the things I needed to make earrings and the beads were pretty awful, but that is how I started.

I still love earrings from the most splendidly simple and classic -

rocket earrings by finchbird

through enormous handformed porcelain discs with the look of ancient relics -

porcelain earrings by Round Rabbit

to dainty enamel studs -

enamel studs by rmdjewellery

Sometimes all you need is a beautiful handmade glass lampwork bead -

soft blues lampwork earrings by andyjusty

or a luminous little cabouchon of glass that you have made yourself (if you have a glass fusing kiln!)

bright and transparent sky blue studs by RadicalGlass

None of those?
How about using little beads to make a bigger bead for your earrings -

fountain of seeds earrings by fredbeansnook

or different types of beads combined with cabouchons -

celeste earrings by triz

or go wherever the beads take you -

oysters with pearls freeform earrings by KristinsSilverStrand

Do earrings have to be matching?
I dont think so - but they can tell a story -

the perfect fit by ReneeLoughlin

or share a theme -

flit and fly by leaestella

they can be incredbly lush and decadent -

kyanite, ruby and apatite earrings by Maykela

What are your favorite earrings?

I feel I have only touched the tip of the earrings iceberg.
I think I'll have to bring you some more another day, but for now please leave a comment because I'm going to give away a pair of earrings at the end of the week!