ArtFire

If you are looking for the perfect pair of scary handmade earrings to take you through Halloween or Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) festivities, you've found them! The skulls are so wicked looking that I couldn't help but name them SCARY! These earrings, by carefully crafted by Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs, were created with fabulous orange magnesite hand carved skulls, black onyx rounds and sterling silver. What a fun pair of skull earrings to add to your Halloween jewelry collection!

The stars of the SCARY earrings are the two sided, pumpkin orange magnesite skulls. Magnesite is a highly porous, low luster, whitish gemstone which makes it very suitable for enhancement, usually in the form of dyeing. It can be found in a wide array of bold colors and is often enhanced to look like turquoise. Magnesite was crafted into beads and currency for hundreds of years by some Native American tribes. After that description of magnesite, you probably have already figured out that the skulls used in the SCARY earrings are dyed. The skulls have fine lines of brown matrix running through them; plus a brown dye that matches the color of the matrix perfectly was used to highlight the eyes and other details of the skulls. The matrix definitely adds an old look to the skulls. Since the skulls were hand carved, each one in slightly different. I carefully picked out two that were a close match but if you look at the photographs, you can see some differences. As an added bonus, a face has been carved into both sides of the stones, so no matter how the earrings spin and sway, there will always be a skull facing out. What detail was carved into the stones - amazing! The skulls were framed with 2mm sterling silver beads at the top and bottom.

To add even more classic Halloween style to the earrings, black onyx rounds were chosen to top the skulls. The black onyx has a very shiny finish which contrasts beautifully with the low gloss finish of the skulls. A 2mm sterling silver bead caps the top of each black onyx round.

The main body of the earrings were strung on sterling silver headpins and then carefully wire-wrapped to sterling silver French hooks.

For a better understanding of the relative size of the SCARY earrings, please be sure to check out photo #10 for a size comparison with a dime.

*** I also have these skulls in natural magnesite, pink, turquoise and purple. If you like one of these colors instead of the orange, please contact me and I will be glad to make you a pair of earrings with your color choice.

Magnesite is said to help turn dreams into realities; it instills peace during meditation. Black Onyx is believed to be a powerful protective stone and is used as a defense against negative thinking. It brings balance to mind and body and helps the wearer approach a task with greater self confidence. Silver is a metal of love and healing. It is a mirror to the soul, helping us to see ourselves as others see us.


Here is the important information for the SCARY earrings:

Orange magnesite skulls: app. 22mm x 15mm (at widest) x 6mm
Black onyx: app. 6mm
Metal: sterling silver
Earwires: French hooks; sterling silver
Length: app. 2"/5.1 cm from the top of the earwire curve


For a fun addition to your Halloween/Dia de los Muertos look, you can't beat the fun of the SCARY earrings. Orange, black and skulls just scream Halloween!

***Please be aware that not all monitors show colors exactly the same. The colors of the items used to create my jewelry are extremely close to the actual color on my monitor. The colors may appear lighter or darker on your monitor.

Shadow Dog Designs
Unique Handmade Jewelry
for the Discriminating Woman

Dia de los Muertos is a big celebration where I live. I saw a strand of multi-color skull beads and wanted to make several pieces of Halloween jewelry. "Scary" is one of those pairs of earrings.

Orange magnesite skulls; black onyx; sterling silver 2mm beads, headpins and French hook earwires

Carefully handmade in a pet friendly, smoke free studio (: