Turning Over A New Leaf

Leaf & Branch Connections

One of my pet peeves is a Ho Hum toggle stuck on an otherwise Great design !!! Why use blah on beautiful???

I am always searching for handmade and found objects to use as clasps on my personal jewelry .

Sometimes I make my own polymer clay toggles.

But , to be honest I've never come up with a shop-worthy design .

My clasps do the job.They hold up on the bracelets I wear to work. However,no style has ever excited me enough to offer it for sale .

Every once in a while, I revisit my toggle idea and hope my muse will come up with a really good design.

For many , many  months she has had nothing at all to say to me about handmade clasps!

My muse and I have been enjoying Mother Nature's Fall Exhibit. What a fantastic source of  inspiration!
My mind is spinning with ideas for color blends.
Ms. Muse must have been impressed too!
She woke me up in the middle of the night with one of those
"slap me up side the head " ideas !
LEAF SHAPED clasps...of course!!!!! 

I found some pretty  little metal branch bars at Lima  Beads that worked  perfectly with my leaves !
http://www.limabeads.com
My new toggles can double as a focals too !
Asymmetrical styles  are very  popular right now !
Almost any bead creation would be delicious with a little leaf on the side ...LOL!

Just to be sure the design was user friendly, I made one to wear to work .I work at a veterinary hospital.
If a bracelet holds up there it will be fine for normal wear !!!
Sometimes inspiration is very obvious...
sometimes its a bit more elusive.
I knew searching for beautiful Fall foliage would be a good source of  color ideas.
I didn't expect it to lead to my long sought after "shop worthy"   clasp design !
this week
look for the obvious inspiration  shout outs!
but,don't forget to listen for those subtle little whispers of ideas
and
Bead Happy !!!

m.e.