I’ll also FINALLY be adding a new category for new items, so you can easily check what’s been added. Details soon.

I’ve been thinking a lot about Fall fashion in the last few months – heavy textures, metallic details, dark and rich meshes – it’s one luxurious season of trends this year.

According to Fashion Trendsetter, the hottest colors for the season are:

Yes, they’re very dark, but there’s good news – sterling silver is seeing a major surge in popularity with top designers and jewelers turning to the crisp, white metal as an alternative to traditional gold. Add a splash of these rich colors to a silver base and you have an elegant combination while avoiding the winter plague of black, black and more black.

For these earrings I wanted to capture the layered mesh look that’s so hot at the moment. I don’t use hoops very often, but they offer so much great space to work and seemed like an obvious choice. I chose smokey topaz and green amethyst (chocolate and endive are a big color combo trend for the year) and started wrapping them over the hoops with silver wire.

The paleness of the green stops these earrings looking too fiesta-like, while the chocolatey, smokey topaz keep them looking rich.

This was one of these designs where I wasn’t entirely sure about the finished product because it’s so far from my usual style, but everyone I’ve shown them to adores them.

I think they’re one of those designs that really needs to be worn – I like them so much more after seeing Laura rock them.

Sassy and spectacular, they’ll work with layered dresses and cardigans with lots of color, or work as a great focal point with jeans and black shirts.

See the new sterling silver, smokey topaz and green amethyst hoops here.

More jewelry is on the way!

I love pairing these two gems – the green and orange look so crisp together. Add smokey quartz and you have beautiful fall palette; add rose quartz and you have a fresh spring palette – they’re just so easy to blend.

For these earrings I wanted to create a more interesting shape than simply dropping briolettes (the drop-shaped gemstones) from silver chain, so I used a trick that jewelry designers occasionally use as an alternative – I wrapped the peridot as though they were regular round beads, so they form a sort of daisy chain.

From there I wire wrapped the citrine briolettes to spaces along the “chain” created by the peridot so they fan out a little. To finish the look I added a large smokey briolette and added the gems to these really different ear studs. From regular ear hooks or studs I thought they’d be a little off-balance. The heavier studs with the scroll details work perfectly.

See the sterling silver, citrine, peridot and smokey quartz earrings here.

To pass the time I thought I should embark on an extreme wire wrapping project, so I fired up Law & Order from the start and began wrapping multiple colored sapphire into strands.

I’d been looking at a lot of Indian jewelry, and I loved the rich and luscious designs typical of wedding jewelry. Dense strands of gemstones and gold with ornate details are just fascinating to look at. These earrings were definitely inspired by that: they’re 5″ long and each have 13 strands of sapphire, finished with tiny pick sapphire drops. I used the large rings as a way of adding some contrast to the shape, wrapping clusters of the gems to carry the design all the way up the earrings.

All up, they took me roughly 16 hours over three days – and the whole time I kept watching Law & Order!

See the Sterling Silver and Sapphire Chandelier Earrings here.

Pick any jump rings you like for this. Mine were perhaps a little heavy for the light chains I picked, but I bulked up the beaded section to balance it out. Be sure to watch the Byzantine chain video first.

See the video here and don’t forget to check the archives for more.

Pronounced “peh-ree-doh”, it is widely mined throughout the world, including in USA, Australia, Brazil, China, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. It is a variety of Olivine, and is commonly found in deposits brought to the surface by lava. Gem-quality peridot nearly always mined, and is rarely found at surface level.

Peridot is a protective stone, traditionally used to keep evil sprits away. It is excellent in releasing guilt or obsessions, alleviating jealousy and spite and the stresses they create. It is also effective in sharpening the mind.

Here from Facebook? Click here to view the interactive version.

Ever since my sister read Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, by Eleanor Coerr, she has collected pretty origami papers and made paper cranes. I’ve always loved everything Japanese, and even took four years of the language in high school (I don’t remember more than about three words, sadly).

For my birthday last year she sent me a pair of lacquered bowls and chop sticks decorated in silvery blue. Never one to do things simply, Laura filled the box with cranes of all sizes made from the most beautiful paper I’ve seen. I strung all but two of them up and now they hang in my window.

Once Laura’s birthday rolled around I turned the remaining pair into earrings by adding sterling silver chain and tiny sapphires. I’ve seen similar earrings before but with her gorgeous choice of paper and my love of gemstones and silver I think they turned into something really special. If I had time to practice with the paper I’d start a line of these.

I’ve been trying to work more with moonstone again, since I seem to have lots of it stashed away, but rarely think to pick it up. Silver and moonstone make a great combination – they’re both elements of the moon and the silvery quality of both results in really crisp, sleek designs.

One look at my beads and these earrings jumped into my head. I had planned to do them with just white moonstone, but I couldn’t resist using the silky gray stones as well. I love these!

Get the Sterling Silver Moonstone Earrings

As you’re getting ready to switch wardrobes don’t forget to revamp your jewelry and accessories. Shorts and skirts mean it’s time for anklets and stacked bracelets. Without heavy collars and scarves to compete with long, hot weekends are begging for over-the-top earrings.

For 2010 summer more is more. That whole recession thing is so 2009, so pump up your look with lots of color. Mix and match for a look that is completely up to date, and use silver as a way to ground it with chain maille bracelets and necklaces.

Don’t forget to throw lots of turquoise in the mix too – always popular for summer, it’s Pantone’s color of 2010.

And finally, don’t even dream of leaving the house without an anklet! If you feeling the need to show the world your fresh manicure, try barefoot sandals for an instant boost of sexy.

Start shopping at Elena Adams Designs for 20% off the entire range of jewelry, including brand new necklaces and earrings, as well as pieces from the Signature Collection. Getting married? Get 20% off the Bridal Collection.

You must enter code shop20 to receive the discount. Cannot be combined with any other offer.

Start shopping!