Wonder and Whimsy February 2025 Challenge: Use What I Have

Hello hello! It's the beginning of February--and that means it's time for a new monthly challenge! Hurray!

This month's challenge is actually fairly simple: not buy any beads. 

Hah! This is easier said than done for me, because I really do love buying beads. I actually use it as a form of stress relief--shopping for beads, and imagining different projects I could make with them. It's like daydreaming ...expensive daydreaming.

One possible project:
red iris glass and coated hematite hearts.

But I have so, so many beautiful beads already... and so many beautiful projects that I haven't touched since purchasing them.

Another possible project: 
teeny 3mm Czech glass and miyuki seed beads

So! That's why I'm doing this challenge. Whatever I make this month, it needs to be done with beads that I already own. And if there is a component that would perfectly finish a design, but I don't have it, I need to use something else--something that I already have. This should add an extra touch of challenge and creativity!

So, we'll see what I come up with this month! Woo! Wish me luck... and be sure to come back on Friday, February 28th to see what I create.

Better Late Than Never!

Back in September, I did a Monthly Challenge based on butterflies. I then hinted that there was something else in the works, but I couldn't post about it yet.

Well now, months after I posted that, I can finally share! Hurray!

So! Without any further ado... drumroll please...

I had a butterfly-inspired piece posted in the Fall 2024 Belle Armoire Jewelry!

I was reticent to post about it before now because there was a mixup in the mail, and I didn't receive my copy until late December. I wanted to take pictures of my actual copy to share. But! Here it is, in all of its loveliness. Yay!

On a health-related note, I am almost completely recovered from surgery (probably like 98%, woohoo!). I have more energy than I have had in months. I'm using most of that energy to try to catch up on life things that fell by the wayside while I wasn't feeling well, but there's some creative stirrings in there, too. I'm excited to see what comes of it all.

Thanks for stopping by today... I know that there's a lot going on in the world right now, and I appreciate you taking the time to check in on me. 

Wishing you all the best!

Happy New Year!

Hello, everyone! Happy New Year!

This is not going to be a long entry, just wanted to wave and wish you well. I am recovering well from surgery--not as quick as I'd like, but that's all right. Slowing down has been good for me.

And I am so grateful. 

Grateful for a successful surgery, grateful for my husband who's been taking good care of me, grateful for a cozy house while it snows, grateful for a full pantry, grateful for friends... just, grateful.

And I'm grateful for you, whoever is reading this. Thanks for stopping by today, for joining me in this little part of the internet. May your new year be bright and full--and know that I'm so, so glad that there's you.

Create Everyday Challenge: Everything Together

Surprise! It's me again!

I've been thinking about my Create Everyday Challenge, and wanted to just do a nice little summary entry. 

After all, what a journey it was! And what delight this little bag brought throughout the month:

Hurray for my Bag of Goodies!

Now, as I mentioned, I had hoped to do the entire month of November... but I still think doing 20 days is pretty dang impressive. I was looking over everything I made during this challenge, and I'm definitely happy with everything I was able to do.

And, for fun, here's at least one thing I made every day of this challenge!

(Side note: it's not everything--I just picked one picture from each day. If you haven't seen everything that I made, be sure to check out the earlier posts this month!)

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

Day 11

Day 12

Day 13

Day 14

Day 15

Day 16

Day 17

Day 18

Day 19

Day 20

...Phew! That's a lot of pretty things.

I think my favorite part of the challenge was pulling something new out of my Bag of Goodies everyday. I have a lot of pretty things, and I enjoyed the randomness of it. Some of the pieces in the bag were very precious, that I've been saving (read: hoarding) for some time... it was nice to give myself permission to play with them. I will definitely be revisiting my Bag of Goodies soon! (Besides, I have some items in the bag that I didn't get to... it would be a shame to not play with them at some point!)

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey. It's been a lot of fun sharing it with you, and knowing that people enjoyed looking at my designs.

Have a great end to your November, everyone! I'll see you sometime in December--when my surgery is over, and I get back on my feet!

Create Everyday Challenge: Final Day! (Day 20)

It's Day 20... can you imagine? We've made it all the way to the end of this challenge... and what a fun challenge it has been.

Let's see what I pulled out of the bag for today's creation:

...Hah. I was rather hoping for something a bit more flashy, but instead, I pulled out these lovely Czech glass tablet beads. 

I challenged myself to make something with these, and only these, and this is what I came up with:

Long and dangly earrings, that are surprisingly not heavy. I tried them on, and they're delightfully swishy and swingy, too.

Not flashy, but still a fun way to end the challenge!

Thank you all so, so much for joining me this month while I've been tackling this challenge. I definitely hope to do more at some point... Maybe even something for Advent? (Although, I'm not going to make any promises... I have no idea how quickly I'll recover from my surgery next week, and definitely don't want to over-commit.)

Have a wonderful November, everyone... I'm grateful for each and every one of you!

Create Everyday Challenge: Day 19

We've made it to Day 19! Woo-hoo!

Here are the lovely beads that I got to play with today:

Aren't they gorgeous? They're vintage German Resin... I purchased them from Ava Motherwell, and I am swooning over them.

I really want to make a necklace with them, but I'm still deciding on a design. I also have a bracelet idea, but I'm currently trying to find just the right finding for it.

So! In the meantime, I used two of these precious beads to make (surprise!) a pair of earrings:

I'm sure that I'm going to sell some of the things I have made this month, but this pair of earrings? They're mine. Allllll mine. Hah!

Thanks for joining me on this journey. It's been a great deal of fun getting to pull things out of my Bag of Goodies and create with them. 

Come by tomorrow for my final day of this challenge!

Create Everyday Challenge: Day 18

Day 18!

Today's pull from the Bag of Goodies was all about Czech glass:

Czech glass in shades of silver and grey and black and pink, to be precise.

I am constantly surprised by how much of these colors I actually wear. So! I thought I'd put together two pairs of earrings for me to add to my collection... after all, I'm pretty much guaranteed to wear them!

They make me happy.

Oh! And I started a necklace--a tassel necklace, even--but there is no way I'm finishing it today. Tassel necklaces take time, and that's something that I don't have a lot of right now. So! Stay tuned... I definitely plan on sharing it, once I finish.

Thanks so much for stopping by today... we're in the final stretch of this challenge. Come by tomorrow for Day 19!

Create Everyday Challenge: Day 17

Day 17!

I've got something simple to show for today. Simple, but still happy.

After all, it's hard to go wrong with these beads I pulled out from my Bag of Goodies:

Pretty little lampwork beads!

...Okay, they're not really little, but they are pretty. And, surprise surprise, I decided to make them into earrings:

They honestly feel a little Spring-y to me. With all the Autumn-inspired jewelry I've made recently, it was nice playing with a different palette.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I officially have three days left of this challenge (I mentioned in my last entry that I am cutting it off at Day 20, just for personal/life reasons)... come back tomorrow for Day 18!