Wednesday's Worktable: Rainy Day in May

The last few weeks have been pretty soppy wet here in Ohio. So, I thought: why not make jewelry based on it?

...Especially since last month's Mystery Bead Box from Jesse James Beads was rainy-day themed, and included such fun things as this mix:

It's a super fun collection of sizes and colors, and I thought it would be fun to do a little mini-challenge: make a necklace only using this mix, and maybe some of the other components in the Mystery Bead Box. (Well, and findings from my stash. Just to be super technical.)

Here is what it looks like, all poured out:

And here is one of the other items from the box, just asking to be part of the project:

So, that's what's on my table today! Playing around with white and blue beads of different shapes and sizes, and being inspired by rain.

Thanks for stopping by today, everyone! And for those of you also in soppy wet areas: stay dry! :)

Wonder and Whimsy May 2025 Challenge: Diamond Tessellations

Happy May, everyone!

I am really, really excited about the challenge I have chosen for this month. 

The inspiration for it was rather... unconventional. So! To introduce this challenge, let me tell you a story. 

Last year was a very difficult year for me, physically. It culminated in surgery... and I am happy to announce that said surgery was very, very successful. I am healed, and getting my energy back. Every day, I am becoming more and more aware of how much things fell into disrepair last year--both around the house, and in regards to my health habits.

So, why am I telling you this? 

Well, to combat this entropy, I recently did something that I have never done before: I signed up for a gym membership. The local YMCA, to be precise. One of my friends goes there regularly, and we're going together a few times a week.

What does this have to do with jewelry? Well, last week, I finished my workout first, and was waiting for my friend to finish hers. I was sitting in the lobby area, thinking about May's challenge, and decided to see if I could find anything to inspire me.

...And then I saw it. 

The chairs.

Okay, hear me out.

Those chairs have the most mesmerizing diamond tessellation pattern.

So much so, that I spent several minutes taking pictures of them. Thankfully I was the only one in the lobby at the time--otherwise, I might have felt quite silly!

So, that's my challenge this month: make jewelry inspired by these diamond tessellations.

I have so many ideas. Diamond shaped beads are always fun to play with, and I'm already plotting on different techniques to use. Heh. We'll see if any of these ideas actually turn out... Come back on Friday, May 30th to see if my experiments work.

Thanks so much for stopping by today... Happy May, everyone!

Wednesday's Worktable - April Challenge Continued!

On my worktable today, I'm playing around with the combination of gold, red, and turquoise!

Earrings in the making!

How did I choose that particular color palette?

Let's just say that I was inspired by some of leftover "Farewell to Joanns" challenge beads:

Notice that the gold beads shown in the first photo can be seen here, too!

And I have more than just earrings on my worktable. I may or may not also be working on a tassel necklace:

Who am I kidding? I'm absolutely working on a tassel necklace. It's actually coming along nicely, too... I hope to show the finished result soon(ish).

Thanks so much for stopping by to see what I've been up to. I really am enjoying showing glimpses of my various projects... and I feel like I get more of a chance to talk about it than I do on Instagram. I definitely think I'll keep up this Wednesday Worktable trend for the time being. :) 

Oh! I've also been having fun preparing my May challenge... I'm pretty excited about it. Come by tomorrow to hear what I'll be working on.

Until then, have a wonderful day, everyone!

Wonder and Whimsy April 2025 Reveal: Farewell to Joanns

Well, here it is: monthly challenge reveal day. 

Hurray!

This challenge, as suspected, was a little bittersweet. Understandable, really, since the whole thing was centered around one of my favorite stores going out of business. It's always hard going into a dying store--seeing the bare shelves and disorder, and feeling the sheer sadness of everyone there.

But once I got home, and was able to look at all the treasures I bought... the only thing I could feel was grateful. Grateful for the memories, grateful for a chance to buy a few more special things--and now, grateful for a chance to share them with you.

When I introduced this challenge, I shared a sneak peak at some of the beads that I bought:

So now it's time to share some of the things I made!

First up, we had a necklace I made with the strand of golden bicones, barely visible in the center of the above photo:

From those beads, and some of the beads in my stash, I made this!

I really love how regal these beads feel, and I wanted them to be the star of the show. So, I fell back to my stringing, kept the design simple, and am very happy with the results.

Next up, I started designing with this strand (also vaguely visible in the sneak peak photo):

I actually made two designs with this strand. The first was very simple. Essentially, I just used that exact pattern, strung it, and added chain on the end:

It actually turned out really well. But then I got a little antsy, and decided to switch it up. (Partially because it wasn't quite long enough for my personal taste, and adding a 5 inch extender seemed rather silly. Oh, and I ran out of gold chain so I couldn't just redo the chain.) 

So, as a late night inspiration, I took another strand that I bought (not visible in the picture, and I forgot to photo it before I used it) and mixed all of the beads together.

This was the result!

I actually like this design a lot better. It's a little bit longer--which fits my personal taste just fine. It also feels a bit more unique--not just using the design from the original strand. 

And lastly, the weight of it is wonderful and rich--those beads are all actual metal, so it has just the right amount of heft.

I did make earrings to match, but I don't have pictures yet. I had so many ideas, that I just ran out of time.

And, speaking of ideas... here's the last finished piece I made for this challenge. (Notice I said finished piece--I do have at least two more in the making, but I imagine that this is going to be an ongoing challenge. I have a lot of beads to work with!)

Anyway, here are the beads!

To those beads (which, again, are visible in the sneak peak picture), I added some others that I had in my stash:

I love the combination of black, white, and dark red, so I brought in some of my garnets.

And from that mix, this is what I made!

I had so much fun making this necklace. I draped chain, added little dangly Hessonite garnets (which I teased you with on Wednesday), and went all out. When I make layered necklaces like this, I try to make the layers distinct and neat, but for this I tried to just make it organic and kind of wild.

I love the result.

I also tried to take some pictures to show how it lays when worn... these didn't turn out quite so great, but hopefully they give you a bit of an idea of the finished look:

So, there you go. Those are the pieces that I made for this challenge. A fitting tribute, I think, to a really wonderful store. Joanns might be going out of business, but I'll still have the memories of going there with friends and family, and learning new things. And, as I hinted at before... I have a lot of other beads that I bought. I'm sure I'll have more to share as time goes on!

Thanks for joining me today for this reveal. I appreciate still having people to share jewelry with. 

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Wednesday's Worktable: Sneak Peak for Friday

On my worktable today, I'm working on finishing up some designs for Friday's reveal. 

I'm not sure how much I'll get done--as per usual, I have more ideas than time--but it's certainly fun to play around with!

So. Many. Teeny. Tiny. Garnets.
These are 2.5mm, in case you're wondering.

This particular design should be done, I think. Just need to finish adding those teeny tiny little garnets to the chain. Come by on Friday to see what I made for my challenge--and what I have planned for that garnet-laden chain.

Until then, have a wonderful day, everyone!

Wednesday's Worktable: Another Birdie Custom Order

...this time, I'm working on a bookmark for my mother! 

Well, more technically, she commissioned it for a friend of hers who loves birds.

And you know what that means: 

So. Many. Birdie. Charms.

...and a squirrel, too, as a silly touch. Apparently the squirrels love to eat the bird seed that my Mum's friend puts out, too.

I've been having a blast figuring out how to arrange them, and make them lay correctly. And, credit where credit is due: Mum actually sent me a picture of how she thought I could lay them out, and I really like what she came up with! 

I'm pretty much done with it, actually, but I don't want to show the final piece just yet. Mostly, I want to make sure I take good pictures--and, since it's a gift, I don't want to completely spoil the surprise. ;)

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Friday's Worktable: Custom Order for Evensong's Heir, Part 3!

...Surprise! I have even more to share for this custom order.

I was waiting to share this one, because it was also a surprise for the customer. You see, I made it as a surprise gift. While I don't get a chance to do things like this often, it is always fun when I have the time and resources to do just a little extra.

Remember this bookmark?

Well, I made a necklace and some earrings to match!

And, as promised, here are the earrings:

What fun! As I said, it's not something I get to do often--but when I do, I greatly enjoy it. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by for all three of my worktable posts this week... I've definitely been busy. Now, on to the next project.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! See you next week!

Thursday's Worktable: Custom Order for Evensong's Heir, Part 2!

On Wednesday, I explained that I've been working on some custom orders--specifically, jewelry to go along with the book Evensong's Heir by L.S. Baird.

And now, as promised, I get to show off the other pieces that I made! Woohoo!

Now, I actually made a matching set--a necklace, a bracelet, and a pair of earrings. They are all based off of the three main characters: Willim (the Dove), Ellis (the Thrush), and Dmitri (the Lark). While in the past, I have made pieces to go with each of these characters individually, this was the first time I made pieces that incorporated all three.

So! First up, here is the necklace:

Each beaded line of this necklace is devoted to a different character. The top line, made with lavender glass and silver pearls, is made in the colors of the Dove. The second line, made with Czech glass and copper accents, is made in the colors of the Thrush. And the bottom line, made with two different shapes of black Czech glass, is made in the colors of the Lark.

I also included a feathery charm at the end of each line in colors corresponding to their character.

Here you can see where I have shortened the necklace to the customer's specifications:

And here's another closeup, just for fun:

Because I wanted to make a matching set, I used these same elements in the matching bracelet...

...and the matching earrings:

I added the dangly chain bits to add some extra opulence... I figured it would suit the characters--and the book--quite well.

I have always enjoyed making jewelry to go match literature... it's fun to take things that make a character or setting distinct and weave those elements into a visual format.

So, there you go! Some lovely pieces that I've been working on. Come back next Wednesday to see what else I've been up to!

Until then, have a great weekend everyone!