Pretty Palettes - June Reveal

Hello, everyone!

This is going to be a relatively quick little entry, but I'm super excited to share what I made for this month's Pretty Palette challenge. After all, my hand has healed enough that I was able to make four pieces for it. Four! 

...I'm so happy.

Before I get too ahead of myself, however, here is this month's palette:

...and here is what I made!

Yay! I got to make one of my signature tassels! As I said--I'm so excited. :)

Materials range from vintage moonglow acrylic to shell to howlite to glass, with bronze and brass highlights to represent the brown in the palette.

I was even able to make matching earrings:

But wait, there's more! 

Using many of the same materials, I went ahead and made this necklace, too. (And I just finished it today--phew! Slipped in under the wire!)

Yep! Another--but different--tassel! What can I say... I really enjoyed being back in my element this month.

I also made earrings to match this necklace--similar to the previous ones, but slightly different:

Honestly, the earrings are so similar that they can be worn with either necklace. Or mix-matched. What it really comes down to is that I couldn't decide which focal beads I liked better, so I just made both pairs. :)

So, there you go. That's what I made for this month's Pretty Palettes challenge. I'm so, so happy to be back at my beading table, making tassels and designing jewelry again. Hurray!

Thanks so much for stopping by today to see what I've been up to... Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Wednesday's Worktable

Would you look at that... a Wednesday Worktable post, actually posted on a Wednesday. Hah! 

Not only that, but I actually have some things to show off. Imagine! 

So, what am I working on this week? Well, recently, a beading friend sent me a package with these in it:

Aren't they lovely? Different sizes and shapes and kinds of metal, some hammered and some smooth.

And you know what they are? Fishing lures! I wouldn't have guessed that in a million years. They really do look and feel like things you'd buy at a high end bead store.

So, I've been having a lot of fun playing around with a few different ideas for them. Some of the perfect size for earrings, while others lend themselves to being bold pendants. So many possibilities!

I greatly enjoy using unique components in my jewelry, and these are no exception. We'll see what all I come up with! (I've actually already made a pair of earrings, which I hope to photograph once it stops raining.)

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

Wonder and Whimsy Monthly Challenge - June Edition

Sheesh, I'm really having a hard time posting on this time month. Oi. Sorry, everyone!

Still, I am extremely excited to announce the theme for this month's Wonder and Whimsy Challenge. It's actually been awhile in the making--since April, in fact. I'm pretty happy that my thumb/wrist is finally feeling good enough to tackle it!

So, just what is this challenge? Well, I'm going to be making jewelry based on this:

Yep: I'm making jewelry based on the ocean. 

...Specifically, the North Atlantic Ocean--since that's the only one I've had much experience with. And, as an added bonus to this challenge, I'm going to be using some of the beads that I bought while I was there in April:

...I had so much fun with that photoshoot. :)

I also bought these beads, because they reminded me of one of the glorious ocean sunsets I saw:

So, there you go! That is my challenge for this month. Come back on Friday, June 28th to see what I end up making! :)

Until then, have a lovely day, everyone!

Hello, June!

I honestly can't believe that it's already June. This year certainly is flying by!

I don't have much to show in the way of current projects today, but I am happy to report that I've been making some headway on adding new listings to my store the past few weeks. I definitely hope to be adding more as time goes on!

Pretty as a Button
...recent listing on my store, found here.

I'm also planning out my June Monthly Challenge, and I'm pretty excited. Come by at the beginning of next week to find out what I'm going to do!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and checking up on me... I really appreciate you. Have a lovely June, everyone!

Wonder and Whimsy Monthly Challenge - May Reveal

Well, here it is: the reveal for May's Monthly Challenge. Yay!

...This is also a showcase of pretty much all the jewelry I was able to make this month. I didn't want to overdo it, so this was my main May jewelry designing project. Still, I had a lot of fun! And my thumb is healing nicely, so I'm excited to see what all I'm able to do in June. :)

As a refresher, my challenge this month was to make something with these beads, from May's Bargain Bead Box:

There were so many beautiful things! I had a zillion different ideas, but in the end I mainly focused on three main components: the 4mm crystal bicones, the blue glass rounds, and the faceted 6x4 crystal rondelles. As a result, although I made two different sets, everything pretty much matches. Variations on a theme, if you wish.

But, enough of me talking about it. Time for me to show you the jewelry!

Quick disclaimer: 
The lighting this week has been truly horrible for taking pictures. It's been incredibly rainy, and as such I haven't gotten the best photos of what I made. Still, I didn't want to show up empty handed! Weird lighting aside, I hope you enjoy seeing what I created for this challenge! :)


Set #1

For this first set, I really wanted to use the flower connectors in addition to the three main components I picked out. The result was a y-shape necklace and long dangly earrings--and dragonfly charms, to go with the theme.

Set #2

For the second set, I made two pairs of earrings and a necklace. This is the first earring pair:

This is the second pair:

...And here is the necklace that ties both of those elements together:

Yep! I made a tassel!

Granted, it's not one of my full tassels... it has 8 strands instead of my normal 10, and is shorter. In fact, the whole necklace is shorter--hanging at 22 inches, instead of the 28+ inches that my signature tassels usually are. (See, I used restraint! Or something--hah!)

All that being said, however, I love the way that this sparkly shiny necklace is unapologetically bling-y. The colors make it light and almost ephemeral, and the glass itself makes it downright magical. I think the length (of both the necklace and the tassel) matches the beads perfectly... and keeps it sparkly without being too overwhelming.

So, there you go! Those are the pieces that I made for this challenge. And, for fun, here is everything together:

Thanks so, so much for stopping by today to see what I made... I look forward to June, and getting back into the swing of regular blogging!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! 

Wonder and Whimsy Monthly Challenge - May Edition

After giving it some serious thought, I've decided to go ahead and do a Monthly Challenge for May. Yay!

Now, my goal isn't to do anything too strenuous... I'm just excited to get back into the swing of creating, and thought that this would be a good way to do it. Besides, my blog needs some love after being rather neglected last month. :)

So! For this month's challenge, I'm going to focus on making something with this month's Bargain Bead Box:

I know I've mentioned them before, but as a quick summary: Bargain Bead Box is a monthly subscription service that I'm signed up for, which sends out themed collections of beads every month. This month's theme was Dragonfly Garden--and the beads above are just part of what was sent. I absolutely love this combination of colors and shiny iridescence. :)

So, that' my challenge for this month. Feel free to play along--whether you are also subscribed to the box, or just like the theme. Come back on Friday, May 31st to see what I end up making!

Thanks so much for stopping by today... Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Wednesday's Worktable

*waves*

Hello everyone! I'm very happy to report that my thumb continues to do better and better. 

And! I'm even happier to report that I'm starting to get back into the swing of actually making jewelry (albeit a bit slowly). Yay!

To that end, here is what's on my worktable today:

Wire-wrapping! Actual wire-wrapping! I haven't held my pliers in over a month, so my links are a bit rusty, but I'm definitely getting there. I'm so excited, and happy, to be back in the driver's seat. I really really missed making jewelry--it's my main creative outlet, after all--and I'm so glad to be back at it. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today to see what I've been up to... Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Hello, May!

...and hello, first worktable post of the month!

I am pretty happy to report that my hand is healing nicely. Granted, it's still not 100%, but it is definitely, definitely better than it was. Yay!

I've even started weaning myself out of the thumb immobilizer that I wore all last month, and have been doing a little bit of jewelry planning. In fact, on my table currently is this collection of beads:

...There's some crystal, some toho seed beads, and a lot of ruby in zoisite. There are even two necklaces that I made a long time ago that I decided to revamp. 

And I've even taken it one step further. Here's what I've made so far: 

Yay for my first tassel in over a month! It felt really, really good to sit down and make that.

I haven't made the rest of the necklace yet... I'm taking it slowly. Still, I am very pleased. And I'm very hopeful for May. Here's to much more healing--and much more creating--in the weeks to come.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Have a wonderful week--and a wonderful May--everyone!