Wonder and Whimsy July 2025 Challenge: Mid-Year Cleanup

Hello, July!

As I was attempting to tidy up my craft space this week, I was once more faced with the fact that I have a ridiculous amount of unfinished projects. My creative process is decidedly un-tidy... I get excited and inspired and ping-pong between projects like an over-caffeinated squirrel.

So, for my challenge this month, I'm once more tackling that pile of Unfinished Projects.

Here are some of--but definitely not all!--of the possible projects:

If you've been around the blog for the last couple of months, I'm sure you recognize some of those things!

And, yes, I know that this isn't the first time I've done this challenge. But, I still think it'll be a good exercise. ...If for no other reason then it will help clear up my craft area a little. Trust me, it needs it.

So! Come by on Friday, July 25th to see what all I managed to complete.

Until then, have a wonderful day, everyone!

Wonder and Whimsy June 2025 Reveal: Staring at the Ceiling

It's the last Friday of the month... hurray! 

Around here, that means it’s time to reveal what I made for this month’s Wonder and Whimsy Challenge. As a reminder, this month’s challenge was rather unconventional: I decided to make jewelry based on my living room ceiling.

…because, if I’m going to be staring at the ceiling due to having migraines, I might as well make it into something pretty.

Overall, I had a lot of success! I made four pairs of earrings, a bracelet, and two necklaces. I have a few other pieces in the works, but I wasn’t able to get them done in time. Which is okay! I’m quite happy with what I’ve got.

So, without further ado… this is what I made!

Earring Pair 1

These earrings were the first things that I made for this challenge, and are honestly one of my favorites. I like the different shapes and textures—the juxtaposition of the gold, the white, and the brown is very much like the ceiling-inspiration. 

I also think it’s rather fun that the round filigree tapering off into a wooden spike is reminiscent of the ceiling fan. It’s always fun to be inspired by form as well as color!

Earring Pair 2

This second pair of earrings took its inspiration from the golden filigree work on the ceiling fan. (I think it’s visible in the introduction picture.)  Oh, and also the ceiling’s colors. Each one of the pieces I made uses the color palette of cream and gold at its base.

I happen to have an entire bag of these filigree teardrops, and I am so glad that I unearthed them as I was going through my craft room. They are just perfect for this challenge! I paired them with little Czech glass bicones and gold tone findings… simple in construction, but the extravagance of the focal beads more than makes up for it.

Earring Pair 3

When I was designing this third pair of earrings, I was curious to see how I could combine the different shades of my color palette in such a way that they overlapped and shifted. After all, the ceiling has a cohesive look that is actually made up of several colors. 

With a base of white, with golden-hued Czech dangles, this pair of earrings was one of my interpretations of that particular design goal.

Earring Pair 4

This pair of earrings took the above stated design goal and took it up a notch. Different colors and shapes of Czech glass have been dangled from jumprings in a shaggy loop pattern. While the number of beads is the same for both, the colors are asymmetrical; I added them in a completely random pattern.

The result is a cohesive whole made with shifting hues—again, much like the ceiling itself.

Plus, they are super dangly and a lot of fun to wear!

Bracelet

Once I started working on the “many-shades-coming-together-to-make-a-whole” design goal, it took over my creative space. It can once more be seen, this time in the bracelet I made for this challenge.

Toho 6/0 beads have been strung on four strands of waxed linen, in a combination of creams and golds and whites—with just a touch of silver to act as a contrast. I did follow a tutorial for this piece, which can be found here. 

…And now that I’ve made one, I want to make them all! Hah.

Oh, and I should add that I chose this particular button closure because it reminded me of the ceiling fan.

A mix of ceiling colors, paired with a swirling-fan button… I think this is pretty faithful to the inspiration. 

Necklace 1

And now we move to the necklaces. This one was made with Czech 4mm and Toho 11/0 beads, and I used the Russian Spiral stitch.

…I am such a sucker for the Russian Spiral stitch.

The main connection to the inspiration was, you guessed it: the colors used. I thought the spiral made for a lovely way for the different shades to complement each other—all parts of the whole, while being distinct.

Necklace 2

And now, for the piece I am most proud of. 

To make this necklace, I first took this picture:

…and came up with a custom matching blend  of Toho 11/0 beads:

Which I then stitched together in a tubular herringbone pattern, picking up the colors at random—to emulate the elegant-but-splotchy color distribution on the ceiling.

Here is a progress pictures:

Once the tubular herringbone portion was done, I then used those same beads to make a tassel. 

I found a lovely focal bead in my stash, combined all of the elements, and thus this necklace was created:

I am so incredibly pleased!

…I am also very rapidly learning that seed bead projects take a considerable amount of time. Especially necklaces. Perhaps that is why so many seed bead artists make bracelets… it’s easier to make them lay flat, and they don’t take as long!

From a distance, you can’t actually tell that the herringbone cord and the tassel are made of different colors. They do very much look like they are all the same. 

Upon closer inspection, however, you can tell that there are three different shades of seed beads—a pearly white, an opaque ivory, and a matte galvanized aluminum. They play together to act like highlights and shadows, much like the different shades of paint on the ceiling.

Oh, and you might recognize the beads at the bottom of the tassel… they also show up in Earring Pair 4.

I cannot begin to state just how ecstatic I am with how this turned out. I actually drew out a little sketch at the beginning on the month of how I wanted this to look—and the final piece looks even better than I could imagine. 

Who knew that a ceiling could inspire something so pretty?

So, there you go! Those are the pieces that I made for this challenge. I really had fun experimenting with different techniques and possibilities. I am definitely noticing that I’m being drawn more and more to seed beads… don’t be surprised if they show up more. Something is clicking in my head, and I’m excited at the ways that I can mix them with the things I already know how to make.

Hurray for learning! And hurray for finding inspiration in unlikely places.

Come back at the beginning of July to see what my next Challenge will be.

Until then, have a lovely day, everyone!

Wednesday's Worktable: Sneak Peak Time!

I am happy to report: I have been beading this week! Woohoo!

It is once again crunch time... in other words, the time when I attempt to finish up all the ideas and projects that I started for this month's Challenge. Reveal week is always busy for me, and this one is no exception.

I am rather happy to announce that I have finished more than I thought I did... Yay! That's always a good feeling. Still,  there are just a few more things that I'm hoping to finish up before Friday. 

One of the ideas involves this mix of Toho 11/0 beads, that I custom blended myself:

...Yes, I custom blended some seed beads to match my living room ceiling. Hah! The strange things that inspiration makes us do. Truth be told, though, I'm pretty excited about how this particular project is panning on. We'll see if I'm able to finish in time!

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you're able to come by this Friday to see my challenge reveal... and whether or not I'm able to make these seed beads do what I want them to.

Until then, have a great week, everyone!

Wednesday's Worktable: A Little Recalibration

I have to admit: I have not done a lot of beading this past week. 

I've worked a little bit on my Monthly Challenge, and that's about it. I'm not being nearly as prolific as I was last month... and that's okay. When I decided to revitalize this blog, I knew that there would be some weeks that weren't very bead-heavy.

I have been quite busy, though. Lots of fun life projects going on. Working on my novels. Working on a game design project with my husband. Working on getting in better shape and eating healthier. Working on building some friendships.

Working on stuff around the house, like getting our piano recalibrated:

No, I'm not the one who recalibrated the piano.
I just hovered and took pictures, because I thought it looked cool.

Life is continually busy... but that's not a bad thing. I'm remembering to look for beauty and joy, even in the mundane.

I promise there will be more beady things to show... and who knows? Maybe I'll even make some jewelry inspired by the piano. ;)

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

Wednesday’s Worktable: More Seed Beads!

Happy Wednesday, everyone! 

It’s been a busy creating week so far. I have three things on my worktable currently—but, sadly, not much to show for it. 

First, I have actually started making something with the pearls from last week. No pictures just yet… I’ve been working on it mostly at night, and the nighttime lighting is terrible for pictures. Ah well. I do plan on showing it off when I’m done, though!

Secondly, I have started working on something for this month’s challenge. I’m not going to show teaser pictures just yet—not until I’m sure the design is going to work. Still, I’m pretty excited! Here’s to hoping it goes the way I want it to.

And lastly, I’m back to poking at seed beads--hence the name of this entry. 

Up until now, I’ve been playing with Miyuki delicas and Toho 11/0s… So I thought I’d add some Czech glass Preciosa beads into the mix.

Aren’t they lovely? These are 10/0s. Preciosa seed beads tend to run a little small though… they seem to be on par with both the Miyuki and Toho 11/0s. 

With these beads, I’m currently attempting some tubular herringbone, and it seems to be going quite well. Yay!

This will probably become a necklace, but who knows. Right now, I'm just enjoying the process.

So, there you go. Thanks for stopping by today to see what I’ve been up to. Lots of ideas floating about in my head… lots of experimenting, too. And learning. It’s been quite delightful.

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Wonder and Whimsy June 2025 Challenge: Staring at the Ceiling

June is here, and it’s finally time to share what I’m going to be doing for this month’s challenge! Hurray!

So, like the one last month, June’s challenge has a rather mundane foundation. You see, in the last few weeks, I have dealt with a fair number of migraines. (That tends to happen when the seasons change, unfortunately.) During that time, all I could really do was sit on the couch and stare at the ceiling.

Lucky for me, the ceiling in our living room is actually quite lovely.

It's a combination of cream and white and gold, with touches of silver shadow, juxtaposed against the rich wood of the ceiling fan. When the light is on, it is more golden hued; when the light is off, it is more silver.

The people who lived in the house before us did not do much in the way of decorating. They did, however, go all out on painting this particular room. I think it was originally intended to be the dining room, but through a series of unrelated events, it became our living room. Which means that I sit on the couch, can look up, rest my head, and have fun getting lost is the gentle gradients of cream and white and gold.

So, that's what my challenge is based on this month: the ceiling. 

Yes, literally, the ceiling.

And not just the colors, but the soft hue changes and the juxtaposition of it against the brown and gold ceiling fan.

This is my way of not wasting anything… taking even the weather-and-allergy-induced migraines and being inspired to make something (hopefully) lovely. Trying to find the beauty in, quite honestly, everything. (And also amusing my husband greatly as I take pictures of the ceiling and mutter about finding the perfect shot.)

Thanks so much for stopping by to see what I’m up to. Come back on Friday, June 27th to see what I end up making!

Wednesday's Worktable: Monthly Fun Pack Edition

Hello, everyone! It's the first Wednesday in June. Can you imagine that--it's June already. This year is flying by!

On my worktable today, I have a package that just arrived from The Bead Place. Specifically, it's the Monthly Fun Pack for June... and yes, it just arrived in the mail yesterday! Yay!

Here are the lovely things in included inside it:

There are so many interesting things in this little bundle. I'm excited to try out the seed beads... just trying to figure out what new stitch I want to work on.

And I admit, I'm also quite taken with this collection of pearls:

I have two different ideas for what I want to do with them, but I'm not sure if either one will work. Heh. I will say, out of all the monthly bead subscriptions that I get, the Monthly Fun Pack is one that always pushes me to think outside my normal box. And that's precisely why I get it: it's always fun to be stretched!

So, there you go. Those are the beads that I'm poking at today.

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

...oh, and P.S. Come by on Friday to find out what my Monthly Challenge for June is going to be. I'm pretty excited about it... although, once again, my inspiration is a bit off the wall! 

Wonder and Whimsy May 2025 Reveal: Diamond Tessellations, Part 3

Woo-hoo! We have made it to Part 3 of this Monthly Challenge reveal.

As just a quick little reminder, for this challenge, I made jewelry inspired by this particular chair, seen at my local gym:

…I find inspiration in some of the most interesting places. Hah.

Now, the last two reveals have been dedicated to bead weaving and seed bead techniques. However, I would be remiss if I didn’t play around with some of my usual materials: charms, wire, beads over 2mm, that sort of thing.

Before I continue, however, I have a disclaimer: I did have a few ideas on how to make pieces that actually represented some of the repeating patterns seen in the chair back (like the six-pointed starburst and the little cube), but none of them worked out. Ah well. So, instead, for this part of the reveal I just played around with diamond shapes and saw how I could combine them. 

In other words, Part 3 is be missing some of the tessellations shown in the previous parts. But! The goal was to make jewelry inspired by the chair at the YMCA chair, and these pieces definitely still fit the requirements. 

So! Now that is out of the way, it’s time to show what I made!

This part of the reveal consists of five pieces: four pairs of earrings, and one necklace. First up, we have:

Earring Pair 1

This pair of earrings combines lightweight, colored brass charms with 4mm Czech bicones—two different sizes of diamonds, brought together to make a pair of earrings that combine elegance and whimsy—something I often strive to do.

Earring Pair 2

For this pair of earrings, the 4mm Czech bicones once more make a showing. This time, they are paired with diamonds made out of black lip shell. Again, they are lightweight and elegant, this time layering the diamond shapes for visual interest.

Earring Pair 3

This pair of earrings is a fun cascade of diamond shapes—seen both in the chain, and in the brass charms I chose to use. Again, they are lightweight and flowy (I’m sensing a trend here), and the placement of the diamonds is reminiscent of some of the patterns seen in the chair.

Earring Pair 4

And now, here is the last pair of earrings. These are made with frosted glass and metal bicones (the former of which I actually hinted at during this week’s Wednesday’s Worktable). They rather straightforward in design, but that is because I made them to match the last piece in these reveals: the necklace.

Necklace

And here it is! My frosted glass and antiqued silver cascading diamonds necklace. Pictures can’t quite capture just how wonderfully this necklace hangs. I was thrilled at how well it all came together.

Like in the 3rd pair of earrings, I like how this design has the diamond shapes flowing next to each other in a way similar to the chair back. It’s not exactly the same, of course, but it gives that same tessellation vibe.

Construction for this necklace was fairly straightforward. I used 22 gauge wire for the links, frosted glass and silver plated bicones for the body of it, and Toho 11/0 seed beads and daisy spacers for just a little finishing touch.

And, although it is not the best picture, here is something to show you just how nicely it hangs when worn:

And, with that, the reveal for May’s monthly challenge has come to a close. To say that I enjoyed myself would be an extreme understatement... it's been awhile since my creativity has just taken off like that, and it was so much fun.

Thank you so much for joining me! And for not minding the rolling reveal nature of these posts. I'm rather amazed by the sheer amount of things I wanted to share. And these are just the designs that actually worked… I have at least 5 other things that I tried and rejected. It really was delightful to stretch myself and try different techniques and beads that I’ve never touched before. 

Come back in a few days to see what my challenge for June is going to be. Here’s a hint: I’m continuing my trend of finding inspiration in unlikely places. Hah! It is such joy to be able to create beautiful things.

Again, thanks for joining me on this journey. May the end of your May treat you well!

—-

In case you’re interested, here are all three parts of this reveal:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3 (you are here)