The Jenny Monthly Challenge - June Reveal

Here it is, the last Friday in June.

...That means that it's time for my monthly reveal! 

My challenge this month was chosen by my best friend. She wanted to see what I could make with this boinky little bling crab:

And, well, I had a lot of fun!

While not something I would normally pick out, I really like the color of that crab. So, I mixed it with some matching aqua colored shell beads, white pearls, clear Czech glass with a shiny AB finish, and small white Chinese crystals... and this is what I came up with!

...And, yes, I just had to add a tassel. :)

In fact, I wire-wrapped that tassel on there. :)

So, there you go!

I successfully made something pretty using a component that I would not have chosen myself.

Sadly, there's no giveaway this month--it's been rather crazy busy these last few weeks (replacing our central air conditioning unit, repairing our fence, coordinating a surprise party for my husband's birthday--you get the drift), and I haven't had the time to make something. Still, there should be one coming next month... and I'll try to make it extra special.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! And thanks for letting me share this happy little crab necklace with you! 

Have a happy weekend, everyone!

Thursday's Worktable

...Once again, my Wednesday's Worktable is a day late.

I have a good reason, though! Instead of posting yesterday, I was out gallivanting with my best friend. We spent the day going to a movie, and then visiting the Newport Aquarium. It was relaxing and fun, and an all around good time. 

So! To make up for my tardiness, I have pictures to share! Because it's my blog, and I can do that.

First up, though... The original purpose for this post (i.e. what I'm working on this week):

Yes, indeed, that is another tassel in the making.

I recently purchased that big lampwork bead from the GlassyFields Etsy Store--and it is simply lovely. Purple is still reigning as my favorite color, and this bead makes me very happy.

To match it, I've pulled together a collection of different purple materials (jade, amethyst, lilac stone, glass, and pearl), and am making another tassel necklace. Because tassel necklaces are fun! I keep telling myself that I need to make one to sell, but I keep falling in love with the finished pieces. Heh. I will try to post a picture of it when it's finished.

...And now, to reward you for your patience: it's time for my aquarium photos! 

Ah, yes... The aquarium. The place where I am once more reminded that it is much harder to take pictures of fish than of beads. Beads don't move; fish do!

Blurry Lion Fish is blurry.

...And, hence why most of the upcoming photos are actually not of fish, but of the other attractions at the aquarium. Alligators and jellyfish and penguins, oh my! 

Big Mike the alligator is 14 feet long, and weighs 800 pounds. That's a big gator!

Standing on a glass walkway, looking down at a White Alligator. Like you do.

This chameleon was giving me some serious side-eye.

Jellyfish! Jellyfish are wonderful to photograph, because they move slowly. :)

My favorite picture from the day.
(And, no, the picture isn't upside down... They were swimming that direction.)

Penguins watching humans watching penguins.
Not the best picture of the penguins, but I liked the reflection of the people in the glass.

I also picked up a turtle pendant while I was there... I hope to make something with it once I'm done my tassel necklace. Who knows--it might be what's on my worktable next week.

All in all, it was a lovely day!

---
P.S. My reveal for my Monthly Challenge is tomorrow! If you need a reminder of what the challenge was, go here. Feel free to stop by to see what I made! :)

Wednesday's Worktable

I admit, I haven't been doing much beading this week. 

Instead, I've been focusing on doing house-oriented things... I've been cleaning and organizing and getting rid of clutter. (I have so many things.) I'm nowhere near done, but at least I'm making some headway! 

I do have one thing on my worktable today, however... 

Glass bicones, shell pearls, and brass!

After working on some brighter-hued projects, I've been enjoying this elegant and Victorian-feeling color combination--the mixture of lavender and cream and brass. 

In addition to the earrings seen above, I also made a necklace... But I didn't like it, and so dismantled it. Now I'm contemplating another design--we'll see how that one turns out! :)

The Jenny Monthly Challenge - June Edition

To be honest, I wasn't quite sure what to do for this month's challenge. 

I had a lot of ideas, but none of them seemed right. I wanted to do something spontaneous and unique... Something photogenic and a little silly, and hopefully didn't involve wire-wrapped links.

At a loss, I asked one of my friends for help. Her response? While we were visiting a craft store this past Monday, she went into the bead section, picked out a pendant, and told me to make something with it.

...That's exactly what I'm going to do. 

And so, my challenge for June is to make something with this:

Yep.

It's a bling crab.

...Not something I would usually pick out, I admit. Sure, I like Swarovski crystals and all sorts of faceted glass, and have been known to go through extra-sparkly-shiny phases. But I don't usually go for bling crabs.

Although, I have to admit that the more I look at it, the more it makes me smile. It's kinda cute, in an aqua-and-rhinestone-beachwear sort of way.

This should be fun.

So, come by on the last Friday of June--the 26th--to see what I create with this whimsical pendant!

Thursday's Worktable

...It's like Wednesday's Worktable, only a day later.

Apparently I was so busy yesterday that I completely forgot that it was Wednesday, and therefore completely forgot to write my blog entry. Derp. Still, better late than never, I suppose!

So, what is on my worktable today?

What a lovely shade of T.A.R.D.I.S. blue! :)

Hmmm... dark blue and police boxes. What does that mean? 

That's right: it's Doctor Who time!

One of my best friends is a super huge Doctor Who fan, so I'm making her a wrap bracelet inspired by her favorite time traveler. I also have plans for earrings and a hairstick... And maybe even something for me, to match the earrings I picked up earlier this week (seen at the top of the picture).

I also started work on my June Challenge--which I still need to post about here! Hopefully I'll get to do that soon.

I hope everyone is having a great Thursday!

And the Winner is...

It's June 8th... That means I get to announce the winner of my May Challenge giveaway!

As  refresher, this was the prize I was offering...

Amethyst and pearl earrings!

There were three commenters who entered the giveaway, so I once again hopped on over to the random number generator at random.org to help me pick a winner.

This is the number it chose...

So, congratulations, Angi! You are my winner! Be on the lookout for an email from me... I'm excited to send you your prize.

Thank you so much to everyone who entered!

I hope to have another giveaway again this month, so be on the lookout for it! Until then, have a great day, everyone!

Hello, June!

Hello everyone! I have two things to share today.

Thing #1...

I'm having a giveaway!

For this giveaway, I'm offering the above pair of pearl-and-amethyst earrings. 

To win, go to this post and comment on it! The winner will be picked at random and announced on June 8th!


Thing #2:

It's time for Wednesday Worktable! 

...Because it's Wednesday! And because, for the first time in the last few weeks, I'm actually working on creative endeavors. And by "working on," I mean "desperately trying to catch up on." Being sick can be so aggravating. Ah well.

So! This week, I've been playing with stick pearls...

Also playing around with messy wire-wraps and mixing sizes and textures.
Trying to stretch myself--I've never done something quite like this before!

...continuing my work on wrap bracelets...

I picked up that green bead mix over the weekend,
and decided to pair it up with a vintage button and some dark green leather.

...and (finally) finishing up some hairsticks!

Fun fact:
It is so ridiculously hard to glue hairsticks when your hands are shaking.

All in all, this has been a productive creative week so far... I'm working on amassing some updated store inventory and stretching myself as a designer. And I'm trying to clear off my table of all of its back-log... So many ideas, so little time!

Thanks for stopping by... I hope everyone has a great day!