The Jenny Monthly Challenge - January Reveal

It's the end of January! Already! Wow, time seems to be going by quickly.

Still, that means that it's now time to show off what I made for January's challenge... Woo!

As a refresher, here are the pendants that I chose to work with this month--because they are happy and cool and I made them on Christmas Day with my mother:

Creating with my mum is one of my favorite things ever.

...And now it's confession time. I had actually wanted to make something with all five of those pendants, but I ended up only using three. Of course, I realize that I did more than I set out to do--I stated in my introduction that just putting one on a chain would have been enough to complete the challenge--but there is a part of me that still feels like an underachiever.

How silly is that? I did more than I had originally set out to do, but because it wasn't all five pendants I feel like I fell short. Sheesh. Sometimes my view of success gets so skewed that I don't truly appreciate what I'm able to accomplish. 

And why am I telling you this? To give myself a bit of a reality check--because, if I take a step back, I realize that I made beautiful things! And because I need to focus on what I did do, rather than what I didn't do.

So, with that confession out of the way--and my focus again where it needs to be--here is what I made with the first pendant:

It's made using chain and bronze 6/0 seed beads that I bought while on Christmas vacation, paired with gorgeous red pearls that seemed just perfect for the occasion.

...I wish I had more of those red pearls, because they were simply beautiful to work with!

Next up, here is a set with one of the silverish pendants:

Yep, the paper beads have made another appearance! (And the rest of those red pearls, too.)

I thought it would be especially fitting to make and use some paper beads, because it fit the theme... After all, I made the pendant using paper as well. And, an added bonus: both making paper beads and making these pendants were introduced to me by my mother. :)

I'm also extremely fond of the way the clasp echoes the numbers and musical notation seen on the focal. It's the little things that make me happy.

...And, last but not least, here is the third set that I made:

...I realize that the clock is slightly off-center on the pendant.
I will not let that bother me. Nope. Begone, obsessive perfectionism!

And yes, I made a necklace, a bracelet, and a matching pair of earrings... I tried to pick out and echo the different colors found in the watch-face, hence the colors of the three strands.

Oh, and do all of those crystals look familiar? That's because I just blogged about them on Wednesday! 

This set was made completely with beads found in my Bargain Bead Box this month--and was part of the reason that I had to contact them to see if I could buy an additional bargain box, to make sure I had enough components that I needed! (I made more things from that box, too, but I'll show them off at some other junction.)

So, ta-da! 

Looking at these pictures, I'm realizing that I certainly did not underachieve this month. I'm also glad that I didn't force myself to make designs for the other two pendants... When the time is right, inspiration will strike and I will make something wonderful with them.

Thank you so much for joining me for this reveal! It's always a good thing for me to take a step back and look at what I've accomplished--readjust my focus, so to speak--and I certainly appreciate you stopping by!

Happy end-of-January, everyone! I hope you all have a fantastic weekend! :)