Wonder and Whimsy Monthly Challenge - December Reveal

It's my birthday!

...It's also the day that I planned for the reveal of my Wonder and Whimsy Monthly Challenge! Woo!

As a refresher, my challenge this month was to make a Christmas tasseled necklace... And make a Christmas tasseled necklace, I did! 

In fact, I even made two of them! (I know that's a huge surprise, heh.)

First up, here is the necklace I made using the bright, festive colors seen above:

It even has bells! 

...And a handmade pendant, made by yours truly. :)

You can't quite see it in the above picture, but the pendant is actually a golden snowflake on a white background. Its creation was actually a rather happy accident... I started off trying to make the pendant using a piece of wrapping paper:

...but the paper was too thin and ended up flaking away. 

The snowflake design, however, stayed.

So, I added a white background in the form of a blank postcard, which was thick enough that it didn't flake away. By doing so, I created the lovely gold-and-white snowflake seen below:

...See what I mean? A happy accident. Not at all what I have originally intended, but it worked out perfectly.

Once I had the pendant made, everything else fell into place--I gathered the beads (including vintage red and green bicones), and all I had to do was wrap the links.

I say "all I had to do." Hah! There are 90 links in the tassel alone... This necklace was definitely time-consuming to make!

I have actually worn this necklace twice: once to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert, and once on Christmas day. I had originally intended to sell it, but apparently I just love it too much! (I mean, come on... It has bells! *grin*)

I'm sure that it's no surprise that I also really love the second tassel necklace that I made. In fact, I've already worn it, too--this time, to Christmas Eve festivities. 

The color palette is a little more subdued, but still no less festive:

Look familiar? These were featured in last week's Wednesday's Worktable.

Using those beads, this is what I made:

...An evergreen-and-holly necklace! 

While the first necklace is bright and cheerful and in-your-face Christmasy, this one is more stately, more vintage-looking, and was just perfect for the feeling of Christmas Eve.

This particular tassel only has 80 links in in--but, since the beads are bigger, it's actually the same length as the other one. Materials include garnet, Czech glass, glass, ceramic, and copper... and, of course, bells! 

Apparently nothing says "Christmas" quite like bells. 

And now, I have a confession to make... I was so caught up in the love of Christmas tassels, that I actually started a third necklace! I just haven't gotten very far in making it. (Imagine, I've been busy!)

Unlike the other necklaces, its palette is more monochromatic... more focused on winter as opposed to specifically Christmas.

The theme? Silver bells:

I really do look forward to finishing this one... The pendant is smaller than the others, and thus the tassel is not quite as sweeping. I think it will be just perfect to wear as winter progresses--reminding me to find the beauty, even in snow.

So, there you go! Those are the necklaces that I made for this month's challenge.

But wait! I have a bonus!

You see, I also made a Christmas tree ornament for this challenge:

...that counts as a tassel, right? :)

I made the focal at the same time as I made the one for the first necklace. It was made in the same manner, as well--with wrapping paper and a blank postcard as the background. I added the beaded dangle, and decided that it was too good not to include for this challenge. :)

Here it is, on my tree:

...And with that, my reveal is done! Thank you so much for stopping by today--and for letting me share my challenges with you this year. It's been a pleasure, and I can't wait to see what this next year has in store!

Happy end of December (and end of 2016), everyone!