Reveal - SJ Designs Jewelry Honey Do List January Design Challenge!

Every month, Sarajo Wentling over at SJ Designs Jewelry hosts the Honey Do List challenge--where her husband, Eric, issues her a beading challenge to help her get out of her comfort zone, as well as use up some of her bead stash. Luckily for me, she lets others play along, too! 

This month's inspiration picture is a beautifully altered photo of a blue jay:

This is what Eric said about the picture:

This was one of the first visitors to our newly placed bird feeder this fall, so I ran for my camera and got a few shots while I could.  While I liked the picture, I felt it could use an oil paint look so spent some time tweaking this in Photoshop until it looked how I wanted it.  I like the textures and the bold blue and white color palate (and green if you want to include the background)!  

...I couldn't agree more! I, too, like the bold blue and white color palette--and blue jays in general. (Even if they can be quite mouthy! When I lived in an apartment, our balcony was the prime territory of a blue jay, and he guarded it quite jealously--and loudly!) 

So! Inspired by that picture, I made three necklaces. Here is the first one:

...And here is the second one, which looks incredibly similar to the first:

That's right! 

They are both pretty much the same necklace--with the same beads and the same layout. They are just made with different color metals. You see, I had the cute little birdie pendants in both silver-tone and brass, and I couldn't decide which I liked better. So, I made them both!

The birds are paired with metal and glass (Czech and otherwise). They both are 18 inches long, and are fastened by standard lobster clasps.

So, those are the first two necklaces. The third necklace that I made was a bit of a surprise... I had only planned to make the first two. 

However, while I was looking through my stash, I found a beautiful glass bead that had blue and white swirls in it... swirls that reminded me of the texture of the blue jay's feathers.

As you can guess, one thing led to another, and this necklace came together:

Ha! Yes, it's a tassel necklace. I'm sure you're incredibly surprised. ;)

The materials are identical to the earlier necklace, with the only additions being the blue teardrops and the cobalt blue glass. I also added a little leaf charm, which reminded me of a feather.

Another shot of the lovely swirly bead.

I made this necklace quite a bit longer than the other two--and as such, it actually layers quite nicely with the matching bird-pendant-necklace. 

In fact, since I have more of the beads, I'm even considering making another one in brass!

...And there you have it! Those are the necklaces that I made for this month's Honey Do List challenge. Thank you, as always, to Sarajo and Eric for letting me play along... I greatly enjoy these challenges!

Thank you, too, for stopping by my blog today to see what I made... Have a lovely day, everyone!

(Me, I'm going to take my next dose of antibiotics so that I can hopefully clear out this sinus infection and start getting my energy back. Ha! This month has been a doozy.)