Pretty Palettes - February Reveal

It's Pretty Palette Time!

Looking back, I realize that I haven't really posted a lot of in-process photos this month... Truth be told, I haven't had a large number of actual projects that I've been working on. I've been doing a lot of technique-learning... which, while awesome, isn't exactly photogenic.

However! One of the things that I do have to show for myself is what I made for this month's Pretty Palette... and today I get to share it with you!

Here is the palette that was chosen for this month:

...And here is what I made!

Yep! I went Full Tassel.

Again. 

You know, two large tassels in one month... no wonder I haven't really had the time to work on anything else!

About the construction: 
This necklace actually includes a vast array of materials. From the top of the tassel down, we have vintage acrylic, coral, imperial jasper, crackle agate, glass, Czech glass, wood, shell, dyed howlite, and synthetic malachite. Since all of those materials are pretty heavy together, I chose to use a lightweight acrylic focal bead--and I love the fact that the black detailing echoes the dark striping on the malachite.

I really like the way that these colors look together... They are bright and summery--a lovely contrast to the lingering winter weather we've been having. :)

Oh! And for fun, I made a bonus pair of earrings:

...And I even managed to include tassels in them as well. :)

So, there you go! Those are the pieces that I made for this month's Pretty Palettes challenge. Thanks so much for stopping by today to see what I've been up to!

Have a lovely day, everyone!

Wonder and Whimsy Monthly Challenge - February Reveal

It's a little late, but here it is: my reveal for this month's Wonder and Whimsy Monthly Challenge! Hurray!

As a little reminder, for this challenge I decided that I wanted to make jewelry based on the newly renovated and reopened rotunda of the Cincinnati Museum Center.

All in all, I made two necklaces for this theme. I had actually meant to make more, but I'm still quite happy with what I was able to make.

...And, without further ado, here are the finished necklaces! 


Necklace #1

This first necklace was inspired by the above picture that I took of the rotunda. Specifically, I was inspired by the combination of gold and silver, as well as the layers of rings. After playing around a little with those ideas, this is what I came up with:

The focal was made using layers: a gold wavy disc, a golden orange shell circle, and a silvertone rondelle... I chose to construct it the way that I did to best resemble the circular layers of the rotunda.

The necklace itself is knotted on waxed linen, and features a combination of glass and metal. Color-wise, I used a mix of gold and silver, with touches of topaz and orange--again, layered, to resemble the concentric circles of the inspiration. 

The overall necklace is a rather abstract interpretation of the inspiration picture... and, honestly, I'm exceedingly happy with how it turned out. Pictures don't quite capture how luxurious this necklace looks in the light... It is an interesting combination of modern simplicity and ancient decadence, and looks like something that you could buy at a Museum Store... which, I think, is very fitting for this challenge! :)


Necklace #2

For this second necklace, I decided to use this picture as my inspiration. It's similar to the previous one, but adds a bit of the mural as well... and, by that, I mean that it adds blue. :)

Oh, and I couldn't help myself... for this necklace, I decided to go Full Tassel.

You see, when I was planning for this challenge, I really wanted to represent the layers of the rotunda with the different layers of a giant tassel: the orange and yellow and gold mixed with lines of silver, eventually leading down to a shock of blue. And so, that's just what I did.

About the materials: 
The focal bead is an artisan made lampwork bead (sadly, artist is unknown). The large blue rounds are lapis lazuli and the blue bicones are vintage paper beads (not made by me).  The other beads are a combination of shell and glass, and the metal beads are all silver plated. I chose the materials to be as close to the picture as possible--I truly wanted to capture what it's like to enter the Cincinnati Museum Center and look up.

When making tassel necklaces, I usually like having the colors blend into each other... It was fun having them be so strongly separated by the silver beads--just like the concentric rings of the rotunda.

All in all, I'm extremely happy with how this necklace turned out. It's always fun taking colors that I usually don't pair together and still getting them to work. Getting the hues just right so that they work and still match the inspiration... well, all I can say is: hurray for color theory! :)

...And, what can I say? I like having an excuse to make a giant tassel necklace. 

Here is one more comparison for you:

So, there you go! Those are the necklaces that I made for this month's challenge. I really enjoyed working with this challenge... I hope you enjoyed seeing what I made!

Thanks so much for stopping by today... Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Wednesday's Worktable... ish

*waves*

Hi, everyone!

I don't have any pictures to share today, sadly. Still, I promise I am working madly behind the scenes--working on Friday's reveal, working on learning more wire techniques, working on a reveal for next week. It's just that the lack of time and lack of good light (there has been sooooo much rain) has made it difficult for me to get any good pictures of the process. Sorry!

Thanks so much for stopping by today... I should have an actual entry, with actual substance, posted soon.

Until then, have a wonderful day, everyone!

We're All Ears - February Reveal

For this month's We're All Ears challenge, the theme was Frozen.

This is definitely a theme that I can relate to, given how cold it has been here in the Midwest!

Now--because I was very silly and didn't realize until this morning that today was the third Friday of the month--I've only had time to make one pair of earrings for this reveal. Oops. Still, I enjoyed making them, and it would be a shame not to share them... And here they are:

They are made with bright silver wire and icy Czech glass leaves. I had a hard time capturing the true color of the leaves with my camera--they are a beautiful, pale combination of purple and blue and silver.  They make me think of ice, or the way snow looks at evening.

Once again, I decided to try my hand at making the earwires... I really am enjoying learning how to do that, so I'm sure this isn't the last you'll see of my attempts. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today for this quick little entry! If I have any more earrings to add later, I'll be sure to do so... In the meantime, though, check out the Earrings Everyday blog to see what everyone else made for this challenge. :)

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Wonder and Whimsy Monthly Challenge - February Edition

This month's Wonder and Whimsy Monthly Challenge is inspired by the newly renovated Cincinnati Museum Center:

Now, the Museum Center has been closed for construction for quite some time, and I'm so excited that it's slowly opening back up. There's even a new dinosaur hall! Yay!

For this challenge, though, my main inspiration is the grand rotunda--seen when you first walk into the building. I mean, how could I not be inspired by this:

It really is lovely. There is also a mosaic underneath the dome... Here are a few more shots, to give more of a sense of the place:

So! That's my challenge this month: celebrate the reopening of the Cincinnati Museum Center by making jewelry inspired by the grand rotunda. Come by on Friday, February 22nd to see what I end up making! 

Oh, and feel free to play along... And if you decide to do so, just let me know! I'll be sure to add your link to my reveal. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by... Have a lovely day, everyone!

Hello, February!

...and hello, first worktable post of the month!

So far this February, most of my creative energy has been going towards practicing making earwires and clasps. It's been a great deal of fun learning--and playing, and messing up, and figuring things out, and learning some more. My attempts certainly haven't been perfect, but I am greatly enjoying trying something new. :)

I've also been tackling some of the backlog of to-make projects I have on my desk... Ideas that I have gathered materials for, but simply haven't gotten the time to make. My mind is always going faster than my hands, and every once and I while I need to give myself time to catch up.

This is the most current project that I'm finishing up:

...And, because I couldn't help myself, I made some matching earrings, too:

Those earrings include some of my new earwires. What can I say--I'm enjoying myself!

Thanks so much for stopping by today to see what I've been up to... Be sure to come back on Friday, when I announce this month's challenge.

Until then--have a wonderful week, everyone!