Wonder and Whimsy July 2025 Reveal: Mid-Year Cleanup, Part 2

As promised, here is another reveal installment for my July Monthly Challenge! 

This particular entry is all about... drumroll please... Hairsticks!

Throughout this month, I made five hairsticks in total. The one thing they all have in common: they were made from half-finished ideas I had lying around on my worktable. Four of them were originally going to be necklaces, and one was a rejected earring. I'm so glad I pivoted and made them into hairsticks, though... they worked out perfectly.

But enough talk. Time to show you what I'm talking about!

Hairstick 1

This hairstick looks, by far, like the most elaborate one I made. Ironically, it was the one that took the least amount of time. 

The reason? I've had that pendant lying around for over a year... I made it back in January 2024, and it's been lying around on my table ever since. I just couldn't come up with a necklace design that looked/laid right.

The solution? Add a jumpring, and attach it to a hairstick!

I love it. It dangles perfectly when worn, and it really showcases the intricacies of the wire-wrapped pendant itself. And I'm thrilled to have it off my table, and transformed into something wearable... that's a win-win!

Hairstick 2

Time for some lovely blues! This hairstick is made with a chandelier crystal, a mermaid glass round, and a cute little tassel. Oh, and the hairstick itself, of course.

This one also happens to be my rejected earring idea... mainly because I only had enough components to make one of them. I loved the way they look together, though, and I couldn't bear to separate them. So, they sat on my table for months, while I tried to figure out what to do with them.

I am excited I thought of the hairstick idea, because they worked out just perfectly! Fun and dangly--the perfect combination of elegance and whimsy. 

...And if I ever find more of those components, I'm sure I'll make a matching pair of earrings, too.

Hairstick 3

Now for another necklace-turned-hairstick example!

This one features a wood and resin pendant, paired with Czech glass and a lotus charm. As I mentioned, my original plan was to make it a necklace... but I didn't like the way that it looked. Even just adding a simple chain didn't look quite right, and making a beaded chain didn't help it pop either. It wasn't bad, per se... it just wasn't amazing. The pendant just got kind of lost.

Adding it to a hairstick, however, really lets the pendant stand out. It doesn't get lost or swallowed by the design... Rather, is the star of the show, exactly as it should be.

Hairstick 4

This design is one that I've had in my mind since Christmas. 

Again, it was going to be a necklace. I actually have another of those Czech coin beads; I might still make a necklace. But, for the purposes of this challenge, I wanted to do something with just the beads I had on my bead table. I also wanted to make a design that I could conceivably finish in a day--and the necklace design required a lot more wire-wrapping. So, I modified the necklace idea, and instead made this beautiful Christmas-y hairstick!

Well, I think it's Christmas-y. I think it's because the flower on the Czech coin makes me think of a poinsettia... and the combination of red and gold is pretty festive. 

I'm pretty dang happy with this hairstick. It's dangly and well-balanced--and finished. Woohoo!

Hairstick 5

And now for my last hairstick. 

This one is, definitely, the simplest in design. No elaborate wire-wrapped pendant, and no additional beads. It's just a lovely Peruvian ceramic teardrop--and, honestly, that's all it needs to be. (Trust me, I tried to make it more elaborate. I even tried a tassel! But this is the design I liked the most.)

I had that bead leftover from my Create Everyday Challenge last November (Day 15, for those curious). I originally had it in my mind to make another necklace, but then I thought making a matching hairstick would be lovely. So that's just what I did! And I'm very happy with how it turned out.

So, there you go! Another installment of finished projects! Five more projects that are no longer sitting on my craft table, having been turned into beautiful wearable pieces of art.

It feels good to be getting things done.

I'm actually still sorting through pictures... I think I have about eight more posts to go. I even have pieces left to photograph--and I still have projects to finish. Sheeeeeesh. At the rate I'm going, I think August is going to be a continuation of this challenge. Or, perhaps, time to take a jewelry break. We'll see which I end up going with.

Anyway! Thanks so much for stopping by today. Be sure to come back soon for the next installment!

Have a great weekend, everyone!