Wonder and Whimsy July 2025 Reveal: Mid-Year Cleanup, Part 7

Did you think I forgot about my promise to finish posting the pieces from my July Challenge?

Nope!

...I was just delayed. Life is sometimes like that, apparently.

Still! As a special treat to reward you for your patience, today's post is also a follow-up on my June Challenge, too. You know, the one where I made jewelry based on my ceiling. (I kid you not... check it out here.)

One of the inspiration pictures from June's challenge.

I'll start off with the two necklaces that I made.

Necklace #1

This first necklace was inspired by the contrast between the cream colored ceiling and the brown of the fan. I think that inspiration is pretty clear!

I also like how the spiral captures the movement of the ceiling fan when it's on--the way that it spins against the cream background.

For those curious about the construction, it was made with three different colors of Czech glass fire-polished beads and 11/0 Toho seed beads. 

Oh, and the stitch is, once again, the Russian Spiral--because I'm currently obsessed with it. I just love the way it looks! If I can find an excuse to make a Russian Spiral necklace, I apparently I will gladly do so. And can you blame me, when the results look like this? :)

Necklace #2

The second necklace was made to match some of the earrings that I posted in the original June reveal.

Here are the earrings in question:

And here is the necklace that I (finally) made to match them!

Yes, it's simple. 

...I love it just the same.

I also love the little added leaf. It adds just enough of a pop of interest to differentiate the earrings from the necklace--and makes the pendant heavy enough that it doesn't just slide around all the time. A win-win!

Bracelet #1

So now, it's time for the bracelets!

Which, you will quickly see, are all variations on the same theme. You see, I was fascinated by the color patches on the ceiling (which is not an elegant way to say it, but it's the best I've got at the moment). I thought that using randomized color peyote stitch might be a good way to capture that look.

I even hinted at it in this post, with these pictures:

So, after much waiting, here are the final result:

This bracelet was made using Jill Wiseman's Princess Peyote design, which is a 2-drop peyote pattern. Except, instead of using Miyuki Delicas, I used Toho 11/0s. I was just curious to see how it would look.

Oh, and I used a button clasp instead of the one she recommended... I thought it went better with the more organic feeling that the Toho beads created.

Overall, I love the way this turned out. It's much larger than any bracelet that I would wear, but I love the texture and subtle variations that can be seen. I'm also glad I went with the random mixed Czech glass beads for the fringe... again, it just makes it feel organic and unique.

Bracelet #2

After I finished the Toho version, I thought I should at least try the same pattern using the recommended Miyuki Delicas. 

This was the result!

I decided to go with white beads instead of cream, with some transparent ones thrown in. As expected, the bracelet is a lot more uniform (one of the many benefits of using Delicas),,, I also used the same beads (vintage Japanese acrylic) for the fringe, instead of a mix.

Isn't it fun how the same pattern can yield such different results, based on the materials?

While I do think that the first bracelet matches the inspiration better, I love the feeling of this one. The fabric created by the beads is so supple and smooth, I couldn't help but play with it!

Thank you to Jill Wiseman for coming up with such a lovely pattern!

Bracelet #3

And, last but not least, here is the third bracelet I made for this challenge. 

Although, I'm showing these out of order. This one was actually the first one that I made--a proof of concept, that made me brave enough to try to make the other ones.

I made up the pattern, It's simple even count peyote, made with a Delica mix I bought off of LimaBeads. I completely made up the fringe design... not nearly as elegant as Jill Wiseman's, but not too bad considering it was my first attempt!

Again, it's not as close to the inspiration as the first bracelet I showed, but I still wanted to show it here. After all, as I said, making this one gave me the courage to try something even bigger!

So, there you go! Those are the final pieces I had planned for my June Challenge, which I finally finished. Hurray!

I think I have two more Mid-Year Cleanup posts to go, whenever I get around to them. I'm just so, so grateful to finally get this one posted. I've been really excited about it, and I'm so glad to finally share!

Thank you for stopping by today to see what I've been up to! Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!