Today's Earrings: It's Tassel Time

For today's earrings, I thought I'd do a new take on my long signature wire-wrapped tassels.

...Yep, that's right! Instead of a long wire-wrapped tassel necklace, I made a pair of long wire-wrapped tassel earrings!

These are pretty long--longer than I wear, certainly--but I really like how they turned out. Since this was the first time I had ever tried this, it took a few tries to get them to hang right from the beadcaps--but, again, I am pretty pleased with them. I am definitely interested in trying this design again, with different size beads and different gauge wire.

Oh, and they are also surprisingly light, especially considering just how long they are. 

So, there you go! Those are today's earrings. They took a bit of time, because of all the wire-wrapping (there are 72 links in all!).  Heh. I'm sure that tomorrow's earrings won't be quite as involved. (For the sake of my hands, at least!)

Thanks for stopping by today... Happy Sunday, everyone! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Today's Earrings: Rose Wine

I have two pairs of earrings to show off for today... I couldn't design on just one design, so I decided to make two!

Here is the teaser picture I posted to Instagram earlier today:

And here is what I ended up making:

One pair is made with lampwork and pearls, while the other one is made only with pearls. The pearls themselves are a beautiful, wine-pink color... hence the name.

I am actually really pleased with how these turned out... Now to see if I can come up with a story to go with them, so that I can post them to my Etsy store.

Thanks for stopping by today... Have a wonderful Saturday, everyone!

Today's Earrings: Colors!

It's Day 2 of my earring challenge! I'm on a roll!

Today's earrings may look a tad familiar... they are bright and bold, and were made to match a tassel necklace I posted recently.

I have plans to make similar earrings using silvertone metal as well... I'm enjoying just how unapologetically bright these are. :)

So, there you go! Now I'm off to go work on today's NaNo word goal... I have 200 more words to go! For today, at least.

Thanks for stopping by today... Have a wonderful Friday, everyone!

Hello November!

...and hello, November's Monthly Challenge!

Back in 2015, I decided that my November Monthly Challenge would be to make a pair of earrings a day. You know, in addition to participating in National Novel Writing Month (the crazy time of year when I try to write 50,000 words in a month).

And, well, it appears that I'm at it again! 

Today's earrings: Swarovski crystals and butterflies
I posted the components to them yesterday, and was able to finish them today,
with my brand new pliers. :)

That's right... my Monthly Challenge for this November is also to make (and hopefully post) a new pair of earrings everyday. As I recall, this was a crazyhard challenge to complete last time, but worth it. It helped me explore different earring designs and techniques, and I've been wanting to do it again... and I figured now was as good a time as any!

So! Tune in throughout the month... as I said, I hope to post my earrings here (or at least on instagram). I'm also going to be participating in NaNo again, so feel free to follow my progress on that, too. My profile is here: http://nanowrimo.org/participants/anafiassa

Thanks for stopping by today, everyone... Happy November! Here is to much wonderful creating! :)

Wednesday's Worktable

It's Halloween!

...And I don't have anything very Halloween-y on my bead table. At all, really. 

Instead, I have some butterflies:

Butterflies mixed with Swarovski bicones, even. Definitely not high on the Halloween-o-meter.

In fact, the only thing even remotely scary going in the creating department is that I killed my favorite pair of pliers. And that's not so much scary as it is unfortunate--and a little amusing. I apparently am hard on my tools. (So. Much. Wire-wrapping.) Still, my husband is awesome and bought me a replacement pair... which means that it's time to catch up on a week of backlog!

Thanks for stopping by today... I'm off to see if I can successfully not kill my new pliers. :)

Have a Happy Halloween, everyone, and stay safe!

Reveal - October Theme Challenge at Art Elements

I am absolutely thrilled to say that I was able to participate in this month's Theme Challenge over at Art Elements. I really do love a good blog challenge, and it's been too long since I've really done one.

I am even more thrilled to say that I am absolutely in love with this month's inspiration-of-choice: Petroglyphs!

Simply put, petroglyphs are rock carvings (as you can tell from the word's origin: πέτρα (petro) is the Greek prefix for "stone," and γλύφω (glýphō) means "to carve"). They are often associated with prehistoric cultures.

...Given my art history and anthropology background, this challenge was really up my alley.

Although any media could be used for this challenge, I immediately knew what I wanted to use: a lampwork glass bead I have had since 2009. (I remember exactly when I bought it--it was super expensive for me at the time, and it was truly a splurge.) That special bead became the focal point, and can be seen here:

...And here is the rest of the necklace!

Yep, I made a tassel. I couldn't help myself.

To go with the focal, I mainly used Serpentine--which I had also purchased at the same time and place as the lampwork bead. In fact, all of the 6mm rounds are Serpentine. I had a long strand of it, in various shades, which I then divided up to make a gradient for the tassel and the beaded chain. 

All of the copper components are recent additions to my stash. Because of the earthy colors of both the lampwork focal and the Serpentine, I decided to add the leaves and the bumpy copper beads (they make me think of pinecones). It makes it look like this petroglyph is hidden in the forest, just waiting to be discovered.

The only other beads are the little wooden discs--which add to the forest-tree-hidden-rock art theme. I added them to match the swirl on the lampwork bead, and they help make the petroglyph really pop.

So, there you go! That is what I made for this challenge. I truly loved this theme... and the chance to play along.

Thank you so, so much for stopping by today... Be sure to take a moment to look at what the other participating artists made--they are so talented, and I'm sure their creations are beautiful!

Here is the list of participants:


Art Elements Team:
Lesley Watt: http://www.lesleywatt.com
Jenny Davies-Reazor: https://jdaviesreazor.com
Cathy Spivey Mendola: http://cmendola.blogspot.com
Sue Kennedy: http://www.suebeads.blogspot.com
Caroline Dewison: http://www.blueberribeads.co.uk
Laney Mead: https://laney-mead.blogspot.com/
Marsha Neal Minutella: http://blog.marshanealstudio.com
Claire Fabian: https://saraccino.blogspot.com


Our Guest Artists:
Jill Egan: https://kilnfiredart.wordpress.com
Tammy Adams: http://www.paisleylizard.com/blog/
Alison Herrington: http://AlisonAdorns.blogspot.com
Alysen: http://chicchixnchampagne.blogspot.com
Sarajo Wentling: https://sjdesignsjewelry.blogspot.com
Jenny Kyrlach: http://anafiassa.blogspot.com  (You are Here!)
CraftyHope: http://CraftyHope.com
Kathy Lindemer: https://bay-moon-design.blogspot.com/

Thanks again... Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Wonder and Whimsy Monthly Challenge - October Reveal

This month's Giveaway is now closed! Want to see who won? Go here!
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Guess what day it is!

If you said "it's the last Friday of October," you would be right. If you also said "it's the reveal day for the Wonder and Whimsy Monthly Challenge," you would also be right! Yay!

As a reminder, this was my challenge this month:

...Namely, my challenge was to make something with those beads. As I mentioned in my Challenge Introduction Post, that box is actually from middle school, when I was a budding jewelry designer. It's been in storage for a long time, and I thought it would be fun to make something with those beads. A trip down memory lane, if you will.

And I certainly did make things! Overall I created three sets--one for each of the colorways shown above.

So, without further ado... onto the jewelry!


Colorway #1

This first colorway was a lovely combination of white, pink, and purple. I decided that I was going to try to make something using only those beads... and this is what I came up with:

...Why yes, it has a tassel. This is so surprising, I know. (In my defense, I was making tassel necklaces before they were trendy. So nice of fashion to catch up--hah!)

When I was making this necklace, I was having a hard time deciding what focal to use. I liked the way each of those beads looked with the rest of the design, but by themselves they weren't quite enough--namely, they both got a bit lost among the rest of the beads. I actually pondered breaking down and using a bead from my stash as the focal... defeating the purpose of the challenge, perhaps, but I was stuck.

...That is, until I realized that I could use both of them together.

The rest, as they say, is history.

I really like the way the final necklace turned out. It has a beautiful sway to it, and I like the way the silver blends in with the white... together, they cool down the warmer pink and purple. 

Not too bad, if I say so myself. I think Middle School Me would be most pleased. :)


Colorway #2

This second colorway was perhaps the most challenging of the three. There was a lot of red--but not enough of the other colors to really balance it out. I tried quite a few different designs, but nothing really seemed to work--everything felt unbalanced and sloppy. Still, I really didn't want to pull in other beads from my stash... Again, I was stuck.

Eventually, I decided on a compromise: I borrowed a few of the blue and green beads from Colorway #3. They were still components from the box, so it wasn't completely cheating. It just helped me get a better color balance!

Eventually, after a lot more trial and error, this is the design that I came up with:

The final design is an asymmetric necklace. It's made with 22 gauge wire, glass, and lots of textured spacers. (And not a tassel in sight... See, I am capable of not making everything into a tassel. Heh.) I worked very hard to make sure that both of the sides are balanced but different... asymmetry isn't my strongest skill, but I think I did all right. :)

Oh! And I also made a pair of mostly-symmetrical earrings:

Full disclaimer: I designed those at night, in the living room, while watching my husband play games. The problem with that is that the lighting isn't the best in the living room. I didn't realize until the next day that the bicones are a slightly different color. Hah! Ah well. They still fit the aesthetic of the set, so I think I'll keep them. :)

I really wish I could get a picture that truly captured the richness of this necklace... the glass is truly brilliant and jewel-like. In addition, all of the silver spacers really give it a glorious weight... It feels so luxurious and elegant. I am very pleased with how this turned out--especially considering how much trouble it was giving me!


Colorway#3

And now, it's time for Colorway #3. This was by far the easiest of the necklaces for me to design--even with some of the beads pilfered for the second set. I am extremely comfortable with these colors together, and there was even a nice balance of them in the box.

I knew that I wanted to make a fringe with the bigger beads, and that I wanted to use the seed beads for the necklace itself. I went poking around for some matching waxed linen, and here is the result:

Just as with the other sets, all of the beads are from the box. Now, I did add the central silver ring and the "Journey" charm from my stash--but I consider those more findings, so I think it works. ;)

Fun side note: I used Vintaj patinas to color that "Journey" charm while I was visited my parents last month--yes, on the same trip that I found the bead box. How fun that this necklace is a little combination of past and present: the beads from middle school, when I was just starting, and the charm that shows where I am now. It definitely has been a journey!

Also, I made a pair of earrings to match this set--again, using a combination of waxed linen and silvertone findings.

Overall, I am very pleased with how this necklace turned out. It is different from the other two--using the linen instead of wire-wrapped links makes it feel much more organic and free-flowing.  The weight of it is quite lovely, as well.

I definitely call this a success--as I mentioned before, it is a fitting representation of my own personal jewelry-making journey! 

(And do you know that I only just now, while typing this up, realized the significance of using that charm? When I was making this necklace, I picked it because it was the right color! Hah. Sometimes these things just fall into place.)

So, there you go! Those are the pieces that I made for this month's challenge. I'm honestly really happy--and a little surprised--at how lovely everything turned out to be. In the middle of the month, I was definitely starting to worry! 

Overall, though, this was a very fun challenge for me--getting a bit in touch with where I started as a jewelry designer all those years ago, and seeing how far I've come. It was wonderful getting back to the roots of creating things, and just letting my creativity explore. Sometimes I forget how much I need to just sit down and make things... I have always been that way, and it was nice getting back to that this month. 

Thank you so, so much for stopping by today to see what I made! I really appreciate you stopping by... It makes me happy that there are people who like going on this crazy jewelry-making journey with me.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Giveaway Winner!

Woo-hoo! Today is the day that I get to announce the winner of this month's giveaway... Yay!

So, without further ado, the winner is...

Angela Mullis

Hurray! Congratulations! As a reminder, this is what she won--a beading kit that I've had since middle school:

I'm working on getting in touch with you, Angi... expect to hear from me soon!

And now, to continue working on my challenge reveal post. This is so exciting, getting back into the swing of things... It makes me very happy. :)

Be back in a bit with the reveal!