Wonder and Whimsy Monthly Challenge - March 2021 Reveal

I'm so excited... it's time to reveal what I made for this month's challenge! Yay!

I have actually been ready for this reveal for a couple of days now. It's always fun when you can be done ahead of time. :)

So! As a refresher, my challenge this month was to make asymmetrical jewelry.

Not my photo!
Photo by Evelyn Bertrand on Unsplash

As anticipated, this was definitely a challenge for me--and I didn't even really scratch the surface of possibilities. I did make several pieces, but there is so much more I could have done. I will definitely still be playing around with this in the months to come!

But, enough talk. It's time to show you what I made!

Necklace #1

This first necklace was inspired by the above picture--specifically, the cascade of leaves across a silvery wood background:

...I think the inspiration is pretty evident! 

It was made using aventurine, glass, and silvertone metal. And, on a fun note, the strand of beads can be worn on either the right or left side--depending on the wearer's mood.

Necklace #2

This second necklace was made using an asymmetrical Swarovski pendant with three Preciosa crystals:

I kept the design minimal, to really let the pendant shine. And, trust me, it really does shine. I don't think the pictures quite do it justice... as with most Swarovski crystals, it's practically luminous. 

And, I must admit, it was pretty fun making something so delicate. I make so many statement pieces that sometimes I forget that less can be more. 

Necklace #3

This third necklace is a bit of a cheat... I included it because it's actually the earrings that are mildly asymmetrical. I just happened to make the necklace to match. Materials include silvertone metal and metallic agate druzy beads in silver and gold.

Necklace #4

And now it's time for the grand finale!

I am so ridiculously pleased with this necklace... and I think you might be able to see why:

I actually made up a seed bead pattern! Well, mostly. It's more like I combined two patterns, and then made up the rest. I knew exactly what I wanted to make, and since I couldn't find a tutorial that matched what I wanted, I figured it out. And it actually turned out just like I pictured in my head! Yay!

I should also add that when I decided to do an asymmetrical challenge, this was the first design that I thought of. I wanted to make a peacock feather. 

So, I made a peacock feather.

I will probably post process pictures at some point... I took pictures during the process, to remind me how I did it. Until then, though, I hope you enjoy these pictures of the finished product! :)

Bonus! Earrings

...And, last but not least, I made a pair of earrings. They were a bit of an afterthought, but I figured I should include them all the same.

So, ta-daaaaa! That is what I made for this challenge. 

As I said before, I know that I really did only just barely scratch the surface of what is possible. There are so many ways to introduce asymmetry into designs, and I only explored a few. Still, it was a good start... and it definitely helped me start thinking outside my normal default designs. I think that should be considered a success! And I'm interested in exploring it more. :)

Thank you so much for stopping by today. I really enjoyed sharing my creations with you. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Bead Soup: The Beads That Were Swapped

You may think I have forgotten about the Bead Soup Swap and Create, but I promise you--I haven't!

I just haven't gotten a chance to share what my partner, Veralynne Malone, sent to me. 

That is... until now!

And full disclaimer: she was incredibly, incredibly generous. Seriously generous. She sent me so many things. 

My original plan was to just take one picture of the beads that she sent me, artistically displayed. Yet I found that almost impossible to do. So! Instead, you get to experience the overflowing riches that she sent me in a series of photos. Enjoy!

What I saw when I opened my package.

My one attempt to photograph everything together... and even then, I didn't fit everything!

The beads, including handmade lampwark, ceramic, Swarvoski rounds, and more.

Seed beads!

The focals!

The findings.

She included these in a bag labeled "challenge mix." Challenge accepted!

Time to dive into my bead soup!

See what I mean? So many wonderful soup ingredients! 

At first, I wasn't even sure where to start--so many choices. I am happy to report, though, that I quickly got over that hesitance, and have been happily creating away. Be sure to come back on April 3rd to see what I end up making!

---

Oh! And, as promised, here is the reveal of what I sent to her. :)

For those curious, it includes: a handmade polymer clay pendant, two dozen Swarovski crystal bicones and four Swarovski pendants, two shapes of pearls, coated hematite, vintage Monet gold filigree beads, glass (Czech and otherwise), wood, and paper beads made by me. I do hope she enjoys it as much as I have been enjoying what she sent to me!

March Reveal - SJ Designs Jewelry Honey Do List Design Challenge

It's time for another blog reveal! Yay!

This time, I'm sharing what I made for the March edition of the Honey Do List Challenge. Here is the picture that Eric chose for this month's inspiration:

And here is what he had to say about it: 

With the past week's warm up to 40-50 degree days and the melting of the enormous snow pile in our yard, I'm feeling the call of what we Minnesotans call False Spring. OK, I call it that. I'm posting this heavily processed picture of lichen and tiny flowers from our England trip two years back, hoping that we soon will see real flowers here as well.  

I, personally, am ready for Spring! 

So, inspired by the flowers and the promise of sunshine, here is what I made:

I honestly am not sure where I started when designing this. I found the Czech flower and the seed bead mix while cleaning off my craft table (an ongoing process!), and I think one thing just led to another. I can't help it--when I see strands of seed beads next to each other, I see tassels waiting to happen. :)

Now, I realize the colors don't match the picture exactly, but that's okay. There are many different colors of green and pink during Spring, after all.

So, there you go. Thanks to Sarajo and Eric for continually providing wonderful inspiration... I always love playing along with the Honey Do List Challenge when I can! 

And thank you all for stopping by today to see what I've been up to... Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Wonder and Whimsy Monthly Challenge - March 2021 Edition

For my challenges this year, I've hit the ground running. 

I've tackled colors I don't use often, I've tackled a shape I don't use often... and now it's time to tackle a design style that I don't do often.

Namely: Asymmetry.

Not my photo!
Photo by Evelyn Bertrand on Unsplash

Now, I will do mild asymmetry on occasion. Sometimes I will make necklaces where the sides are inverses of each other. Or maybe I'll make a dangle with different-length pieces. But, it's not my go-to style. 

So, this month, I'm going to change that. I'm going to stretch my creative muscles and think outside my symmetrical-box. Be sure to come back on Friday, March 26th to see what I end up making!

Thanks for stopping by today... Have a lovely day, everyone! And Happy March!

Wonder and Whimsy Monthly Challenge - February 2021 Reveal

How is it the end of February already? I realize that it's a short month, but I feel like January was only yesterday!

That being said, I do actually have some things to show for this month's challenge. Five things, actually--some of which you may have already seen, if you follow my Instagram. (I shared three things, to be precise... don't worry, I saved a good one for this final reveal!)

So! As a refresher, my challenge this month was hearts.

Not my photo!
Photo by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash

...specifically, making heart jewelry that I would actually wear. That certainly was a challenge, since I'm not big on hearts in general. But! I'm happy to say that I did have success!

Apparently, I just like hearts that are unique and interesting.

The first three pieces that I made achieve this level of interest because, well, the hearts are actually leaves--and I really like leaves.

The fourth thing that I made was a pair of earrings--with vintage hearts made out of lucite. I have never seen hearts quite like these, and they were just cute and dainty enough to make me smile. I kept the design simple to really let the hearts speak for themselves:

..And, lastly, I made a heart necklace with a tassel.

I was super happy to find a cloisonné heart that was both large enough to balance out a tassel and was not in traditional red-and-white heart colors. I really like the pink and green and gold color palette--elegant and delicate, but not cliche.  

So, there you go! Those are the pieces that I made for this heart jewelry challenge. I am actually really happy with what I made... It absolutely was a bit of a stretch for me to find focals that I liked, but it was definitely worth it. It's a good thing to stretch those creative muscles, after all! :)

Thank you so much for stopping by today. Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Yay! It's Bead Soup Time!

If you've been around my blog for awhile, you might remember when I participated in the Bead Soup Blog Party, many years ago. 

If you're not familiar with it, essentially it went like this: people signed up, swapped beads with another jewelry maker, made something with the beads they received from their partner, and then shared their creations on their blogs. It was a wonderful way to expand your skill as a jewelry designer, and I loved it.

And I am so excited to share that it's back!

Yay!!

I've already been paired with my partner... She is a lovely jewelry maker named Veralynne Malone.

Here is what I sent to her:

Surprise! I'll share the actual picture of what I sent her when she opens my package. (It's been shipped and received, but she's been waiting to open it until she is able to send me my bead soup. She's been super busy and then ill, so I'm still waiting on my package... which is just fine. It means that I get to buzz around in happy anticipation just a bit more!)

I'm so excited!

Thanks for stopping by today. Be sure to come back soon, when I get to share the actual picture of what I sent her. Until then, have a lovely day everyone!

February Reveal - SJ Designs Jewelry Honey Do List Design Challenge

Sarajo Wentling, of SJ Designs Jewelry, has been continuing her Honey Do List challenge this year... In fact, 2021 marks the sixth year that she's done it. How cool is that?

I always love seeing what she makes, and I'm excited that I got to play along thing month. Yay!

Here was the inspiration photo for February:

And this is what her husband, Eric, has to say about this picture:

This was a cool 8-bit looking mosaic in London, along with some random graffiti and chain-link fence.  We saw a lot of cool street art on this leg of our England trip (pre-Covid of course) and this one jumped out at me.  This was taken with my phone, so not as great quality as some of my shots, but still fitting for February!  

I'm usually not one for hearts (as I have previously explained), but I think this 8-bit mosaic heart is really cool! 

However, when thinking about what I wanted to make, I quickly realized that the only red hearts I currently have in my stash are super sparkly Swarovski hearts. While lovely, they don't quite have the same vibe as this rather unconventional street-art heart.

So, I decided to instead focus on the colors--and the general "finding art everywhere" feeling from the photo. That was when I remembered some paper strips I had previously cut from a magazine. 

From there, one thing led to another... I rolled the paper beads, and from them I made these earrings:

Not incredibly complex, I realize, but I'm still really happy with them. After all, I always love the excuse to make and play with paper beads... and I do think they match the general feeling of the inspiration picture quite well. :)

So, there you go! That's what I made for this challenge. As always, thank you Sarajo and Eric for letting me play along... and thank you to everyone who has stopped by to see. I appreciate you taking the time to let me share my art with you!

Have a wonderful day, everyone! 

Wonder and Whimsy Monthly Challenge - February 2021 Edition

I have a confession to make.

...I don't really like hearts.

Not my photo!
Photo by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash

Okay, okay, I suppose I should clarify. I actually like pictures like the one above. Hearts can be sweet, and genuine, and pretty. I can be a sappy romantic, after all.

I guess I just don't really like, well, standard hearts. Regular hearts. Especially in jewelry. So many high-end jewelry stores make these gorgeous diamond-encrusted heart pendants... and I don't really like them. Maybe it's the rebel in me, I just like things that are a bit more personalized. And please understand, that's not saying there's anything wrong with heart jewelry... This is just my own personal preference, my own personal quirk.

So, what does that have to do with my challenge this month? 

Well, this month, I'm going to challenge myself to make heart jewelry.

...Specifically, heart jewelry that I like and would personally wear. I figure that's a good Valentine's Day challenge, and sure to get me to spread my designing wings a little bit!

Thanks, everyone, for stopping by! Have a wonderful day, and be sure to come back on Friday, February 26th to see what heart-inspired jewelry I end up making!