Wonder and Whimsy Challenge Reveal: Malachite

This month's Wonder and Whimsy Challenge was all about green.

As a bit of background, I've recently been having a lot of fun putting together palettes from themes and ideas. This month's theme was Malachite.

From the above picture, I put together this palette:

And from that palette, I gathered together the following beads:

...You may notice that there is no actual malachite in that picture. Instead, it's a collection of Czech glass and aventurine, paired with a strand each of shell pearls and Chinese faceted glass.

I didn't actually end up using all of those beads. In fact, I have two more necklace ideas that I haven't even started. One even involves seed beads!

But! Enough about what I didn't do... Here is what I did make!

When I was designing this necklace, there are two things about malachite that I was trying to capture:

1. The way that malachite has all of those shades of green intermingled

2. The look of many bands of colors pressed up against each other

So, that was the look that I was going for: a design that had many different shades of green, banded together into a bold collection of green.

And the earrings? The earrings were just an added bonus. A necklace this luxurious calls for a complementary ear-dangle after all. 

So, there you go! That's what I made for this challenge. Thanks so much for stopping by today... Be sure to stop by in the beginning of September, to see what my next palette will be!

July 2023 Reveal - SJ Designs Jewelry Honey Do List Design Challenge

It has been over a year since I've joined the Honey Do List Design Challenge, run by Sarajo and Eric Wentling over on SJ Designs Jewelry. I am very happy to announce that it's still going strong--and they've been doing it for eight years now!

For July, here is the picture that Eric picked for the challenge:

Here is what he had to say about it:
Here is some inspiration from our trip to Asheville, NC earlier this summer. I took this picture of pink dogwood flowers right outside an art gallery, so I feel like bringing this around full circle.  Give us some flowers, some leaves, some pink stuff, whatever!

I do love dogwoods... And I have definitely realized that I have a renewed appreciation for pink. I had a lot of fun looking through my stash to find components that would fit this challenge. I ultimately picked out some Czech glass, some peridot, and some rose quartz.

So, with that in mind, here is what I made!

The necklace can be worn with the clasp in the front or in the back. 

On a sidenote: I picked that particular clasp because it reminds me of branches. I thought that was quite fitting for dogwoods!

...I realize that I need to figure out a new way to do my photos. One of my storage drives on my computer completely died, so right now I'm using Instagram as my editor until I figure that out. Ah well. Hopefully these will do! Trust me--these pieces are really lovely in person!

Thanks for stopping by to see what I made! And thank you, Sarajo and Eric, for letting me play along. I hope to do so more in the future. :)

Have a lovely day, everyone!

Wonder and Whimsy Monthly August Challenge: Malachite

Hello, August!

It's time for a new palette!

This month's palette is inspired by the many shades of green found in malachite. 

After choosing a picture (from Unsplash, credit: Lisa Yount) and picking out a matching palette, I dug through my stash to pick out some coordinating beads. (No actual malachite, sadly—didn’t have any in my stash. My main goal with this is to use up things I already own, but I might convince myself to purchase some. Heh. We'll see.)

Like in my previous Monthly Challenges, I'm giving myself a full month to create something lovely. Stop by on August 31st to see what I made!

Until then, have a lovely day everyone!

Wonder and Whimsy Monthly Challenge Reveal: Citrus Glow

It feels so good to be writing a blog reveal again. Yay!

As a refresher, last week I posted a palette that I wanted to use for some good, old-fashioned jewelry inspiration. The theme? 

Citrus Glow

On Unsplash, I found this juicy picture:

From Unsplash, credit Bruna Branco.

Which I turned into this juicy palette:

...And based on that juicy palette, I picked out these juicy beads:

And now, for the reveal. 

Using those juicy beads, I made this:

You guessed it... a juicy necklace! 

Complete with a chandelier connector in the pendant that reminds me of a bunch of orange slices.

I also had fun making a quick and simple pair of matching earrings... they don't use all of the colors, but I think they complement the necklace quite well.

So, ta-da! Nothing too over-the-top, but a solid showing nonetheless... and a good way to start up my Monthly Challenge again. I'm thrilled that I was able to make these pieces in such a short time period, and even get them posted on time. :)

(I did have another necklace that I was working on... it's not quite finished, but I'll be sure to post it when it is.)

Thank you so much for stopping by to see what I made for this challenge. I truly appreciate you. Be sure to stop by tomorrow, to see what my challenge is going to be for next month! (I can't believe it will be August already!)

Until then, have a wonderful day, everyone!

Palette Time!

*dusts off blog*

Hi, there. It has been so long since I've written here--and longer still since I've actually done any sort of jewelry challenge or reveal. Life has been throwing me so many curve balls, and it's been a bit hard to keep up.

But! I am happy to report that things seem to be stabilizing. Still rather crazy (example: I dropped something heavy on my foot and am about to head to the doctor to see if I've broken it), but it's stabilizing. 

And, excitingly, I'm getting back some of my jewelry-making inspiration. 

To that end... I think I'm going to restart my Wonder and Whimsy Monthly Challenge. And for right now, that's going to take the shape of palettes.

I know July is almost over, but I found this fun citrusy picture on Unsplash (credit: Bruna Branco), and thought it would be a perfect way to kick things off.

I introduce: Citrus Glow!

I found the picture, picked out the palette colors, and then when digging through my stash to find beads to match.

My goal? Make something pretty! And then post pictures of it here on July 31st. Come by then to see what I make!

Thanks for stopping by today to see what I've been up to. I truly, truly appreciate you. Thanks for your patience with me as I've been stitching my life back together, and for being there when things got crazy. Wishing you all the best, with many things that make you smile!

Have a lovely day, everyone!

*waves*

Hi, everyone!

Nothing really to report--which might actually be a good thing. Last year was incredibly tough, and honestly ended on a rough note. 

Thankfully, though, this year seems to be going a bit better. We didn't reach our health insurance deductible by February, our current number of hospital visits is zero, and there have been no major house-related catastrophes. Woo!

One thing I have not been doing, really, is making jewelry. 

At all.

If you follow my Instagram, you know that the only jewelry I have really finished this year is this pair of earrings:

...Yep, that's pretty much it. 

So, will I get back into the swing of making jewelry? Who knows. I hope so. No promises, but I hope so.

In the meantime, I've been spreading my wings and playing around with other creative endeavors. I've been working on my novel, for instance. A lot. I realized that I had been neglecting my writing, so I have been working hard to remedy that.

And I've also been sewing.

I followed/modified this tutorial to create a skirt using fabric I bought while visiting my mother for her birthday:

I really, really enjoyed myself, too. I'm even working on another one--different colorway, but same basic design.

So, yeah. I just wanted to say hi. I know I've been scarce, but I wanted everyone to know that I haven't forgotten my blog--or you. As I process the drama/trauma from last year, I hope to come back more often. In the meantime, know that I very, very much appreciate you.

Have a lovely day, everyone. Keep creating!

Life Update #2

For those who occasionally stop by... I'm still here. 

This has been one of the hardest years of my life, but I'm still here.

In happy news, I'm relieved to say that my husband is doing very well. His symptoms are under control, his two 9-hour surgeries have been successful. We're mostly just in the watch-and-wait part of his treatment. Which is good! I am so, so grateful.

In not-so-happy news, last month I had a miscarriage. We've been trying for 8 years to have children, and this was the closest we have gotten. I'm still hopeful! Very hopeful, in fact. But there is still grieving involved. Just... dang.

Oh, and a bunch of raccoons tried to eat their way through our roof.

The yellow foamy stuff is what we added from the inside to try to keep it
from leaking everywhere before we could get it fixed.

There's other stuff, too, but that's enough for this blog post. So much hardship and grieving and pushing forward... and, ultimately, peace in knowing that it will get better. God is good, and it will get better. Just have to keep going.

When will I post jewelry again? Who knows. I want to. I truly want to. I am just taking it one day at a time... because, honestly, that is all I can do. And that is okay.

Have a lovely day, everyone. Thanks for stopping by. I truly appreciate you, and wish you all the best.

Life Update (i.e. Where Have I Been?)

Hello, all!

I do still really want to get back into the swing of posting here. 

In fact, I have completed the last two months of the Honey Do Challenge from SJ Designs Jewelry... I just haven't had time to post pictures. I completed last month's Pretty Palettes challenge... I just haven't had the time to post pictures. 

I have even been working on my personal Clean Off My Beading Table Challenge... but, I'm sure you sense a theme: I just haven't had the time to post pictures.

So, what have I been doing?

Getting my bathroom remodeled, for one. Getting the front porch and the room beneath it waterproofed. Getting the large gash in my kitchen wall patched up.

And taking care of my husband.

View from the hospital room after his Friday surgery,
up at Wexner Medical Center, OSU.

He's had more doctors' appointments than I can count. He's had multiple outpatient procedures done, some close by and some at Wexner Medical Center (OSU) in Columbus--an hour and a half away.

And just this last Friday, he had a 9.5 hour surgery. In Columbus.

The specialists at OSU are working on fixing the massive AVM he has in his leg/groin--but it will take at least another two such surgeries to complete the task. They're essentially having to rebuild a section of his vascular system, on the main vein in his leg. They got a lot done this surgery, but there is so so much more left to do.

Medical explanation time! 

What is an AVM? It stands for arteriovenous malformation, which is essentially an abnormal tangle of blood vessels connecting arteries and veins. This disrupts normal blood flow and oxygen circulation. In my husband's case, it is huge... AVMs are usually less about 2 cm, but his is at least 10 cm. The vein in his left leg is swollen to 5 times the size of the one in his right leg. 

This has caused high output heart failure--his poor heart is having the blood returned to it at a much higher volume/pressure than it is built to handle. It has also impacted his left kidney--one of the bogus blood vessels leads to his kidney--flooding it with blood and causing hematuria.  

Essentially: YIKES. But modern medicine is pretty amazing, and God is even more amazing, and we are making progress to getting him back to healthy. His case is just so unique, and every doctor he's seen has been amazed and perplexed by the expansiveness of the problem--apparently I married a medical unicorn!

So... yeah. That's what I've been up to. Progress is being made, steps forward are being taken... and eventually I will be back to posting pictures of pretty jewelry. In the meantime, I'm just putting one foot in front of the other!

I really appreciate you taking the time to stop by my little blog, and reading through what's been going on. I am incredibly grateful, and hope you all have wonderful days.

Thank you so much for stopping by!