Then, I saw the selection of challenge beads...
...and realized that I had just bought most of those same beads earlier in the week (beading world coincidences make me laugh!)...I knew I had to play. The colors are so delicious, I probably would have been sucked in anyway, but already having a lot of the beads made it even easier.
I love the way all the strands look next to each other in the photo so I decided to let that be my guide and I put together a multi-strand necklace for my first piece:
The rules state that we are allowed to add two other types of beads to our finished designs. I went a teensy bit beyond that because I only had 1 strand of some of the challenge beads and I needed to make necklace strands certain lengths so they would lay correctly. The brown "lava" beads on the back half of the longest strand are extras (although they are from Michael's so maybe that's a gray area? LOL) The copper ceramic gear spacers, the copper daisy spacers, the two copper melon beads and the copper seed beads are all extras as are the chain, wire and clasp.
Here's a closeup of the center front...
...and of the side.
I made a pair of earrings with the last few leftovers from the necklace. The only "non-challenge" items added are the brass daisy spacer, etched brass bead caps, brass wire and earring wires.
This was actually the first design that came into my head, but it wasn't quite fully formed so I made the multi-strand piece first and then I realized that what the picture in my head had been missing was the addition of the bright pink rounds at the bottom of each floral rectangle bead.
I wasn't sure how that would work out so I wired up a couple of them and let them sit on my work surface for a few days - I figured they could always become earrings if the necklace idea didn't work out.
But, I decided I liked the idea so I strung up the whole thing. Just added a few seed beads for the loops and some chocolate brown deerskin lace, cord ends and a clasp.
The coordinating earrings basically mimic the pendants on the necklace except I added three of the bright pink beads as dangles for a little movement and swing. I love how those beads just glow!
These beads just all look so very yummy together that I went back to my multi-strand idea for the bracelet. The add-ins are a strand of copper-lined, clear AB seed beads, turquoise seed beads and the copper buttefly disk (from Michael's also), some cones, clasp and copper wire. I love the way the addition of the ivory beads completely changes the color palette to something so much brighter and more summery whereas the earlier pieces with all the dark brown looked more mysterious and made me think of a Moroccan spice bazaar (or what I imagine one to be like considering I've never been to Morocco LOL)
The earrings feature the final leftovers with a few of the seed beads thrown in.
The one thing I found really challenging...for some reason I couldn't come up with names for any of these pieces and that's not normally something I have an issue with so if anyone has any brilliant suggestions...I'm open!
Hope you enjoyed my designs. Here's a link to the rest of the hop.
KJ
16 comments:
Let me be the first to say what an amazing job you did with all of your designs. How cool was it that you already had some of these in you bead collection. As for the names of the pieces...I'm going with ..."Mine, Mine, Mine" ...
Very cool! I think my favorite is that first multi strand necklace! I briefly thought about doing a multi strand piece too but then opted for the stacked bracelets instead. It's amazing how much jewelry you made with these strands! I love how you described the bracelet using the ivory beads as opposed to the darker more mysterious brown beads and how it changes the whole look. It's so true!
Glad you were able to participate! Don't forget to add your link to Heather's blog, using the Link Up tool. :)
Wow you made so many wonderful pieces! That first necklace is amazing. All your designs are so perfect for summer.
WOW you created so many gorgeous pieces with these beads! I still had a ton left over. I thought about doing a multi stand necklace but went another direction! Love your work!
Your designs are all so pretty. I love how the pink pops against the other bead colors!
You have been busy! I think the first necklace us my favorite, though the earrings with the pink dangles is a close second. I love how you used so many of the beads and made them work so well together. That was such a challenge for me.
Wonderful designs! I love the way you used the colored beads with the darker beads in some designs and then colored with white/lighter beads in others. Really showed how much just a simple change like that can change the whole feel of a piece...and I love how you described them...I've never been to morocco either but I can envision exactly what you meant through that description.
I do love the multi-strand necklace but I really like the way you turned those carved beads on their side. They look like little lipstick tubes to me! Maybe 'All Dolled Up' for that one. The copper accents are great. And the multi strand bracelet has a very Moroccan vibe to me... 'Meet Me in the Kasbah'. True serendipity that you had these strands (truthfully, I probably did too but it would have taken me forever to locate them in the Pit of Despair I call a studio!) Enjoy the day. Erin
These are just gorgeous. Love the colors that were picked, you put them together well!
Oh I love each creation! The bracelet is so pretty!! And I love your creative statement necklaces. The bold one with the dangles knocks my socks off!
At each picture I scrolled to all anyone would hear is me saying, "YUM, YUM, YUM,...." I really adore the bracelet and earrings they are right up my alley....which is kind of a wierd saying but...well...it fits.:-D
Your pieces show how the slightest change in color can make the biggest difference in feel of the piece. And I love all of them equally! But if I had to choose I would bring the multistrand bracelet home to me! It actually made me say ooohhh cool outoud!
I am so not a pink girl but I love the bracelet with the white and pink! It is so bright and screams fun.
Wow! You did a wonderful job with this challenge. I love every single one of your pieces!love the bright pink theme running through them all. such a great summer colour and so versatile!
Isn't that amazing how there are coincidences in life like that? The pieces look great! Everything has a lot of texture and layers and is so rich! Nice!
You made so many fabulous pieces. I especially like the necklace with the flower tiles dangling and am glad that you were able to get it worked out. As well, that bracelet is STUNNING! Fabulous job.
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