We're All Ears - July Challenge Reveal

Wheee!  Summer vacation is awesome!  And okay, so I don't really get summer vacation any more now that I'm all growed up, but it is still my favorite time of year.  The weather is great, I get to go to the beach more often and some of my responsibilities lighten up since Ryan is out of school.  Oh, and sandals...I get to wear sandals every day and go crazy with my pedicure colors!

So, when I saw the photo for this month's Earrings Everyday - We're All Ears challege, I was super jazzed about it. 

It's everything good about summer:  sun, water, fresh air and bright colors!  Of course, who knows, maybe that photo was taken in December, but I'm choosing to believe it's summer.  Even the colors on the sails reminded me of a summer ice cream treat - bomb pops (if you've never seen one - they are red, white and blue striped popsicles).

I had to bring in ocean elements for my first pair of earrings:

 

 

 

So, I selected some light blue faux sea glass squares, shell leaves (yes, I know, they look like hearts, but they are actually leaves), and tiny white freshwater pearls.

 

 

 

I added some darker blue Swarovski crystals and a few touches of silver for some extra sparkle.  I'm calling these "Leaves on the Water."

Really, though, when thinking about this challenge, I kept getting overwhelmed with mental images of birds and feathers and flying - I guess because of the wind power behind the sails and that gorgeous blue sky. 

 

And then I remembered that I had just bought these amazing carved bone feathers and I knew they had to be part of this. 

 

 

 

 

I wanted to show how they look hanging up, too.  To bring in some movement and color, I added red waxed linen cord with ivory howlite spacers and some blue seed beads.

I thought that would be it, but then I was shopping for some other items at a craft store and came across some Vintaj brass sailboat charms and while that is a pretty literal interpretation of the photo, they were so cute and I really needed an excuse to break out my patinas and alcohol inks again so I thought I'd paint them.  

 

 

I painted the boats with Vintaj patina inks in "Marble" and "Garnet."  Then I sanded them a bit so they'd have that "weathered boat" look going on.

They looked good, but kind of dinky on their own and I realized what was missing was a background for them so I found these large white shell disks and I was going to use them as is when it occurred to me that...what the heck, maybe I could paint them, too. 

I roughed up the surface with a sanding block and added some Ranger alcohol inks in white, denim blue and dark blue and then blended them a bit with some blending solution and a small brush.  Voila!  I have my own sea-and-sky-scape for my boats to sail on!  I'm calling these "Come Sail Away" after my favorite Styx song.

 

I thought I was done at this point, but then I was at Michael's picking up a new pair of pliers and I came across this unusual strand of tiny crystals...all in shades of red, white and blue and I knew they had to be part of this challenge! 

 

 

To keep up the nautical theme, I figured what is more boat-related than ropes and knots?  So, out came the white waxed linen cord and I repeated on of my earlier techniques of doing the knotting around a hoop.  I added bright red cherry jade rondelles at the top and then tied off and fringed the cord ends. 

 

 

 

 

It's only now that I'm posting them that I realize they look like super-sparkly life preservers LOL.

 

That's it for July...hope you enjoyed my finished pieces.

 

KJ