Pretty Palettes :: December Reveal

This time of year I am lucky to get any jewelry making done but I had already bought the beads for the challenge so I knew I had to make something.  For December Erin Prais-Hintz picked a palette full of lovely geometric shapes in elegant metallics.  When I looked at the palette I could just see the party hats and champagne flowing to bring in the new year.

Click here to see the palette and beads for December.

I started by creating a necklace from the beads.  I just loved the crystal encrusted pyramids so I wanted to make those a focal for my necklace.  I used eye pins to wire two of them together.  I then draped different lengths of fine silver change to give it some movement.  I wished that I had some other colors of that fine chain because I think mixed colors of chain would have looked even better.  :)  I used tubular gold beads over the wire to add to the metallic look.  Here is the necklace:

I also wanted to make a pair of earrings with these fabulous beads.  I decided to make teardrop style earrings which are great for using up smaller pieces of beading wire that I have saved up.  I couldn't decide whether to use the pyramids for the focal bead or the faceted black cube...so I made both.  I strung the bead and then a link of chain on either side to add some texture.  I'm not thrilled with the tone of the gold chain but I was otherwise happy with the way they came out.  Here are the earrings:

As always, I had a ton of fun participating and am looking forward to everyone's unique designs. Everyone always does such an amazing job!  Can't wait for the next challenge to be revealed :)

Sarah O

Pretty Palettes :: January Reveal

How quickly this first month of 2015 has gone by!  I could hardly believe that it was time for another reveal.   I have had such a great time these last few months playing along with the Pretty Palettes challenge so I was thrilled when the lovely Erin Prais-Hintz asked me to be her partner for this month!

I must say I thought the beads that Erin selected this month just went perfectly together.  Click here to see the palette and the beads.

Because the beads worked so nicely together I could not stop making things.  Some pieces did not make the cut but there were several that I wanted to share.

The first piece I made was a necklace.  I made a little round focal by wiring some of the beads together.  I found these metal beads that I used as frames and also threw in some copper hoops.  I feel like it is a very wearable piece and plan on working it into an outfit soon.

The next piece that I made was a bracelet.  For this I mixed in brass with the copper because I like the way the two metals work together.  I incorporated the Mookiate ovals from my existing Halcraft stash because I thought they worked well with the shape of the oval metal pieces.  I added some chain to give it some extra substance.

Next up, earrings.  My favorite kind of jewelry.  I always have time to slip on a pair of earrings even when I get too lazy for the rest.  I like how the suspended pearls look like a bunch of balloons. :)


























Finally,  I wanted to make a versatile piece. I started working on a bracelet with tons of dangles because I love the movement in bracelets loaded with charms.























But then I thought who doesn't like options, so I made a piece from rubber cord that connects and transforms the bracelet into a necklace.

I had so much fun this month.  Thanks again Erin!  I can't wait to see what everyone else has made. Hop on over to the Halcraft Blog to see the other great designs. Counting down until the next great inspiration!

Sarah O

Humblebeads Muffin Tin Challenge

I have spent this weekend in my pajamas watching Netflix "recovering" from the holidays ;) But when I saw the Muffin Tin Challenge issued by Heather Powers on her blog I decided it was the perfect way to get my creativity flowing.

The challenge was to fill the cups of a muffin tin with all of the bits necessary to create a jewelry project.  I went with some variety a couple of earring projects to get me going as well as some necklaces and bracelets.

 I started with some earrings and I used some beads left over from older projects so I could make room for new stuff this year :)

Here are the bracelets that I made:

Finally, I made two necklaces:

This was a lot of fun and it really got me refocused on doing some jewelry making. I laid out 8 projects and I got 6 made so I still have work to do.  I also need to make some time to get my workspace organized.  Baby steps..... :)

Thanks Heather for hosting this fun challenge.  Take a look on her blog to see what everyone else made and take a look at her beads (they are gorgeous!).

Sarah O