Month after month, Erin Prais-Hintz continues coming up with such delightful new inspiration for the We're All Ears earring design challenge... and this time is no exception! I eagerly await the first Friday of each month when she unveils what she has chosen for us. This month is all about fiddlehead ferns. There is so much to love and to be inspired by here... the spring green colors, the spirals of their curved fronds, the feathery leaves of the fully sprouted fern. I love it all! Here are some of the photos Erin shared to get us going:
Upon seeing these great images, I ran to my stash and started digging for the beads I would use. I ended up approaching the challenge from several different directions focusing on the colors, the spirals, and the fern leaves themselves. Here's what I came up with!
First up are two pairs that are all about the various shades of green found in the wonderful world of ferns. I had two pairs of green lampwork beads from a strand of Firelily Glass orphan beads... one in vibrant greens and one in more muted, earthy colors that reminded me of the second photo above. I kept these pretty basic to focus on the colors and let the lampwork shine... although I did try my hand at wire-wrapping some seed bead embellishments on one pair. I'm pretty pleased with the result of that experiment!
This next pair is all about the spiral shape of the emerging fiddleheads and features a lovely pair of ammonite charms from Lesley Watt. I snatched these little beauties up at BeadFest and am happy to finally be using them! I love the rich depth of color that Lesley achieved with the glaze... it's just magic to me. Playing off the range of colors in the charms, I used some yummy prehnite and Czech glass along with brass to complete the design. I'm pretty smitten with these so they may be finding their way into my jewelry box!
I had hoped to break out my BigKick again and play with the fern frond DecoEmboss folder and my paints but I ran out of time for that. This is a blog hop... check out what everyone else was inspired to create this month in celebration of ferns over on the Earrings Everyday blog HERE!
Upon seeing these great images, I ran to my stash and started digging for the beads I would use. I ended up approaching the challenge from several different directions focusing on the colors, the spirals, and the fern leaves themselves. Here's what I came up with!
First up are two pairs that are all about the various shades of green found in the wonderful world of ferns. I had two pairs of green lampwork beads from a strand of Firelily Glass orphan beads... one in vibrant greens and one in more muted, earthy colors that reminded me of the second photo above. I kept these pretty basic to focus on the colors and let the lampwork shine... although I did try my hand at wire-wrapping some seed bead embellishments on one pair. I'm pretty pleased with the result of that experiment!
This next pair is all about the spiral shape of the emerging fiddleheads and features a lovely pair of ammonite charms from Lesley Watt. I snatched these little beauties up at BeadFest and am happy to finally be using them! I love the rich depth of color that Lesley achieved with the glaze... it's just magic to me. Playing off the range of colors in the charms, I used some yummy prehnite and Czech glass along with brass to complete the design. I'm pretty smitten with these so they may be finding their way into my jewelry box!
Last but not least, we see the full fern fronds appear with the polymer clay charms from Heather Powers of Humblebeads! These were another Bead Fest purchase that I've been sitting on for a bit. I chose silver and bright crystals to go with the vibrant green and white charms
I had hoped to break out my BigKick again and play with the fern frond DecoEmboss folder and my paints but I ran out of time for that. This is a blog hop... check out what everyone else was inspired to create this month in celebration of ferns over on the Earrings Everyday blog HERE!
beautiful earrings.I love the drops from Firelily.
ReplyDeleteAll the earrings are beautiful but I love the ones wit the emerging fiddleheads charms
ReplyDeleteI just bought the the fern frond DecoEmboss folder so I hope to use it this summer too! All of your earrings are gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteFabulous!!!Love love what you did for this month's challenge!
ReplyDeleteSuch wonderful interpretations! All such different materials and artists yet all with the same shapes and styling that they go together perfectly! I love embellishing ear wires, if I get the chance. I know you will keep doing that for a great finishing touch. Thank you also for your kind words. I really love coming up with the challenges each month...perhaps I best be started finding a new inspiration! More than that, I really adore seeing how it sparks everyone who participates. That is the most fun of all for me! Thank you so much for joining in the fun! Please check back on May, 6th for our next We're All Ears challenge! Enjoy the day! Erin
ReplyDeleteIt's intriguing how a simple (but meaningful) shape like the spiral can inspire different vision and approaches to embed it in jewelry!
ReplyDeleteGreat earrings. You used the artisan components well. And I especially love the wire wrap embellishment on the ear wire of the second pair.
ReplyDeleteThese are all lovely but since you've used my favourite stone with my charms I have to say I love those the most - call me biased!
ReplyDeleteAww... it makes me happy that you love prehnite too! And you are totally allowed to be biased! ;)
DeleteGorgeous designs and colors Sarajo! I love your jewelry so much!
ReplyDelete