May 2023 Honey Do List

2023 marks the eighth year that my husband Eric has been giving me a design challenge each month to get me out of my comfort zone and to help clear out my bead stash... The Honey Do List!  (Y'all, time really does fly!!)  I know that I'm not the only one who loves a good design challenge, so I'm hoping folks will continue to play along with us!

Here's this month's inspiration and what Eric had to say about it:   

For this month, I've chosen a cool interior shot of a giant bank vault from the St. Louis City Museum.  I love the details in an area that most people would never see. They just don't make them like they used to!  

Despite the lack of vibrant color this month, there's a lot to love in the photo Eric chose for us.  Gears, the floral etching, bolts, mixed metals...  I had hoped to play with some of the etched copper that I have already cut, or even do some new etching, but I ran out of time for this challenge.  So instead I focused on the gears and more of a steampunk vibe with what I pulled to maybe use.

First up, I grabbed a pair of charms by Melanie Brooks of Earthenwood Studio that I've had since my early days of beading.  It's hard to capture in photos, but the glaze on these has so much metallic depth!  I whipped up an asymmetrical design with some Czech glass in metallics and some black and copper niobium ear wires.  

Next up, a necklace with a lovely polymer clay focal from my friend Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori Trovati.  I had a bit of a struggle figuring out what to dangle from the pendant, but eventually hit on these little brass teardrop charms.  To play off the crystal in the center of the pendant, I paired matte Czech glass rounds with crystal spacers.  

I'm pretty pleased with how both my designs turned out this month and I can't wait to see what you came up with for this challenge!  Please add links to/photos of your own creations below.  I love seeing what everyone else is making too.  Check back on June 1st to see what Eric dreams up for us next!

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