January 2024 Honey Do List

2024 marks the ninth 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!  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!  Thanks to all of you who have participated over the years... it means a lot to both of us!

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

This month I wanted to continue doing pictures from our amazing bead trip to the Czech Republic this Fall.  Here is the outrageous astronomical clock from Prague, which was under construction last time we visited.  So cool to see it in person and get to take pictures of this wonder of human technology and art.  There should be plenty of inspiration here: from clocks to astrological signs.  Good luck!

My creative efforts this month were heavily focused on one art bead maker... my friend Jenny Davies-Reazor!  What can I say... I had two pendants that really fit into the idea of the moon and other heavenly bodies and then some earring charms that worked well color wise!  

I've had this fun crescent shaped polymer clay pendant from Jenny in my stash for quite a while... it's nice to finally get it out into the world to be enjoyed!  The crescent moon and stars on the focal just felt right here.  I made bead links and a little dangle for the pendant with some fun shaped new beads that I got while visiting the Czech Republic last year.  Actually all the beads except the green little "o" or spacer beads were purchased at Rutkovsky during that trip.  

This second necklace is also strung entirely with beads from our trip!  Fun to get to put those to use for this particular challenge for sure.  This pendant is also by Jenny... a lovely gemstone cabochon encased in polymer clay and featuring the phases of the moon.  The blue wash on the pendant is also a nice nod to all the blues in the Astronomical Clock too.  

These first earrings also feature some fun polymer clay charms from Jenny.  Sensing a trend yet??  I felt like both the color and the patterns of the charms work well for this challenge.  I paired them with some fun shaped moon glow lucite, some dyed agate, and copper plated findings.  Ear wires here are niobium.

My second pair of earrings are all about the stars!  Stars on the adorable beaded links by my friend Anna Pierson of Saga Hus Components and Greek bronze star charms.  These were simple to pull together but a lot of fun.  

Well, there you have it!  Considering I was in the throes of Valentine's Day gift creating, I'm pretty happy that I was able to make four things this month.  Now it's your turn!  Please add links to/photos of your own creations below.  I love seeing what everyone else is making too.  Not ready yet?  No problem, I'll leave the link up open until late next month.  Check back on February 1st to see what Eric has in store for us next!  I know he's got tons of new photos he's been going through.  

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