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:
This month's picture is another of the many street art pieces we saw in Asheville, NC earlier this summer. I thought the luna moth would be a cool inspiration for jewelry: either moth beads, or the colors in the art. Next month I'll do something different!
As soon as I saw Eric's photo for us this month I knew I had a few luna moth art beads that just had to come out to play! Beyond the true lunas, I do have a fondness for moths and butterflies in general... so there was plenty for me to choose from for this challenge.
The first thing that I unearthed from my stash were these sweet faux tin charms from Humblebeads. I'm 99% sure that I'll keep these for myself, but we shall see. I made some little floral dangles with some pale green and yellow toned Czech glass and green crystals. A quick, cute design to kick things off!
Not quite ready to tackle my statement necklace, I turned first to another set of earring charms, this time by Cathleen Zaring of Blue Hare. Clearly these aren't luna moths, but still fun and fluttery creatures. I grabbed some little vintage metal teardrops to dangle from the enameled charms along with some Swarovski crystals.
Having stalled long enough, it was time to tackle my necklace! I love the matte glazes that Sarah Kandell of Slate Studios Supply used on this lovely, large luna moth. She's just dreamy! I didn't want supporting beads to be so shiny as to overshadow or compete with the focal. Luckily I had some nice matte options in both Czech glass and vintage German resin in my stash. My one real concession to shine are the cranberry colored moon glow lucite rounds. They are a perfect match to the red in the dress and add a nice pop of color to the design. I snuck in a little bit of blue fluorite and a Swarovski pearl as well.
To my great sadness, when trying to determine the correct length of the necklace for the dress, I discovered what I had already suspected... the dress is a little bit too small for my current weight. Hopefully having this delightful new necklace will inspire me to get back to my fighting weight! I can't wait to wear this necklace!
I thought I was done, but then I uncovered a delightful teapot and teacup pendant set from Jade Scott. Again, not actually a luna moth, but the colors of the moth were perfect! It was super fun looking for a fun mix of beads that pulled the various colors out of the resin pieces. I ended up with a mix of Czech glass, German resin, and a single prehnite round.
One last necklace here... I really was productive this month! The Vintaj brass pendant that I painted is technically a butterfly, but I feel like the colors worked so I'll take some creative license. Since the pendant is fairly dainty, I wanted to keep things pretty simple. Also, I like to be able to offer designs at a variety of price points when I have sales (and I have a big one coming up next month!) I alternated peridot and blue fluorite rounds with little metallic seed beads in between and delicate (but sturdy!) brass chain at the back.
Now it's your turn! Please add links to/photos of your own creations below. I love seeing what everyone else is making too. Check back on September 1st (or maybe the 2nd since the 1st is our 22nd wedding anniversary!) to see what Eric dreams up for us next.
