Monday, June 26, 2017

Honey Do List: June 2017

Last year, my husband Eric has decided to issue me a design challenge each month to get me out of my comfort zone and to help clear out my bead stash... and we're continuing the Honey Do List for 2017!  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!  

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



This spring I've really been taking a lot of bird pictures and wanted to use one of these shots for this month's challenge.  I thought this rose-breasted grosbeak would be an interesting subject due to the stark black and white colors with a pop of bright red.  Try using this color combo for a piece!

It was so fun seeing this little guy at our friends' cabin... I had never seen a rose-breasted grosbeak before and he was so handsome!  I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to do with this inspiration immediately, but when I finally had time to peruse my art beads, I found a sweet little ceramic robin bead by Melanie Brooks of Earthenwood Studio that fit the bill.  The bird has loops on both the top and the bottom so I wire-wrapped some little Czech glass rondelles to a nest bead from Green Girl Studios to complete the pendant.  (If you haven't seen this little nest in person before, the back says "Home."  I just love that!)  


Unlike many of my recent designs, this time I decided on an asymmetrical design with beaded links.  I pulled together a collection of Czech glass and ceramic beads in reds and blacks along with some speckled white and grey brown ceramic beads that just happened to be called "Birch with Speckles."  How perfect is that for the birch bark our little grosbeak is perched upon?!?


I had grand plans of a second necklace with a more abstract response to the inspiration photo but didn't quite have the time to pull it together.  I've been hanging onto this "Fly Free" bird from Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori Trovati for quite some time.  I think that part of my brain block on it has been trying to decide what to do with the two loops at the bottom on the branch.  The fuchsia stripe reminded me in a way of the red patch on the grosbeak's chest and I thought that the cream/white strip with the dark background works with the birds coloring too.  This little pile of beady goodies is as far as I've gotten so far, but I hope to turn it into something soon.  I'll keep you updated!  Got a great idea for the bottom of the pendant?  I'd love if you shared!


As a little P.S. to this post, we just saw a rose-breasted grosbeak at our backyard bird feeders this past weekend for the first time!  It was almost like he was reminding me to get to work on my project!





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3 comments:

  1. What a fun necklace! I love the whimsical bird and the asymmetry... just perfect for this challenge! I'm excited to see what you make with the second set of beads, too... If I have any great inspirations on how to use the bottom of the pendant, I'll let you know. :)

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  2. Great job on the necklace! I love those birch beads a lot.

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  3. What a charming little necklace with the bird and the nest dangling beneath it. That second bird is a lovely challenge on its own. How to handle the two loops at the bottom? Hmm a challenge on its own. I was almost thinking it might be good to use for a 2 strand bracelet until I took a second look at the top holes. Not sure it would work now
    Mona

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