Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Honey Do List: February 2018

This is the third 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... Welcome to the Honey Do List 2018!  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:


As winter drags on here in Minnesota with temperatures hanging in the single digits, I had to bring a little summer back into our frozen world.  Here's a picture I took at the MN Landscape Arboretum this past summer and am just now getting to editing!  Give us something bright and happy this month!


Since I had already been digging in my collection of components from my friend Anna Pierson of Saga Hus, I started off this month's Honey Do List making marathon with a pair of earrings featuring some bright and happy cocoons in greens, yellow, and orange.  I kept it pretty simple, just adding some Czech glass flower dangles to the bottom.


Next up, another pair of earrings that also feature some of my Czech glass flower collection.  This time the star of the show is the Bumble Bee Jasper.  It seems appropriate that Eric actually picked these out from Intrinsic Trading at Bead & Button two years ago.  These earrings are a statement... between the bright coloring and the length of the pair, they have some serious impact!  It's a bit hard to tell from my photo, but there is the tiniest bit of green in the jasper.


While I had several possible pendants pulled out for this month's challenge... timing didn't allow for me to finish all of them... but I managed to eek out two necklaces at the final hour.  (Boy am I ever glad that I gave us a couple of extra days this month!)

Even though the turquoise is a bit of a departure from the photo's color palette, I just had to play with this gorgeous wooden pendant from Summer Wind Art that I've been holding onto for awhile.  I made a bunch of links using Czech glass (including some of my much-coveted and hoarded supply of nectarine colored rondelles) and some faceted Carnelian rounds.


Last but not least, one more necklace for your enjoyment!  This time I started with a pendant from Blue Hare Art Wear in a striking combination of black and orange.  I kept to the color palette of the focal and used a mix of black and orange Czech glass and spinel rough coins.







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6 comments:

  1. Hee! I used some Czech flowers in my creation this month, too. I really like what you did with yours--that second pair, especially. Beautiful pieces, all of them. Thank you so much for letting me play along! :)

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  2. All of these are beautiful - and helping me feel like spring will get here! I love bumblebee jasper, so that pair is great and the marigold pendant is gorgeous!! I keep trying to make marigolds and they just don't turn out - this one is perfect.

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  3. Wonderful work! Love them all.

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  4. Every last design you made for this challenge is a beauty. I love that you describe the wrapped fiber in the first pair of earrings as a cocoon. Something about that makes it feel even more spring-like (though I'm not exactly sure when butterflies emerge from theirs). As much as I love those earrings, that necklace with the touches of turquoise in it steals my heart. Between the lovely focal, the blue accents, and the way you pulled all the elements together so cohesively; It's a showstopper! Amazing job all in all!!

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  5. Bountiful like spring itself! My favorites are the earrings with the Bumble Bee jasper but I feel like I'm doing injustice to the rest of them by picking just one :) I also made something for this challenge but am behind on blog posts because my camera broke :(

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