Humblebeads May 2022 Color Challenge

If you know me at all, you know that I always appreciate a good design challenge to keep me going and creating!  I've really been enjoying the color challenges that Heather Powers has been hosting in her Humblebeads VIP group on Facebook.  The added element for her challenge is that you must use beads (art or otherwise) that you've gotten from her.  That certainly narrows the focus when I'm pulling beads to play with each month and helps me really hone in on things quickly.

As is often the case, I had a lot of fun with earrings for this challenge!  I started with a pair of faux tin charms that I had actually "lost" for a couple of years in my Bead Cruise folder.  Oops!  But what a perfect time to find them.  :)  The colors worked great and the little flowers remind me of the phlox we used to have in one of our garden beds before it all died.  I paired them with some fun polymer clay rounds from Heather that I've had forever and a day as well as some Czech glass and copper elements for a fun pair of earrings to ring in Spring.

Next up, I grabbed a set of polymer clay discs that I had considered for the first pair of earrings and whipped up another, more monochromatic pair of earrings instead of having to put them away!  I added in some faceted Angelite rounds and funky Czech glass leaves this time.

Last, but not least, I also made a few more birdie earrings.  Technically these don't count as I didn't buy the birds from Heather, but she does sell them!  They were too fun not to share anyway.  

I hope you enjoyed seeing a few new Spring designs as we head into the start of summer this weekend!  I'll be back soon with our Honey Do List reveal and the new challenge as soon as Eric gets his photos off his memory cards.  

Inspiration for the May 2022 Honey Do List

2022 marks the seventh 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: 

I keep wanting to post Spring flowers or something, but Minnesota is still cold and rainy and not really green yet.  So here's one from our trip to the Inner Hebrides Islands: Iona.  This was a tiny and beautiful island with white sand and rocky beaches.  I figured you could use color, texture, or subject here in some interesting ways.  I know everyone will come up with something cool!  

The reveal date will be Friday, June 3.  (We'll be doing some traveling in May, so I want to make sure I've got time to get the reveal post up!)  To make it super easy for you to participate and share your creations, I'll set up an Inlinkz link up so folks can add their blogs or links as they are ready.  Just stop by my blog starting on June 3 and join the fun!  I'll leave the link up open for a while... so you have plenty of time to add your links.  (Last month's is still open... check it our HERE.) No blog?  No worries!  Feel free to send me a picture of your creation and some brief comments and I'll happily share in my blog post.  You can reach me at sjdesignsjewelry@gmail.com  The more the merrier, so I hope you'll play along with me this month!

Humblebeads April 2022 Color Challenge

 

This year Heather Powers of Humblebeads has started doing a monthly color challenge in her Humblebeads VIP Party Facebook Group.  With everything else that's been on my plate it's been hit or miss if I manage to get anything made, but this was a good month for me!  Maybe it was just coming off the Bead Cruise, or really being ready for spring while Minnesota is still having snow, but, either way I was absolutely feeling the tropical palette this month!

With the greens in the palette, I immediately grabbed some enameled leaf charms from Blue Hare Art Wear and started playing with different Humblebeads discs.  I'm really happy with how both of these came together with a mix of Czech glass flowers and some fun flower shaped sequins that I picked up on the cruise.  Photos really do NOT do these leaves justice.  

I had big, big plans to make a few other things, but sadly, time got away from me.  I'm glad that I made these earrings so quickly or I may not have done anything at all.  Maybe I'll do better this month.  Fingers crossed!