September 2023 Honey Do List

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:

Hey folks!  This month I decided to try something a little different for the challenge: fabrics!  On a recent trip to Denver we visited some old friends from my High School at their fabric shop, Treelotta, and I decided to take some pictures of the cool fabrics and colorful quilting supplies.  Here is one of the shots I took there.  Go for colors, or flowers, or both this month!

As soon as I saw this month's photo I knew one of the things I had to create with... another fabulous pendant by Sarah Kandell of Slate Studios Supply.  But first, in true Sj form, I made a pair of earrings!  Not cone flowers per se, but I still thought the fun little charms from Golem Design Studio would work for the challenge.  Also, I'm in making mode trying to get as much new jewelry made as possible before my first big Fall art show!  These were an unusual for me color but I just happened to have the perfect Czech glass beads in my stash to pair with them!

Now for my show-stopper necklace!  I've had this cone flower pendant pulled out from Sarah's other beads for more than a year but haven't gotten around to actually making something with it.  But now's the time!  I made links with Czech glass, carnelian, amazonite, and vintage brass with brass chain at the back.  I really love this bold piece and hope it finds it's perfect owner.

Since I was in show prep mode, I kept on making earrings with some other artisan charms.  A pair with some peachy pink flowers from Happy Fish paired with vintage brass and Czech glass rondelles.  

To keep the party going, I also whipped up a pair with some floral charms with gold accents that I picked up from Diane Hawkey at the Whole Bead Show in Milwaukee in June.  Fun pink acrylic beads with gold stripes were the perfect pairing with accents of Czech glass and brass to round things out.

Now it's your turn!  Please add links to/photos of your own creations below.  I love seeing what everyone else is making too.  Just to let you know, we're going to be taking the month off in October as we head to the Czech Republic for some beady adventures.  We'll be back in November with a new challenge though!

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April 2023 Honey Do List

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:   

For April Showers (or blizzards if you live in Minnesota,) here is a shot of some amazing umbrellas from the port of Puerta Vallarta from our recent Bead Cruise.  I got a lot of colorful pictures on this trip suitable for Spring, since Minnesota is still covered in layers of ice and snow.  Good luck and happy inspiration everyone!

As much as this picture totally brings my heart joy, I wasn't initially sure how I was going to approach this month's design challenge.  And then Diane Hawkey had a Facebook show with the most adorable umbrella charms!  While this defeats the point of using my stash... I couldn't resist!  Read on and I'm sure you'll agree.  

This month was another busy one for us so I was a bit worried about my timeline for creating for the challenge.  Truth be told, I waited until the very last minute to get something done... both my pieces were made just yesterday.  I've always worked better under pressure!  

Anyway, with the time crunch, I started with a pair of earrings to make sure that I had at least one completed piece.  I whipped up a bright and whimsical pair of earrings with a pair of Diane's umbrella charms paired with moon glow lucite and Czech glass.  I think the colors here really work well with Eric's inspiration photo.

Next up, a necklace!  Diane's umbrella pendant is just so bright and joyful... even on a rainy day, I think I'd be happy if I was wearing all this vibrant color.  All the beads are Czech glass except for the dark blue rounds which are ceramic.  The pendant is pretty light weight so I may need to wear this one to see if I need to add a bead above the umbrella to add more physical weight.... To be determined! 

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 May 1st to see what Eric dreams up for us next!

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Honey Do List March 2019

This is the fourth 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... it's the Honey Do List 2019!  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:

With more and more snow around us, I struggled to find something with color for this month's challenge.  I discovered this picture I took of a mural inside Breakside Brewery in Portland last year and felt I had color, shape, and texture all for your inspiration pleasure!  Have at it!

As luck would have it, the same day that Eric gave me this inspiration photo I had a torch enameling class scheduled with Sara Lukkonen of C-Koop.  She had some millefiori for us to try out and I managed to make a pendant that perfectly echoed the mural's design!  Since I wasn't really sure what things would end up looking like, I'm pretty pleased with the results I got.  I knew that I was going to be in big trouble with the hubby if I didn't make something with this little guy, but not surprisingly, the pendant had some flaws from trying to get it off the welding mandrel.  I ended up working some magic to hide the flaws with my messy wrapped bail and a copper spacer.   

This one is probably for me since it's my first real enameling attempt.  I strung the pendant with tons of Czech glass, fire crackle agate, star cut carnelian, and yellow jade.  Lots of yummy colors that I pulled from the pendant design as well as the inspiration piece!

Seeing as my bead purchases tend more toward the organic than the geometric, I was worried about having things that would work in my bead hoard.  Luckily I did find a few goodies!  First up, a pair of earrings with some fun charms by Diane Hawkey that I paired with some sari silk cocoons from my friend Anna Pierson of Saga Hus.  

I also still had a couple of fun and bright focal beads from Golem Design Studio that featured a series of bulls eye shapes in various colors.  (I made a different tassel necklace with one of these back in March 2017 but with a plain chain and beads decorating the chain tassel ends.)  

When I was looking for the cocoons for my first pair of earrings, I discovered some other fun goodies from Saga Hus that felt right for the challenge. Anna wrapped some fun millefiori glass beads with fibers and wire for bright and cheerful links.  I added some Czech glass dangles in coordinating colors and used niobium ear wires with bright copper accents. 

Still thinking about how the patterns in millefiori glass echoed the mural, I grabbed some little coins in orange, white and clear.  I added some teardrop shaped beads on jump rings as a fun dangle for these playful ear bobs!

Now it's your turn!  Please add your links to your own creations below.  I love seeing what everyone else is making too.  Please check back March 1st to see what Eric has in store for us next month!

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Inspired by Reading: Dark Matter

I'm a little late to the Inspired by Reading Book Club party for August, but better late than never!  Our August read was Dark Matter by Blake Crouch... a science fiction thriller that explores the ideas of choices, paths not taken, and how far we'll go to claim (or reclaim) the lives we dream of.  The last words Jason Dessen hears before he's knocked unconscious are "Are you happy with your life?"  The next thing he knows is waking up strapped to a table, surrounded by strangers who seem to know him, and in a world that's not his own.  Thus begins Jason's harrowing and mind-bending journey to get back to the life and family he loves.    

Being short on time, I ended up making two pairs of earrings this month.  First up, I chose a pair of square ceramic charms by Diane Hawkey to represent the box that allows Jason to travel between realities.  I liked the ideas of the squares within squares as a representation of the infinite possibilities.  I added some fun beaded links by Anna Pierson of Saga Hus Components.

Next up,  I picked out some fun Golem Design Studio lentils with a geometric pattern in black and white.  The shattered pattern made me think of how each decision Jason makes causes his timeline to split off.  Wanting to keep with the sharp lines on the ceramic beads, I chose some cool faceted hematite.

Thanks for checking out my newest creations!  Now it's back to crazy show prep time for the Art Wander!!!

Honey Do List: September 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:

I haven't been out with the camera as much as I'd hoped recently.  Looking for something to prolong the summer, I decided on posting these sunflower pictures.  One of these was from the MN Landscape arboretum, while the other was a self-planted seed from our own bird feeder!  I have plenty of shots of bees all over these things but wanted to stick with just the flower this time.  Show me some last gasp of summer in jewelry form!

I had really hoped to make a few more things for this challenge but between going crazy for the sunflower themed We're All Ears challenge (see that HERE if you missed it) and my three day studio tour this past weekend, I kind of ran out of time.  That being said, I'm super happy with the two necklaces that I did manage to make.  

First up, a necklace with a lovely polymer clay sunflower pendant from Summer Wind Art that Eric gave me for Christmas a couple of years ago.  I love the rich yet weathered effect that Ashley Bonney achieved for this focal... so yummy.  I stumbled across a little container filled with a mix of Czech beads that I got when I bought a friend's bead stash a while back that were a perfect complement to the pendant.  I wanted a few more beads for the necklace so I went digging for some cream Czech glass melon beads to play up the light tones of the pendant and some carnelian rounds to add a pop of color to the design. 

Since I have an obsession with matching, and I still had some beads left over, I whipped up some cute little earrings.  They aren't actually sunflowery at all, but they do go with the necklace anyway.

For my second necklace creation I went with a lot more COLOR!  I had several Humblebeads by Heather Powers in my stash inspired by Van Gogh's Sunflowers.  I knew I had to use at least one of them this month.  The winning bead was this gorgeous Sunflowers bird that I won at the Adornments Retreat in July... so perfect!  I paired him with a rustic ceramic stick from Diane Hawkey, a ceramic drop by Petra Carpreau of Scorched Earth, and some bright Czech glass.  The copper wire that I used is some that I patinated myself.  I love how this necklace came together and am even happier that it flew home with a very special lady during my show this weekend!

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New Designs with Polymer Clay!

I've been having tons of fun playing with the pieces and the techniques I learned in Heather Powers' Wings & Dreams class at the Adornments Retreat last month!  I thought I'd do a super quick post sharing some of what I've come up with so far.  I still have a few painted butterflies and a bunch of leaves to play with, but here's what I've completed over the past week.

These posies were supposed to be for earrings, but I decided to go with pendants instead!  If only I could find the cutter for this flower... I want more of these and can't find one.  :(

Only the top leaf in the pendant is my handiwork (and the patina on the brass leaf too!) The "Hope" bead is by Diane Hawkey.  I'm wishing I had picked up more of her word beads.

I had fun with patinas, rivets, and metal stamping for this one!  It's a little more vibrant than my normal work.

I'm so glad my vision worked for this one!  I had to slightly modify the butterfly filigree from Vintaj to attach my polymer clay creation on top, but I made it work!  I wanted to veer away from the monochromatic so I added some pops of turquoise.

This is actually a holdover project from Heather's Inspired by Nature Retreat last year.  I made the fern imprinted polymer clay circle at the retreat (also the beads) and then used her metal sketching technique on a copper blank.  My rivets are a tiny bit off center, but that's ok.

Inspiration in Everyday: July 2017: Koi

It feels like it's been awhile since I've played along again with a design challenge from a newer group on Facebook called Inspiration in Everyday.  The group has been created as a means to share the everyday things we take inspiration from to use in jewelry.  The idea is pretty simple... find something that inspires you to create beads, components, or jewelry, take a photo of it, create something based on that inspiration, and share in the group!  There is an art bead focus to the group and each creation shared should include at least one handmade art bead or component.

While we were wandering around Milwaukee when we visited for the Bead & Button Show last month, we stumbled upon a cool piece of sidewalk art.  We were on a mission to get someplace (probably the next beer or cocktail!) but I still stopped to snap a quick iPhone photo of these delightful koi fish swimming on the cement.  Maybe I was subconsciously inspired by this unexpected artwork, but I ended up buying a cool koi pendant from Diane Hawkey at the show.  

In my usual way, I gathered a bunch of possible beads to play with Diane's pretty pendant and let them percolate on my bead mat (and in my brain!) for a bit while I worked on other things.  Here's a peak at my not-so-controlled-chaos!  Most of these beads made it into my final design!

I ended up using an eclectic mix of materials to play with the pendant... ceramic, Czech glass, copper, cracked quartz, and teal paisley jasper.  I didn't love the look of the black wire loops on the top and bottom of the pendant with the materials I had selected, so I played around with a couple of different options to camouflage them.  For the top loop, I wrapped coils of copper colored wire all the way around it.  On the bottom I was originally thinking that I would have some sort of dangles... charms and or beads... so I started by adding some small jump rings decorated with seed beads that I thought would fall on either side of the charms.  I never quite got the dangle idea to gel (partially because it felt like the focal was getting too big and partially because I wanted the koi have the attention) so I ended up just adding a few more decorated jump rings.  I like the effect... what do you think?

My photos really don't do justice to the gorgeous shimmer or the gold highlights in the pendant, but I promise it's even lovelier in person!  I may have to make Eric get the photo light box and real camera out for this one.

Thanks for stopping by to see the inspiration that I found in everyday!  P.S. If you're interested in my Bead & Button adventures this year, you can read my post on that HERE.

Inspired by Reading: A Place of My Own

The first pick of the year for the Inspired by Reading Book Club is A Place of My Own: The Architecture of Daydreams by Michael Pollan.  The book chronicles the author's journey dreaming up and building (with his own admittedly unhandy hands) a small structure to be a "shelter for daydreams."  I love the idea of having a room (or building!) of one's own.  I'm not sure I'll ever have just that, but it's not like I'm crowded in the house I share with my husband and two cats, so I won't complain!

I'm still working my way through the book but I didn't want to be left out of the creating fun!  I got a late start reading since I was all enthralled by the VERY long science fiction book American Elsewhere.  (And let's be honest, if you've ever been in a book club you know this, lots of members often don't finish and even if they do book club meetings tend to get sidetracked talking about everything but the book!)  So really, I'm not cheating that much!

Since I hadn't read anything that sparked my imagination yet, I decided to focus on the tiny structure for my design.  It might not be the most inventive or original idea, but I'm pretty smitten with the design that came out of it!  A while back I had picked up several pieces from the very talented Lesley Watt including one of her sweet little bronze clay houses.  I thought it was just perfect to represent the fairly simple looking structure that the author built for himself.  I love the peachy-coral tones of the roof and door and the cute flower window.

To pull in the colors from the pendant, I started with a selection of multi-colored rhutilated quartz ovals and then added in a variety of Czech glass in orange, greens, and gold tones.  I needed a little more length at the back than I had originally planned for so I added a few small faceted carnelian rounds at the back to break up the green a bit and keep the colors feeling even.  The orange Czech glass flower coins help echo that little window in the pendant.

When I was digging through my beads for this month's book club, I came across some little house charms from Tari Sasser of Creative Expressions in Clay gave to the Bead Cruisers a couple of years ago.  A little lightbulb went off in my head and I remembered that I had a word bead from Diane Hawkey that says "Home."  Luckily for me, the colors of those two beads worked well together.  I wanted to do a totem style pendant, so I played around with lots of different options before settling on my finished design.  I added in some other miscellaneous beads including a couple of things from mixed destash lots from Andrew Thornton and lampwork by Beadygirl Beads along with some pewter findings.  For the chain of the necklace I made wire-wrapped bead units with a collection of Czech glass flowers and bali style beads to complement the colors in the pendant stack.

I had another pendant pulled out too, but that design will have to wait for another day.  Do you love the idea of a creative book club?  You can join the fun on the Inspired by Reading Book Club Facebook page HERE!  Thanks for stopping by... have a great rest of your week!