Artisans Create Together Inspiration Challenge: May 2018

The monthly inspiration challenge over on the Artisans Create Together Facebook group is "Happy Dance."  How appropriate for the month that brings us Cinco de Mayo, Mothers Day, and lots of blooming things in our gardens to have the focus be on colorful patterns and textiles!  After a winter that was WAY too long for this girl, I'm loving these happy brights and the riotous mix of colors and patterns!

The first thing my mind went to for this challenge were some fun new enameled components that I got from a de-stash event.  The charms themselves have tons of colors and textures... perfect!  First up, a pair of long skinny charms by Tina Piraino that I paired with some cute little drops by my friend Anna Pierson of Saga Hus Components.  I love the tiny touch of fiber on the drops!

Next up, an even wilder pair of charms by Marie Demico that are so crazy vibrant.  I'm so in love with the lime-y greens and pops of other bright colors.  Yummy!  I wire wrapped some coordinating Czech glass with copper wire to finish the look.  I've had these rondelles in a fun mix of greens for a while, but I finally found the perfect use for some of them.

Moving on from enameled charms, I picked a bright pair of charms from Happy Fish Things for this big, bold design.  I used some orange wire to hide the loops on the charms while bringing out the darker orange of the charms.  In a go big or go home moment, I added some turquoise wooden beads that are large but lightweight and some yellowy Czech glass.

Lastly, not a new design, but some new colors and new versions of old colors for my up-cycled beer can flower earrings.  Each of these pairs has a mix of different colors as well as the texture in the embossed copper blanks.  As soon as I can card these cuties, they'll be heading into Unearthed Arts.

I hope my post brings a much needed, happy dose of color into your day.  After a fairly quiet design month, I feel like I'm back on track and ready to make more fun jewelry!