More Stash Busting!! Use Your Stash Part 2

As I mentioned in my post on Tuesday, I didn't manage to make everything that I had hoped to for the Art Elements Use Your Stash challenge.  (If you missed my previous post, you can see that HERE.)  Since I still had all the bits and bobs sitting around on my bead table and no other time sensitive projects, I decided to keep on working this week.  As a reminder, this is a little peek at what I had gathered together.

I started by (finally) tackling some great charms from Terri DelSignore of Artisticaos that I picked up a little while ago.  I think I originally had grabbed them thinking I might use them for a challenge last month.  I knew exactly what I wanted to do and had all the supplies pulled together... I just kept not making them!  But all that is over now... and I adore the finished design.  I had just the perfect color grey seed beads in my stash that I used in the wire wrapping.  The faceted hematite dangles plated in a matte pewter plating top things off.  I'm kicking myself for not grabbing more of this shape from Terri.  I'll keep my eyes peeled and my fingers nimble during her next Facebook sale!

Next up a pair of necklaces featuring large polymer clay beads from my friend Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori Trovati.  As I mentioned in my previous post about using my stash, oversized beads often leave me flummoxed so I really wanted to challenge myself to design with some of my larger art beads.  The first one was inspired by necklace made by Lynda Carson of Fresh Baked Designs who was in turn inspired by Lorelei Eurto.  (You can see Lynda's piece HERE and Lorelei's HERE if you're curious... both are gorgeous!)  After seeing what these talented ladies had made using these fun wood chips, I had to have some to play with.  I added in some large lucite beads from Allegory Gallery to add an extra pop of color to the necklace and to balance out the sides and finished the back with brass chain.

Originally I had thought I might use the other strand of the wood chips I have in my second necklace, but plans changed as I started playing.  I had pulled out the turquoise wood beads and the pale aqua African recycled glass previously and as I played with combinations decided that they might feel a little overwhelmed by the size of the wood chips.  Instead, I grabbed some darker wood saucers that I worked into the design.  I chose copper plated findings this time.  You can't tell from my photos but there are tiny flashes of a coppery metallic in Erin's bead.  Plus I just like the combo of turquoise and copper! 

Last, but not least I dug WAY back into my bead stash for a ceramic crescent shaped pendant by Gerry Lee Cruthird and some coordinating gemstone beads that I bought in a destash several years ago.  In addition to the beads that came with the pendant, I added in some Venus jasper rounds, impression jasper heshi, Czech and vintage German glass, and Vintaj Natural Brass findings.  I finally used the Nouveau Swirls clasp that I got in a combo pack years ago.  I quite like the effect and may buy more of this one.

I've only managed to make the tiniest of dents in my art bead stash, but I'm still proud of the pieces I've managed to complete in the last month.  Now I'll forge onward to tackle February's challenges!

Art Elements Use Your Stash 2018

January is a great time to get a fresh start... to get organized... to refocus your energy and direction for a new year.  To help get us all off on the right foot this year, the editors over at the Art Elements blog have brought back their Use Your Stash challenge after taking a year off.  The idea is to dig into your art bead stash and create some new designs.  Well, I certainly have a big ol' stash to rummage through, and plenty of things that have been languishing for way too long.  Challenge accepted!  Here's a picture of some of the goodies that I gathered:

I was one of the lucky recipients of a prize beads from the Art Elements editors, Laney Mead of Izzybeads!  Laney sent me one of her cute little lampwork critters and a pair of carrot beads from her stash with coordinating spacers.  I'll start by sharing what I made with my prize stash.  :)

I initially thought about stringing the critter on leather with some coordinating beads, but I just didn't have the right leather in my stash.  (Memo to self:  get on that leather cord order ASAP!)  I ended up making beaded links instead.  I had some stripy glass beads in my stash that coordinated with the focal and the spacer beads from the carrots that I used here.  Pretty simple design, but I wanted Laney's whimsical critter to be the focus.

For some crazy reason, when I saw that the carrot beads had holes that went top to bottom, the idea of knotting them onto brown waxed linen popped into my head and wouldn't leave me alone!  My thought was that this technique would mimic roots at the bottom... like the carrots were pulled right from the garden!  Too weird?  I don't care... I think they are super cute!

I really have been trying to make a dent in my art bead horde... not so much because I think I have too many, but more to make room so I can justify new purchases.  Hey, at least I'm honest!!  As I was digging around for other challenges this month, I had the Use Your Stash idea in the back of my mind and kept pulling things out for possible beady play.  Several oversized beads ended up in that little collection so that's where I started playing with my personal stash!  Why have so many large baubles been languishing in my stash?  My design aesthetic just tends to veer away from big, chunky designs.  How about you... is bigger better?  or just bigger?

First up, a set of big ol' polymer clay beads made by Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori Trovati for her Simple Truths Sampler Club.  They were inspired by a Picasso painting that was for the May 2017 Art Bead Scene challenge so they haven't been hanging around all that long in the grand scheme of things.  Something just clicked in my little brain and I went digging for some crazy oversize wooden beads that I've had forever.  (Seriously, I bought them in my first ever online bead order back in February 2008!)  I don't know what I was thinking... except that I wasn't and I had no clue about bead sizes at that point.  These wood beads are GIANT at 31 x 21 mm.  After almost 10 years, I've finally found a design to use them in!  I strung all of these big beads together on blue waxed Irish linen along with some brass spacers to anchor the large holes in the wooden beads.  Brass chain finishes out this chunky design that would feel right at home around the neck of Wilma Flintstone or Betty Rubble!

Next up, a variation on a theme... this time using a set of polymer clay beads from Artybecca that I won as a door prize on the 2014 Bead Cruise.  These guys, and their wooden counterparts, are a MUCH smaller size than the last neckclace!  Once again, I just knotted them on waxed Irish linen with brass chain at the back.

As always seems to be the case with me, I didn't make nearly as much as I'd hoped to for this challenge (if only I'd had one more day!!!), but I am proud that I dug deep and tackled some things that have been gathering dust for too long.  Hopefully I'll keep the momentum going and finish up some more designs that I had envisioned.

This is a blog hop!  Stop by and see what everyone else has been up to this month.  I can't wait to see what goodies everyone found in their personal stashes!

Guests:

Kelly Rodgers

Sarajo Wentling  - You Are Here!  

Samantha Wescott

Kathy Lindemer

Patty Miller

Linda Landig

Renetha Stanziano

Art Elements:

Jenny Davies-Reazor

Jen Cameron

Claire Fabian

Sue Kennedy

Niky Sayers

Lindsay Starr