AJE February 2015 CoM Challenge Reveal ~ Winter Rose

It's reveal time! I can't believe just how long it's been since I've played along in the Art Jewelry Elements Component of the Month Challenges…it's so good to be back at it! Sorry I'm so late—I was still finishing my design late last night and… then had to wait on daylight and to get enough time to edit photos and write up my post today. Anyhoo… here I am at last!

For this month's challenge it was Melissa Meman's turn to be our hostess and component maker… she started by carving her own original design stamp and then shaped a beautiful assortment of components in copper clay. It's not often that I use copper in my designs, but a chance to try a brand new component is not something an art bead lover can pass up easily! I snatched up a pair of her stamped rectangle charms right away!

It was so hard to settle on one design idea… I went from my original plan to make earrings… to a bracelet… to finally a necklace! A necklace that is now one of my very favorites ever.

I love the dark lines of Melissa's design and the soft glow of the copper and really wanted to keep it the focal point of my design without any overly distracting colors or patterns, so I chose to go very neutral.

And I think I was maybe just a little inspired by all the snow that has fallen this winter—way too much if you ask me, but it's been lovely to look at! I've titled my necklace "Winter Rose". The palette reminds me of the melting snow, as the faded leaves of the forest floor start to peek through. It's beautiful out—colors of winter are so saturated with the wetness of the melting snow and it's one of the very best times to go walking… if you don't mind the cold!

I used Melissa's copper charms to frame one of my own hand-painted polymer roses—like little leaves on either side.

I chose some rectangular white agate to echo the shape of Melissa's charms. Almost all of these beads came from a recent bead swap with a wonderfully generous bead lover I met through Etsy. And what fun new beads I got!

She'd had the stash of beads for quite some time, so I'm not absolutely sure what they all are—czech glass for the rondelles and the creamy-white ones look like some kind of stone, maybe. Doesn't really matter to me—I just love how they all fit into my design so nicely!

My sister Bethanne was sorting the bead swap with me (I think she may have kept some for herself! ;-) and suggested I add a pop of color with the oxblood red faceted rounds. Yes! Of course—one of my very favorites! I also threw in a sprinkling of oxblood seed beads to match.

I realized with this necklace that I've actually never done a knotted necklace before! What?! Wow… I've always loved the look and so it was a lot of fun to finally give it a go. It gave the necklace the perfect drape—I had tried beading wire, but it was too stiff and didn't match the "flow" of the the linked section and made the whole necklace look very stiff and lopsided. Perhaps a different wire would have worked fine, but I didn't have any on hand—what better excuse to try something new! :-)

I didn't have enough of the same beads to go all the around the necklace and didn't want to add anything else to the design. So it took me practically forever to decide how to finish the back of the necklace, but in the end I went with the simplicity of hemp cord. I made beaded loops at the end of the beaded section and knotted the hemp cord to that—I like that it adds a bit more texture and rustic-ness to my design and that I can easily adjust the length.

And there you have it—my brand new favorite necklace! Thank you Melissa, for another most gorgeous and inspiring CoM! And thank you to all you readers for stopping by to visit!

Be sure to take a peek at what everyone else made…

Guests:
Michelle Mach
Patty Miller
Divya N

AJE Team:
Jenny Davies-Reazor
Susan Kennedy 
Melissa Meman
Rebekah Payne
Lindsay Starr
Kristen Stevens
Lesley Watt

AJE February 2014 CoM Challenge Reveal ~ A Love for Autumn

It's reveal time again! For February's CoM challenge on AJE blog, Melissa Meman made us all a gorgeous and colorful fluttering heart focal—each one is formed in copper, enameled in rich hues, and decorated with little sprinkles of glass frit. A perfect choice for February!

Here's the one Melissa picked for me…

In my favorite color—orange! And so vibrant and shiny. I had been toying with an idea before it arrived and was pretty sure that was that. But then, when I unwrapped it, I had a totally different idea…

Because suddenly it wasn't just a heart, it was a heart-shaped leaf in stunning autumn colors…

Yes, I'm talking about the back! For a girl who loves autumn the most and who receives a "leaf" focal what else can she do? She must to go with it.

Just look at those colors! Glowing yellow-gold, a speckling of rust brown, and rich oxblood red. It's a bright autumn leaf, glowing with one last effort before it fades away and is forgotten in the harshness of winter.

Yes, I am swooning over it.

And yes, I did use it backwards—Melissa, I do hope you won't be offended or upset that I didn't use it as you had originally intended. I think it's so much more than the back of a heart—it's the inside of a heart and in this heart (mine) is held a deep love for autumn.

Okay, enough babbling from me—let me show you what I made and you can tell me if I did right…

I kept the design fairly simple. Inside the "leaf" I wire-wrapped a little bouquet of cloud grey czech glass flowers with vineing tendrils.

Each flower has a tendril at the center and a tiny purple seed bead—I love purple and orange together.

I hung the pendant on a double strand of seed beads—it's a mix of grey iris, purple iris, and metalic purple.

More wire wrapping, dark stained wooden beads, and rosy-orange faceted czech glass.

Deciding how to finish off the back of the necklace took me the longest. I was originally going to paint some leather, but couldn't come up with a design that really complemented the focal… so I finally settled on a piece of vintage fabric from my great grandmother. I absolutely adore the bold pattern and colors of this print, but I don't have a whole lot, so I've been hanging onto it for something special. It was perfect for this necklace!

The colors were just a little more vibrant than I wanted, so I tried tea dyeing for the first time—I've been wanting to try out this technique for ages! I made it long enough that I could easily slip it over my head without any closure and wire-wrapped the ends.

And that's the end of my new necklace story… except for the part where I will wear it—a lot! I really am so happy with the way it all turned out. Thank you so much for stopping by and Melissa, thank you for a most gorgeous focal!

Be sure to check out what everyone else dreamed up with Melissa's pretty hearts!

Guests:
Lori Bowring Michaud 
Kathy Lindemer
Kim Bender 

AJE Team:
Melissa Meman
Jenny Davies-Reazor
Rebekah Payne
Caroline Dewison
Kristen Stevens
Keirsten Giles
Sue Kennedy

* * * And don't forget… * * *

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