Mixed Materials Love

Tags

Allegory Gallery, Allegory Gallery Design Challenges, Andrew Thornton, Art beads, The Bead Chest, William Jones

I get some of my best beads from artist Andrew Thornton – his destashes, the shop he owns with William Jones, Allegory Gallery, and the kits he puts together for Allegory Gallery Design Challenges.  Recently I got a strand of paper beads as a prize, and I love them.  I had multiple ideas for them right away.  (They have some similar beads in their etsy store right now.)

Andrew made the polymer faux Moroccan amber beads for a challenge kit. I took apart the necklace I originally made that didn’t do them justice, and I’ve been saving them for something special.  I got some cool, chunky wooden chain from a destash that I knew would find just the right project someday.

After auditioning different metal spacers, I decided to use some I just recently got at Bead & Button.  I added in an enamel Berber bicone bead from The Bead Chest and a large swivel clasp.  I really love how it turned out. It’s a fun mix of materials – paper, polymer clay, metal, wood. Some of these materials have been waiting for the perfect project and some new beads came in handy right away.  I’m already picturing what I will wear it with.

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Vintage Plastic

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Allegory Gallery, Allegory Gallery Design Challenges, Andrew Thornton, Anna Pierson, Saga Hus, SagaHus Components, vintage plastic beads

I have really gotten interested in vintage plastic beads lately.  I blame Andrew Thornton and Allegory Gallery – in a good way!  Andrew often includes plastic beads in his kits for the Allegory Gallery Design Challenge (super fun and inspiring challenges, by the way) and their etsy shop.

Recently, Anna Pierson of Saga Hus was having a component sale and destash on her SagaHus Components Facebook Page. I love her wire and fiber (and sometimes beaded) components, and I also got some great vintage plastic beads!  I could not resist the fabulous egg shape and swirly pumpkin texture. Reading that description, maybe I was hungry!  It worked out, though, because soon after I got them, I made a delicious necklace!

I strung them all together on waxed linen with yellow seed beads as spacers.  I added a pair of glass beads that seemed to fit in for added interest at the front and a few trixies for fun at the back. It’s long enough to slip over my head. I really like vintage plastic beads and the fun, lightweight looks I’ve been able to get with them.

Allegory Gallery Mermaid Lagoon Challenge Reveal

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Allegory Gallery, Allegory Gallery Design Challenges, Andrew Thornton, Mermaid Lagoon Mystery Challenge

Today is the reveal for the Allegory Gallery Mermaid Lagoon Mystery Challenge! Artist Andrew Thornton curates wonderful kits available through Allegory Gallery.  He includes Mystery Components that he hand makes and lucky participants use these materials to make whatever they want.  It’s fun to see the differences (and sometimes similarities) in what people make when they start from the same materials.

I actually remembered to take pictures of the kit this time!  Good thing because, as a mystery challenge, there wasn’t a picture of the kit included in the blog post.  The materials were a secret even to participants until we received the kit. This poses an extra challenge for me because I often design by looking at the picture of the kit.  Here it is:

Andrew made two mystery components for this kit:

I am often drawn to one thing from the kit and work with that first.  This time it was the white teardrop beads.  I wanted to make a fringe front necklace.  I added a turquoise bead below the teardrop and a shell bead above it to make the dangles.  I put those on some chain.

Initially, I was going to add a few beads on each side and finish with chain. Then I thought why not use the chip beads.  I thought the long, white swath around the neck would be elegant.  But then I thought about all the lovely small mixed seed and other beads in the Luxury Blend.  I decided to use those in a random manner.  I like it; the strand looks like a collection of sea glass and other treasures picked up during a walk on the beach.  I struggle with blue and also water themes.  I’m not a beach person.  I like the pool, but the beach is all about bad smells, sand sticking to me, live critters I want nothing to do with, and too much sun.  I know that is not most other people’s experience!  So when I can make something that doesn’t bring me any of those unfortunate associations, but still has a beachy feel, I’ve met the challenge.

Next I made some earrings.  These came out of my “try whatever is on the bead table” aesthetic.  I think it really worked.

I loved these blue pieces of shell from the kit, and they look great with these floral patterned beads that were on my table from a failed earring design.  I added two light blue crystals from the kit and voila.

I love the Mystery Components Andrew made, and I wanted to make sure I had time to use at least one.  I have a desire to make a chunky necklace, but it just wasn’t working with my mermaid.  I looked around and saw some labradorite with a lot of flash.  Mermaids are very magical creatures, so that seemed right. I added in some sea glass various seed beads and more beads from the kit at back.  A sweet little hook and eye clasp finished it off.

These labradorite cubes have a lot of beautiful flash that I didn’t capture at all, but this is the best overall picture of the necklace.  But in person, the sparkle leading down to the beautiful mermaid makes the piece.

As I was digging through the kit beads to find enough matching seed beads, I saw two little opalite-type dangles.  Earrings!  There were also two pieces of rough apatite (I think – there’s something I always get mixed up with apatite, and it could be that) and a couple more pieces of shell.  I had my lovely ocean treasure earrings…until I broke one apatite bead wire wrapping it.  No worries. I had some similar in my stash…and broke that one too.  I’m very willing to take direction from the universe.  Mismatched it was.  So I used a similarly colored tube from the kit.

I used dark purple craft wire which amused me even though you can’t really tell. I know it’s purple.

As usual, I got a lot of inspiration and had a lot of fun with this kit!  Please visit the Allegory Gallery Design Challenge Facebook page to see what everyone made!

 

Allegory Gallery Mystery Challenge 3 Reveal

Tags

Allegory Gallery Design Challenges, Andrew Thornton, Miss Fickle Media, Mystery Challenge 3, William Jones, WoolyWire

Today is the reveal for the Allegory Gallery Design Challege – Mystery Challenge 3 edition.  People really seem to like the mystery challenge kits where we don’t see any of the components prior to getting them.  In other Allegory Gallery Design Challenges, only the Mystery Component that is hand made by Andrew Thornton is a surprise.  Well this kit came as a complete surprise to me. Judging by the photo above, I thought it was going to be all neutrals – taupe, cream and beige.  I did not pick up on the color of the lettering.  The kit actually consists of soft pinks, peaches and greens.  Love!  Just gorgeous.

My first piece is a necklace using the Mystery Component that Andrew made – a gorgeous bird pendant.

Materials I used from the kit include the pendant, the two green saucers above it, a few of the pearly seed beads and the waxed linen.

I made another necklace based on a sketch I had made to use some “flag” beads I have in a necklace unrelated to this kit.  It wasn’t quite working, so I thought why not try a version of it with some of the kit beads.

I used a sea glass pendant made by Andrew Thornton and his sister Sheila.  I’m in love with it. Above it, I put three chip beads from the kit and two serpentine rounds.  Then I used the flag beads and green beads from my stash along with pink rice beads and pearly seed beads from the kit.  I finished it off with some chain bits because I’m enthralled with chain bits.  This picture was difficult due to the shine on the flags. Also, we’ll see how long this necklace lasts because the flags flap and there doesn’t have to be any wind.  It may or may not bother me enough to take it apart.  But I like how it looks.  I love the look of bunting flags, and hope I got a bit of that here.

Next I wanted to use those gorgeous, lightweight pink barrels from the kit.  I had gotten some of my serpentine out to see if it went with anything, and these twisted barrels were perfect.

In addition to the pink barrels from the kit, I used a flower pendant by Andrew Thornton, a few Czech cathedral beads, and the serpentine with some tiny bright green colored pyrite between them. These are all I had of this color of cathedral bead.  It’s gratifying when a small number of beads is just what I have and just what I need! I love the slight asymmetry.

Then I focused on earrings.  When getting the pendant above out of my Andrew Thornton box (I group art beads for storage by artist) I saw a pair of his polymer roman glass pieces in a perfect color for the kit.

All the other beads in these earrings, along with the waxed linen, are from the kit. I think these earrings are so cute!

Then I moved on to some fabulous faux strawberry quartz dangles from the kit. (I don’t know if they were trying to be faux, but that’s what these plastic pieces looked like to me.)

All the beads in these earrings are from the kit.  I even got to use some of the sequins!  I’m always thrilled when I get to do that.  And then I loved these so much I used more of the “strawberry quartz” drops in another pair.

All the beads from these earrings are also from the kit.  Next I wanted to use one of the big, faceted pink plastic rectangles.  I originally thought of earrings, but even though they are light, they are kind of big. I regularly look at Pinterest for inspiration, and saw these fab bracelets by Shannon of Miss Fickle Media. She has a whole bunch in her shop, along with components that are some of my favorites. I had an open bracelet bar by her and decided to try to use it.  My bracelet isn’t perfect, but I love it anyway. It’s very much my style.

All the beads are from the kit, and I added some WoolyWire on the bottom.  I didn’t want to use it all the way around because the bracelet bar itself is so beautiful.

There were lots of beautiful rounds in the kit. I also had a bunch of fun large glass pearls, faceted plastic and large “sugar” beads I had been trying to use together in a piece. This kit brought them all together!I used about half a dozen green and pink round from the kit along with the other beads, some bead caps and waxed linen for this fun necklace.

This was another super fun and inspiring kit!  Thanks to Andrew and William for this challenge!  Please visit the Allegory Gallery Design Challenge Facebook page to see what other participants made.

 

Evergreen Challenge Reveal

Tags

Allegory Gallery, Allegory Gallery Design Challenges, Andrew Thornton, Evergreen Challenge

Today is the day for the Allegory Gallery Design Challenge – Evergreen edition! Artist Andrew Thornton puts together fabulous bead kits, and we get to see what all the participants make starting with the same materials. Here is Andrew’s photo of the Evergreen kit.

Andrew also always includes a Mystery Component he makes himself.  This time it was a pendant with gorgeous, shimmery evergreen frond pattern.

I love the colors and materials of this kit.  I was thrilled with the two full strands of beads!  I used those first in a triple strand necklace.  For the third strand, I used two colors of green Czech glass beads.  From the kit, I also used silver daisy spacers and some cotton cord.

I wish the strands were spaced better.  I will probably take it apart at some point, but I do like how it looks in general.  I’m bound and determined to get multi-strand necklaces right, either by loosening up and not caring if they strands cross over each other (I never mind it when I see it on other people) or by getting the strands to lay right.

Next, I made something really blingy!  I’m usually a bohemian gal, but I saw this amazing tassel. I decided to try something like that. Mine isn’t quite full enough, but I like it anyway.  I used both beads from the kit and my stash in the necklace and tassel. Making this was so fun! Now I need to go to a party.

I often make things using whatever is laying out on my work table.  To me, that means there are a million good ways to use my materials.  That helps me be creative because I’m not going to use anything the “wrong” way.  No such thing. This necklace turned out to be my favorite.

I had this black and white African glass bead and these smaller black and white beads on my table waiting to be put away.  I used beads from the kit to make dangles and and a couple of disks from the kit with the African bead.  I loved how copper looked with the green and black, so I incorporated that as well.

The blog hops are changing to have people post their reveals in the Facebook group Allegory Gallery Design Challenges. It’s a public group, so you can pop over and check out what other people post.  Have fun!

Beady Leftovers Blog Hop Reveal

Tags

Allegory Gallery Design Challenges, Andrew Thornton, Beady Leftovers Blog Hop, Brave Angel Challenge, Forest of Jewels, Lunar Eclipse Challenge, Marybeth Rich

Today is the reveal for the Beady Leftovers blog hop sponsored by Marybeth Rich of Forest of Jewels. Marybeth had a terrific idea because she, like many of us, has leftovers from other blog hops, challenges and projects. Why not challenge ourselves to use some of them up?

I wasn’t sure which leftovers to use.  I thought about:

• bunches of leftover beads still in their containers from challenge kits
• specific beads I know are leftover from finished pieces
• Mystery Components I haven’t used from some of Andrew Thornton‘s Allegory Gallery Design Challenges
• my messy bead table because everything out there is left from projects I’ve worked on in the last [I don’t want to admit how long since I’ve cleaned up] months

But then something caught my eye.  I have a round plastic thing I saved from something I can’t remember that I intended to use as a bangle bracelet form since it’s a nice fit on my wrist.  I spied it and decided it would be a great base to use up some leftovers.  With that idea in mind, I quickly put together some materials from both my bead table and leftovers boxes.

The pink mix in the box lid is from the Brave Angel Challenge. The pieces of sari silk are leftover from several of Andrew Thornton’s challenges.  The yellow batik ribbon was tied on the box of a bead order, but I can’t remember from which artist.  It’s possibly their own leftover and now a leftover for me!  The little bag is a mix of beads from challenges, and I fished out those long beads already wire wrapped that were going to be something in a project.  I’ll be happy to use those and not waste the nice balled headpins I used to wrap them!  There is also a piece of leather (it’s metallic on the other side) left from a bracelet I made for the Lunar Eclipse Challenge.

I had made one wrapped bangle before and really liked how it turned out, so I made another for this hop.

I used three lengths of sari silk as well as the batik ribbon.  I love the mix of colors!  I riveted on a little leather tag à la Lorelei Eurto.  I wrapped the whole thing with thin raw copper wire because I liked the orange color, but it doesn’t show that bright in this picture.  I also used copper balled headpins to wrap all the beads.  I even got to use those long beads I had already wrapped.  I placed them all on large jump rings, and I have a dangle bangle!

Although I didn’t use a ton of beads in this piece, I was glad to use some orphan beads, ribbon and supplies. This challenge really made me see that it isn’t hard to use leftovers if I put my mind to it.  Thanks to Marybeth!  Please visit her page to see what beady leftover goodness other participants have created.

Endless Sky Challenge Reveal

Tags

Allegory Gallery, Allegory Gallery Design Challenges, Andrew Thornton, Eden Art Glass, Endless Sky Challenge, Helen Chalmers, Quisnam

It is time for another fun and fabulous Allegory Gallery Design Challenge reveal!

Artist Andrew Thornton is the host for these challenges as well as the curator of the kits.  In his post about this kit, he said lately his initial inspiration is a gemstone: in this case aquamarine, one of my favorites!  He built on that by drawing on the various shades of blue skies he has seen.  The result is this lovely kit, including his beautiful, handmade cloud pendant.

The first thing I wanted to use was the aquamarine chip.  I thought about what Andrew wrote on his blog regarding different skies.  I wanted to capture the varied colors the sky sometimes gets that makes you stop and take a long look.

With the aquamarine, I combined labradorite, amethyst, larimar, green hair quartz and aventurine.  I didn’t quite get the look I was going for, but I think it’s pretty!  I used one of the large quartz beads and some dangles I had put on chain that hadn’t gotten used in another project but were still sitting on my table looking perfect for this one.

Next I wanted to use the beautiful Mystery Component – Andrew’s handmade cloud pendant.  It has several blues with a gold rimmed cloud (not just a silver lining, but gold!) covered in resin.  Really detailed and lovely.

Simple wire wrapped chain is one of my favorite looks.  Because it allows me to use a variety of beads, it is a perfect technique for the challenge kits.  I combined mostly pearls and crystals from the kit and my stash to complement the pendant colors.  I added a flower toggle clasp.

Last up is the sari silk.  I am a total sucker for sari silk.  It’s just so pretty!  I decided to make a bracelet and did a search on Pinterest to look at different styles.  I was particularly inspired by this one from the shop Quisnam.  I added two other colors of silk to the blue from the kit to look like that preternatural combination of bright/dark the sky gets just before a storm.

I used a handmade etched copper hook and eye clasp from Eden Art Glass.  I added dangles in the middle including the blue flowers and some other beads from the kit, a rectangular white pearl (that isn’t photographing well) and a blue and gold ridged lampwork bead by Helen Chalmers.  I added more dangles near the clasp to balance the piece.  I love it!

Thank you to Andrew for another fabulous challenge!  Please visit the links below to see what the other participants created.

Dolores Raml https://craftydscreations.wordpress.com

Marybeth Rich http://forestofjewels.blogspot.com/

Mona Arnott http://bijouxgemsjoy.blogspot.com/

Christina Hickman http://vintagetreasuresjewelry.blogspot.com/

Shaiha Williams http://www.shaihasramblings.com/

Kathy Lindemer http://bay-moon-design.blogspot.com/

Ann Schroeder http://www.beadlove.wordpress.com

Tammy Bowman http://innermusejewelry.blogspot.com

Alison Herrington http://alisonadorns.blogspot.com/

Jeanne Steck http://gemsbyjeannemarie.blogspot.com/

Andrew Thornton, Melissa Wynne, and Laurel Ross http://andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/

 

Sweet Honey Challenge Reveal

Tags

Allegory Gallery Design Challenges, Andrew Thornton, Green Girl Studios, Sweet Honey Challenge Reveal

Andrew Thornton hosts wonderful challenges with beautiful kits he puts together and sells through Allegory Gallery.  Today is the reveal for the Sweet Honey Challenge.  If you click on that previous link, you can see I purloined my kit photo from Andrew’s blog because I forgot to take my own.

Photo by Andrew Thornton

Kits also include a special Mystery Component handmade by Andrew.  This time it is a honeycomb pendant that looks like honey is flowing out of it.  Magnificent!

As it happens, the morning I was going to start working with the kit, I was looking over the contents of a mystery bag of beads I got from one of Andrew’s destash sales.  I love a good mish mash of odds and ends, and I spotted a glass flower in a perfect color for the kit.  It looks like it is made of honey!  I took it up to my studio with me to see what I could come up with.

I decided to use the waxed linen and primarily the chip beads to create a multistrand necklace for the flower pendant.  I’ve been seeing a lot of multistrand necklaces using this style of bead lately (even if it’s only on my own Pinterest board) and I really like it.  At first I was regretting that I had not made the strands longer so they could go all the way back, but I wouldn’t have had enough of these beads anyway.  I was running low on the darker color and found a few that could match from my stash.

In the end, I love the added leather.  The color is so similar to the flower it keeps bringing your eye back to front.  Also, it gives the piece more balance because the flower is sort of heavy in reality and visually.  I also got to practice my novice riveting skills and used one of my own handmade clasps.  As a final touch, I added the tiny bee charm from the kit as a dangle in front of the flower.  I am very pleased with this necklace.  It will go with everything and has just enough of a hippie vibe.  I’m so glad I got that flower!

Very often with Allegory Gallery challenges, I don’t add in a lot of outside beads.  It’s simply not necessary.  However, it does challenge me a bit more to think of what might go with the kit.  In this instance, I didn’t have to think very hard.  I have a Green Girl Studios bee pendant that actually says “Sweet Honey” on the back.  How could I resist?

I used the clear honey color cubes from the kit along with two sizes of opaque colored cubes from my stash.  The colors made it look very summery to me, a nice time for the bees.  I also used flowers and various round from the kit and knotted it all on waxed linen.

I wanted to use the Mystery Component, but I haven’t been able to formulate a good enough idea yet.  So that will have to wait for another day.

That is it from me.  Thanks, as always, to Andrew for putting together such a lovely kit.  Please have a look at what other participants created by clicking on the links below.

Carole Carlson https://beadsophisticate.wordpress.com/

Alison Herrington http://AlisonAdorns.blogspot.com/

Shaiha Williams http://www.shaihasramblings.com/

Ann Schroeder http://www.beadlove.wordpress.com – You are here.

Christina Hickman http://vintagetreasuresjewelry.blogspot.com/

Dolores Raml http://craftydscreations.wordpress.com/

Cheri Reed http://creativedesignsbycheri.blogspot.com/

Sarajo Wentling http://sjdesignsjewelry.blogspot.com/

Karin Grosset Grange http://ginkgoetcoquelicot.blogspot.fr/

Gloria Allen http://wingsandbeads.blogspot.com/

Andrew Thornton, Kate Enniss-Reid, and Sandi Bass: 

http://andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/

Boho Bangle

Tags

Allegory Gallery, Allegory Gallery Design Challenges, Andrew Thornton, bangle bracelet, Jennifer Jangles, JKD Studio, Noble Knight Design Challenge, sari silk

I’ve been wanting to make a wrapped bangle bracelet for some time.  So things finally came together just recently to allow me to do it.  I happened upon the perfect size and shape bracelet form when I was ordering some other stuff from JKD Studio.  Andrew Thornton included an extra sample of sari silk in a recent order from Allegory Gallery.   They have a wonderful selection of hand dyed sari silk in the store.  It is gorgeous.  I want to say thank you to anyone who ever sends me anything extra.  It makes it easier for me to use things rather than hoard them. I have some horror of running out of jewelry making supplies.  This doesn’t apply anywhere else in my life, and there is no basis for this fear, but having “extra” of anything helps allow me to use it.

Anywho, I vaguely followed this tutorial by Jennifer Jangles.  It doesn’t look half as nice in these pictures as in person.  I’m pretty happy with it!

I used beads left over from my Noble Knight kit from one of the Allegory Gallery Design Challenges.

I always find it difficult to take photos of bracelets, but these came out ok. There was even some light today!

This is also one of the first times that my messy wrap has pleased me at all.  I should actually read tutorials instead of just look at pictures.  I did have some pokey ends of wire that I just looped on the end like memory wire, although I used 22 gauge wire for ease of wrapping.

I’m sure I’ll have a lot of fun wearing this.  I can’t wait for short sleeve weather (a.k.a. bracelet weather to me).  It was also fun to make something different.