Honey Do List – February 2021

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Honey Do List Challenge, Now That's a Jig!, Sarajo Wentling, SJ Designs Jewelry

Sarajo of SJ Designs Jewelry generously shares her Honey Do List challenges with us. Her husband, Eric, is a talented photographer. He chooses a photo each month to inspire our creations. The photo this month was right up my alley. Eric took it on a trip to London.

Photo by Eric Wentling

There is so much to work with here. But what struck me first was the red heart and the chain link fence. I love the contrast between what could be thought of as hard and soft, colorful and not. I wanted to use those two images to make earrings.

My wire work is not perfect, but it was good practice and looks kind of like weathered fence links. I find it difficult to take pictures of earrings, but I think they look fabulous on. The hearts swing inside the frames, so they have great movement. (Someday I hope to get a Now That’s a Jig! if they are ever available again, so I can make amazing things with steel wire!)

This was a very fun challenge. Thanks Eric and Sarajo! Check out Sarajo’s blog to see what she and others made for this challenge.

SJ Designs Honey Do List – August 2020

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Eric Wentling, Honey Do List Challenge, Humblebeads, Sarajo Wentling, SJ Designs Jewelry

Sarajo of SJ Designs Jewelry has a challenge on her blog every month. Her husband Eric, a great photographer, chooses a photo to inspire her jewelry making, and Sarajo invites us to play along.

Photo by Eric Wentling

This month is a burst of color with this summer scene. It is especially appropriate because Sarajo has been raising and releasing monarchs in recent months. I had the perfect pendant from Humblebeads, so I couldn’t resist joining in!

I used a vintage pinch bail to connect this polymer Humblebeads monarch pendant to a strand of rich orange, bright yellow and fresh green vintage glass beads. I feel like these beads capture the summer colors of the photo, almost like the monarch pendant has landed here to drink some nectar.

Thanks Sarajo and Eric for the great inspiration and challenge! If you would like to see what others have made, visit Sarajo’s blog post.

SJ Designs Jewelry Honey Do List – April 2020

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#vintajriseanddesign, Eric Wentling, Honey Do List Challenge, Kylie Parry Studios, Sarajo Wentling, SJ Designs Jewelry, Vintaj, Vintaj patina

Sarajo of SJ Designs Jewelry has a monthly challenge. Her husband, Eric, takes great photos. He chooses one to inspire her jewelry making, and she invites us to play along. The inspiration this month is fancy metalwork from a castle gate in the UK.

Photo by Eric Wentling

When I saw this elaborate lock, it brought to mind a beautiful ceramic keyhole pendant by Kylie Parry I got years ago.

I’ve been working with the Vintaj Rise and Design We-Care package I got recently, so when I wanted to add some metal elements, I dipped into that. I had watched Heather Powers’ videos about her designs with the Vintaj kit, and I used a couple of her techniques here. I hammered and sanded the brass key and used a thicker chain near the bottom with thinner chain further back; that keeps the pendant from flipping around. That is a great tip!

I wanted a tassel feel, so I added a second key and a couple of leaves. I kept one the black of the metalwork in the inspiration and used the same Vintaj Marble patina on the other that I used on the second key.

A small lampwork bead (artist unknown) and a Vintaj ring, along with the chain, complete the look.

The Honey Do List challenges are really fun. The photos are always really beautiful and full of inspiration. To see what Sarajo and others made, visit her blog. And check back after the first of the month to see the next challenge; maybe you’ll be inspired to join in!

SJ Designs Honey Do Challenge – October 2019

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Andrew Thornton, Eric Wentling, Honey Do List Challenge, I, Sarajo Wentling, SJ Designs Jewelry

Sarajo Wentling does a monthly challenge on her SJ Designs Jewelry blog; the Honey Do List. Her husband Eric, an excellent photographer, chooses one of his photos and challenges us to make something inspired by it. This month, the inspiration is a bit wicked and dark, suitable for October and Halloween.

This is Eric’s photo of a raven from the Tower of London.

Photo by Eric Wentling

It’s so cool and full of inspiration. I had a lot of ideas, and I knew there were at least a couple of ravens in my stash, so I decided to put my focus there and let a raven guide me. I had a gorgeous resin raven pendant by Andrew Thornton of Allegory Gallery.

The background of the pendant has the beautiful iridescent colors that can be found in a raven’s feathers. I wanted to play that up somewhat. There is a lot of color in the photo, but it still looks rough and somewhat dark. I decided to use rough black tourmaline beads, and play up the colors with some matte purple metallic spacers. I used copper findings and a few copper colored beveled beads to bring a little sparkle.

In the end, I don’t find my raven all that creepy. It reminds me of those memes that show a cute little bat saying, “I am the darkness.” But inspiration leads where it leads, and I like my beautiful raven necklace all the same. Thanks, Sarajo and Eric! Visit Sarajo’s blog to see what others have made.