It's about time I revive my blog! And what better way to do it than with a challenge? The lovely Malin de Koning invited me along with Claire Lockwood, Rebecca Anderson, and Heidi Post to join in an earring challenge with her.
Malin put together an inspiring pack of mixed beads for us to use: wooden beads, glass, tiny trade beads, gems, and coral...it was quite a selection! Malin is the master of earrings in my book and has a wonderful eye for detail. I can really see 'her' in these beads.
The challenge was to create at least one pair of earrings, ideally, with at least 3 of the beads from the pack. There was such a great selection of beads, the real challenge was deciding on how to use them.
As soon as I received the beads from Malin, I got started on a few pairs of earrings. I actually made the final pair last night. There are 6 in total.
Here's the first pair...I used the tiny, green howlite washers along with the green discs and stone-like cogs (one of my favourite beads in the mix). I paired them with my own enamelled leaves and copper earwires.
Next up is a pair of seaside inspired earrings. I loved the golden wooden nuggets Malin chose for us and immediately thought of something light, and beachy. I mixed up some of the wooden beads with a pair of mismatched starfish art beads by Majoyoal. Finished with bronze findings I made.
Now on to something a bit different...You can see one of my favourite beads (they're all lovely!) from the pack was the green howlite barrels. These are slightly mismatched with the faceted glass beads, howlite, tiny metal beads, and glass pearls. I wire wrapped some of the beads onto a tassel of recycled leather with lampwork art beads by Earthshine Beads.
Continuing on the tassel theme is a fresh, Springy pair of earrings using the plastic flowers (love these!), juicy striped seed beads, more of the lovely howlite along with recycled leather and green garnet from my stash.
What I loved about this challenge was that, although I loved the beads Malin sent, there were some that I might have overlooked myself. The silver coloured beads were one of those. They are lovely on their own, but I don't normally use silver. However, they fit nicely with the mismatched flower caps and striped seed beads for a bohemian pair of earrings. The lampwork discs are by Earthshine Beads.
Last but not least is the pair I made last night. They're a bit funkier than the others, but I like something about the flow. I used the lampwork discs Malin sent, some of the coral, striped seed beads, and some glass beads and petal bead caps from my stash.
A huge thank you to Malin for this wonderful challenge! Check out what everyone else made for the challenge on their blogs. I can't wait to see!
I already checked Rebecca Anderson's post and was so curious to see what everybody else had made :) What I see is that there are no limits for creativity and talent! Definitely pinning those wire wrapped leather tassels!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your lovely comment! I'm glad you liked the leather tassel design. :)
DeleteThese are all fab. I especially love the ones with the leather - really like that look.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Claire! It was good to try some new things out.
DeleteI can't tell how happy I am with the result of this challenge and all the wonderful creations that has been made by everyone.
ReplyDeleteLeah, wow! You have truly created some very wonderful pairs of earrings. I love all of them. And you have managed to incorporate both the kinds of beads I had trouble with myself. The silvery shiny ones, and the milky flower wheels. Beautiful. I love your use of leather which add softness to the designs.
My favorite pair of yours is the one with the milky flower wheels. (Would you consider selling them to me?)
Thank you so much for participating!
x
Lovely makes! Shared g+1 ;) xx
ReplyDeleteOh my, the flowers with the green beads and leather - those are my favorites. All your wire work is so cool! Especially the way some of them aren't separate ear wires, but just a continuation of the earring. I love they way the leather bits look on these.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Heidi! That's one of my favourite pairs, too.
DeleteGorgeous earrings. You are such a very talented artist!
ReplyDeleteTalk about coming back in the big way! I especially like the earrings with the leather tassels.
ReplyDeleteI just love looking at everyone's wee 'collections'! So fantastic that a selection of beads that are so Malin can be turned into earrings that speak so much of each of us. I love all the texture you have got into these - all the wrapping and layering and the swaying movement I bet they all have. Gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteWhat a super fun challenge. Each of your collections is so different from each other. I love the earthiness of your collection. Those daisy-leather earrings are definitely my favorite. Great job with this fun mix of beads.
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