Sunday 6 November 2016

Stacked Earrings Challenge - the fifth and final round!

I am sad to say we're finally at the end of the Stacked Earrings Challenge started by Malin de Koning. This is the 5th and final round! The original idea was for a small group of jewelry makers to send each other a selection of beads. The challenge is to create at least one pair of earrings with at least 3 types of the beads from the pack.

This time, it was Heidi's turn from Ex Post Facto Jewelry. I personally found Heidi's pack of beads so fun! I immediately made two pairs and sadly didn't have a lot of opportunity to make nearly as many as I wanted. In all, I finished three pairs, but I'll definitely be heading back to this stash soon!

Here's a photo of everything Heidi sent:


Photo by Malin de Koning

Aren't they fun? I was drawn to the purple and orange, tiny faceted metallic, and old (African trade?) beads. I only finished three pairs of earrings, but I had so many ideas from this selection.





The very first pair I made used only beads from the pack. They're made with the plump orange beads, rhinestone spacers, green stones, copper tubes, a pair of faceted gems, and those teeny tiny metallic beads.




Next up I went for purple. I've been experiencing purple mania recently, so I pulled out the dyed wood, faceted glass, some complimentary mint colored beads, and decorative bead caps. I added my own enameled twisted headpins for extra fun!





Last and most favorite is the third pair I finished this week. I love to mix a bit of grungy metal with sparkling stones and just a pop of color. At the top of the earrings is a tiny stack of the old striped glass with the faceted metal beads. I wire wrapped hoops of copper and dangled African Krobo beads beneath them with a chain of the rock crystals from the pack. 






Thank you, Heidi, for the super fun beads! All those tiny beads were so useful and perfect for adding extra little details. And a huge thanks to Malin for starting this wonderful challenge! It's been fantastic.

Check out what the others made on their blogs!