AJE 'Use Your Stash" Challenge Reveal.

For this months AJE challenge, instead of working with a specific component we were charges with getting into our bead stashes and designing with something we already have. This  is a good way to to get yourself going after the new year especially if like me, you creative motivation has gone into hibernation!

I bought these beads from Tracey Seder Donoughe at Bead Fest and I absolutely adore them. So much so that when I go to my stash I invariably spend time just looking at them still amazed at the incredible detail with each one like a tiny little vessel. They are also extremely tactile have the most wonderful feel to them that just makes you want to touch them.

It suddenly occurred to me that if I turned some of these into a bracelet then they would be there to see and touch whenever I was wearing it...almost like worry beads I guess. I pulled out half a dozen of the blue cream beads because they pair well with my daily uniform of jeans and would therefore get lots of wear. It's a fairly simple design with the beads wire wrapped and linked to each other and I've interspersed them with labradorite dangles to give some fluidity and movement to the piece.

I'm pretty happy with it and am keen now to do something with the rest of Tracie's beads.

I also managed to whip up a quick pair of earrings using some of my AJE team stash. I have a whole flock of Caroline's bird beads and I recently acquired some egg shaped lampwork headpins from Jen Cameron in a beautiful mottle glass - a perfect match for these cute little earrings.

I wash also hoping to have a third piece finished for this challenge but life intervened so this beaded piece with a wonderful focal by Birgitta Legonkou is a work in progress. The theme for this is serenity and I'll come back and share it when I do get finished.

In the meantime I hope you will take a little time to follow out blog hop and see what our guest designers and the rest of the AJE team have created for this months challenge - just use the links below. Happy hopping!

AJE team:

Lesley Watt - you are here

Lindsay Starr

Caroline Dewison

Jennifer Cameron

Jenny Davies-Reazor

Susan Kennedy

Niky Sayers

Guests: 

Terri - Terrri’s Blooming ideas

Shai - Shai’s Ramblings

Melissa - Bead Recipes

Tammy - Paisley  Lizard

Sarajo - SJ Designs

Kathy - Bay Moon Designs

Karin - Ginko et Colquelicot

Lola - Bead Lola Bead

Samantha - Wescott Jewelry

Mona - Bijoux Gem

Suntsa - Suntsan

Brooke - Artistic Endeavours 101

Lesley

Re-birth of the Sun - design Challenge Reveal

It seems like an awfully long time since I launched this winter AJE design challenge and I have to say I would like nothing more than to see some sustained sun right now...  so far winter in the UK has be unrelentingly grey and wet! But never mind - a blog hop of designs with a sun theme is a pretty good substitute and if you missed the original post you can find it here.

I have to admit that although this theme was my choice it did give me something of a challenge in that I struggle to work with yellows...a bit of a hinderance when it come to the sun. The first thing I did was make some ceramic pendants to put in my shop and made myself break out some yellows and golds for the glazes. Although though I didn't use any of these in my own design there may be one or too appearing in the blog hop.

For my next design I turned to bead embroidery - my favourite past-time of the moment  to create this brooch. I used one of my own cabochons featuring the spiral symbol often associated with the sun, accented with beads in shades of gold and bronze and with a picot edging to give the effect of sun rays.

Next up is a pair of earrings featuring a tribal sun design which I've etched into hand cut and domed copper discs. The beaded drops feature faceted Citrine and Labradorite beads - simple but pretty.

For my final piece I wanted something a bit more substantial so I decided to make a necklace using a technique I learnt from Jenny Davies-Reazor which combines a cold set bezel and polymer clay. The focal of this piece features one of my own porcelain face charms set in a bezel formed from two Vintaj flower blanks. The bezel is attached to a textured polymer clay pendant which has been painted with acrylic and sanded back to create the effect of sky, clouds and the sun's aura.

Because the focal is quite detailed I wanted to stay fairly simple with the necklace so I chose to go with inky blue/purple pearls interspersed with gold seed beads to pick up the hues in the pendant. Little brass sun discs add accents at each end of the necklace.

A crescent moon cut from sheet bronze and a Hematite star charm hanging beneath the sun signify it returning to the dominant position and another star charm hanging from the end of an extension chain completes the piece. It took me a while to get this one the way I wanted it but I'm really pleased with how it turned out in the end.

Please excuse the less than brilliant photo's - I like to take them in natural light and it's been in very short supply of late! I'd just like to thank everyone who has taken part in this challenge and I hope you now join me in visiting the rest of the participants to see what they've created - just click on the links below.

Guest Designers

Melissa Trudinger

Lennis Carrier

Linda Newnham

Tammy Adams

Sherri Hartman-Stokey
Kathy Lindemer
E B Beads and Metalwork

AJE Team

Lindsay Starr

Jennifer Cameron

Sue Kennedy

Niky Sayers

Jenny Davies-Reazor

Caroline Dewison

Lesley