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Thursday, April 17, 2014

We're All Ears :: April Reveal

For April we are inspired by this tablescape from Pottery Barn. With the retro palette of sage, gold, cream and brown with touches of silver, this whimsical place setting could be from the 70s or today! There was a lot to be inspired by in this picture.

Here is what I created for the challenge. Since I was unable to complete the challenge for March, I was inspired to make four pairs of earrings for April.

Lasso The Moon
I was pulling from the golden color of the oil and the bird for this pair. I like the texture on the woven placemat and the hammered silverware. I spied these links on my beading table and it was serendipity that they already had great texture. These stars are one of those things I have had lying around for years. No, really. Mellisa of Chinook Jewelry sent these to me about 7 years ago! They were a mistake in that they were supposed to be beads with holes through them. But the wire got stuck inside during the firing process so they were unusable as beads. She had some sort of contest about what you would do with them, and I won them. It takes me awhile but every bead will find its purpose! I just wire wrapped the stars randomly for that lasso effect. And that is also a line from one of my favorite movies. Do you know what that is?


Fleuron

Another component that has been lying around forever are these cold clay (DAS) charms from Alona of Rafya. They have this great raised design that has been highlighted in gold with undertones of sage. I have these two very old vintage French books with hand drawings of architectural details that I love. They look right at home on this page, don't you think? A fleuron is a stylized form of flowers or leaves. I was drawn to the natural elements in the challenge picture, the leaves, the branches, the berries.

Spiked Lemonade


I imagine that in the Pottery Barn world they are having quite a feast on these tables! The glasses filled with what looked like lemonade intrigued me. More beads from my stash. These polymer clay beads from Heather Powers of Humblebeads were the perfect golden color, and I loved the way the lines mimic the textures on the skylark bird on the plate in this challenge picture. I hammered some aluminum blanks as a nod to the mod silverware, and the brown spikes are for the wood of the table.

 Well Grounded


The dark wood of the table and the fresh green stripes on the napkin along with the shimmering pressed glass is what inspired me for this next pair. I used a pair of bumpy barrel ceramic beads and some wasabi silk cord from Marsha Neal Studio. I tied them to a hexagon connector. And I am pretty proud of these ear wires (and the ones from the previous pair). I have always wanted to make my own, but I never have been able to make them identical, until now. I recently learned a trick to get my wires to come out the same on both sides using the technique in this tutorial from Jewelry Making Daily. But of course, I couldn't leave them plain, so I wire wrapped some glowing green pressed glass Toho square beads that remind me of the glasses on the table.

So, there you have it. There was so much of interest in this challenge picture that I probably could have gone on for days interpreting different parts of it. I hope that is what this challenge does for you... helps you to isolate the inspirations around you, allows you to flex your creative muscles and encourages you to use those beads that are just lying around to make something fast, fun and fabulous! Come back on Friday, May 2nd for the next We're All Ears inspiration challenge!


What inspired you?
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Let's see what you created!
Please take the time to hop around to the participants.
Leave kind, encouraging comments.
Visit their shops.
Make new friends!
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14 comments:

  1. You have some of the coolest things to play with....Love all of your earring! Especially the spiked ones. Fabulous!

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  2. Wow! Four?! I love them all but I especially love the last two. And you've picked out so many elements in a really neat way. It was a really fun image to work from - I'm glad I made the time to take part!

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  3. You outdid yourself, Erin! all four pairs are just beautiful. I love the hammered metal on the spike pair to mimic the flatware and the gleaming green beads on the last pair. Also wanted to mention how amazing your photography is. I would LOVE to be able to take photos like yours. Awesome job and a great challenge for this month!

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  4. Your earrings are wonderful! I really like the inspiration photo and that you think outside the box and find something different to inspire us. I only wish I had more time with this one because the color are right up my alley. I kind of threw mine together at the last minute.

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  5. All your earrings are beautiful, but my absolutely favorite is the first pair. Those stars are simple adorable. Four pairs? Once again, you have raised the bar;)

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  6. All of them are wonderful, but I just absolutely love the second pair. Those beads are beautiful! I also love what you did with the stars! Thank you for a great inspiration!

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  7. They are all terrific but I love the Well Grounded pair. The design is very unique and attractive.

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  8. You made four pair? You really found a lot to be inspired in this great photo you discovered. I love them all, but the first and last pair really caught my attention. The textured link is cool, and the lassoed star is brilliant. So unique to wrap them with wire. Love that look. The lime green silk cording in the Well-Grounded pair rocks! Your photos and text overlays are works of art in themselves. What photo editing program are you using?

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  9. I love your earrings. My favorite earrings are the last pair, but I am inspired by the way you wire wrapped the first pair!
    Thank you for hosting this blog hop. I never would have thought to have chosen a catalog page, but it was a brilliant choice and I really enjoyed designing my earrings with the inspiration that it provided!

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  10. Love your designs! My favorite is #4 -- the silk cord is a perfect detail.

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  11. I love them all.... so beautiful! I've got to hop on all the other blogs now :)

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  12. great earrings . My faves are the spiked lemonade, very much my personal style.
    Great inspiration photo, love the colours esp.
    Your photos are so amazing. and the backdrop props are so in tune with each earring style.
    Thanks for the link to the ear wire tutorial. An amazing tip. Like you, I don't often make my own as I am very particular about symmetry (and have tried the usual make two at one time and they always slip).
    I made three pairs of earrings but am only showing the best ones. my link is #23

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  13. Love them all! they are each so different I'm not sure I could choose a favorite. Also, thank you for the wonderful comment and help naming my earrings...haven't listed them in shop yet but when I do I'm going with your suggestion...and you're hired for all future design naming ;)

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  14. Loved them all. Especially Lasso the moon. Its awesome.

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