We're All Ears :: 5th Annual Use Your Leftovers Challenge!

QUESTION: Do you like to do challenges like We're All Ears? I am trying to assess if this monthly challenge should continue in 2020. Maybe it has run it's course, or we should try something else. DO tell me what you think in the comments below.

I can't believe that it has been a full FIVE YEARS since I started issuing the Use Your Leftovers Challenge! 

I used to take a picture of the state of my beading area in my studio, but it really hasn't ever changed that much in five years. Sad, I know. [Read: I NEVER put anything away, just pile more on top, shuffle it around a bit and create a pathway through the tower of boxes and bins holding beads on the floor that I try not to trip on!]

I haven't had that much time to actually create these past few months. You would think that with both kids away at college I would have a lot more time on my hands, but there is always something that comes up, right? (Hence, the months that I totally neglected this which makes me sad.) But I also know that at this hectic time of year, this is a great opportunity for me to get back into a creative mode - and possibly use up some of my prodigious stash - with this annual leftovers challenge. So I look forward to this.

Are you like me, and have an overabundance of beads but just haven't used them or are just lazy like me and haven't bothered to put them away ;-)? 

Then this challenge is for you! The goals: 

NO SHOPPING WHATSOEVER. USE WHAT YOU HAVE. CREATE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. 

So with those goals in mind, I invite you to take part in the  

5th Annual Use Your Leftovers Challenge 

Are you ready to play with me?

Make your own Keep Calm poster at http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk

First, take a picture of the craftermath from your bead feast. Believe me, if it looks like mine it won't be pretty! My studio hardly has a path for me to walk through much less space to create. My table is littered with beady crumbs of all sorts. But think of those bits as delicious morsels waiting for your inspiration to strike!

I don't even know what year this was taken,
but I can tell you it is not much improved...and is likely MUCH WORSE!
Actually, I don't think I can even see ANY of the countertop!

Next, find a divided box, bin, baggies or small bowls and go through the stash on your festive table picking out coordinated sets that you can use to create earrings. They don't need to be same... this is a good time to practice asymmetrical earrings! Put these pieces together with ear wires, chain, findings, etc in each division of the box. I have found that a mini-muffin tin is a great way to corral these bits! Work quickly! Don't take too much time, just focus on filling the sections. Think of this like your staging area for Leftover Transformations.

Crank it up! I like to put on some upbeat music that can help me get the job done and boost my mood. I listen to Spotify. A lot. So here are some great playlists to get you creating!

Starbuck's Christmas Party Playlist

Have A Great Day Playlist

Heart Beats Playlist

100 Uplifting Songs Playlist

70s Upbeat Funky Soul Classics

Now, kick your creating into high gear! Consider this a Quickfire challenge...Set a timer (challenge yourself to see how many pairs of earrings you can create in an hour...or 15 minutes... or make one pair a day for 7 days... whatever works for you!). DON'T think about it too much (leftovers are supposed to be easy!), just make it happen. Sometimes the best things happen when you are on a deadline and you can't afford the time to overthink! 

Finally, share your bounty of tasty Leftover Transformation creations on Friday, December 20th by adding your link to the Linky Tools party right here. I would be surprised if you didn't make multiple pairs of earrings from this exercise. The bonus is that you will now have a ready-made collection of quick gifts for stocking stuffers, teachers, co-workers and friends just in time for celebrating all the winter holidays and festivities! (Or a different pair for you to wear each day until the new year!) I would love to have a lot of participation so I hope you will join me!

In the spirit of giving, I will offer a giveaway of an Emergency Earring Making kit - with beads and findings from my prodigious stash for you to use to make multiple pairs of earrings - valued at over $40. But in order to be chosen, you have to participate in the blog hop starting on December 20th. Winner will be chosen at random from all eligible entries on December 31st (that will give you more than one full week to make your Leftover Transformation magic happen!). I'll even leave the LinkyTools party open until December 31st so you have lots of time to play! 

I will announce the winner in the first challenge of the New Year on January 3rd!

Let's get this leftover party started...tell your friends to join in the fun, too! *<]:-}}}}

We're All Ears :: Use Your Leftovers Challenge

Hello beady peeps! So sorry for the delay in posting. It has been a tough week for me to get anything done. I suppose that is why I call it a challenge! :-)

I didn't have as much time to get to my studio as I wanted due to some unforeseen circumstances, but just enough time to come up with three pairs of earrings for my holiday garb. I am not going to show you my craftastrophe mess. Because it actually hasn't changed from last year! Or the year before that!

For my husband's family we choose a theme each year and this year it is "tacky Christmas" which means loads of garish prints and ugly sweaters. Wasn't sure what to do, but then spotted the leftovers of an abandoned craft project. In doing the downtown window decoration at the Gallery Q, I ended up with quite a few burned out light bulbs that I couldn't bear to throw away. So I dabbed them with alcohol inks and metallics. I used some epoxy clay to hold ball chain around the top and the wire hanger. Originally, I thought they would make interesting ornaments, but never made more than two. And two is a pair which is perfect for earrings! So I added a couple of ear wires and will don these with my ugly fuzzy pug jingle sweater. I think it will be the perfect accompaniment (especially since they don't match). Perfectly tacky in every way! (Plus I think I will put out the bowl of bulbs because they are sort of pretty!)

My family comes to my house for Christmas day but it is a more traditional celebration. I also need to cantor the songs at church that morning. So tacky garb just won't do! I usually buy myself a Christmas sweater to wear. This year I found a really deep shade of plum with crystals around the collar. So something simple is in order. 

I grabbed a couple kinds of sparkling crystals and some chain and post earrings. Easy-peasy! They came together pretty quick. However, to match the bugle beads on my sweater I think that the simpler pair wins. What do you think? (Excuse the post-workout hairdo!)

Did you know that there are at least 40 different holidays around the world celebrated in December alone!? I hope that no matter where you are, or what you celebrate during this festive time of year that it is a time of joy and rest and reconnecting with the people you love and refocusing on what really matters. 

Happy holidays one and all! 

In the spirit of giving, I will offer a giveaway of an Emergency Earring Making kit - with beads and findings from my prodigious stash for you to use to make multiple pairs of earrings - valued at over $40. But in order to be chosen, you have to participate in the blog hop starting on December 21st. Winner will be chosen at random from all eligible entries on December 31st (that will give you more than one full week to make your Leftover Transformation magic happen!). I'll even leave the LinkyTools party open until December 31st so you have lots of time to play! I will announce the winner in the first challenge of the New Year on January 4th!

We're All Ears :: 3rd Annual Leftovers Challenge Reveal

First off, I have to apologize and correct the record...2017 is the 3rd annual Use Your Leftovers Challenge. I mistakenly thought it was the 2nd! 

Next, I have to explain the situation....as I am wont to do, I left this challenge until the last possible minute. I had to work a late shift at our local art gallery until 8pm on Thursday. But I can get very energized with a quick time frame, so I knew that I could do this. When I got home and finally into the studio it was closer to 9pm and I noticed that my phone was hot and stuck on the boot screen. At first I just thought I was low on power and got the charger. About 20 minutes later I noticed that it was not actually charging but stuck on that boot screen. Uh-oh. I have since found out that my phone is likely toast. Apparently, this particular phone (LG G4) has a known hardware problem. Most people found this out back in 2015. So of course, this doesn't look good (especially when the YouTube videos to fix this involve dismantling the entire phone and using an IRON on it). I decided that I would push ahead and start making some earrings, knowing that I would have nothing to show you. I just hope that my contacts, data and any photos or videos can be recovered (but from the reviews it doesn't seem likely). While it might be nice to get a new phone, I had totally paid this up front and it is probably out of warranty at this point. Wah-wah.

{Insert your favorite sad emoji here.}

First, take a picture of the craftermath from your bead feast. Earlier in the week I had actually took a picture of the current state of the craftastrophe. Here is a side by side comparison of the same exact corner from 2015 to prove that nothing ever changes. All I can assert is that I may have purchased more stuff...allegedly. Oh, the shame! {Please tell me you can relate...}

Next, find a divided box, bin, baggies or small bowls and go through the stash on your festive table picking out coordinated sets that you can use to create earrings.  Since my studio is teetering on the brink of the abyss, all I could do was just pull the bead pairs out on the 3" square space I had to work in. But the good news is that from this strata of raw material there is no end to the amount of things I can create. 

Now, kick your creating into high gear! I have become addicted to some podcasts, so I put on my favorite (Pod Save America) and listened to two episodes that I missed this week. You will have to take my word for it that I did create some earrings. If I can find a way to take pictures of what I made in the next week, I promise I will update this space. {Still in a funk about my phone's untimely demise.}

In the spirit of this season of giving, I will offer a giveaway of an Emergency Earring Making kit - with beads and findings from my obvious prodigious stash for you to use to make multiple pairs of earrings - valued at over $40. But in order to be chosen, you have to participate in the blog hop starting on December 15th! Winner will be chosen at random from all eligible entries on December 25th (that will give you more than one full week to make your Leftover Transformation magic happen!). I'll even leave the LinkyTools party open until December 25th so you have lots of time to play!

Let's get this leftover party started...tell your friends to join in the fun, too!

So now it is time for you to share what you made by adding your link to the Linky Tools party right here. Right now.

We're All Ears :: 3rd Annual Use Your Leftovers Challenge!

For our US friends, how was Thanksgiving? It is always a binge-fest, isn't it? Everyone has their own traditions for this holiday, from what you make to where you celebrate. We go to my sister-in-law's house but I always get asked to make the desserts (which means that I, unfortunately, don't get all the great leftovers for days). I am always trying to make something fancy and new, but my husband warned me not to mess with the classic pumpkin pie, so I didn't (I made it even better!). But I did make some new things: apple blossom turnovers that were really beautiful (tasty, too!), a cranberry curd bar (that was exactly like a lemon bar but pinky-red! But WAY too fussy...will have to find a better way!)) and made from scratch whipped cream. I don't even like whipped cream, but I  can tell you I will never buy whipped cream again! This stuff is so much tastier.

I might not get turkey leftovers, but beading leftovers are no stranger to me. 

My studio perpetually looks like you pulled open one of those giant crackers and out popped all manner of beads, findings, leather, cord, clay, wire, metal and the like. When a bead rolls off my table (which they frequently do), I rarely bother to find out where it went. I just keep right on going. There is always another right there waiting.

If you are like me, then you have multiple projects happening at all times (and in my case, in various rooms of my house, much to the chagrin of my darling husband). When complete, the resulting project gets buried by the next one...literally. I imagine my studio is like an archaeological dig...strata of projects past are discovered as you dig deeper into the ever-growing pile. Every so often I feel the need to sort through it and {attempt} to put it away. (Never works.) But more likely than not, I am overstuffed from my marathon creating and I just push back from the beading table, vowing to tidy it up tomorrow.

There is only one thing to do with a bead feast craftermath like that: use your leftovers.

So in the spirit of the holidays, I invite you to play the  

2nd Annual Use Your Leftovers Challenge 

with me. Are you ready to play?

Make your own Keep Calm poster at http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk

First, take a picture of the craftermath from your bead feast. I know it won't be pretty! I expect that it will be littered with beady crumbs of all sorts. But think of those bits as delicious morsels waiting for your inspiration to strike!

Next, find a divided box, bin, baggies or small bowls and go through the stash on your festive table picking out coordinated sets that you can use to create earrings. They don't need to be same... this is a good time to practice asymmetrical earrings! Put these pieces together with ear wires, chain, findings, etc in each division of the box. I have found that a mini-muffin tin is a great way to corral these bits! Work quickly! Don't take too much time, just focus on filling the sections.Think of this like your staging area for Leftover Transformation.

Now, kick your creating into high gear! Put on some fun music (I like A Profoundly Funky Dance Party mix on Google Play). Consider this a Quickfire challenge...Set a timer (challenge yourself to see how many pairs of earrings you can create in an hour...or 15 minutes... or make one pair a day for 7 days... whatever works for you!). DON'T think about it too much (leftovers are supposed to be easy!), just make it happen. Sometimes the best things happen when you are on a deadline and you can't afford the time to overthink! 

Finally, share your bounty of tasty Leftover Transformation creations onFriday, December 15th by adding your link to the Linky Tools party right here. I would be surprised if you didn't make multiple pairs of earrings from this exercise. The bonus is that you will now have a ready-made collection of quick gifts for stocking stuffers, teachers, co-workers and friends just in time for celebrating all the winter holidays and festivities! (Or a different pair for you to wear each day until the new year!)

In the spirit of giving, I will offer a giveaway of an Emergency Earring Making kit - with beads and findings from my prodigious stash for you to use to make multiple pairs of earrings - valued at over $40. But in order to be chosen, you have to participate in the blog hop starting on December 15th! Winner will be chosen at random from all eligible entries on December 25th (that will give you more than one full week to make your Leftover Transformation magic happen!). I'll even leave the LinkyTools party open until December 25th so you have lots of time to play!

Let's get this leftover party started...tell your friends to join in the fun, too!

We're All Ears :: December Reveal :: Use Your Leftovers Challenge

Welcome to the 2nd Annual Use Your Leftovers Challenge!

I don't know about you, but when I get to this time of year, I can barely move in my studio space it is so crammed with stuff. My space is so very unproductive, so I tend to neglect it. But I am still a working artist and I have deadlines and custom orders, so I have to gingerly tiptoe around the piles. Right now my studio looks like I am auditioning for Hoarders :: Artist's Edition.

Unfortunately, my craftermath picture from this year looks a lot like the one from last year.

So the challenge was this...
Pull out some beads and components in a tray or bin or muffin tin or whatever works for you.
Put on some music or use a timer like I did and CREATE!
Take some pictures and show us what you did.

I have to admit that I didn't pull the beads out. I just decided that I had to use whatever was within reach on my table. I have an unbelievable addiction to Humblebeads. Clearly, this is a sickness that I don't want the cure for! Those who know me recall that I have a teal footed compote bowl on my table where Heather's beads reside. Well, this fall when I was teaching some classes (which I would dearly love to do more of, but in my own home....) I wanted to give my students a Humblebead of their own. So I pulled out every disc bead that I could find. I put them in this carved wood leaf bowl. And, boy! Do I have a lot!

Most of the earrings that I made include treasures from my Humblebeads stashes. Not that I don't love all the other art beads that I have lying around, just that those are the most plentiful and closest to reach.

I put on some classic Christmas music and set my timer for 10:00pm. I was surprised that I was able to make a something like 23 pairs of earrings in 2 hours! I even made a couple of different collections. If you spot something you are interested in, it is ready to ship...just send me an email or PM on Facebook to let me know which ones you like. All are between $20-30. Great stocking stuffers!

Now it is your turn! I always love this challenge for how very inspired you can get when you limit your time and your resources. And after this you have a whole bunch of earrings ready for your holiday gifting needs! Win-win!

Forgot to mention...I am giving away a prize package of an Emergency Earring Making Kit ($40 value) for anyone that plays along. Winner will be chosen on Christmas Eve! I think some Humblebeads will be included from my overflowing stash! Ho, Ho, Ho! *<]:-}}}}


See you in the new year with a new challenge!