ToolBox Challenge

So, welcome to my first jewelry challenge slash blog hop :D 

This was an open challenge and invitation to all,  to reach outside of their norm... and I saw an early pic of one of the pieces so I know just how good that can be... jaw dropping amazing.

The challenge was to take a piece of 'his' world and use it 'ours'...raid the toolbox, tackle box or hardware store and use something that you found to make some jewelry (tools and fishing line don't count since we use them all the time anyhow ;) lol)

I WAS going to do a Father's Day challenge to make a piece of jewelry for men... because I suck a making jewelry for men and I know a lot of others have that trouble too....BUT...

.......I suck a making jewelry for men and I know a lot of others have that trouble too ;) I didn't give a lot of design and work time for this challenge, issuing it towards the end of May, so I didn't want something TOO hard, wanting to go with more  quick and fun :)

I had plans for several different pieces.

I procrastinated as usual.

I finally chose what piece to start with...

this is my piece of  'his stuff'.

 A piece of brass hardware for a drawer... knob not included ;)

I found a bunch of cool brass pieces along similar lines a year or so ago, and they've just been shifted from drawer to drawer ever since. Figured this was the perfect chance to use at least one of them.

When I picked this out of the 'bin o' brass', I immediately thought it would be awesome bent into a curve and made into a bracelet.

But... when I hauled it out for this project, I saw a small bib-style necklace instead...

..So I procrastinated some more, idly picking through beads and findings, searching for what would be 'right' for it.

Inspiration cemented itself when I discovered one odd-man-out Czech Glass cat bead. All the other beads formed pairs except one that had a bit of red in him... that went nicely with my brass :)

Once I had it all put together and was trying to decide on the clasp....  I suddenly got hit by the urge to make it a bracelet after all... SO, I bent the brass and tada!!  A wrap bracelet :)

Kitty-Cat Love

There is a red glass heart with a black Czech  glass dangle on the left side, and a black glass heart with a red Czech glass dangle on the right.

The wrap is red and black spider web lace that I've braided , then added a piece of red faux suede that had been strung with a few black seed beads.

You'll notice there are no other pieces here... just the one.

The combination of procrastination and lack of final inspiration ( tons of ideas and supplies, though), delayed me on them... but I'd planned on at least doing one more small piece this afternoon. Crunch time designs seem to work not too badly for me, especially earrings.. and since that was what I was planning on...

.. but alas... 'twas not to be :(

While at work I had a 'duh' moment that left my fingers tips not in the mood to create. It's midnight now and they're feeling better, but it's time to type and post now. For those who want to know what happened, lets just say metal that has been heated to 375 degrees all day long should never come into contact with bare skin. Before you get worried, I should like to say that I've been doing this for far too long, and burnt myself far too many times that I now barely even wince.. and my fingers didn't even blister... and they should have, trust me... lol But nope...they were just a bit tender for a while. At the moment, aside from still having a slightly 'dull' feeling to them, they're fine.. no sign of them having grabbed a hot metal door. Aren't I lucky? lol

And don't think that my procrastinating over this challenge meant I wasn't making anything.. no..I got some work done on my Chaos Kit challenge stuff done too.. not as much as I'd like, but... I'm getting there lol

So, now that you've seen me transform a piece of kitchen/bathroom hardware into a bracelet, go check out some of the others. There's only ten more participants, but I'm thinking of having another toolbox challenge in the fall :)  So keep an eye out for the right bits of 'his stuff' to make your own and share with us on the next round :)

~

Blog Hop List

You are here -> Skye

Marlene Cupo

Pookledo

Julie Anne 

Shelley Graham Turner 

Leslie Wayment

Sherri Stokey 

ingetraud 

Shaiha 

Dyanne Everett-Cantrell 

Keri Lee Sereika 

~

Marlene Cupo says she'll have her post up but won't have photos of her piece... her computer had a very brief affair with a power surge during a lightening storm, and while she has access to another computer, her camera doesn't. She'll be hopping along with us though, and as soon as she gets her pictures up, I'll share them here too :)

 Oh.. and a little something none of the participants knew about... everyone that signed up who remembered to make something and get their post up in time...will be entered in a little draw for a prize :) 

Marlene counts since she let me know in advance about the problem and will still be blogging.

Hop on & enjoy!

~ Skye

Flap Your Wings

* Post edited on Tuesday, April 24th - now includes a new photo of the necklace, plus I've opened bidding.
~

Judy Glende of ' Judith B. Designs' &  'Flap Your Wings'

This blog hop is a special tribute to Judy Glende , a fellow jewelry artisan and all round wonderful lady, who recently took wing and left us all behind. I personally did not have a chance to know her, but I adore her work, and have heard nothing but good about her. Moobie Grace Designs put together this blog hop in Judy's honor, and chose to name it after Judy's etsy shop.. which from the outpouring I've heard about, has no doubt been completely sold out.


Some of the participants of this Hop are offing their creations  either for sale or for auction, and will be donating the proceeds to the charity of their choice. I won't be auctioning my piece, however I am offering a small giveaway for everyone following along on the hop. If you've bid on any of the items being sold for this, it's worth two entries into my giveaway, so make sure to check that box ;)

THE PARTICIPANTS

1. Tania Spivey

2. Lori Anderson

3. Kashmira Patel

4. Gail Accinelli

5. Rebecca Anderson

6. Rebekah Payne 

7. Amanda Doyle Tibbetts 

(Amanda regretfully couldn't participant in the reveal but will be making a donation)

8. Kim Ballor 

9. Rochelle Brisson 

You are HERE -> 10. Sandra McGriff 

11. Lana Kinney 

12. Kym Hunter

13.  Terri Wlaschin

14.  Ginger Bishop

15.  Shannon Chomanczuk

16. Kelli Jacobson

17.  Patricia Gasparino

18.  Deana Hager

19.  Erin Siegel

20.  Deborah Wenske Brooks

21. Lynne Bowland

22.  Alicia Marinache

23.  Pam Ferrari

24.  Shirley Jones Moore

25.  Joanne Tinley

26.  Shanti Johnson

27.  Lorelei Eurto

28.  Antiquity Travelers

29.  Shelly Joyce

30.  Marlene Cupo

31.  Dee Torcherer Elgie

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

So this is my contribution to the hop :) I'll apologize right off for the photos... I took these at night in less than ideal conditions.

 While I had several designs in mind for this challenge, two cemented themselves in my mind rather firmly, and in the end this one won out. Originally I had a rather large faceted Chinese Crystal to hang between the wings, but while raiding my stash for components for my last giveaway I came across this blue glass heart tucked away in a box and knew it had to be the center.  

 

I had planned on offering this for auction, however I'm not happy with the end result quite yet. The winged portion has a hand made clasp on each end and hooks onto the chain at the height wanted, making it completely adjustable. 

I added a strand of pale blue satin cording, a strand of light blue faux suede cording, and a strand of light blue and crystal seed beads woven through out the large link chain to add a bit of color. I love how that part turned out, I'm just not happy with the ends just yet. I think I may fasten them all together rather then having them separate, or I may fasten them farther up the chain and let the ends dangle loose at the bottom.... 


I added light blue Chinese crystal rondelles, and some rose quartz chips. I'm not happy with how 'floppy' the wing section is if hung any lower than it is in the photo, so I may redo that part and make it more solid.

The heart pendant was just perfect for this... the sky blue colour as well as the symbol. 

* EDIT - here's a better picture ( I think, anyway :p you can certainly see the rose quartz better lol  )

Since no one else is bothered by the end fastenings, any one who wishes to bid on this is welcome to. I'll leave this running until next Tuesday, April 24th ( since I started it late). If anyone buys it, the money will be donated to whichever of Judy's chosen charities accepts online contributions. ( if they both do ( or neither do), the buyer can chose which one ). I do ask for a minimum bid of $5 CAD to cover shipping. Please leave your bids in the comment section where every one can see them and know where it stands :)


If no one bids, I promise not to be sad ;) lol



Here is what I'm offering up as a little giveaway for everyone visiting this hop list :) 

A pink turquoise butterfly pendant, an abalone cockatoo pendant, two Chinese crystal butterfly beads, and an assortment of metal butterflies, dragonflies and wings. Click on the rafflecopter widget below and chose your entry. I decided to let this run for a week and it's open worldwide :) ( if you can't see the green box directly below these words, then you're reading this on the blog page, and need to open the direct post. Click on the post title. )