Rings and Things Blog Challenge

Reading through my past posts on my blog, I realized I've been remiss at posting the results of the blog challenge from Rings and Things!

To recap, On March 24th, Rings and Things drew 15 lucky blog partner participants for their design challenge. These winners received a package of copper beads to craft their entries. Then, when the entries were completed, each participant submitted their photos to Rings and Things for judging.

My entry used the small fluted "seed" beads, the copper heishi, the awesome "Spool" beads that looked like vertebrae, and the oval brushed copper beads. I constructed flowers

with unakite top drilled nuggets from Magpie Gemstones, other unakite beads I picked up elsewhere, and some luscious o

live green beads (I think they're dyed quartz, even though they look like new jade) that I picked up in a de-stash sale on Etsy. I added some nice heavy gauge copper, 14-16 gauge, and hand forged copper findings, and we were off tot he races! Here's the end result -- my submission to the contest.... and another photo as a close-up...

Creating the necklace for this challenge was an interesting journey for me. Once I received the beads, creative sparks started popping like Fourth of July fireworks, and narrowing down the ideas was a real chore! The submission necklace was more about the availability of materials and my opportunity to construct it than a conscious decision on the the best submission to win the contest. Already, though, the necklace has received quite a bit of interest and attention when I've worn it to the various events that I attend. That's the point of it all, anyway, for me. Not the attention, but the opportunity to flew my creative muscle in ways I might not have imagined before. Gemstone flowers are high on my list of creative projects, and I have about 5 of them currently in different stages of production, so hopefully the success of this one will be a catalyst to finish those projects and get them listed in my shop!

And now, for the winner of the competition -- the cutest creation of all of them .... Kym Hunter's felt ring... Congratulations!! Now, if you'd like to see ALL of the deisgns that were posted for the contest, you can do that. Just head over to the Rings & Things blog to take a look.