Fun with Focals - Day 3

The Inspiration: Kathy Thompson's Refreshingly Green necklace in the Spring 2009 issue.


My Version: My necklace is long leap from the inspiration piece in the magazine. The focal used jump rings as embellishment and here I paired clusters of jump rings to create a "nest" for my owl bead.  I also used another cluster of Vintaj etched jumprings as a bail.  The leaf is from my favorite leaf-maker, Every Heart Crafts and the necklace is finished off with a simple silk ribbon in a soft earthy green.

The Assignment: Use jumprings as embellishment for your focal piece, the more the merrier!

You have until Nov. 6th to add a link to this post with your version of today's challenge.

The grand prize is a $50 gift certificate to Humblebeads.com!

Read the full details for the contest here and a chance to win a year's subscription to Stringing magazine.

Fun with Focals - Day 2

The Inspiration: Cynthia Thornton's Burning Bush necklace from the Fall 2006 issue of Stringing.

My Version: The focal element of this project used ribbon as a bail.  I made a little ribbon from some silk dupioni that I had on hand as the bail for my bird pendant.  I paired up the focal bead with striking red Czech faceted glass, copper spacers, humblebeads branch disk beads, brass jump rings and chain.

The Assignment: Use ribbon, string or leather to create a bail for your focal bead/pendant.

You have until Nov. 6th to add a link to this post with your version of today's challenge.


The grand prize is a $50 gift certificate to Humblebeads.com!

Read the full details for the contest here and a chance to win a year's subscription to Stringing magazine.

Fun with Focals - Day 1

The inspiration: Teri Bienvenue's Cowgirl necklace that appeared in the Summer 2007 issue of Stringing. 

For my version  I used Czech faceted glass, copper spacers, clusters of etched Vintaj jumprings, a humblebeads branch disk bead, Vintaj brass wire and chain.

The assignment: Create a horizontal focal using chunky beads lined up on wire. 

You have until Nov. 6th to add a link to this post with your version of today's challenge. 

The grand prize is a $50 gift certificate to Humblebeads.com! 

Read the full details for the contest here and a chance to win a year's subscription to Stringing magazine.

Fun with Focals Challenge

Have you seen the Best of Stringing? Humblebeads abound - I have a necklace and an earring project in this issue. Molly Schaller created a necklace using a few of my disk beads and Cristi Clothier has an amazing necklace using a limited edition set of orchid beads.

One of the most interesting features in the magazine is the Fun with Focals section. It includes 30 tips and innovations for creating interesting and clever focal elements.

I was so inspired by this feature I picked my favorite 5, came up with my own versions and have partnered with Interweave Press for a new contest and a challenge.

There are two parts to this contest, one is a random drawing and the other is a creative challenge with assignments!

The Best of Stringing Drawing:
Grand Prize - a year subscription to Stringing Magazine
Runner Up - a free copy of the Best of Stringing
How to enter:
Leave a comment here answering this question - For focal beads are you more likely to grab an art bead, a metal pendant or a large bead such as stone, wood, shell, etc.?

One entry per person.

The Fun with Focals Challenge:
Prize: $50 gift certificate from Humblebeads.com and a signed copy of the Best of Stringing.

How to enter:
1. Each day this week I'll post my version of the Fun with Focals project along with the assignment to follow along.
2. You'll have a week to create a piece of jewelry inspired by the assignment and put it online. It can be on your blog, facebook page, flickr or other online photo album or in your Etsy shop, etc..
3. Put the link to the creation in the comments of the matching post.

You may submit one link per assignment.
The winner of this prize will be randomly drawn from all the assignment links.

For both parts of the contest please leave your email if you don't have a blog account, so that I can notify the winners. Winners will be drawn at 3pm on Friday, November 6th.

Your first assignment will be posted soon!

Fly Home Little One

Fly Home

Another necklace that I created from our inspiration painting.  Of course for this one, it was about the color of orange and black & white.  (Which is really brown and cream here, eh that's close enough.)

That's a ceramic bead from Jangles as the focal.

Yep, more Elaine Ray - those tiny teal ceramic cubes.  A few copper Humblebeads.  Lots of Vintaj.  And a few things thrown in from the local craft store, like the red ceramic bead, nest, the chain and bone bead.  And one lone crystallized cube that came in our Rings & Things blog partner packet a few months ago.  It takes a village to make a necklace!