Earrings Everyday March Challenge

Every month, Erin Praise-Hintz of Earrings Everyday issues the challenge to make a pair of earrings based on a prompt.

This month’s prompt was a photo of dew covered damselflies:

The prompt led me to create the earrings above. And helped me solve TWO design challenges that had bedeviled me.

I had two “failed” necklaces on my workbench. Both of them had laid there for a LONG time.

One was made with the large frosty/icy aqua lampwork beads you see in the photo above. They had posed a huge design conundrum because they TURN LAVENDER in natural light (I photographed them in florescent light, above.) I had made and remade necklaces with them, but none was “right”.

I also had some Aqua Aura beads on my bench that had been incorporated into several failed necklaces. Aqua Aura is clear crystal quartz that has been heat treated with 24K gold vapor. The treatment causes it to turn aqua and to acquire an iridescent lavender/golden finish. You can see a small bead of Aqua Aura in each of the earrings above.

Erin’s challenge got me to looking at both sets of beads. Finally the thunderclap came: incorporate them into the same jewelry set, incorporating the lavender/aqua lampwork beads; the Aqua Aura (I had one big bead of it and many tiny round ones; light Azore AB Swarovski crystals; lots of tiny Aquamarine beads (rounds and cubes); a few shades of amethyst Swarovski crystals, and two sizes of Amethyst rounds.

Success!

Here is the complete set in florescent light, which is the lighting at my office:

It looks AMAZING at the office!

And here it is if I step outside:

OK, but not spectacular.

So, thanks to Erin’s challenge, I have a wonderful statement necklace, matching earrings and a bracelet for each arm.

Two sets of beads that had driven me crazy trying to find a way to use them have come together in a lovely, useful jewelry set. Thanks, Erin!

If you liked my design, head over to my Etsy shop, to the second page, where you will find several items that COULD have been inspired by Erin’s post.

* Newborn Unicorn Twins – a pair of earring disks made with my Mystic Roman Glass Opals

* Northern Lights; Lighting Up the Tundra and Aurora Australis, three pairs of earring disks inspired by the Northern and Southern Lights.

* Underwater at Puerta Vallarta, gorgeous watery translucent and opal clay goddess earrings with matching gemstone adventurine rondelles.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SusanDolphinDelaney?page=2

Here is the url of the challenge where you can see what the other participants made:

http://www.earrings-everyday.blogspot.com/2015/03/were-all-ears-march-inspiration.html