November Art Bead Scene Monthly Challenge

Madonna Pietra degli Scrovigni 

by Marie Spartali Stillman (1844-1927) 

Watercolour, gouache and gum arabic, 30.9in × 24.1 in.

The art chosen for the ABS November Monthly Challenge  is so lovely and romantic!  The earthy color pallet is definitely right up my alley and my mind was immediately flooded with design ideas.  

About a year ago I had won a beautiful bronze Art Nouveau Stile Floreal Sunflower Connector, made by the talented Cindy Gimbrone, and I knew it would be perfect for this piece.

 

 

  The necklace I made also includes a wire wrapped focal of yellow leopardskin jasper, wire wrapped topaz colored glass rounds, antique brass colored chain, seed beads and a Vintaj clasp.  

 

Since my necklace was leaning more towards the browns of the color pallet, to add a bit of color, I incorporated some silk ribbon in shades of green and red, an oval piece of moonstone and peridot.

Visit the Art Bead Scene flickr group to see the other wonderful entries submitted for this months challenge.

Have a wonderful day!

Lovely Satin-finished Copper Beads

In mid March, Rings & Things had a design challenge contest and for 15 lucky participants, these beautiful, satin-finished copper beads were the prize. 
 

Guess what? I was one of the lucky participants chosen to receive a packet of these beauties! I love copper and texture, so I was in hog heaven when I opened my package! I've had a great time creating and now it's time to share some pictures.

For the first piece, I used the two 27mm, oval copper beads.  These beads are gorgeous, with wonderful texture, but still have a shinny finish.

For the necklace below, I dapped a couple of the striped disks to make bead caps.  Throughout the necklace I used some of the satin-finished copper rounds and wavy disks.

 For the ring pictured below, I used one of the lovely, copper puffed flower beads, with one of the striped disks for the base.

 I have a couple more designs in the works and will post those pictures this next week.

Thanks for stopping by!