7th Do Over Challenge

I was delighted to be able to participate in Jeannie Dukic's 7th Do Over Challenge. This is my second time being able to play with an old piece of her jewelry. Jeannie states the challenge as this:  "I will send you an old, tried, boring piece of my jewelry for free and you will repurpose into something beautiful and amazing."  All we pay for is the shipping and handling.You must use at least 50% of the original piece in the new creation.

Without further ado, here is the piece that I was sent.

Butterfly by Jeannie Dukic

I love the vibrant colors and how colored the butterfly, but was unsure as how to proceed. Finally, I took a deep breath and dissected the piece and found different lengths of chain and beautiful, colorful crystals. Then the search was on for a focal and a design. Nothing seemed to work.  At all. Couldn't find anything that matched the colors properly. And then- voila! Hidden away in a drawer I found a painted shell pendant and when I put the crystals next to it, I heard music! ( Okay, not really, but I was delighted) I kept the design fairly simple so that those gorgeous colors would pop.

After playing around with some different variations, the last thing to figure out was how to attach the pendant to the chain. I was stumped. Then came Cindy Wimmer's The Missing Link to the rescue. While this link wasn't intended to be used as a bail, it added something different to the piece and I love it! I named the piece Hanami, which is the Japanese cherry blossom festival, and what this reminds me of.

 

 

Hanami

 

 

Here's a closer view of the Lightbulb link I used for the bail

And then, because there were some left over crystals, I used some of the chain to make a pair of earrings, so here's a picture of the whole set.

Hanami set

Thanks, Jeannie, for a chance to be part of this. This set is staying with me and will be worn Easter morning.

Stop on by the other participants and see how they transformed Jeannie's jewelry. Here's wishing you a wonderful Easter filled with the joy of Christ's resurrection and sprinkled with splashes and dashes of His amazing joy and grace!

Christie

Jeannie K Dukic
Dagi
Judy Campbell
Veralynne Malone
Christine Murrow      (You're here)
Shai Williams
Lola Surwillo
Christina Hickman
Katrina Taylor
Becky Pancake
Roxanne Mendoza
Charlene Jacka
Inge von Roos
Mary Govaars
Penny Houghton
Beti Horvath
Ginger Davis-Allman
Molly Alexander
Linda Britt

The Color of Dreams Blog Hop

Sometime ago, Rita of Toltec Jewels posted a blog challenge in the Bead Soup Cafe on Facebook ( great group if you're a beader) asking who would be interested in using a single bead by artist Patricia Handschoh of The Color of Dreams Boutique. She also has a blog.  I wasn't familiar with her work, but the colors... oh my. Beautiful. I signed on very quickly and was delighted to be chosen.

Then my bead arrived in the mail....

and I was smitten.  Love, love. love the butterfly.  Here's a closer look.

The pondering began. I like to try new things when I participate in a blog like this and decided to do something with wire.  I doodled a couple of things which didn't work and so decided to devote the beginning of the week to spend time just working on this project. But the best laid plans of mice and men...

A dear friend had asked me to be with her during her labor and delivery with her first baby. As a former L/D nurse, I was delighted to say yes. She called me Monday and said they were going to be inducing her that evening and could I be there. Yes, ma'am. Absolutely. Long story short, Miss Annie  decided not to make her debut until Tuesday evening. Being back in the labor room reminded me of everything I loved about being an L/D nurse (being a support person and helping a woman believe in what she and her body were created to do) and everything I didn't (watching her RN and CNM having to split their time between rooms and oh, that time consuming charting over and over). When she arrived, her daddy and mommy were elated and exhausted. I got back to thinking about pursuing a certification as a doula. But that's another story. Had to work the next couple of days and then it was Friday :)

Got out my go to wire of late ( annealed steel wire from Ace Hardware) and started playing. And re-doing. And again. And then?

Birth of a Butterfly

It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, and my hat is off to wireworkers extraordinaire, because this was attempt #4? and I finally just had to commit to finishing something in time. It's still lacking a chain but overall, I'm pleased with the end result. Getting those loops somewhat equal was the biggest challenge - I need a hands on class somewhere in the future. Like the process of this pendant, births aren't always pretty and don't always go as planned, but in the end if you have a sweet little healthy person in the world, there's cause for rejoicing and celebration. Hence, the name.

Here's another look.

Don't forget to stop by and see what the other participants created using their beads. A big shout out to Rita for being a generous and wonderful hostess.  As for me? I'm wishing you splashes of joy and dashes of grace in whatever your day holds.

Honorary Artist: Patricia Handschuh
Patricia's blog:            The Color of Dreams        
Patricias Etsy:             The Color of Dreams
Hostess: TJ                Jewel School Friends
Kay Thomerson           KayzKreationz
Audrey Belanger          Toki No Hourousha
Alicia Marinache          All the Pretty Things
Terry Carter                TappingFlamingo
Lori Schneider             Bead Addict
Jenny Kyrlach             Wonder and Whimsy
Asri Wahyuingsih         Asri's Beadwork
Dini Bruinsma              Angaza by Changes
Karla Morgan              Texas Pepper Jams
Debbie Rasmussen        A Little of This, A Little of That
Veralynne Malone          Designed by Vera
Kathy Stemke               Vintage Memories Jewelry Design
Mowse Doyle               Mowse Made This
Heather Richter             Desert Jewelry Designs
Lori Poppe                   Adventures in Creativity with LorilliJean
Jayne Capps                Mama's Got To Doodle
Andrea Glick                Zenith Jade Creations
Kathleen Breeding         99 Bottles of Beads on the Wall
Becky Pancake             Becky Pancake Bead Designs
Karin Martinez              Fairies Market
Miranda Ackerley          Mirandack
Penny Houghton           Smelly Nelly
Carolyn Lawson           Carolyn's Creations
Chris Eisenberg            Wanderware
Christie Murrow           Charis Designs Jewelry   (You're here)
Monique Urquhart        A Half-Baked Notion
Eve Shelby                  Raindrop Creations Jewelry by Evelyn
Cryss Thain                 Here Bead Dragons
Jasvanti Patel               Jewelry By Jasvanti
Nan Smith                   NanMade Handmade Jewelry
Sue Kennedy               SueBeads
Jean Yates                   Snap Out of It, Jean! There's Beading to be Done!
Debbie Rogers             Debbies Treasures
Marybeth Rich             A Few Words From Within the Pines
Shirley Moore              Beads and Bread
Shaia Williams             Shaiha's Ramblings
Kathy Lindemer           Bay Moon Design
Linda Anderson           From the Bead Board
Judy Turner               Silver Rains
Gloria Allen                Gloria Allen Designs
Regina Wood              Ginas-Design
Robin Reed                Artistry HCBD
Mary Goovars            MLH Jewelry Designs
Marlene Cupo             Amazing Designs
CJ Bauschka              4 His Glory Creations
Robin Showstack        The Crazy Bead Hoarder
Cynthia O'Toole          Sparkles and Sweets
Jael Thorp                 Jael's Art Jewels
Renetha Stanziano      Lamplight Crafts