Saturday 30 April 2016

Art Jewelry Elements - April Amulets Reveal

Hello and welcome to my corner of the blog-o-sphere!

Today I am very happy to be taking part in the Art Jewelry Elements Component of the Month blog hop.  I've been lucky enough to join in with a couple of these over the years, and as always it has been a joy working with the wonderful components made by members of the AJE team.

This month's component is rather splendid and a little unusual - a rustic polymer clay amulet pendant made by the very talented Jenny Davies-Reazor:

Picture stolen from AJE as I forgot to take a snap of the bead on its own...
The amulet was waiting for me when I got back from my holiday in Portugal, I had jetted off for a week to celebrate my 30th birthday!  I also spent a weekend camping with my friends in the luscious Dorset countryside - so overall it was a very good birthday indeed.

I received the teal-y toned amulet with the yellow flowers. It's very beautifully made with lots of little details, script and the little flowers and a wonderful application of colour.  It has a wonderful feel to it as well.

There was also a little pile of bead purchases awaiting my return from Portugal.  Included was a smashing set of rustic disc beads from Julie of Indian Creek Art Glass that featured a teal that was a wonderful colour match for Jenny's amulet- I knew the two had to go together somehow...


Many beads contended for the position between the disc and the amulet, in the end I chose this lovely lampwork bicone from Angelika of Calisto.  I added some beaded tassels to finish the pendant off - the beads are mostly Czech glass but the burgandy ones are pearls - such a pain finding four pearls with holes big enough the fit the waxen linen thread!


I will admit this design need a little refinement - I'm not very experienced in working with the leather cord I have used here.  After a bit of experimentation this set up worked out best, but as you can see in the photos it's still a little wonky, so I'll definitely be working on it some more.  If some you more experienced designers have any tips I'd very much appriate them!


I hope you've enjoyed visiting me here as part of this hop. Please visit the other blogs if you haven't already, I'm sure there are many treats in store!

Guests: 
Marsha of Marsha Neal Studio
Alison of Alison Adorns
Jess of The Copper Cat <-you are here!
Brooke from Artistic Endeavors

11 comments:

  1. Gorgeous combination, love the dangles you created.

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  2. Hi Jess - so glad you played along this month, I love where you're going with it! I think you did a great job, I really like it a lot! Glad you "meet" you here - I love your style! I visited Portugal once, myself - I'm sure you had a great time!

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  3. Love what you did with your amulet. The bicone that won the middle spot is perfect.

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  4. Excellent job! You combined the colors in just the right amount. The magenta pearls add a sophisticated feel to the boho vibe of the bright yellow and teal. Isn't Indian Creek awesome!?! They always seem to have the perfect colors in their supply! I think your knots and leather are fine!! It looks like it will hang correctly! LOVE LOVE LOVE!

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  5. Love the fun and vibrancy of your design Jess - Julie's disc bead is a perfect partner for Jenny's amulet and Ive the pops of colour. Very nice work.

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  6. Gorgeous design... I love your colour choices, they really show off the Amulet!

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  7. So glad you got to participate in the design challenge this month! Your design is lovely, and I'm not sure what you mean it's wonky, but I understand feeling like something isn't right. I struggle with that all the time, especially when stretching myself into something new. The beads you got are perfect for the amulet.

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  8. I love the pop of colour in your design Jess it really makes it rather striking and the colour of the lampwork bicone really brings out the flowers in the amulet such a lovely piece!

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  9. I really do not see the wonky you speak of. I do know the feeling though. Your design is beautiful.

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  10. Happy Belated Birthday Jess! ( Sorry Im late) Your color palette is so lovely - that bicone bead highlights the floral elements well! I sadly do not have any leather advice for you... but Id say fill your amulet with Dorset pebbles and celebrate health and happiness in the new decade! I think those dangles would be fun to play with while worn, something to fidget with... in a good way. Thank you so much for joining us!

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  11. Beautiful Piece. I love the colors and beads you chose to match this focal and it looks all even and balanced to me. thanks for sharing.

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