Amethyst Aether Blog Hop Challenge

Andrew Thornton has done it again! He has put together another fun and fanciful Blog Hop Challenge kit with an assortment of tantalizing goodies. This time the theme is "Amethyst Aether" and the kit contents have a Steam Punk appeal. The palette is rich with purple tones from lavender to deep, mesmerizing amethysts and the metallic components include watch gears, which are also reflected in the Mystery Component. The Mystery Component is a polymer clay pendant hand-crafted by Andrew. Along with the bead soup and luxury bead blends are fibers such as Irish Waxed Linen, Sari Silk and leather cord. In addition to my contributions, I have a special Blog Hop guest, to be revealed at the end. Let's jump in!

Here are the components included in the kit along with the luxury bead blend:

I drew inspiration for my main design's theme from a favorite movie: "The Matrix," starring Keanu Reeves. I used the seed beads in the bead soup and paired with the tube of milky lavender seed beads in an intertwined circuit of Herringbone Stitch to create the bracelet below. Metallic hex beads are the anchor points for the herringbone strands. The bracelet reminds me of cyber circuitry, a portal into another dimension.

 

 



I used quite a few of the beads and findings to create mix-n-match earrings. I always think of earrings as an afterthought until I want to wear a coordinating set of jewelry...DOH! Now I have plenty to choose from! The last pair is missing an earwire...that is so ME!... I have so many UFOs due to not having the right kind of component or the wrong finish, size, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, I'd like to introduce my blog hop guest: my 11-yo daughter, Athena! She saw the Amethyst Aether kit and was immediately smitten! Purple is her fav color, so she wanted to play along. I decided to get her started on one of the Freeform Peyote designs that I've posted in past challenges. Here is her start to the bracelet she is making:

 

 

 

 

 

I love that she is interested in learning the craft of Bead Weaving! She and her peers are the next generation to learn and carry on the techniques and skills of beading as well as push the boundaries of the craft.

 

 

That is all I have for this challenge. You can find more participants' designs at Andrew's blog: The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton.



 



Frenzied Motion Blog Hop Challenge

Well, better late than never! I am almost a week late on the reveal for Andrew Thornton's Allegory Gallery Design Challenge. My computer has decided to divorce me so am posting from my hubby's computer. I am just happy that my photos were retrievable and I can show my contributions for this really awesome design challenge. My apologies for the quality of the photos...I don't have a photo editor at this time.

As you can see from the teaser photo, the colors in Andrew's design kits were absolutely gorgeous. A blend of turquoise, purple, lavender, fuchsia and pinks. I dove right in with much enthusiasm! The first thing I did was sort through and find gemstones, crystals and beads to pair together to make layered necklaces. Here are two using the pink/fuchsia and amethyst/purple palette.

Here are two more using fuchsia/pink/gray and another using the purple/grays.

Finally, I made a long chain and gemstone necklace with a pendant with crystal dangles in turquoise/blues.

 

 

 

I used the bead blend to make a freeform peyote/netted bracelet to coordinate with the necklaces.

 

 



 

 

 

I really liked the look of the labradorite crystal, so I used the hex cut beads and seed beads and suspended it from a vintage brass chain.

 

 



That is all I have for this challenge, but I look forward to the next reveal! You can find the other participants' contributions by going to Andrew's blog: The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton!