Oak Leaf and Challenge of Color Challenges

You wait 2 weeks for a blog post, and then 2 (in 1!) come along at once! I signed up to two fab blog challenges, both with the same reveal date, so this post will tell you all about both. And for that reason, there will be a lot of photos and not so many words. Perhaps....I always say that and then I always end up writing way too much....

First up is Jo Tinley's Oak Leaf Challenge. I was so lucky to get into this challenge! Jo made 5 beautiful oak leaf clasps, each one hand crafted by her in rich, oxidised copper. I was the 5th and last person to sign up as Jo only accepted 5 people for this! I have bought quite a few clasps from Jo before and I adore them. Her work really is of the highest quality - do go and check out her website and her etsy shop. We've got quite a few things in common - we are both regular contributors to Beads and Beyond, we both have a love of lampwork beads (especially Moogin) and last but not least, we share the same birthday! How cool is that?

So, a little about the design process. As soon as I received the oak leaf clasp, I knew it would go just perfectly with a cute little hedgehog bead from TreeWingsStudio I had hoarded away. And he just has to go with wooden beads. But I was keen to not simply repeat my recent Art Bead Scene Challenge entry (although the two bracelets definitely have some elements in common) so I introduced a very non-woodland, but very complimentary, colour - cobalt blue. Copper and blue are such a satisfying combination! They really make each other 'ping'. 

Oak Leaf Clasp and oxidised copper wire - Jo Tinley

Hammered copper link - MissFickleMedia

Lampwork beads - OneSillyMoo
Polymer Hedgehog - TreeWingsStudio

What I really love about Jo's clasps is how seamless they look - you can't tell this leaf is a clasp unless you know.

Thanks so much Jo, for organising this fab challenge! I loved it. Here's the list of other people taking part:

Jo Tinley               Daisychain Designs

Melissa Meman                Art, Life, Love

Niky Sayers         SilverNikNats

Amber Boorman              Larksong Studio

Kimberley Roberts          Bahama Dawn

Rebecca Anderson          Songbeads

The next challenge was a very different one - another jewellery hop, but this time from the other side of the pond - Erin of Tesori Trovati's 2nd 'Challange of Color' Hop. I participated in her last one and really found it very inspiring - I love getting a 'brief', whether that be a colour palette, a theme, or a custom made clasp to work with :-)

Last year, I selected teal as my colour family to work with. As anyone who has ever visited my shop or my blog will testify, I can't get enough of the colour. I love every shade between blue and green and work with it on a weekly, if not daily basis. Half my wardrobe is turquoise. 

So, this year I decided to break out of my colour safety zone and try a colour which I like but don't use particularly often - pink. I almost picked yellow as my colour family, but couldn't quite do that to myself - one step too far (I rarely use yellow beads or ribbon, unless they are delicate citrine). 

Here is the wonderful palette that Erin selected to inspire me, from Jessica Colaluca's Design Seeds Blog.

Check out the original page here.

Design Seeds really is an amazing blog and resource; I had a great time checking out other folks' palettes for some extra inspiration. Maybe one day when I have some extra time....

And here's what I made:

It's a medley of colour, and although I had beads in all the colours of the palette, I would never have thought to put them together. I'm glad I did :-)The beautiful polymer pendant is by Heather Powers of HumbleBeads.

Alongside this necklace, I made some simple but pretty (I think) earring, with which I am very pleased :-) I noticed how these gorgeous jade rounds slotted just perfectly into some of Jo Tinley's sterling teardrops, and thought with a little wire wrapping, they would work well. I have oxidised them but need to get hold of some wire wool to take the edge off them - oxidising is effective, but not when the silver is simply black!

Looking forward to seeing what everyone else has created. Here's Erin's list:

1 Norma Turvey ~ Teal ~ Color Crave

2 Jeannie Dukic ~ Green ~ Mineral Tones

3 Mary McGraw ~ Teal ~ Embellished Hues

4 Jo Tinley ~ Red ~ Decadent Tones

5 Rebecca Anderson ~ Pink ~ Tulip Tones

6 Kristi Jaro ~ Red ~ Temple Entrance

7 Stephani Gorman ~ Green ~ Dew Tones

8 Melissa Meman ~ Green ~ Fruit Star

9 Kathleen Lange Klik ~ Teal ~ Silk Hues

10 Cynthia Riggs ~ Red ~ Autumn Comfort

11 Heidi Post ~ Teal ~ Flora Bright

12 Cece Cormier ~ Teal ~ Merino Teal

13 Amy Freeland ~ Gray ~ Cultured Tones

14 Alice Peterson ~ Blue ~ Island Play

15 Rose Noble ~ Gray ~ Autumn Stacked

16 Kristina Johansson ~ Yellow ~ Sunny Flower

17 Kirsi Luostarinen ~ Teal ~ Dragon Hues

18 Tari Kahrs ~ Orange ~ Citrus Tones

19 Mallory Hoffman ~ Purple ~ Petaled Dark

20 Molly Alexander ~ Brown ~ Peppered Tones

21 Regina Santerre ~ Red ~ Frosted Berry

22 Emanda Johnson ~ Teal ~ Color Purl

23 Amy Severino ~ Orange ~ Winged Tones

24 Bobbie Rafferty ~ Teal ~ Lime Hues

25 Tanya Goodwin ~ Gray ~ Pecked Tones

26 Lisa Lodge ~ Blue ~ Nocturnal Tones

27 Hope Smitherman ~ Blue ~ Bloom Tones

28 Linda Landig ~ Green ~ Cacti Dark

29 Ambra Gostoli ~ Teal ~ Perched Autumn

30 Lori Bowring-Michaud ~ Blue ~ Sharpened Blue

31 Pippa Chandler ~ Teal ~ Hungarian Hues

32 Keirsten Giles ~ Purple ~ Mineral Brights

33 Jennifer Justman ~ Blue ~ Autumn Rays

34 Sandy Richardson ~ Purple ~ Moroccan Brights

35 CJ Bauschka ~ Teal ~ Teal Air

36 Shaiha Williams ~ Teal ~ Sushi Hues

37 Kay Thomerson ~ Purple ~ Autumn Spectrum

38 Sally Russick ~ Purple ~ Golden Gate Tones

39 Cilla Watkins ~ Purple ~ Autumn Infused

40 Shirley Moore ~ Purple ~ Frozen Heather

41 Jenni Connolly ~ Gray ~ Paw Tones

42 Tamara Soper ~ Green ~ Field Tones

43 Sharyl McMillian-Nelson ~ Blue ~ Nested Blues

44 Jen Velasquez ~ Pink ~ Sweetened Tints

45 Maria Grimes ~ Red ~ Bright Bloom

46 Elisabeth Auld ~ Gray ~ Petaled Tints

47 Susan Kennedy ~ Pink ~ Zinnia Tones

48 Shannon Chomanczuk ~ Gray ~ Autumn Leaf

49 Holly Westfall ~ Yellow ~ Sprinkled Tones

50 Patty Gasparino ~ Red ~ Color Carton

51 Angela Little ~ Pink ~ Singapore Brights

52 Lizzie Zawinski ~ Green ~ Budding Hues

53 Kristen Stevens ~ Pink ~ Scooped Tones

54 Dawn Doucette ~ Brown ~ Jarred Tones