Art Beads Winter Enchantment Design Partner Challenge

Looks like winter doesn't ? That last snow right before spring - with new grass poking up thru the snow.

I had some fun this morning with the beads I received from Art Beads for the Winter Design Partner Challenge. I put all the beads in a bowl, with no direction, no rules, just let them lead me where they wanted to go.
This is what is in the bowl:

R-RQTZ-NUG11 - 5x11mm Irradiated Quartz Modulars *
TBRD6-288 - TOHO Bead Round 6/0 Colonial Grey-Line *
CR-RL137 - 5x4mm Opaline Picasso Roundel Bead Strand *
SW-BD173 - Stoneware Round Spacer - White Smooth *
DRUKS-LS-TUR6 - Druk Bead 6mm Turquoise Luster *
R-WHAG-SQ12 - 12mm White Agate Square Bead Strand shipped *
DRUKS-LS-LBL6 - Druk Bead 6mm Light Blue Luster *

I wanted something a bit more sophisticated. Something a bit dressier. I strung (is that a word?) three patterns and braided them together.


Then I took some inspiration from my friend Jana over at Bejeweled by Jana. She does wire crocheted jewely - Just beautiful!! I am such a huge fan of her work. I wanted to try and incorporate the wire into the design, as opposed to wire wrapping links. I secured the strands and wrapped the whole lot with a complimentary blue wire. It throws a nice contrast and texture to the look of the necklace.

And let me tell you- that glass toggle is just SEXY!
GTOG-023 - 20mm Bluino Boro Glass Toggle Clasp *

Jo says it reminds her of something you would wear to a gallery opening and then out for beers afterwards - I like her way of thinking :)
And of course I had to make earrings to go with them. I used 24 ga silver plated wire, and tried to make uniform wraps ( you can see on the right earring) The wire was just too thin. So on the left earring, I got more artsy (nice way to say sloppy) and it made a whole different look.



Can you see the difference in the wraps - which do you like better?

*FTC compliance disclosure: the '*' items mentioned in this post credited to Art Beads were provided as a promotional gift as part of the Blogging for Beaders Program. These items are for review or design purposes.