We're All Ears - March Reveal

As soon as I saw the inspiration picture for this month, I knew I wanted to use thread in my earrings. 

My two ideas were making tassels or wrapping thread around hoops. Both ideas centered around the rectangular, pressed glass flower beads I got last week. Since I'd never made any, I thought I would try tassels. I still want to try the others with hoops but need to get more of the flower beads or find some similar shaped ones in my bead hoard stash.  

Here's what I ended up with after I added the beads to the tassels. 

The beads represent the embroidered flowers in the inspiration picture...

and the thread colors of the tassels draw from the embroidery. I really like how they swing and I'll definitely make more in some different colors. 

Here's the Earrings Everyday reveal post with everyone's creations!

Bead Table Wednesday

My bead table has some polymer clay blobs I'm trying to match to the March color palette at Art Bead Scene. Their colors are a little more correct in person but the three greens aren't right yet. My idea is to make round beads in each of these colors and surround them with blue beads...like the different colored birds on the blue bird feeder. 

I'm off of work for spring break this week so I checked out two local bead stores. I got: 

Three strands of speckled porcelain beads. 

Some random loose beads.

A strand of double holed black flowers. 

And two spools of linen cording. I've been wanting to make some knotted necklaces and bracelets since Lorelei's post last week. 

What's on your bead table?

We're All Ears Inspiration Blog Hop

I found out about this challenge last weekend and thought about my design all week. I really needed some inspiration and a deadline because I haven't been making much jewelry the last few months year. 

For my pair of earrings, I was inspired by the colors from the dragonflies in the challenge picture. The dangling columns are also reminiscent of segments on the dragonflies.

Weekly Links

1. Printing out this "goal achieving" planner, courtesy of Love Gem Studio, is on my to do list this week. 
2. I did an internal squeal when I saw that Neil Gaiman posted a video of himself reading Green Eggs and Ham.
3. Leslie Knope's Galentine's Day is coming up. How do you plan to show your ladyfriends some appreciation? Here are two ideas - tapas and sangrias or a tea party. 
4. This YouTube video shows a boy crying over a sad song and a dad asking for a thumbs up that his son is okay with finishing the sad song. It's amazing that the music moves such a young, green soul to tears.
5. Some of this pesto gouda from Trader Joe's is sitting my fridge right now. We've just been eating chucks of it but here are two recipes from TJ's - stuffed pretzels and corned beef pizza.
6. My husband and I just found Jerry Seinfeld's Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee and so far we've watched the episodes with Louis CK, Tina Fey, Ricky Gervais, and Chris Rock.