Bloom and Grow – Suburban Girl Design Team Spring Challenge

Good Morning! I am pleased to welcome you to the Spring edition of Suburban Girl Studio’s Design Team Hop and Reveal. I was thrilled when Diana asked me to be on her design team. She and I totally hit it off, and have so much in common – including the fact that we make ceramic pendants, charms… So why be on her team? Her work is lovely, and totally different from my own. What a creative  ‘shot in the arm” to be sent lovelies in the mail and get to make jewelry with them! And to be in a sisterhood – the Design Team…I know – all you bead/jewelry colleagues out there know of what I speak. Had to put it in context for the Muggles. So this is what I unwrapped from the postman…

It arrives...

Uh – pink? orange? Not Jenny colors. Excellent. Like I said – not like my work… And look at the gorgeous lampwork bead! A challenge bonus from Jan – from Molten Mayhem and fellow design team member…Going to think on this a bit…

The plan

OK – thought it over, sketched it out as I always do. My personal challenge was to use metal. Metal smithing was one of my two areas of concentaration in art school. (With painting the other) But teaching art full time, living in rental apartments right after college – not a torch friendly lifestyle. I am thrilled with the new equipment available in the metals world and glad to have a chance to dive back in…Sorry, I digress. I decided to tab set the flower in copper and use the words “Bloom and grow” on the border. ( I use text frequently in my work) And dont miss those glass headpins from Sue at Sue Beads. They were very inspirational in the design plan…

raw materials

The cast of characters; Jan’s bead, Czech glass leaves and flowers, assorted silks and suedes…

Fit and finish

Ready, set, go! To me the antiqued copper gives an earthiness and grounds the vibrancy of the glaze color. 

clasps?

There it is! Set ceramic flower with a frenzy of floral inspired goodness hanging below. The flower centers are the SueBeads glass head pins – just the right color pop and size. It is long, and there is a lot going on visually so I decided to keep the rest simple. Those clasps? No, thank you. I made them to correspond with the piece – but wont need them now. Worth a try…

first option second try

chain?   winner!

Top row: I tried wide silk, and thin suede. Nope. 

Bottom: Chain – yuck. Need a green element. The winner – fairy silk from Marsha Neal Studios!

put it on.

(Sorry for the wet hair/just out of the shower shot. Had to take the picture minus dog hair…)

I would wear this short, with a v-neck. Thats my style. But with the silk you could wear it long as well. What do you think? I would love to hear from you before you click away to visit my bead sisters on the design team… Thanks for stopping by!

Diana Ptaszynski http://www.suburbangirlstudio.com/

Jenny Davies-Reazor http://www.jdaviesreazor.com/blog

Kristen Stevens http://kristen-beadjourney.blogspot.com/

Jan Onipenco http://moltenmayhem.typepad.com/

Marla James http://marlasmudmoments.blogspot.com/

Sandra Basara Miller http://www.sandra5461.blogspot.com/

Michelle Buettner http://misheldesigns.blogspot.com/


21 thoughts on “Bloom and Grow – Suburban Girl Design Team Spring Challenge”

  2. Pixiloo says:
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    I love the necklace. The pendant is wonderful and I love all the dangles. It was also nice to se your sketch snd your process. It is always interesting to me to see how an idea comes to be.

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    • jenny says:
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      Thanks! I  think the more pix the better, and I like to present the whole timeline, how I got to Point B as it were. It was a fun journey, and I look forward to three more seasons with the team!

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    • jenny says:
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      I am a bit competitive – with myself especially. Lets see if I can work metal into all the seasonal challenges… Hmm . Glad you like it! Thanks! 

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  4. Shel says:
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    Wow Jenny – this is amazing! I love the copper and as you said, it gives it an ‘earthiness’ which is fabulous! The silk cord really does pull everything together and the dangles with their colors, shapes and textures really adds interest and fun – I love this!

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  5. Diana P. says:
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    Jenny, I LOVE what you made! I also love the fact that you showed your process. I totally dig the tab setting. It’s funny because I’m terrible at tab bezels and I never finish them. The necklace turned out beautifully!

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    • jenny says:
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      I prefer ceramic pendants lith a loop – like your had – instead of a hole. How ironic I snipped hte loop off and went somewhere else… Wish I was attending Beadfest Spring – I would wear this! Thanks for starting this team, D!

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  8. Kristen Stevens says:
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    I love the setting you created for this. Copper is one of my most favorite metals and what you did just totally blows me away. Amazing work! Glad to have met you!

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  9. Linda Landig says:
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    I really enjoyed having you walk us through your design process. The way you mounted the flower is genius! I love the words around the flower and the little scrolls on the tabs. Great, inventive work!

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    • jenny says:
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      Thanks Linda – I use words so often, in my shrines, collages, and jewelry – it seemed like a natural. I am glad they were small though, since “bloom and grow” can be a bit over used…

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    • jenny says:
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      Thanks Leann – i never tried it on til the very end – past the point of no return. I know some people would like it longer, and I like the flexibility with the silks. 

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    • jenny says:
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      Sally – I have Melissa Manley to thank for my love of tabs. After that first ArtBliss sleeping metal skills were awoken!

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