Flowers for my Garden ~ January 2014 ABS Challenge

Somewhere in between the flurry of bead making, I'm managing to squeeze in a few quiet and lovely hours of jewelry making. (Don't ask me when I sleep.) I have so missed stringing beads, wrapping wire, and all the other fun things that go with jewelry creation.

Today I have two new creations to share with you—this first one is inspired by Art Bead Scene's January challenge:

Textile Design by Lois Mailou Jones

Quite a few years back I had a small woodland garden. As I'm sure all you gardeners know, there's something so invigorating about the time spent in a garden—digging in the soft, moist earth, breathing in the fresh scents of the beautiful outdoors, and watching flowers grow and bloom. It's a very special time. One of my garden favorites has always been the coleus—the colors are truly amazing. Isn't it fascinating how the colors of nature are always in harmony? It's art in its truest form.

And so, here's my little rendition…

A bracelet, of course! I'm calling it "Flowers for my Garden". I knew right away, that I would use some of my speckle beads. I created the dusty rose and green one specifically to match the color and patterns of the painting.

Next I found these cute polymer drops I'd made years ago hidden in my bead stash. I wired them together and hung a little brass bird to fly over—every garden must have birds to sing in it.

Little Czech glass flowers strung with matte purple seed beads and tiny pearls to mimic the flowers in the painting.

At the clasp I added two flower "buds" with twisting stems. And just for fun, I made a pair of earring to match.

Here's the set all together—bright colors to brighten up a very cold winter are just what I need!

And, those two new speckle beads aren't the only ones I've been painting recently…

New colors are going into the shop today!

Go here to see the other entries of the month: http://www.flickr.com/groups/artbeadscene/

What will Art Bead Scene challenge us with next month? I can't wait to see!