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Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Pretty Palettes :: July Reveal

Hi Beading Friends!

Today is the reveal for July for the Pretty Palettes on the Halcraft blog. This month's inspiration is the Aurora Borealis and I love that Erin Prais-Hintz is a science geek and gives a wonderful explanation of how and why the aurora occurs.  I'm a bit of a science geek also and my favorite site for reading all about sunspots, solar storms, meteor showers and all things space-y is spaceweather.com. I look at that site everyday!

Here is the inspirational photo and palette of the Aurora Borealis that Erin chose.
The Aurora Borealis shimmers in the summer night sky in this picture from photographer Frank Olsen.
Inspiration Photo for July
And, here are the beads I selected from my local Michaels.  I couldn't find the abalone focal that Erin recommended, but when I saw the lustrous stick beads with the AB finish, I knew they would be perfect for this palette.  I also found some matte square hematite beads that I thought might come in handy, but I didn't end up using them in these designs.
Bead Selection
To these beads, I added some that I had in my stash.  The stick beads had a gold cast to them, so I added some gold metal rounds and some gold glass rondelles.  (These happened to also be from Halcraft.)

And, now what style to make the necklace?  I wanted something that replicated the shimmering layers of the inspirational photo.  So, I thought I would make a multi-strand necklace.  Then, I changed my mind (that often happens!) and decided on a different direction.

Here's my necklace:
Aurora Borealis Necklace

The necklace is strung on one of my favorite stringing materials - black leather cord, which gives it a casual, summertime feel.  The dangles on chain of different lengths give the effect of different layers of color that move and shimmer in the light.  I used one of the stick beads for the toggle, too, even though it wasn't center-drilled.  It was drilled down far enough to wrap toward the center for use as a toggle.

The bracelet and earrings are quick and easy.  The bracelet is on leather cord with another stick bead as a toggle and two rows of beads strung on the leather.  The earrings are simple hoops - perfect for a summer night!
Aurora Borealis Bracelet and Hoops
I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's designs, and I love playing along!  If you enjoy a challenge, you should play along, too!  Here's the link again!

Happy Beading!
Terry





4 comments:

  1. Way cool! Love what you created!

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  2. Wow! What a dramatic and wonderful necklace you created. I love your use of the stick beads! The bracelet and earrings are delightful too. Great work!

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  3. I LOVE your use of the quartz for the bar of a "toggle," Terry. These are gorgeous as well as fun! Thanks for playing along!

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  4. Very cool designs! I think using the stick as the toggle bar is genius! I didn't see those, but they are perfect for the inspiration. I love that AB flash on anything so this was so much fun. Thanks for playing along with me, Miss Terry! Check back on August 5th on the Halcraft blog for our August challenge! Enjoy the day. Erin

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