Thursday, February 19, 2015

Marsala Valentine Challenge Reveal...

Today is the Reveal for the Marsala Valentine Challenge!  If you're not familiar with the challenges, I put together a Design Kit and offer them on a first-come, first-serve basis.  Challengers claim their kits and then I send them off around the world!  Each participant has about two months to create a piece and at the end of the challenge, everyone shares what they've created!

It's a fun way to challenge your creativity and it's always interesting to see what each participant will make with the nearly identical kits.  It reveals such diversity!

When I put the kits together, I try to visualize an image.  It helps bring all the components together.  For this challenge, I mostly drew upon the Pantone Color of the Year: Marsala. To find out more about what was in the kit and thoughts behind it, CLICK HERE.

Each of the kits also include a Mystery Component!  For this challenge, I included TWO!  They are polymer clay heart charms by me.

And without further ado... here's the REVEAL:

I made this necklace!  I used some of the vintage Czech glass from the kit to create the dangly fringe.  Luckily for me, I have a small stockpile and multiplied the number included in the kit.  I made balled copper headpins because I thought the rosy color would go well with this piece.  I strung the wire-wrapped headpins from antique brass peanut chain.  In a lot of multi-strand designs, it is best to use different lengths, so that everything lays smoothly and flat.... BUT I wanted more texture and used equal lengths to create an elegant chaos.  I hung the chain from two strands of vintage Czech glass and African brass spacers.  I used a copper toggle to pull it all together.  I love the movement of this piece!

Nancy Noyes-Ward made the following four pieces.  Here's what she had to say about them:  "I called this piece, "Going for Baroque".  I love the black chain with the ruby red glass and glint of crystal.  The green crystals were from an antique necklace owned by my Grammie.  The earrings include lampwork glass beads from my own stash."

"These earrings were made from the Mystery Components in the kit.  I used vintage crystals with the lightweight polymer clay.  I have a matching necklace in the works!"

"This charm bracelet was created from a repurposed 1929 necklace.  I've got lots more wire-wrapping to do, but I like the red.  I'm not a huge fan of gold, so this pushes me to step outside of my comfort zone."

"I made a loose luceted piece from the kit sari silk ribbon with sari silk yarn from my own fibers stash.  Lucet weaving is a cord-making/braiding technique that dates back to Viking and Medieval periods.  I love the large focal and the rustic rough stone.  I haven't decided how to finish it yet."

These pieces were made by Donna Hoblit.  Here's what she had to say about them:  "I'm Donna Hoblit from VeraDonna Treasures.  The inspiration for my creations is Marsala, Sicily.  I felt the rich ruby/Marsala tones of the beads reflected the color of the sweet Marsala wine.  The challenge beads are complimented with grape beads skillfully created by the talented Nolly Gelsinger and copper chain and findings."

"Here's another piece I made.  It is a necklace with a fringe created from wire-wrapped dangles.  The focal is another great lampwork glass bead by Nolly!  I think the purple and green really set it off!"

These pieces were made by Cheryl Lee Tucker.  Here's what she had to say about them:  "I loved the carved bead!  It had to be the centerpiece of my necklace.  So I made the focal by incorporating the carved bead with beaded fringe and a herringbone stitched bead.  The sari silk provided a lovely soft touch and also highlighted the Marsala color of the bead.  My earrings use more of the gorgeous glass Marsala beads in a simple dangle with the silk.  I didn't take a photo of them, but I also made dangly earrings wrapped with bronze wire out of the Mystery Components.  I think the bronze accents the gilding perfectly!  I can't wait to wear all my creations!"

This necklace was created by Laurel Ross.  Here's what she said about it: "I know, it's an overly Valentine-y shot, but I couldn't resist it.  What a fun challenge!  Even though this is a Valentine's Day piece, I tried not to get too heart-themed.  So I used two tiny hears at the intersection of the sari silk and the larger bead portion of my necklace.  They just so happen to have the same swirl pattern as the main carved jade focal bead.  I used a multi-colored silk tassel which has hints of the Marsala sari and gives the piece a worldly romantic feel!"

But wait... that's not all!  Please swing by the blogs of the other participants of the Marsala Valentine Challenge!  Check out what they made and comment on their posts!

Alison Herrington
Dolores Raml
Carole Carlson 
Lennis Carrier 
Carolyn Lawson 
Michelle McCarthy 
Ann Schroeder
Kari Asbury 
Shaiha Williams 

On Andrew Thornton's Blog:
Andrew Thornton, Nancy Noyes-Ward, Donna Hoblit, Cheryl Lee Tucker, Laurel Ross

Next up is the Spring Awakening Challenge!  The reveal is set for Thursday, March 19th, 2015!  Stop by and see all the lovely creations made with this bright, springy kit!

11 comments:

Kari Asbury said...

So many gorgeous creations this time! Wonderful job everyone and thank you Andrew! This kit was a lot of fun and I'm seeing marsala in a whole new wonderful way.

Unknown said...

This was such a fun hop and kit!

Andrew's necklace is absolutely gorgeous! I LOVE the "elegant chaos" - both the phrase and the look. Seeing this phrase, I know that is what I'm striving toward in my jewelry making. Thanks for putting a name to it!

Speaking of names, I love Nancy's name for her necklace "Going for Baroque"! The beads do look great with the black metal. Andrew's charms make great earrings! I love the vintage look of your bracelet, and the beautiful braiding technique with the silk.

I love how Donna introduced other colors. Not a lot of people did that, and they really pop.

Cheryl's piece with the carved bead looks so great with that fringe, and I love the use of silk in the earrings.

Laurel - great minds do think alike! We definitely used several of the same techniques. I love how your necklace came out!

Dolores Raml said...

Lots of awesome pieces, I really love the first necklace, it's really unique. Thanks so much for hosting this swap, you really create awesome kits.

Shai Williams said...

What great designs! I especially loved seeing how everyone used that luscious carved jade bead.

Alison Adorns said...

Andrew: Thanks for another great HOP! I love your idea to keep the lengths the same for some volume! Fantastic necklace!
Nancy: WOW you really were working hard for this hop, what a lovely mix of eclectic beauties! Now I MUST learn more about Lucet weaving!!
Donna: What an AWSOME idea to merge with the purples and greens of the grape beads! That really worked and made them POP!
Cheryl: Your beaded fringe tassel is one of my FAV parts of the whole hop! Great Job!
Laurel: The colors in the tassel really make the carving stand out in the focal bead! LOVE IT!

Andrew Thornton said...

Nancy: Many lovely creations! I love how the black in the first piece really compliments the red. I remember my mom and grandma's sewing friends saying that "red was the quilter's black". I like how you've set it off with a contrasting POP of green! Very nice. And the earrings a simply charming! And I love the eclectic feel of the charm bracelet necklace. I love the idea of a collection of thing, holding touchstones and memories. And the luceted piece is really a feast of texture! I have to admit that I had to Google this technique! I think I'm going to have to learn this technique! Thank you for introducing it to me! And thank you for participating!

Donna: What a collection of treasures! I love all the dangles in your pieces! I bet your pieces have such a nice movement to them that they just dance! And I love that you used Nolly's beads. They really give a nice counterpoint to the color and freshens it up! The purple grapes look so juicy! Wine indeed! Many thanks for playing along!

Cheryl: So pretty! I love the energy of your pieces. I also like how you incorporated the bead stitching into your necklace and all the little bowties of silk! The set is so bohemian and just darling! Thank you for contributing your talents to this challenge!

Laurel: I like the balance of textures in your piece. I think the "wildness" of the silk is paired well with the structure of the beaded portion. I think the colors in the tassel brightens the piece up. It's interesting to see how many people saw the carved jade and thought: focal with tassel. Even though there was something in the air or water, everyone's iterations were different and unique. You did a great job! I'm glad you got a chance to play along!

Eileen The Artful Crafter said...

What gorgeous renditions of a gorgeous kit! Well done, everyone!!

Windbent said...

This was so fun. Andrew, thank you for the inspiration. Your necklace is fun and elegant. The Baroque necklace is a great way to show black and red together without being Goth. Donna's unexpected splashes of color are really fabulous. Love the luceted piece. All the textures here are wonderful: textiles, chain, bead weaving. Tassels were trending so maybe I better figure out how to do that. I did my best with the seed beads, but I do not bead so it was great to see someone use them properly.

Carole said...

Everyone did a fabulous job. It's always amazing how differently we interpret the kit.

Inner Muse Jewelry Design said...

Wow! The rich reds in this design kit are gorgeous. Red is my favorite color, even though I can't quite pull it off personally. I wish I had been able to participate in this challenge, but I know I am going to enjoy hopping to all the blogs in this one!

Andrew: I absolutely love this necklace. It is elegant and color-saturated. I especially like the chain you chose for the dangles. This necklace is beautiful.

Nancy: your designs are beautiful! Thank you for teaching me about a technique new to me: Lucet Weaving. What a lovely way to incorporate fiber into the design. I also love the black chain with the reds: personal fav combination.

Donna: Your designs evoke the feeling of being in a vineyard. Such beautiful, asymmetric designs! The Lampwork focals really add 'pop' to the designs.

Cheryl: I love the tassel designs! The fiber adds a soft, feminine dimension to the necklaces. I love that you pulled the earrings into the design with the pretty ribbon ties. Really awesome!!

Inner Muse Jewelry Design said...

Didn't mean to leave Laurel out! I thought the tassel designs were by the same person! Both designers used fabric brilliantly. I love the colors and textures and the tassel adds movement to the piece.