October 01, 2014
Many of my beading friends like to challenge each other from time to time with interesting items we come across in our travels or shopping trips.
This past summer our local Ben Franklin store closed its doors. I'm real sad to see it go, as it was nice to have local access to art supplies and framing. Before it closed they had big discounts and the longer you waited the more discounted items became. Also, of course, the items became more and more obscure.
I saw these wooden toy wheels and thought heck, we could make some interesting jewelry with these! Like the good friends they are my beading friends agreed to participate. They all have reported back they're ready and actually sounded like they were excited to reveal.
Well, for me it was a real challenge. I set a wheel at my desk and fiddled with it off and on for weeks. The only consistent thought I had was to bezel a Swarovski rivoli in the center. I tried several colors.. then let it sit some more.
Then as time neared it dawned on me to create something that was just a desk top folly. Well, I'm not using folly properly, because it means a costly ornamental building with no practical purpose. But you get the idea, right?
I created something that is sparkly and pretty to fiddle with while coming up with new ideas or just meditating. It's a work in progress, too. I plan on adding more crystals and beads that move around the hub. I also want a better base to spin it on. I found it has to be just the right size to spin well though.
There's a lot of talent in this group so I'm very excited to see what they did with the wheel. Shall we go see?
Antiquity Travelers: http://antiquitytravelers.blogspot.com/
Beadsong Jewelry: http://www.beadsong.blogspot.com/
Crafty Hope: http://www.craftyhope.com/
One Kiss Creations: http://onekisscreations.blogspot.com/
Sally Russick: http://sallyrussick.blogspot.com/Therese's Treasures: http://theresestreasures59.blogspot.com/