January Component of the Month with Art Jewelry Elements

There is a blog I like to follow called Art Jewelry Elements and each month they have a giveaway.  Imagine my excitement when I received an email from Linda Landig telling me that I had won the component that she had donated to the January challenge!

Before I reveal  what I made and explain how I put it together, I have a little story to tell.  I spent most of December telling myself that it will take a while for my component to arrive as it was Christmas so postal services were busy and Linda lives in the states so my prize had a way to travel.  I waited very patiently, eagerly checking the mail daily.  Mid-January arrived and I couldn't wait any longer so I contacted Linda to let her know I hadn't received anything. 

Linda was upset to hear that I hadn't received the component and very kindly offered me a replacement.  I was upset to not be able to take part in the challenge.  So, I had a little sulk then came to terms with the disappointment.

Fast forward a couple of days, I was just arriving home from work.  A lady wandered onto my drive with two beautiful dogs, one of which is an irish Wolfhound!  She asked if my house was number 71 and was my name Yvette to which I answered 'yes'.  She then proceeded to take an envelope from her bag and launched into an explanation of what had happened.  This lady also lives at number 71, different street obviously, AND she happens to make jewellery.  So, when an envelope turned up with 71 on it, from the states she just opened it up thinking it was something she ordered.  Not until a day or two later did she realise that the package was not hers.  With the hectic festive season and then illness she hadn't managed to try to track me down until last week! Am I glad that she went to the effort to find me!  I should say at this point that the lady in question is Sue of Visionari, she has beautiful artwork and jewellery for sale.

This is the piece that I won!  Isn't it stunning?  I had some ideas swimming arouund in my head while waiting for it to arrive.  I had thought I could make a macrame necklace using ivory and what little amount of neutral toned beads I have.  The brief was to bust some stash so no buying more beads.  However, when I fnally got my mitts on it I decided that too many beads would totally detract from the beauty and rustic feel of the piece.

This is what I made.  It looks kind of simple and I didn't bust much stash in the end.  To be honest, I would have been happy to have the pendant on the leather with nothing added but where is the challenge in that?

I did find this a bit of a challenge.  My usual colour pallette is much more vibrant and I was resisting the urge to make anything too busy reminding myself that in this case less is more.  However, I was under a tight timescale and after having this sitting around as a mock-up for a couple of days I decided to go with it.

The lampwork glass disc and the purple etched bead are my own creations.  The other beads are from Smitten Beads.  I made a macrame bail using some C-lon cord with some little pink beads to finish the ends.  The pendant is threaded onto a long piece of leather thong which can be knotted at the desirable length for easy wear.

I hope you like what I made.  Many thanks to Linda for a gorgeous pendant.  I hope to be able to take part again sometime.  If you would like to see what the others made please follow the links below.

AJE team: 

Kristen Stephens 

Susan Kennedy 

Jenny Davies-Reazor

Lesley Watt    

Melissa  Meman

 Lindsay Starr 

Jennifer Cameron 

Caroline Dewison

Linda Landig

Guest Participants ( aka winners)

Lee - Strega Jewellry

Shai - Shai’s Ramblings

Samantha- Wescott Jewelry

Kathy - Bay Moon Designs

Nikki - Silver Nik nats

Melissa Trudinger

Becky Pancake

Yvette - Blue Kiln Beads

Karin - Ginko et Coquelicot

Bonus participants! 

Sarajo Wentling

Leah Curtis

Susan Delaney