I wrote last Friday about beading contests and challenges, mentioning how motivating they are. Well, I wasn't just being theoretical. I always pick a couple of challenges or contests to enter every year. This year I knew I wanted to enter one of the Vintaj monthly challenges and I decided to enter the first one. (There's nothing like completing one of your annual goals the first week of January!)
The Challenge Theme
For this challenge, the theme was "New Beginnings." (Jess has a great blog entry about the sweet inspiration behind this theme.)
My Challenge-Within-a-Challenge
I never seem to be satisfied with a single challenge, so my own personal challenge-within-a-challenge was to buy some Vintaj Arte Metal from Hobby Lobby and combine it with beads and findings from my stash. This gave me new pieces to experiment with (I've never used their Arte Metal line before), but also kept my beading budget in check by having to use some materials I already owned. I ended up choosing some vintage Lucite from The Beadin' Path. Once I'd chosen the black-and-white color scheme, these earrings came together fairly quickly. The metal filigree hoops are glued to the white Lucite hoops, but the flower and leaves (two separate pieces) are allowed to move freely. I used some alcohol inks and paints to paint some of the Arte Metal pieces to give them more of a frosted, wintery look.
A larger photo of this project, plus my description of its inspiration, is on the Vintaj website. Be sure to check out all the wonderful entries inspired by "New Beginnings" at the Vintaj website and vote for your favorite. Voting ends midnight on January 14th.
Upcoming Challenges
Want to enter next month? Here's a list of themes for the next few months, along with the official rules. Good luck!