Muffin Tin Jewelry Time!!

Oh yeah. . .it's Muffin Tin Jewelry reveal time.

You may remember that Art Bead Scene put out a one week, 12 project challenge to be organized into a muffin tin. I started the challenge a bit late and even when the rules were relaxed to 6 projects, I still chugged on to get my twelve completed.

I started with a 12-cup muffin tin. I actually had to go out and purchase one as I had recently disposed of my nasty, crusty, rusty, old one and was just using a 6-cupper.

Then, I started filling my cups.
For me, the first step to this was selecting focal beads for each of the twelve spots.

After that was done, I added complementary beads.

Finally, my task was to select the findings and wire for the projects.

Let me admit that filling the cups was the biggest hurdle in the whole challenge. Once that was complete, I knew exactly what I wanted and needed to do. I simply had to carve out the time to get the work done.

At last, here's the reveal of what was in each of the cups and what I made from it (clicking on the pictures will make them larger)

Cup one

Cup two (this one took me the longest as I had to resin the focal and three of the accent beads first)

Cup three

Cup four

Cup five (don't you just love that little hedgehog?)

Cup six

Cup seven

Cup eight (the focal is polymer clay)

Cup nine

Cup ten (took the longest to actually work with my hands, but is my favorite. . . I guess I just had time to bond with it!)

Cup eleven

Cup twelve (yes, that's the same focal. It's just two-sided)

Looking back over this challenge and realizing that I got twelve pieces made in way less than a week has left me with a sense of accomplishment. I'm seriously considering taking up this muffin-tin method as a weekly ritual. . .or semi-weekly ritual. I really liked the fact that once everything was in the cups, I knew exactly what I had to do. The figuring out and fretting was over. When I walked into my craft room each day of the challenge I knew exactly what needed to be done. There was no staring blankly at beads or rummaging through drawers and bins (at least not after the first day.) And the whole tin was easily transportable into the living room or any other area I wanted to work. Even though the pressure was on to get the projects done by today's deadline, there was very little stress involved. In addition, this would be a great method to use when preparing for a trip or vacation.

I could probably go on about how much I enjoyed this, but I also need to mention that it helped me recognize how easy it is to forget about the little things you need in a bead design. . .the seed beads, the jump rings, crimp beads, clasps, etc. I found a few times as I worked on a project that I had left out a small thing and had to deviate from my muffin cup to get what I needed to complete a piece.

All in all, I really had a great time and thank Heather for extending this challenge to us. Even if I don't win the prize, I'm so glad I got to participate. Thanks!