Pushing Through to the End (SJ Honey Do List)

Each month, Sarajo of the SJ Designs Jewelry blog has her husband Eric issue her a photo inspiration as a fun challenge. And, she extends the challenge to anyone who also wants a little inspiration. She calls it the Honey Do List. This month, Eric chose a bright and colorful picture he took of an alley in the top of my own state! So, I knew I needed to participate. As well, I thought that the bright colors would be the perfect change after working on the white challenge from Art Elements. Despite all of that, I soon discovered myself struggling for inspiration. 

I focused my attention on the colors themselves and the pattern of them from left to right. I saw orange, yellow, and blue. As well, the bricks and intersecting lines were strong. But, I just couldn't make a decision about how to proceed. Only days ago, I decided to just go for it and pulled out some Vintaj Arte Metal rectangular blanks. I ran them through an embossing machine with a brick pattern then pulled out the Vintaj Patinas.

As you can see, I applied the patinas by dabbing them on with a q-tip. This gave a splotchy, painted effect that I really liked. I had to mix a few shades of blue to get the color I wanted for the last charm to resemble the blue in the picture.

Now, let me admit that the whole time I worked on this piece, I wasn't loving it. It felt hollow and without substance, uninspired, and not quite worthy of the photo. Yet, I persisted because I didn't have any better ideas. In this end, this necklace was the result. 

See what I mean, there's just not much to it.

It feels like a throw-away piece. Blarg.

However, as I waited for the sealer to dry on the charms, another idea struck me at long last. I was thinking about the shapes in the photo and the opening at the end of the alley onto the street. It hit me that I wanted to make something that included that kind of a tunnel with the colors along one side. My first instinct was to use an oval-shaped ring, but I don't have any in my stash. Then, I was struck with the idea of using a small buckle instead. I found a fabulous mother-of-pearl one, but it was far too large for the bracelet I wanted to make. In the end, a brassy one was unearthed that has a great curve, perfect for a wrist! From there, I pulled out a little leather and colorful beads.

I was a little disappointed when I realized that all my snaps were a silver-tone and wouldn't really go with the brass buckle. To remedy that, I made sure to use silvery wire to wrap on the beads.

The brown leather echoes the color of the brick.

Oh, and the way the beads are wrapped on the buckle is similar to the lights strung across the top of the alley.

This piece definitely has the heft and substance I was looking to create from the inspiration. I'm so glad I made myself push forward a little more instead of settling for that first necklace. 

I think this bracelet is super fun and a bit of a work of art, much like the alley in Huntsville. 

Thanks so much to Sarajo and Eric for sharing their challenge with the rest of us. Make sure to head over to SJ Designs Jewelry to see what Sarajo herself created, along with anyone else who played along!

I can't believe this is my last post for the year. At the same time, it seems perfect. I feel that I've learned a lot about myself and what I enjoy creating, but sometimes I need to push through the easy ideas to find what really excites me. I'm looking forward to forcing myself out of my comfort zone and into greater inspiration and better designs in the new year. And, I hope your 2019 is full of loads of inspiration and creativity as well! 

Happy New Year!