Blueberry-inspired Earrings (We're All Ears)

The July inspiration from Earrings Everyday for the We're All Ears Challenge was Blueberries, and today's the reveal day. Since I've been out of the loop for over a month now, I knew I wanted to try to eke in at least one challenge. Hopefully, I'll get to more, but let's just take it one at a time!

We were fortunate that when we moved out here to Silverlox (our home), there were several existing blueberry bushes. We've enjoyed them every summer! Being so familiar with them. I knew it would be difficult to capture that blue-violet color of blueberries, but I didn't let that stop me. I did try to color beads to echo that unique shade as well as add in some of the green, but it was a disaster. I picked myself up and instead decided to try to create the look of berries on the bush with beads that are a true blue.

I did this by twising antiqued brass wire so that the beads were clustered together. For the beads themselves, I chose ones with a bit of an AB coating so that there are shades of other colors within each bead, much like ripening blueberries. 

My execution of the twisted wire was very much lacking on this attempt. The backs were oddly bent in my attempt to try to make them hang right. While they remind me of many vintage earrings I've found in the past, they need some work. But, the idea is there. And, hey, I made some jewelry!

I moved on to the next thing that inspired me about blueberries, their round shape.

Hoops were formed with heavy-gauge wire before being wrapped with recycled sari silk. The silk was then secured to the wire with a layer of thin-gauge wire onto which seed beads are scattered. 

Once those steps were completed, I was compelled to add something to the center of the loops. When I failed to locate large enough beads, I decided to use small ones with the addition of Vintaj Patina-colored bead caps. These caps, turned upside down, resemble the crowns on the end of a blueberry. 

And, that was it! I'm happy to have accomplished something jewelry-related and am ready to make more! Please head over to Earrings Everyday to see more blueberry-inspired earrings.