Making earrings has never been something I feel I'm particularly good at, so back in 2011, I decided to begin each year with a beading challenge to myself: make a pair of beaded earrings every day for an entire month. It seemed a bit daunting at first, but I invited my beady peeps to join me in the earring making challenge so that we could learn from each other and be inspired!
Of all the earrings I made during this year's challenge, these three pairs of beaded earrings were my favorites!
Last year, I successfully made thirty-one pairs of beaded earrings, one for every day in January. It was tough, but it was also a learning experience. Just when I started to think that my ideas had dried up, I found new inspiration and new designs in the most unexpected places. This year, I wasn't quite as successful, ending up with twenty-eight completed pairs of beaded earrings, and three pairs still sitting on my bead tray.
My three favorite pairs from this year's challenge are the brick stitch and chain earrings I made with metallic cylinder beads, a pair of vintage glass cabochons that I embroidered with Swarovski crystal pearls, and a pair of metal mesh roses that I hung from antique brass ear wires with a couple of Swarovski bicones thrown in for good measure.
Your response to the beaded earring making challenge was overwhelming, and I so enjoyed looking at all the lovely earrings posted in the Reader Photo Gallery! Someone even started a thread in the Beading Daily Forums so we could talk about what we learned from the Earring-a-Day challenge, and the responses were quite enlightening.
I love these Blue Diamond earrings made by Becky Pancake Bead Designs! You can see the full-size photo in the Reader Photo Gallery.While most people were energized by this challenge, there were a few who didn't feel quite as good at the end of the earring making challenge. And it's true - if you feel like you have to force yourself to do something, even when it comes to beading, you're not going to enjoy it.
Other (surprising) things that people learned were that they needed to improve their photo taking setups and their beading area setups. Someone else talked about how they discovered that their other crafting projects inspire their beading projects. And I think everyone was thrilled to have a whole new wardrobe of beaded earrings at the end of the challenge!
When you're finished looking at all the beautiful beaded earrings in the Reader Photo Gallery, grab a copy of 101 Bracelets, Necklaces and Earrings through Zinio! You can download your copy instantly on your laptop, desktop or tablet computer and be browsing over one hundred gorgeous beaded jewelry designs in just minutes. Not sure what beading project you want to make next? Check out 101 Bracelets, Necklaces and Earrings and challenge yourself to use new materials or learn a new jewelry-making technique today!
Did you participate in the Earring-a-Day challenge? How did you do? What did you learn? (If you didn't participate this time around, the great thing about a challenge like this is that you can do it any time.) Leave a comment and share your thoughts and experiences here on the Beading Daily blog! And stay tuned for more great Bead-Alongs coming soon to Beading Daily!
Bead Happy,
Jennifer
Filed under: Pearls, Crystals, Brick Stitch, Bead-weaving
When we got home, I thought maybe we should have some more fun and invite our readers on Beading Daily and Jewelry Making Daily to play along with us! Are you up for a little jewelry-making challenge to usher in spring? Here's how it will work:
I get the feeling that this combination hole punch and rivet setting beading tool is going to get a lot of use!I talked to Jewelry Making Daily's Tammy Jones while we were in Tucson, and she showed me this wonderful little hole punch that she'll be using in some of her projects. Lightweight and compact, it can punch holes of two different sizes in several different thicknesses of metal. I'm sold! This beading tool can also be used to set semi-tubular rivets. (Cold connections, anyone?) I can already imagine a dozen projects where this will come in handy!
These wonderful filigree bending pliers give me so much more control when using brass filigrees to make my own custom settings for beaded cabochons!One thing I saw everywhere in Tucson were lovely brass filigrees, both new and vintage. I've been wanting to try my hand at using those brass filigrees to make settings for beaded cabochon rings, earrings and pendants, but I was afraid to try bending the filigrees with my regular chain nose pliers. So one of my purchases while in Tucson was a pair of filigree bending pliers, also sometimes known as bail making pliers. These wonderful tools have uniform, round jaws, each one a different size to create a different bail or bend in your filigree. I've only used them once, but already I can tell they give me far superior control over my filigree-bending than my regular chain nose pliers!
Sometimes I think that the beading tools are one of the best parts of jewelry-making! I love opening up my tool bag and looking at my array of pliers, cutters and crimpers, and adding a new tool (and a new jewelry-making skill) to my collection is always a thrill. If you're thinking that it's time to add a few new beading tools to your collection, or even if you just want to use the tools you already have, check out Katie Hacker's Hip to Bead, now in electronic format! You can download this book instantly on your desktop or laptop computer, pick a project, and start creating right away! You'll find all the instructions you need right there, along with fabulous color photographs and illustrations for each of the thirty-two beading projects that cover jewelry, accessories and more. Download your copy of Hip to Bead and start creating with your beading tools tonight!
