Friday, April 20, 2018

We're All Ears :: April Challenge :: Paradise Calling April 20




April's We're All Ears Challenge is perfect for me and all my fellow beach lovers. The theme is paradise calling. I love the beach and I feel warmer temperatures calling to me and I am beginning to dream in tropical colors.

photos of the beach and ocean
[Photo Credit :: via Unsplash :: clockwise from top left :: Gaddafi Rusli :: Ren Ran :: Pedro Lastra :: David Straight]

I love the water and I had enameled tin components by Kimberly Rodgers of Numinosity.  The colors remind me of the ocean.  They are primarily blue with specs of aqua and white. The top third of these component had an open space of gray tin.  Since the components are tin they are very light weight. This presented lots of design opportunities to try without the concern of ending with heavy earrings.  I try to keep my earrings around 2 inches and on the light side.  


Earrings by BayMoonDesign
Earrings by BayMoonDesign
I wrapped Irish linen thread with blue seed beads added around the upper third to accentuate the colors.  I used treated black steel wire to attach the tin components to the crystals and then to the fancy ear wires.  These earrings turned out to be less then 2 inches.  

earrings by BayMoonDesign
earrings by BayMoonDesign
I made another pair of earrings that are inspired by the color of water.  I used ceramics by Jenny Davies-Reazor, handmade sterling earwires by BayMoonDesign, sterling links, metal loops in this pair.


water in the Florida Keys
Water in the Florida Keys

This is a perfect challenge for me.  I love the ocean and spend a lot of time gathering inspiration from it.  I am getting ready for a craft show in my beach town of Lewes, Delaware so this challenge helped me get ready for it.

By the way, which pair is your favorite?

8 comments:

  1. Love the layering of beads on the enameled tines by Kimberly Rogers. They very much remind me of tropical waters!

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  2. Oh, I love both of them--I don't think I can choose a favorite. I adore the shades of blue that you used... they definitely make me think of my trips to the ocean! (And how lovely--I've been to Lewes! I grew up in Maryland, and much prefer going there than to the more commercialized Maryland beaches.)

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  3. Lovely earrings. I especially like the way you wrapped the tops of the tin dangles in the first pair. It really takes them up a level.

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  4. The deep blue hues really remind me of my trip to the US last year and the sight of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine :) The first pair has these little attention grabbing details (oh, here's one more!) and I love the wrapping as an allusion to waves and the seed beads as those tiny sparkles on the sea surface that look like stars :)

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  5. Oh my, the first pair took my breath away. It looks like a painting with all those textures

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  6. Both of your pairs are lovely. I do love just about anything that's ocean-colored. I do have to say that there's something about the first pair that calls to me a little more than the second. You did a lovely job with this challenge!

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  7. The blues of the water was the most impressive to me. So many shades all at once! I adore them both but the first pair really stands out to me. I really like the added texture and interest from just wrapping with the thread and the beads! Thanks for playing along with me. Enjoy the day! Erin

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  8. I knew this challenge would be right up your alley! Love that first pair so much... gorgeous colors and I like what you did with the linen and seed beads.

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