Backstory Beads: Sharri Moroshok

1/7/14

100 Pairs in 100 Days - Week One

One of my New Year's resolutions was to join Amy Freeland of the Copper Diem blog in her 100 Pairs in 100 Days Challenge. This is Amy's second year to sponsor the challenge and she is very generously donating her designs to Ears to You. I love earrings but rarely take the time to make them, so this is a real challenge. I'm disciplining myself to make each pair first thing in the morning. And my plan is to sell mine and donate the proceeds to Doctors Without Borders.

It's January 7th, so time to reveal my first week's efforts! For this week, I decided I would go thematic, and use the color black in each pair. (Is black a color?) If your winter wardrobe has you in a downward spiral, this first pair will perk up anything drab you pull from your closet.

Tribal lampwork beads by Studio Juls. Enamel & lampwork beads by Elizabeth Girod

When the occasion calls for something a little dressier:

Sterling handformed earwires. At left, Black spinel faceted squares and mixed gemstones.
At right, Mossy Tourmalinated Quartz drops and black gold plated wavy discs

Faceted onyx and freshwater pearls;
Jet silver-foiled textured Czech lampwork, tiny sterling drops and Swarovski pearls

Lampwork beads by StudioJuls, Saki Silver leaf charms

Beaded Disco Beads (from a tutorial by Sharri Moroshok) and Czech glass

Amy has created a 100 Pairs/100 Days Pinterest board for everyone to post their progress. Lots of fun designs to explore! And stop by next week when my theme will be Winter Gardens. No more black!

7/10/13

A Challenge in Black and White

When Sally Russick of The Studio Sublime announced her Black and White Challenge, I jumped at the opportunity to step away from color, usually my primary design consideration, and focus simply on form and texture.

I splurged on a black dress for a recent trip to New England. This black dress:

I wore it to a dinner, a corporate affair, at a winery, on a cool Connecticut June evening, where a ruffle-edged white jacket, my favorite Laura Gibson dangles and statement bracelet were the only accessories needed. I'm now back home in Georgia. Gone are the ocean breezes, the cool morning mists. Gone, also, is the need for that elegant jacket. Sally's challenge was to design a piece of jewelry that uses only black and white. The challenge I gave myself was to design a necklace that would take my new black dress from Summer Staple to Something Spectacular.

I knew I wanted this project to be component based, so I began with some beaded beads.

Barrel Beads and an Octahedral Cluster from tutorials by beAd Infinitum, Discos from a tutorial by Sharri Moroshok of The Beaded Bead, and Ringlets, found in Marcia DeCoster's Beaded Opulence.

With their large holes and elegant texture, Gwen Fisher and Florence Turnour's Barrel Beads were the perfect choice to anchor the longest strand. I combined them with a collection of glass rings by Heather Trimlett that I've been saving for a special project. Completing this strand are embellished Ringlets and large Disco beads from Sharri Moroshok's easily adapted pattern. The Octahedral Cluster serves as the focal of the shorter strand, accented by Disco beads, short barrels, and perfectly named Black Tie Affair lampwork beads by April Larson of Bo's Beads.

The velvet ribbon is left long for times when I want to wear this strand long and casual with black linen and a tee.

The more-traditional short strand is 16 ½-18 inches and lays just above the neckline of my black dress. I think it would be divine on its own with a collared shirt.

Much thanks to Sally Russick for challenging us with this iconic duo. You'll want to check out all the black-and-white inspiration from today's participants.