Sj Designs Honey Do List - Challenge Reveal

I seem to be running behind on everything this week and simply have no excuse for it. But, I do have a new piece of jewelry to share with you. It's for Sj Designs' Honey Do List. Each month Sarajo's husband presents her with a design inspiration, and she extends that inspiration as a challenge for other designsers. I could not resist this month's picture. 

It's pure, rusty heaven! In addtion to the rusty hues, I spy black and white as well. But, it's the rust that really stands out.

I started my work on this challenge by selecting my rusty component. I've got plenty to choose from, as I am a collector. However, I remembered that I had just bought a selection of keys at a craft and thrift show. There was a massive bin of them that I dug though, selcting just the ones I wanted. Of course, I snagged a few nice rusty ones. 

This one was not only rusty, but also had a nice square-ish shape at the top, reflecting the shape of the window panes in the picture. I have to admit, that it looked more rusty originally. I decided to coat it with Renaissance Wax to seal in all the rusty goodness. Alas, it dulled and darkened the patina rather than lifting it up.

Here's another key from the batch that still has that orange glow to it. I suppose I could have selected another key, but I was determined not to be deterred. 

Since the orange glow had been subdued, I decided to use antiqued copper to bring it back into the necklace. The key was attached to a scrapbook element with "25" written on it. (I did have to alter the silvertone back with Vintaj Patinas to make it match a litte better.) There's something somewhat industrial about the charm - much like I imagine the building the window can be found on. 

I made the chain of the necklace with cultured sea glass in clear and black, ensuring that they weren't too shiny for the rustic-ness of this inspiration. In addition, small white glass beads were included. The beaded portion makes up the front of the chain while simple antiqued copper chain and a toggle clasp complete it. 

At first glance, it may be hard to see that this necklace came from the inspiration photo, but each and every selection for it came directly from that fabulous image. I can't wait to see what the inspiration is for next month!

Make sure you hop on over to the Sj Designs Jewelry Blog to see what else that picture inspired. 

On my Desk (WOYWW)

Ever since I got the craft room cleaned and organized the other week, I've done a pretty good job keeping it that way. I've even been pretty good at cleaning off my desk between projects. . .pretty good - not perfect. And, of course, I usually have several projects going on at once. Currently, this is the state of my craft desk.

In the center is my to do list. I took this picture first thing this morning, just after I finished writing it out. Just above that are some keys for a tutorial I'm working on for a secret project. . .to be revealed later. On the left is my art journal with black scribbles (I was trying to use up some paint) and a finished altered playing card (the flower). Of course, there's also a large mug of coffee and all the other miscellany I keep within reach. Just these few things have me a bit overwhelmed at the moment, so I think I'm going to clear the excess to clear my head and get motivated. Do you work better on a messy desk or a clean one?

I'm linking up at Stamping Ground for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday (WOYWW).

Friday Finds #4 | Thrift, Craft, and Antique Stores

I know, I know. These finds were from November, but I'm still trying to catch up. I do hope y'all will forgive me and just enjoy the finds!

Here's my video reveal of all of these scores. It actually includes all of them because it was recorded just after I discovered the goodies.

If you're just not feeling like watching me ramble for five and a half minutes, here's a peek at most of what I unearthed.

From a thrift store in Mobile, AL

From Blue Girl Beading Co in Gulf Shores, AL

From Hobby Lobby

My favorite find in this post! From The Rabbit Hole Marketplace in Summerdale, AL

The jewelry was brought home in a bag and sorted before being placed in a jar. This may not be the right jar. You'll have to watch the video to see what I got. Oh, and I figured out that the tiny jars are food coloring jars. I was excited about that. Anyway, these were from an antique store in  Robertsdale, AL.

So, that's the bulk of my finds lately (even if that was back in November). I've been so busy since then, there hasn't been a whole lot of treasure hunting. Hopefully that will change. However, I've got so many treasures right now that I really just need to spend some time working with them instead of hunting for more! Who can resist the thrill of the hunt though?

Have you found anything good lately?

Bead Table Wednesday

It's back!
I'm not exactly sure where Bead Table Wednesday disappeared to as I desperately clung to it until about May of last year. Heather Powers of Humblebeads, the originator of BTW, has resurrected the weekly ritual.

What's actually on my desk is something I can't share until next week. As such, I did some more experimenting this morning with an idea that's been bouncing around in my head for the last few days. It started with a couple of the keys from my massive collection.

First I cleaned and sealed them with Renaissance Wax. Once they dried, I altered them with some Gilder's Paste and StazOn ink

Then added a little Magic-Glos. . .

The experiment isn't quite finished as I still need to Glos the other side, but I've learned that I need to add a little bit more of the Magic-Glos than I think I need and to not add more glos after I've already cured a coat. (Unless I want to coat the whole thing again.) All in all I really like the look though!

What's on your bead table today? To play along:

::Snap a photo then share it on Instagram, your blog, or on my the Humblebeads Facebook page. 

::You can share a work-in-progress, a total disaster, or a finished project. 

::Use hashtag #BTW or #BeadTableWednesday on Instragram

::If you blog about it, grab one of the icons on Heather's blog and link back to her.

I really enjoy BTW and hope you play along as well! The links to Heather's blog above are last week's. Here's her blog post for this week for you to check out and link up to.