Art Jewelry Elements: The Magic of Fireflies: the June Theme Challenge

When I saw this challenge I knew I wanted to participate. I remember as a young child (and teenager..) going to my grandparents house in Kentucky. They lived in the country on the top of a hill. Some of my favorite memories are of my cousins and I running around the yard collecting "lightening bugs" and putting them in a jar to use as a nightlight when we went to bed. If you can catch enough, you can get quite a bright light! When we got up in the morning, we would let them out.

I can remember the laughter and squeals as we caught the lightening bugs and they would get loose from our hands and crawl up our arms. And running in the garden and getting our feet muddy and having to wash off at the back porch spigot before going inside.

I am so glad Jen at Art Jewelry Elements  shared this challenge. I don't work with glass or clay but I wanted to create something that was whimsical that would remind me of those fun times at my grandparents home. So I created a lightening bug from glass and wooden beads and it's wings from decorative vinyl that I have for other projects.Since lightening bugs have beige stripes on it's wing's I beaded on glass beads around the edge.  The wings are on a jump ring and when I move, they move also. It's "light" is a wire cage with yellow beads strung on it. I strung my lightening bug on braided fabric tubes that are dark blue with silver sparkles on it. This reminded me of the lightening bugs as they flew in the night sky. The clasp on the back is a simple lobster claw.

Thanks for looking and going down memory lane with me. For more great lightening bugs or fire flies head over to Art jewelry Elements for the list of wonderful designers who participated.

And...oh yeah...wonder what happens when a lightening bug's light goes out.......

Hahahaha...

Til next time
Keep on Beading!


Veralynne

We're All Ears - June 2015

ILLUSTRATION BY HASHIME MURAYAMA

Hashime Murayama was a Japanese illustrator, born in 1879. He used to work for National Geographic until 1941.

Well Erin again has given us stunning pictures to use to create our earrings. I loved all three, but kept coming back to the first one. I just love the waving of the seaweed and the coral and shells.  I have a stash of shells that my daughter has collected over the years, so she said I could use them. The purple shells, the opaque, and the brown spiral shells I used and drilled the holes for them myself. The others I had from jewelry strands I already had. 

This is my daughter, Sydny, helping me by

modeling the earrings.  We went to beach by our 

house to take the pictures. Man was it hot! But 

she did good!

Here are two close ups of both earrings. I had a blast creating these. The idea came almost immediately upon seeing the picture. I created them that day. The goldy looking chain is to represent the swaying seaweed.  

Thanks for looking. And tune back in later this month and in July for more challenges I am in. And on July 17th for the next We're All Ears for July!

For more great eye candy check out Erin's blog at Earrings Everyday

Keep Beading

Veralynne