Today is the day for the reveal of Andrew Thornton's Dark Bloom Challenge blog hop.
To participate, you had to purchase a Design Kit. This kit features a selection of Japanese hex-cut seed beads, premium Czech glass (both vintage and new), iron corrugated rounds, an iron filigree bead, lampwork glass, Irish waxed linen, a gunmetal toggle, vintage moon-glow lucite, and recycled African glass beads. The kit also includes a Luxury Bead Blend.
Each kit comes with a special, handmade component that remains a mystery until it arrives at my door! The Mystery Component might actually be more than just one bead or pendant. It's always a surprise. The Mystery Component is publicly revealed about a one month before the actual reveal day.
For this challenge, Andrew made polymer clay coin pendants. He saw a similar stylized flower motif on an old Roman vessel and thought that he would translate it into a jewelry component. He used a dark purply-black base and then hit the raised details with violet Gilder's Paste.
I always try to do Andrew's beads justice and am never sure that I succeed. I was able to make a bracelet which I forgot to get a picture of, a second bracelet which I did get a picture of, a necklace, two pairs of earrings, and some wine glass charms.
For the necklace I used the mystery component, the Czech glass beads, the recycled glass beads and the gunmetal toggle clasp.
I next made a set of four wine glass charms using the matte seed beads (pink, purple, and gray) from the luxury mix.
