Saturday, May 5, 2012

One Crayon Color Challenge

Sally Russick, from TheStudioSublime, presented a wonderful challenge:  take one color, and only one color, and create something.  Sally called it the One Crayon Color Challenge.

I love monochromatic designs.  I get lost in the different hues and gradations of one color.  I decided right away to join in the fun.  My first instinct told me to choose orange and that's what I did.  Over the next few weeks, I started to wonder what my instinct was thinking.

Then I found these in my stash.  Who knew these orange pearls from Fusion Beads were lurking around?


I also stumbled into this wonderful Madagascar agate at the bead store.


Absolutely gorgeous!


The beads definitely spoke to me.  Unfortunately, they only said, "buy me."  Those sneaky beads had no intention of telling me how to use them.

The agate beads were challenging because they are larger than the beads I normally use.  The irregular shape  also gave me pause.

I decided to bead a thick rope that might flow into the agate beads.  I looked through my stack of patterns and found "A Different Kind of Spiral" by Marcia Balonis.  You can find that pattern and many others here.  Marcia's patterns are just gorgeous.  If you have a few minutes, please check them out.

Marcia's spiral rope was perfect for what I had in mind.


The topaz crystals take a bit of an orange cast when mixed with the pearls and the dark orange seed beads.

The necklace is pretty simple:  a few beaded spirals and the agate beads.  I couldn't leave well enough alone, though, and added these cute little laced barrel beads, the design for which I found at Bluebear Beads.


I ended up hid a magnetic clasp inside the rope and love the finished look.  The two sections of rope just seem to meld into each other.



The end result is close to what I had in mind.




I also like a more asymmetrical look.


Sally, thank you for such a wonderful challenge.  I had a blast working on this necklace.

If you want to see more beady goodness in one color designs, check out the rest of the hop:

Hosted by:

Sally Russick  http://thestudiosublime.com

Red
Bobbie Rafferty   http://beadsong.blogspot.com

Orange
Linda Landig  http://LindasBeadBlog.com
Renetha Stanziano   http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com
Tanya Goodwin  http://pixiloo.blogspot.com - you are here
Amy Severino   http://amybeads.blogspot.com
 Yellow
Heather Powers   http://humblebeads.blogspot.com
Blue
Rebecca Anderson  http://songbeads.blogspot.com
Hope Smitherman  http://craftyhope.blogspot.com
Alicia Marinache  http://allprettythings.ca
Charissa Sloper   http://blog.obsidiansoda.com
Sandi Volpe   http://sandivolpe.com
Catherine Pruitt  http://boobeads.blogspot.com

 Green
Jenny Davies Reazor   http://www.jdaviesreazor.com
Elizabeth Auld  http://beadsforbusygals.com

Purple
Jennifer Judd Velasquez http://jenjuddrocks.blogspot.com
Lori Anderson  http://prettythingsblog.com
Brown
Diana Ptaszynski   http://suburbangirlstudio.com
Janice Everett   http://JLynnJewels.blogspot.com
Black

41 comments:

  1. That's one cool necklace for certain! How much time, effort and work you have put into this - it's beautiful!

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  2. Tanya, you make orange beautiful! I know it is one color I have always avoided...maybe because of my bright red hair as a child. The beadwork fascinates me as always. This is such a lovely piece! Wonderful!!

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  3. That is lovely. Who knew orange could be mellow and elegant? I didn't. Amazing beadwork Tanya.

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  4. Absolutely gorgeous! I love how you tucked the beautiful agates into the beadweaving! A stunning piece!

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  5. Tanya, WOW!! Your necklace blew me away!! I can't say it any better then Alice, ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!! You made orange so elegant!! (I love how you hid the magnetic clasp in the spiral, very clever!)

    I am so glad you were able to participate in the Crayon Challenge!!

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  6. Oh wow. . .that necklace really does seem to just flow together. As you showed us each step you made, I still couldn't figure out what it was you had envisioned. But your completed necklace speaks for itself. It says, "Look at me, I'm orange and I'm fabulous!!"
    Lovely work!

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  7. Your necklace is beautiful. I love those agate beads too. You did a fantastic job putting it all together and it is obvious that you enjoyed the journey as much as the destination. Great job!

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  8. What a gorgeous necklace, and some seriously lovely bead work! Have gone to Marcia's Etsy site and agree - I'm in love with her bead patterns!

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  9. Tanya, that is just gorgeous!!!! I love your finished product! WOW girl, you're a beadweaving queen! Have a fantastic weekend!
    {Hugs}

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  10. Oh my Tanya, your beading ability blows me away, I am at a loss for words to describe the beauty of your necklace. I love it it is so very gorgeous. Don't you just love it when beads plead with you to take them home!
    Therese

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  11. Oh, wow, Tanya - absolutly stunning... the combination of the beaded rope, and those small 'rings' that separate the agate: they give your design a fluidity and delicay that might have been lost on the big nuggets! It is a gorgeous necklace!

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  12. That's amazing. Usually when I buy beads I know pretty much what I'm going to do with them, but I'm like you on this strand sometimes -- I see something and just can't pass it up and hope for the muse later! You rocked the muse.

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  13. Wow - love what you did with the beads and thank goodness for listening to your gut! Absolutely amazing necklace!!!!

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  14. Oh, goodness....this is an amazing piece. It flows, has such amazing texture, and the colors meld so lusciously!

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  15. Wow! You outdid yourself on this one! What an amazing design and sense of color!

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  16. That's gorgeous! Such amazing beadwork! I love how you hid the clasp!

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  17. Oh WOW! I am always in awe of beadweavers, creating something so beautiful and big out of something so tiny! Gorgeous!

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  18. OMG! This is just breathtakingly beautiful! I always admire your photographs, too - everything on this page shines!

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  19. Seriously Tanya - this is out of this world gorgeous! A great use of orange!

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  20. The idea of using orange scared me to death, but you did such a beautiful job! The shades you chose are lovely and understated, and the weaving is terrific. Bravo!

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  21. Thanks for telling how your design came to be. As a beginner in the bead weaving world I am looking for beautiful work like yours and hope to be as good one day!

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  22. Gorgeous! Put together beautifully!

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  23. A beautiful design and lovely beadweaving.

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  24. This necklace is stunning! I love the mix of seed beads and the (talking) agate! =)

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  25. I love this necklace! Orange is one of my favorite colors and the spiral rope is one of my favorite stitches. I'm going to check out Marcia's site! Beautiful necklace!

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  26. Replies
    1. now I write here again...
      seems that box just vanish when Im going to write comments??

      GORGEOUS !!! and I wish I could do some bead work like that :)

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  27. Love the way you combined some unusual tones of orange. Your necklace is a feast for the senses - would just look fabulous with a simple black dress.

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  28. As I gazed upon your necklace, all I kept saying was WOW over and over. That is so cool how you hid the magnetic clasp. Just beautiful.

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  29. That Madagascar agate is really interesting. I like how you worked it into your piece, and especially like the more assymetrical look. :)

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  30. I love how you worked the large gemstones into your delicate bead weaving. Great job, lovely necklace.

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  31. Wow! Thats a stunning necklace!

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  32. Such a beautiful selection of beads and varigated colors - love all your beautiful beadwork - it's a real stunner!
    ~JLynn

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  33. The beadwork is amazing, and the colors make such a pretty necklace.

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  34. I had to laugh-this past week I made my first spiral in 3 years! And seeing yours made my eyes dance with delight! What a gorgeous piece you made! I just love it!

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  35. I love love love your necklace! Bead weaving is one of my favorite techniques and your necklace is stunning!
    Sonya

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  36. Very pretty! I'm amazed by your beadwork!

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  37. Thats great! THe contrast of the natural large stone color to the detail and texture of the seed beads is very appealing!

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