Simple Truths Celebration Challenge

I have been a fan of Erin Prais Hintz, from Treasures Found, for quite some time.  I love her sense of style and the jewelry she creates is amazing.

In addition to designing jewelry, Erin also makes a line of Simple Truth components.  These pendants are hand made by Erin and, trust me, each is a small work of art.  You can find Simple Truths and her jewelry in her etsy shop.

About a month ago, Erin asked us to join in a Simple Truths Celebration. Basically, Erin wanted us to create something wonderful with her Simple Truths.  hmm .. let me think .. of course, I wanted to play.

I was fortunate enough to win a 3 month membership to the Simple Truth sampler club and was taken by June's pendant.

The hummingbird is adorable an I can see her flying out of the pendant into the sky.

I knew right away I wanted to bead a flower or flowers for this cute little hummingbird.  As it happened, I had just purchased the Tarouk Blooms pattern from Heather Collin.  It seemed like a perfect match.

Heather's pattern was awesome and a blast to make.  I couldn't be happier with my funky bloom.  I also can't say enough good things about Heather's patterns.  You can check out all of them in her etsy shop.

I was trying to decide how to hang the pendant and flower when I had a chance conversation with Erin.  I had mentioned to Erin during the Bohemian Inspired Jewelry Blog Hop that I loved how all the artists in the hop took ideas from the book and put their own "spin" on them. 

Erin challenged me to do the same:  take one of the techniques in Bohemian Inspired Jewelry and incorporate it into a design.  I immediately agreed and couldn't think of a better project into which to incorporate this new challenge.

If you haven't picked up Lorelei Eurto's and Erin Siegel's book Bohemian Inspired Jewelry, I highly recommend it.  All of the projects are beautiful and they all incorporate all sorts of different ribbons, silks, leathers and fabrics.  I honestly want to try all the designs.

What follows is my interpretation of Lorelei's "The Beach House" necklace.

I started with some burgundy and yellow/green leather.

I made these kuchi beads to secure the leather.

I learned how to make these cute beads Debora Mauser in her Wild Woman Bangle class at Bead and Button.  You can see my finished bangles and my review of the class here.  (Spoiler:  the class was amazing and Debora was amazing.)

I used the loop in the leather and this button by C Koop Beads as my closure.

I strung peanut beads in the front of the necklace and added my pendant and the Tarouk bloom.

I took a kuchi bead and pulled it apart to make the bail for the bloom.

I like the way it wraps between the two strands of peanut beads.

And here is the finished necklace.

I love the way it looks when it is worn.  The bloom is a bit of a "statement," but sometimes, a girl needs to be heard.  :)

I'm still wavering, though, between loving the necklace and worrying that the bloom overpowers the pendant.    Any thoughts?

I owe a big "thanks" to Erin for hosting this challenge and for encouraging me to trust my instincts and to put my own spin on another design.  I also want to thank Lorelei for her inspiring design.

If you want to see how other people were able to use Erin's Simple Truths, check out the following list or hop on over to Erin's blog.

Erin Prais-Hintz	http://treasures-found.blogspot.com
Sharon Misuraco	http://goinoffthebeadinpath.blogspot.com/
Tanya Goodwin	http://pixiloo.blogspot.com - you are here
Alice Peterson	http://www.alice-dreaming.blogspot.com
Melissa Trudinger	http://beadrecipes.wordpress.com
Lori Bowring Michaud	http://artfullyornamental.blogspot.com
Rebecca Anderson	http://songbeads.blogspot.com
Chris White	http://dzeyenrstudio.blogspot.com
Cherrie Fick	http://designsinthelight.com
Rosanne Garvison	http://fabfibers@blogspot.com
Shelley Turner	http://www.shelleygrahamturner.blogspot.com
Marlene Cupo	http://amazingdesigns-marlene.blogspot.com/
Mary Harding	http://www.maryhardingjewelrybeadblog.blogspot.com
Lola Surwillo	http://www.beadlolabead.blogspot.com
Michelle Burnett	http://reverieandrevival.blogspot.com
Kirsi Luostarinen	http://kirsiluokorut.blogspot.com
Paige Maxim	http://pmaximdesigns.blogspot.com
Kristen Fagan	http://www.creativestash.com
Cynthia Riggs	http://cynthsblog.blogspot.com/