The 2nd Spring Fling Challenge

Last year, Amy, from Amy Beads, hosted her first Spring Fling Challenge.  Amy put together two gorgeous kits for the challenge, one in blue and one in orange.

I'm not sure how it happened, but I missed it.  The reveals were amazing and I vowed not to miss my chance again.

This year, for the 2nd Spring Fling Challenge, Amy put together a wonderful kit centered around a focal made by Alenka of Pepita Handmade.

Seriously, I love the focal and all of the beads Amy picked out.  Don't the dark blue and purple look awesome together?  I would not have put those together on my own.

I rummaged through my stash and found all different shades of purple seed beads and a strand of blue pearls.

I wanted to put the blue pearls around the pendant, but couldn't figure out how.  I finally decided on a frilly type of embellishment with the pearls.

I absolutely adore how the pendant came out, but realized it was a bit larger than pendants I usually wear.  I was thinking about making it an ornament or bookmark when the kiddo saw it.

She claimed it for her own, so I added a bit of leather cord.

She loves it and I love seeing her wear it.  :)

The next thing I made were little charms with some of the purple beads from the kit.

I used two of the glittery purple stones as drops.

I happened to find pink wire, which made fun earwires.

I wanted to use the rest of the glittery purple stones in a chunky bracelet.  I tried a few different things and settled on Marcia deCoster's "Two By Two" bracelet from  Crystal Jewelry Inspiration.

I used most of the pink pearls from the kit and the rest of my blue pearls on the base of the bracelet.  The purple stones from the kit were perfect dangles.

The bracelet was a little short, so I made a focal/connector with the four large blue pearls from the kit.

I thought it worked perfectly with the bracelet.

You can't see in this picture, but there is a beaded toggle that slips right into the holes in the beadwork.

I love this design.  It's similar to Marcia's Rising Sun bracelet and is so easy to work up.  The layers of beads look give an amazing texture to the bracelet and the dangles are a fun addition.

If you haven't seen Marcia's book, Beaded Opulence,definitely take a look.  Her second book, Beads in Motion, is due out in August (and I can't wait to see it).

Amy, thank you for a wonderful challenge.

Please take a few minutes and visit the other participants to see their awesome creations.

Maryanne • Zingala's Workshop

Therese • Therese's Treasures

Tanya • A Work in Progress - you are here

Alenka • Pepita Handmade

Kepi • A Little of This, A Little of That

Beti •Stringing Fool

Dolores • Crafty D's Creations

Jenny • Wonder and Whimsy

Cynthia • Created Treasures

Mowse • Mowse Made This

Carolyn • Carolyn's Creations