beads by breul

Friday, November 30, 2012

Challenge of Color 2012!

It's that day,
today!
Ok, Erin sent me two amazing palattes to choose from,
both beautiful. Again I am in awe that this
is our Earth!
I looked at my bead stash, as one of my
challenges was to use what I had, and
chose wisely.

I chose Dasht-e Kevir
Spectacular colors! My colors actually.
I visited the USGS website  and googled
Dasht-e Kevir to learn more. 
First, the USGS site, amazing photos! I know I have said it
before, hard to believe that it is Earth!
(lots of time lost there.....)

The Dasht-e Kevir is in Iran and is also
known as the Great Salt Desert.
Somehow I got that from the picture and colors.

Now I immediately came up with an idea! Had a focal in mind,
sat down pulled everything out, created, walked away.
Came back and took the whole thing apart!  It just wasn't speaking to me.
After several rounds, I am happy to say that I love what I made.
I was going for an earthy feel, somewhat grounded and
whole feeling, if that could possibly make sense to anyone but me!

I present my piece!



Pearls, czech beads, MOP circle, Swarovski pearls, leather and
these wonderful earthy brown beads. I have absolutely 
no idea what they are, sorry.


The center of my flower is an a amazing headpin from Anne of
I won them!!! Along with Rustic Wrappings
by Kerry Bogart!! Love!

I love the feel of it and am so proud that I
used LEATHER!  Working on using more fiber
in my work. I love the look, but tend to shy away.

I would love to gift someone with this, so if you
are interested please let me know as I will have a drawing.

Now, below is the list of all of the hop participants!
Please, please hop around and see what these insanley talented
folks have created!

Kris Auderer http://strandedinthecity.wordpress.com
Chrizette Bayman http://beadsoupmix.blogspot.com
Lori Bowring Michaud http://artfullyornamental.blogspot.com
Courtney Breul http://beadsbybreul.blogspot.com/ - You are here.
Lynsey Brooks
http://yellowunicorncreations.blogspot.co.uk
Stephanie Buss http://maxandlucie.blogspot.com
Iveth Caruso http://www.creativeatelier.net/
Shannon Chomanczuk http://www.formysweetdaughter.blogspot.com
Lisa Cone http://inspiredadornments.blogspot.com/
Cece Cormier http://thebeadingyogini.com
Lori Dorrington http://lorisglassworks.blogspot.com
Dawn Doucette http://designsbydawnmarie.blogspot.com
Jeannie Dukic http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog/
Kim Dworak http://cianciblue.blogspot.com/
Beth Emery http://storiesbyindigoheart.blogspot.com
Janice Everett http://JLynnJewels.blogspot.com
Pam Farren http://www.re-maker.blogspot.com
Donetta Farrington http://simplygorgeous-donetta.blogspot.com
Gloria Ferrer http://judetaama.blogspot.com.es/
Cherrie Fick http://designsinthelight.co
Therese Frank http://www.theresestreasures59.blogspot.com
Patty Gasparino http://www.mylifeunderthebus.typepad.com
Tanya Goodwin http://pixiloo.blogspot.com/2012/11/3rd-annual-challenge-of-color.html
Ambra Gostoli http://chicandfrog.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/3rd-challenge-of-color
Jess Green http://tabbiekoshka.blogspot.co.uk/
Denielle Hagerman http://somebeadsandotherthings.com
Mary Harding www.maryhardingjewelrybeadblog.blogspot.com
Karla Hartzog http://www.karlakrafts.com
Kim Hora http://www.kimmykats.com
Brandi Hussey http://brandigirlblog.com
Emanda Johnson http://ArtemisiaStudio.blogspot.com
Jennifer Justman http://soulsfiredesigns.blogspot.com/
Sue Kennedy http://suebeads.blogspot.com
Ema Kilroy http://emakaye.blogspot.com
Lee Koopman http://Stregajewellry.wordpress.com
Linda Landig http://www.LindasBeadBlog.com
Kirsi Luostarinen http://kirsiluokorut.blogspot.com
Cynthia Machata http://antiquitytravelers.blogspot.com/
Alicia Marinache http://www.allprettythings.ca
Beth McCord http://www.ebbeadandmetalworks.blogspot.com
Mary K McGraw http://mkaymac.blogspot.com/
Karen Mitchell http://www.overthemoon-design.com
Cheri Mitchell-Reed http://creativedesignsbycheri.blogspot.com/
Aimee Moisa http://threecatsdancing.blogspot.com
Karla Morgan http://www.texaspepperjams.blogspot.com
Penny Neville http://copperpennydesigns.blogspot.com
Becky Pancake http://beckypancakebeaddesigns.blogspot.com
Kashmira Patel http://sadafulee.blogspot.com
Alice Peterson http://alice-dreaming.blogspot.com
Kayla Potega http://www.teejewelry.blogspot.com
Debbie Price http://greenshoot.blogspot.co.uk
Bobbie Rafferty http://beadsong.blogspot.com
Caron Reid http://caronmichelle.blogspot.com.au/
Nicole Rennell http://nicolerennell.com/blog
Cynthia Riggs http://cynthsblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/3rd-annual-challenge-of-color.html
Andrea Ross http://silvermapledesigns.blogspot.com/
Sally Russick http://thestudiosublime.com
Annie Scherz http://www.studioluma.ca
Pam Sears http://crazycreativecorner.blogspot.com/
Renetha Stanziano http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com
Sandra Stein http://sannipanni.wordpress.com
Kristen Stevens http://kristen-beadjourney.blogspot.com
Tracy Stillman http://www.tracystillmandesigns.com
Sherri Stokey http://www.knotjustmacrame.com/2012/11/challenge-of-color-reveal.html
Lola Survillo http://www.beadlolabead.blogspot.com
Kay Thomerson http://KayzKreationz.blogspot.com
Jo Tinley http://daisychaindesignsjewellery.blogspot.com
Emma Todd http://www.apolymerpenchant.com
Cory Tompkins http://www.tealwaterdesigns.blogspot.com
Pam Traub http://www.klassyjoolz.blogspot.com
Melissa Trudinger http://beadrecipes.wordpress.com
Michelle Tucker http://michellescreativemusings.blogspot.com/
Shelley Graham Turner http://www.shelleygrahamturner.blogspot.com
Monique Urquhart http://ahalfbakednotion.blogspot.com/
Rachel Van-Walsk http://balancedcrafts.com/blog
Patti Vanderbloemen http://www.myaddictionshandcrafted.blogspot.com
Lesley Watt http://thegossipinggoddess.blogspot.com
Lynn White http://lynnwhitejewelry.com/Lynn_White_Jewelry/Lynns_Jewelry_Blog/Lynns_Jewelry_Blog.html
Joan Williams http://www.lilrubyjewelry.com

Thank you Erin for putting this together and supporting
all of us on our journey!


49 comments:

Niky Sayers said...

really beautiful i love the pop of the blue pearls

Patti Vanderbloemen said...

Fabulous job! Beautiful colors and textures in that necklace! Congrats on using the leather!!!

Unknown said...

Oh Courtney I definitely got EARTHY when I looked at your necklace. I love the mix of beads and shades you used. You did a very nice job!

Unknown said...

Such a beautiful palette - and I love that you worked fiber into the necklace!

elisabeth said...

Would looooove to win - its so stunning - the colors are amazing and the way you used the head pin was really cool!

balanced. said...

how pretty! love that palette, too!

Lesley said...

That's beautiful Courtney - your palette is totally my kind of colours to - subtle and earthy, just gorgeous. And you're write yo have created something with a deep sense of calm and balance - love it.

Cece Cormier said...

Great combination of beads. Like it.

Tanya said...

I love your necklace. The beads are gorgeous and invoke that earthy, beachy feel.

Anonymous said...

Courtney, I love this color palette and I sure do love what you did with it. That earthy feel, the chunky beads. Gorgeous!

Maplegirl said...

You matched up the colors in the palette so well. Great job.

Dawn Doucette said...

Courtney, I just LOVE the necklace. Great colors and I could see where you were easily inspired! I've admired Gardenanne's head pins from afar for a long time. It's beautiful to see exactly how you used this one!

Great design, it would be an awesome staple to anybody's wardrobe!
{Hugs!}

Karin Slaton said...

Love the earthy browns and shimmering blues. And the asymmetrical design is perfect for the inspiration photo.

Michelle Tucker said...

Beautiful necklace! You balanced out the asymmetrical design perfectly!

Cynthia said...

Really nice job! You matched your palette, and I really like the focal, with the glass headpin and opened flower bud! very creative and beautiful.
Feel free to throw my name into the hat to win!!

The Crazy Creative Corner said...

Love that you were able to make that flower focal! I have one of those at home and haven't decided how to use mine, yet. You really pulled it off and that headpin is great. Love the colors you used. (and, yeah, I used leather for the 1st time, too!)

Brandi Hussey said...

You absolutely nailed it! Your necklace is gorgeous and earthy!

It's funny how a little time away from a design can help give you some clarity, isn't it? I can't even tell you how many tries it took me to complete my challenge pieces for today! So, as you were sharing how the original design wasn't speaking to you, I was sitting here nodding along. Oh, how universal design problems are!

Thank you for playing along!

Shannon Chomanczuk said...

Great palette! Beautiful work.

Becky Pancake said...

Courtney, Thanx for a chance to win your beautiful necklace. I love the focal. I just bought some of the brass flowers bead caps too. The headpin looks perfect inside the brass.

Anonymous said...

I adore both palettes and I love the style of necklace you created with a few beads of one color, then a few of the next, etc. Nicely done!

aneri_masi said...

This turned out so pretty! I love the white beads since they represent salt crystals (to me!).

And please add me to the drawing, too pretty to pass up :)

Monique (A Half-Baked Notion) said...

I too struggle to incorporate more fabric in my work, Courtney. This is an amazing art piece (love the asymmetry)!

Bobbie said...

What a great mixture of materials and shapes -- and you captured the colors so perfectly!

AntiquityTravelers said...

This is just a stunning piece! I love that headpin .. wow, just wow! The way you've pulled in the colors are so lush, and flow so perfectly. Really lovely work!

JLYNNJEWELS said...

Simply love your palette and the beautiful way you pulled all the colors together with stringing and use of the leather and all those glorious beads - such a pretty necklace ~JLynn

TesoriTrovati said...

There is a really nice balance happening here Miss Courtney. I love the focal and those brown beads. Just the right touches in just the right places! I am so glad you joined me in this Challenge! Enjoy the day! Erin

Caron Michelle said...

Absolutely gorgeous, love the design that you have created to match the palette, beautifully done!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful! These are some of my very favorite colors and you've done a great job with them. Oh,by the way-I have some of those brown beads and I was told they're called etched agates.

A Polymer Penchant said...

hmm, could they be polymer?? You know what you better just send it to me to inspect so we can be sure. I'll treat it right I promise! Really pretty in its balanced asymmetry

Unknown said...

I absolutely LOVE the necklace! The drop with the "tulip" is fabulous! The brown beads on either side of the tulip are scrumptious! Aren't Anne's headpins scrumptious! I just love her work!

I am definitely interested in putting my name into the hat for this necklace. Thank you so much for such creativity and inspiration!

Bits of Learning said...

Courtney, I love your necklace! All the wonderful textures and different components! It has such a fantastic earthy flow! Beautiful work!!

Mary K. McGraw said...

What a great palette you had to work with . Really like the blue pearls.They add pizzaz to your great design.

EB Bead and Metal Works, LLC said...

Courtney the necklace is just stunning! I love all the different components and textures you used in this piece!!! Love it!

Anonymous said...

You did such a wonderful job matching the colors and I really like your design. I don't know how you can bear to give it away.

SoulsFireDesigns said...

Oh my goodness it is just lovely! Bravo! You did such a wonderful interpretation of your palette!!

Mary Harding said...

Your necklace is stunning. I love the way you trasitioned to the different color beads. So well done. And the focal-- very nice.

Therese's Treasures said...

Hi Courtney,
Oh wow I love what you created with the colors from your palette it is gorgeous. We had the same color palette, but our creations are worlds apart. Gorgeous!
Therese

CraftyHope said...

All the pieces you picked out for this palette really harmonize together to form a fabulously beautiful piece. I'd love to have the chance to win it for sure!

Klassy Joolz said...

Beautiful design...I love any jewelry with pearls!

Alicia said...

A stunning piece - you definitely captured 'earthy' perfectly! I love the touch of metallic blue in the pearls - and the flower is absolutely gorgeous! I am glad you have used leather, it matches perfectly with the organic feel of the necklace.
I would love to win this!

Donetta said...

What a beautiful piece! You have such a wonderful sense of color and balance; every time I read your blog, I come away inspired.

EmandaJ said...

I love the simplicity and balance of your work -- beautiful.

lamplight crafts said...

Love the blue and browns of your design. The pearls really make the whole design stand out.

Unknown said...

Lovely job, your palette was gorgeous. Beautiful necklace and your pendant is adorable.

Karla Hartzog said...

Hi Courtney! I had the Dasht-e Kevir palette as one of my choices and I'm glad I chose the other one. Anything I would've done would pale in comparison to your beautiful creation! I love the beads, and I adore the bead cap/head pin focal!

Anonymous said...

Definitely throw my name into the hat to win your beautiful necklace! You really captured the colours!

KayzKreationz said...

What a great piece. I love the way you pulled the color together. The headpin focal is amazing. Would love a chance to win. Congrats on using leather in your piece too. It really turned out great.

Shai Williams said...

What a glorious necklace! Please toss my name in the hat.

Alice said...

A gorgeous necklace!!! I love all the different elements, colors and textures you chose to represent the color palette. And that brass flower with the headpin is fabulous!