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14 December 2009

And the Winner is......


Mallory Hoffman!!

You are the random winner of Week Two Inspired by...Grandma's Jewelry Box challenge. Congratulations! You will receive a copy of BeadStar magazine {let me know if you want me to autograph it for you *wink* ;-)}and the bracelet {read all about it below}. Please email me (enjoytheday{at}tesoritrovati{dot}com) your address information so that I might send this off to you asap!
But wait!!! There's more!

I am not satisfied with just one random winner....I think there should be two! And the second random winner is.................................
Sissy Sparrows!!

G'day! How cool is it that we picked up some new players this round?! Welcome to the Aussie girls Julie and Donna, the Sissy Sparrows! I love that we can instantly connect across the globe. {And even more cool that it is gorgeous summer there at the same time it is the dead of winter here...glad that someone is warm!}. Sissy Sparrows is the winner of a copy of BeadStar magazine as well! Email me (enjoytheday{at}tesoritrovati{dot}com) your mailing address and I will get this out to you to continue to be inspired!

I was a complete slacker this week...I should have posted the winning bracelet that I promised at the beginning, not the end. Maybe the suspense was too much {or the Ghosts of Christmas-Shopping-Not-Finished scared other entries away} and that is why there were less baubles this round. Oh well. I have to say that I love what was submitted...a small but mighty bunch of creatives you are! But I have been receiving all sorts of feedback that is telling me that you like these creative challenges and you would like to see them continue. And I will happily oblige!

As I mentioned the Humblebeads I ordered for this challenge never found me...so I dove into my stash and came up with not one Humblebead...but four! And I finally found a sliver of daylight in which to photograph this piece.

I call it "Revamp'd" because that is what I did to it!

I started with a gold-tone circle pin, you know the kind...everyone has a grandmother or kindly aunt who wore one of these on their lapel. I checked the back and found that it wasn't a precious piece, so I knew it would be okay to break off the pin {and file it down so as not to poke Miss Mallory!}.

Next, I wired the Humblebeads wafer bead with gorgeous olive, cream, brown and a dash of purple on it to the circle. The hole is in the middle, but I like to be able to see the gorgeous patterns that Heather uses, so I came up with this way to wire it on to show off the bead more.
I had another repurposed piece of jewelry with a shimmering beaded-bead. Thought that would give it a little bling.



I used a doubled length of chain from Rings & Things {NOTE: I am a Rings & Things blog partner. This chain was part of my November package in exchange for blogging about the products with my honest opinions.} This chain is described as "Hammered oval cable bulk footage chain"... I liked the soft brass color and the cool hammered texture, and thought it complemented the tones in the other beads well, without being overpowering. The only thing that I dislike about chain like this is that it is soldered. I hate wasting links in a piece, and because I was having logistical problems when I created this, I actually wasted three links. Drats. Please tell me that I am not the only one that this happens to {and what do you do with those wasted links...is there some way to salvage them??}...

From the chain I dangled all sorts of beads...repurposed vintage corrugated beads, teardrop amber colored something from an old earring, three little Humblebeads and an amber glass bubble from Cindy Gimbrone {amazingly, she uses a router of some sort to cut a little groove on the side and then wire wraps them. She sells these babies, and it is so much better to buy them than to attempt to route them myself...especially when I am tool challenged!!}


Nothing goes better with vintage than Vintaj {and for the record...I am NOT compensated for loving their products...I just want the world to know!}. The Vintaj hook clasp was embellished with three little vintage copper spacer beads and a little wire wrapping with Vintaj 24 gauge bronze wire.

When I got done, it just wasn't right. So I let it sit overnight. I decided there wasn't enough of that green color, so I wire wrapped some tiny Miyuki cubes in my favorite khaki green color to the gold {former} pin. And then I decided to add a few of those dangling from the chain. {Oh, Mr. Miyuki...you complete me!}

So.....there you have it...."Revamp'd" especially created for Miss Mallory! {Can I get a woot! woot!} I was Inspired by... my Grandma's jewelry box. And you have all inspired me in so many ways. Let's keep this party rolling!


Stay tuned for the third week of this first Inspired by.... challenge! I will post the details later today.

Enjoy the day!

13 comments:

  1. Congrats to the winners! What a great bracelet, Erin! So many interesting elements.

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  2. Congrats to the winners! Great bracelet, lovely colours! BTW, soldered chain links: if you saw the links open, instead of cutting them, you can use them like jump rings when you need a connecting link somewhere...

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  3. Congratulations to the winners! and I am sooooooooo lusting after the bracelet, just beautiful Erin. Sadly my entry is still sitting in a jumble on my desk.

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  4. Wahoooo! We can't believe it....so so excited....it was so much fun to participate, we'll keep an eye out for the next challenge!

    Thanks so much Erin for your lovely comments and for putting these challenges together!

    Julie & Donna

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  5. congrats to the winners! and erin, your bracelet is just too too... it's just awesome! i didn't really come from a family of jewelry wearers, so didn't have anything to raid! i cannot even give what i make away to family because they just don't wear it ~ so my friends get spoiled! :0) really wonderful challenge... hope your moving is going well...

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  6. congraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaats!! to the winners!! stunting pieces!!

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  7. This bracelet is fabulous! What a neat challenge. Congrats to the winners:)

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  8. That is an absolutely beautiful bracelet! Erin, these are such great challenges you've designed! I wish I could have participated, but definitely next time. Please tell me I don't have to wait until your second anniversary!

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  9. Great bracelet Erin. And my congrats to the winners as well. Thanks for stopping by and taking a stab at my contest. How about another guess?

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  10. Congrats to the winners! Great bracelet, Erin. As for cutting links, I also HATE to waste links. Since I use mostly fine and sterling silvers, all scraps get relocated to old prescription pill containers. Some day when there is enough WEIGHT I'll turn it in. If the gauge is heavier, yes, you could use them as a jump ring, or cut pieces and hammer them for cold connection embellishing.
    Oh gosh - buttons. I, too, have those little packages. Some are so old I no longer have the garments they were attached to! Never fear, they WILL find a home someday.
    And, congrats on your publications this year!
    sandi m

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  11. Oh, my, how did I miss this? Thank you, Erin! I'm off to email you now!!!!!!!
    Thank you!!!!!!!

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  12. Congratulations to the lucky winners! Due to the "Christmas Crunch" I didn't have time to enter the latest challenge, but am really enjoying seeing all the creative designs!

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  13. Erin, that bracelet is going in my special photo gallery for inspirational pieces! So innovative and a totally lovely composition! The doubled chain idea is brilliant! Excellent work.

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