Opulent Odyssey

op·u·lent adj \-lənt\

: exhibiting or characterized by opulence: as  

a : having a large estate or property : wealthy

b : amply or plentifully provided or fashioned often to the point of ostentation 

od·ys·sey noun \ˈä-də-sē\
1: a long wandering or voyage usually marked by many changes of fortune
2: an intellectual or spiritual wandering or quest 

My friend Miss Deryn Mentock threw down the gauntlet the other day when she posted a picture of a room taken from the blog Interior Alchemy and challenge us all to be inspired. Well, inspired I was!

I imagined that this room, with its puddles of damask bordered in deep crimson fringe, the ornate gilded molding of the picture frames, the broken marble statues, the tiled smoky mirror studded with pearls, and the soft light filtering through the hushed room. Since this is so far away from anything that I would ever experience where I am, I concocted a story of intrigue and romance in this room that must surely be found in a luxurious place, like a castle in France or Russia. 

This would likely be a wonderful place to stop and savor time standing still. If I were to be in this room, I would be wearing a fluttery and soft silk peignoir, lighting candles to illumine the reflective surfaces in the dying light and a warmed by crackling fire (on the other side of the room, of course) to keep me cozy all night long. Is this the place to insert the hot bod of a hunk with rippling biceps, a chiseled chin and an accent that makes you go weak in the knees? Why yes, please.

I love these colors and surfaces and textures. This is right in my wheelhouse. And why not a little multi-tasking to make a challenge fun? I went to my stash and found a box that had been sent to me by the wonderful people at Nina Designs. They have a new blog partner program where they surprise some bloggers with a goodie box filled with their latest designs. Did I manage to take a picture of the before? Of course not. But I will tell you that it was filled with the most lovely golden trinkets. 

 I received a stylized tree of life pendant and a cut out peacock feather among a few other things. This is part of their new bronze line. With the price of precious metals through the roof, and those metals being their sole business, it is to their credit that they have brought a line of components out that are more affordable and high quality that give you the same luxurious quality of the real thing. The pieces I received are 24kt gold plated over bronze. They are silky and highly polished, and if I didn't know it I would swear it is solid gold. 

Since I can think of no other more extravagant pet to have in a room like this than a peacock, I thought that it would make for the perfect focal.

And a few weeks ago, I returned from Galena and the Vintaj workshop all excited by the projects and possibilities that I had explored there. I picked up some of their new leaf/feather shapes in brass. I thought that this pendant could use a little layering. I hammered a texture onto the brass feather that has a square pattern that mimics the tiles of the mosaic mirror or the damask curtains. I buffed the texture to make that gilt look and added color with alcohol inks.

I love AD Adornments and always find the most unique things there. I can buy online but there is no substitute for actually touching the vintage and hard to find beads. I had picked up a lot of intriguing things this year at Bead & Button, including that vintage rhinestone ring (that I wire wrapped to a Vintaj, the rhinestone beads and the most brilliant pearl rondelle spacers (that is by far my favorite that I have never found elsewhere). 

I looked in my bead drawer and lo and behold! There was this lush strand of claret side drilled stick pearls. I am not even sure where I got those, or maybe they were gifted to me. They reminded me so much of that jagged fringe at the top of the curtains, and for a little intrigue I added some green peacock blister pearls. 

I can't leave a design alone without an art bead, and my 'simple truths' are just not exotic enough for this exquisite design, so again, I went to the bead tower and came across three: an etched dottie purple lampwork bead from gifted from a friend (but the artist name escapes me), a bronze porcelain bead from Splendid Loon Studios and a teal disk bead from Humblebeads. Then I filled in the blanks with whatever I had lying around. 

Oh, and the back is composed of an embellished hook clasp (the rhinestone ring was a bright shiny silver, too much, so I toned it down by dabbing dark grey alcohol inks all over it), and a deep burgundy silk ribbon that came from Nina Designs, too.

An odd assortment of lush and precious beads and baubles that I think would be fit for an exotic princess featuring mementos and trinkets picked up on an epic journey....... an Opulent Odyssey.

{Opulent Odyssey - click to view larger!}

 Be sure to check out the rest of the entries on Deryn's blog (a most wonder-filled place to find inspiration!).

Your turn...

If you could make an odyssey to another country or a far off or even imaginary land, where would be and why?

The materials above attributed to Nina Designs were provided as part of the Nina Designs blogging program. The author of this blog has not received any payment from the above-mentioned company. The post above represents only personal opinion of the blog author.