June 29, 2012

Flower Bangle Challenge Reveal

 I'm so excited to finally be able to share this with you!!!  I've had it finished for a few days and it's been killing me to keep it a secret.  Here's the scoop:  Jo at Daisychain Designs sent out five of her pretty flower bangles with a challenge to see what we would do to decorate them.  This is what the bangle looked like before I started:
When it showed up in my mailbox, I almost panicked!  It was so dainty and pretty just as it was, I couldn't figure out what I could do to it without detracting.  So, I sat it on the table next to me and stared at it for several days and ran different ideas through my head.  I thought about doing some macrame around the bangle - a half knot sinnet twisting around the bangle with some tiny seed beads entwined in the cord, but that just didn't seem special enough.  Then I considered making it part of a stack of bracelets - I'm big into the layered stacks right now.  But again, it seemed like making this bangle just one of many just wouldn't be doing it justice.  And then...
My Vintaj Patinas arrived in the mail and added another dimension to the possibilities.  I was very nervous about painting the bangle, so I painted some little copper beads instead and auditioned them on my facebook page to decide which color to use.  
The teal color won - and no, I didn't tamper with the voting (even though it's the color I wanted!).  I finally got up the nerve to paint the flower part of the bangle, and since the orange color came in second in the voting, I added a pop of that to the center of the flower.  After that dried, I mixed some colors together and added some glaze to get a thinner consistency to "antique" my flower and highlight the texture a bit.  The rest was easy - I wrapped the bangle in a length of chartreuse sari silk and then wrapped some copper wire around that, adding in just a sprinkling of beads for interest.  I made a companion bracelet in macrame with matching cord and mottled glass beads. 
I'm really happy with the finished piece - of course, it helps when you start out with something so beautiful.  Many thanks to Jo for making such a lovely bangle and for hosting this challenge.  Hop on over and see what Jo and the other participants did with their bangles:
Jo Tinley - Daisychain Designs
Shannon Chomanczuk - For My Sweet Daughter
Jenny - Shyme Design
Keri Lee Sereika - Pink Lemonade
Heidi Post - Ex Post Facto Jewelry

31 comments:

  1. Oh I love it! The patina is great - you were very brave. Those colors together are just perfect. Well done!

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    1. It took a LOT of nerve to paint that thing - I just kept telling myself I could sand it off if I had to (glad I didn't have to do THAT!)

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  2. Wonderful! Green and turquoise - I like the strong contrast of those both colours. Good idea, wrapping the bangle with silk. It's very charming!
    Greetings, Michi

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  3. Great colors! Love your use of sari silk!

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  4. WoW! Absolutely love it.

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  5. Stunning - just love it Sherri.

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  6. Love this piece! What a flirty, fun & summery combo. Nice job :-)

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  7. I think you have reached a new level of creativity with this piece Sherri and the results are stunning. LOVE it!

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  8. I LOVE this. Fantastic colour choices and love the design. I like how you've wrapped the copper beads onto the bangle, and the patina on the focal.

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  9. I love this piece! Your color combination with the pop of orange is awesome! Love the texture created with the fabric and stack bangles!

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  10. Oh that is gorgeous! I love that you tried something different...the flower is gorgeous in aqua and I do so love the chartreuse color with it, beautiful mix all round.
    Jenni

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  11. Perfection! Even though I voted for orange (thanks for the pop of it in the flower, btw =) I think the majority ruled correctly on this one! Seriously ... gorgeous!

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  12. Love the transformation! Well done.

    Ambra

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  13. I like how you matched the macrame and mottled beads to the wrapped flower bangle. The two together are what makes your design special, to my eyes. And I appreciate your sharing the paint experiment, letting us all see how those patinas look in action. Lovely outcome!

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  14. This turned out gorgeous. I love the way you antiqued the flower. And the silk wrapped around it is so feminine. Great.

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  15. Beautiful! Those colours just jumped out at me!

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  16. Beautiful! I love that you used the patina, now I want some :-)

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  17. Daring approach :-) . I really like it. I'd never dare to do that. The result is really exciting. Great looking!

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    1. It was scary, I'm telling you! I'm just glad it worked - whew

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  18. Bee-you-tiful! This is everything wonderful, in one package...innovation, creativity, and pure gorgeousness.

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    1. Wow - thank you. I think you're my new best friend:)

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  19. Hi Sherri, I'm so sorry it's taken me until now to leave a comment, but we've had a poorly internet connection most of the day! Typical!
    I love what you've done with your bangle! I never would have thought of colouring it like that, but it works perfectly, and the colours are fantastic! Thank you so much for taking part in the challenge!

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    1. Thank you, Jo - and I thoroughly enjoyed working with your bangle!

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  20. The teal and the green look so great together. I really love the silk and wire around the bangle. The second bracelet is just an awesome addition as well. I know you wil have fun wearing these. :)

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  21. So pretty! You should post this on etsy! *hint hint*.

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  22. Wow, love the bright colors! These make such a great pair...you did awesome!!!

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    1. Thank you:) I love the bright colors, too!

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