Summer 2021 Inspiration Box (Volume 19) is coming to Etsy on June 1st at 10:00 am, MT

 As time goes by and all sorts of color combinations I love have been visited and revisited again, the inspiration boxes become harder to curate. What haven't I done yet?  This time the starting point was a gorgeous focal from an artist who I just discovered.

Ruzanna Carter is the name of the artist. So far she has only made components for her own gorgeous finished jewelry, but she kindly agreed to make me a couple hundreds of these lavender and bumble bee tiles.

These are such delicate wonders. The polymer clay has a warm, almost alive like feel to it. The busy little bumblebee on the sprig of lavender served as the idea the rest of the box was built around. 

Because Ruzanna hasn't made these in large quantities before, there is a small glitch, which did not bother me a bit and hopefully, dear beader if you are reading this, you will agree that it is a small matter. The back of the tiles is hand painted. This paint might peel away when you pull the tile off the card it's attached to. 

 It was my idea to attach the tiles to the card with balloon tape, but the paint on the back can't entirely handle it. However, since we are using it for bead embroidery and that side is glued to a piece of foundation, this will not effect the quality of the beadwork or the focal itself.

 

Once I settled on going with the bee and lavender feel of the box, I got very excited. Because bumblebees and honeybees are super fun components to shop for. Take the above pave set CZ encrusted 24K plated component. It's chonky and sweet and elegant too. Has so much potential for cool bead embroidery designs!

Then I got some enameled honeybees too. These are a bit less detailed and sort of cute. Everyone will get 5 of these in their box, and they will be a random assortment.

 

 There is one more bee in the stash as you see:  a brass stamping. Really fun. This looks like a queen bee.  The seed beads are color coordinated to go with the honey-lavender feel. there are 3 colors in size 11 and one size 15. Besides the 5 tubes pictured here you will get an additional tube which is the repeat of one of the 5 you see on the picture. There is a tube of lentils (one hole) that I mixed myself. The inspiration was golden honey. Everyone will have two clasps. Either the type pictured here which is a gunmetal colored box clasp and you will get two of these. Or, the other type is the same color but a trailer hitch type clasp. They are randomly distributed into the boxes, so you can't pick which one, but both are really nice quality.

The vintage German glass cabochon in glacier blue is another remarkable focal in this stash. So pretty. Even though it is glacier blue on jet, in person it looks really purple.

The sea sediment jaspers are nice too, they vary a great deal though in color.  Mine on the picture (one before the above) which I randomly picked is on the lighter side. Some are much darker and have more depth. I try to avoid picking the prettiest natural stones for my own sample when I include such items in the box. It would be unfair to pick one out of almost 200 that is prettier than all the rest and set people up for disappointment. Mine was pretty average. Here is a good picture of the rest, as you can see some are much more purple.

You will also get the pretty glass rings, the resin focal , the Czech rounds and beyond what you see on these pics, you will have gorgeous purple leather and pretty velvet.

The box will have this pretty picture on the front and another one on the inside. A note from my Sammy Dog as usual too. 

If you have been getting these from me in the past, you know that the box does not come with instructions on what to make with the components. This saves me time and keeps the cost down for you, as the assortment contains a lot more than you would get in any kit. 

However I tend to have inspiration pieces to go with each box. I keep a random box to myself and see what I can make with it. Sometimes I have more time, sometimes I have less. This time around- lucky me- I had time to make not one but three inspiration pieces for you.

Here is the smallest thing. A tiny bracelet. I like wearing smaller bead embroidered pieces like this. It's easy for everyday stuff, pretty and goes well with everything. This piece also showcases the lentil assortment really well. It's a mix of 3 colors and they go so well together. I used them as petals around the  bezeled  German glass focal.  All the beads and the chonker bee are from the box. The draw string cord is from my own stash. This would be really pretty on a leather cord too.

Here is what I have done with Ruzanna's tile. It's a very simple little bracelet too. I covered my foundation in one of the velvets you will be getting in your box. This is such a beautiful fabric: easy to work with because it does not fray. It changes colors from a greenish greyish shape to a red. I did not want to cover much of the velvet up and did not go crazy with embellishing it; instead kept it simple. Used 2 of the enameled bees on the side and just two glass rings to symbolize flowers and stitched down some size 11 purple opal like seed beads individually all the way around the bracelet.  Simple and sweet. Besides this pretty velvet, you will also be getting a color changing purple velvet piece too.

Here we have a necklace on which I have used my brass stamping queen bee and the pretty floral resin cabochon. I glued a piece of leather behind the bee and also behind the resin cab. Please keep in mind that your box will have 1 of 4 different shades of metallic purple leather I have on hand, so your leather may be a little different. All of them would look good used this way.  Those light, minty opal looking Chinese crystals above and to the sides of the bee add such a lovely splash of color. 

All the beads and focals for this came from the box, however the silk ribbon and the toggle clasp were from my own stash.

As far as bead embroidery necklaces go, this is a good size too. Not too big, fits nice. I am happy with all three of these pieces. My aim with the inspiration pieces is to show you some cool, simple ways of using the beads in the box. If you like them, please, by all means, feel free to make your own version of these from your box. 

Or, perhaps join the challenge making your own design out of these components. I have a dedicated Facebook group for the whole inspiration box idea. With every box there is a challenge. The challenge is always in a spirit of mutual support and sharing. It's not a contest. Not a battle. While I do have prizes that vary every time depending on what I can hustle up from my stash, the best part is just to think outside your own box by thinking from within my box.  To participate, you have to be in the group , link here:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/167448567218765

As to what the challenge is, well, your piece needs to be mostly bead embroidered. And with every box, I pick a component that must be used. Very simple rules. In this case, the component will be Ruzanna's  tile. There is always a deadline. just before the next box comes out. In this case I don't have the deadline  just yet, but will post it in the group soon. Then you have to add your pictures of your entry to the challenge album. Then you vote. Every member in the group can vote, but to keep it fair, the votes of the participants themselves count towards winning. And everyone has three votes, but they can't use them to vote for themselves, because after all ,the idea is to uplift each other and share and care like the good beady care bears we are.

So that's that. This box will be available on Etsy on June 1st at 10:00 am mountain time. Right here: 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/crimsonfrog?ref=si_shop