Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all those beaders out there. It's looking like 2012 is going to be a great year for crafting. I have a few projects in the works for the year. Here's what I'll be up to:

Earring a Day

I love Beading Daily. I get their newsletter, post to their forums, and frequently check their site for updates and ideas. I was thrilled to see the "Bead-Along" feature added to the site, and have decided to play along with the earring everyday challenge for January. I got started late b/c I was traveling, but here are my first earrings for 2012.

Upcycling

Recycling is really important to me, and upcycling is a fun creative way to do it. I used to do a lot of upcycled jewelry, and would like to get back to that. I'm hoping to incorporate more soda cans and bottle caps in my work this year. Here are a couple soda can flower rings that I made to kick off the year.

Fashion Forward

You may not be able to tell from looking at me, but I'm a fashion junkie. I love the details it takes to make an amazing collection of clothes. I get a lot of inspiration from the fashion world, and would like to try my hand at some copy cat projects this year. My first stab at this is inspired by these amazing earrings worn by Anya Ayoung-Chee in January's marie claire.

Ayoung-Chee is the most recent winner of Project Runway, a show I love to watch when I'm back home in the States. Here's what my version looks like so far.

What are your crafting resolutions for 2012?

Crafting In Public

This Saturday I attended my first crafting in public event. I was joined by a knitter and a pastel artist. We had chocolate cake, lots of laughs, and got down to the business of creating. We got a fair amount of attention from the waitstaff, who couldn't believe the creations that were coming together before their very eyes. I forgot my camera, so wasn't able to get any shots of the first day, but we'll be meeting up again next week for more public displays of craftiness. Here are two pieces I finished during the event.

These labradorite half mandalas were commisioned by a co-worker. I love the pop of blue.

Sodalite, labradorite, and pearl drops for a poet friend. It took me a while to figure out the colors, but I really like how they turned out.

What did you do this weekend?