December Monthly Challenge

I'm mixing things up this month for our Monthly Challenge.

First, you'll notice we have two inspiration paintings.  I just couldn't pick one from this painter and thought it would be fun to offer two inspirations.  You can pick your favorite or create more than one entry if you are inspired by both pieces.

The second change to this month is that we are going to end the challenge on December 31st with a blog tour of everyone who blogs about their challenge entry!  To participate, blog about your challenge piece and leave a link in the comments below.  Your link must be posted here by December 30th to be included in the blog tour.  There will be a bonus prize for those who enter in the blog tour!

Everything else will be the same, see below for the complete guidelines.  Now let's go on to the inspiration...

 The Storm, John Anster Fitzgerald



The Captive Robin, John Anster Fitzgerald, c.1864

John Anster Fitzgerald - (1819? – 1906) "Victorian fairy painter John Anster Fitzgerald is one of the most delicate and imaginative of the Victorian Fairy painters. More than any of the other artists working in this genre, he was able to suggest the existence of a coherent alternative world which was ethereal and bizarre." - from the Faerie Keeper website.

"As an artist, Fitzgerald appears to have been largely self-taught. His work was first shown at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, in 1845; he also exhibited at the British Institution, the Society of British Artists, and the Watercolour Society. In the late 1850s he created a series of Christmas fairies for The Illustrated London News."  - Wikipedia

Click on the images for a closer look at the paintings, they are filled with visual delights.  Pull out your fairy inspired beads, florals, birds, etc.  Choose from two color palettes, the icy hues with holly red accents or the sparkling gem tones of a fairy hideaway.  Have fun and great creative!

The Prizes:

Winners will be randomly chosen from all the qualifying entries on January 1st.

Our sponsors this month are: Gaea, and Fired Up Ladies please visit us tomorrow to see the prizes!

Featured Designer of the Week:

From all the entries during

How to enter the Monthly Challenge:

1. Create something using an art bead that fits within our monthly theme. We post the art to be used as your inspiration to create. This challenge is open to jewelry-makers, fiber artists, collage artist, etc. The art bead can be created by you or someone else. The challenge is to inspire those who use art beads and to see all the different ways art beads can be incorporated into your handiwork.

***Beads strung on a chain, by themselves and beads simply wire or cord will not be accepted.***

2. Upload your photo to our flickr group. Detailed instructions can be found here and click here for a tutorial for sending your picture to the group.

Please add the tag or title DEC ABS to your photos. Include a short description, who created the art beads and a link to your blog, if you have one.

Deadline is December 31st. Photos are approved by our moderators, if a photo hasn't followed the guidelines it will not be approved. You may upload 2 photos a day.

What is an Art Bead?
An art bead is a bead, charm, button or finding made by an independent artist. Art beads are the vision and handiwork of an individual artist. You can read more about art beads here.

***A bead that is handmade is not necessarily an art bead. Hill Tribe Silver, Kazuri ceramic beads or lampwork beads made in factories are examples of handmade beads that are not considered art beads.
Beaded beads, stamped metal pendants or wire-wrapped components are not considered art beads for our challenge.***

p.s. If you have a blog, post your entry and a link to the ABS challenge to spread the beady goodness.