March Monthly Challenge Blog Tour

Welcome to the Art Bead Scene March Challenge Blog Tour!

This month we took to the islands with French post-impressionist painter Gaugin. With spring in the air and color returning to those of us emerging from the mantel of snow, this painting really was a wake-up call to the senses! Makes me long for the day when I can hop on the Bead Cruise with our own Miss Heather Powers. (Hi, Heather! Send us all a pocketful of sand and some sunshine, will ya?)

Cory at Create with Moxie (don't you just love that name?) created a stunning fiber bangle with some faux resin beads. This girl does have some designing moxie! Where can I get some of that? ;-)

AnnaJourCrafts used the prettiest of color palettes with pink and green. The swirly handmade polymer clay beads and the asymmetrical design are outstanding. I may not be able to read her words without the aid of Google Translator, but I know that great designs can come in any language.

Lesley of the Gossiping Goddess tells us that this is her very first blog post... and her very first entry into the Art Bead Scene!!! Welcome, Miss Lesley! We hope to see more of your stunning jewelry!

Sheila of Stone Designs made some absolutely beautiful lampwork glass beads for her challenge piece. I learned that the swirling colors come only from one particular rod of glass. Fascinating!

 BeeTreeByMe created polymer clay leaves that literally look as if they are floating in a tropical breeze with her necklace. So many interesting pieces.

There is an intricate simplicity to the lovely necklace that Molly Alexander of Beautifully Broken Me created in response to this challenge. The familiar shape of the butterfly etched with the words paired with the simple mechanics of the chain are really delightful.

I love the mixed media feel of Color Me Tahiti by Marian Hertzog of M's Place. She used upcycled seam binding woven into a tangle of leaves and some sweet polymer clay faces that she created just for this challenge.

Mallory of ForTheLoveOfBeads made a focal bead that burns with the intensity of the sun on a hot day and paired that with more muted colors representing those in Gaugin's tropical palette.

IslandGirl hand fabricated links from copper sheet and wire for an eclectic mix of energetic shapes. She pairs that with a beautiful glass focal bead that brings in all the island colors.

The ABS challenge helped encourage Susan White to get back in her studio to play with polymer clay again after a two year hiatus from blogging. I especially love the amazing toggle that complements the beauty of her hand made beads. We are so glad to have you on board, Miss Susan!

Desert Wind Designs made some hot hot hot polymer clay beads for a wild and wonderful bracelet because she is sick of winter. I think that if you can't take an island vacation, you should at least accessorize like you are!

Mary Jane Dodd has been playing with metal again! Her fold form earrings are roped in with a bright pop of blue waxed Irish linen for a pair of earrings that would look great with that little sundress.

I totally love that despite the fact that this color palette by Gaugin is Not Her Thing, Elaine of Too Aquarius Beads was able to get out of her parched and dry homeland and find some island inspiration that was already in her stash of beautiful handmade polymer clay beads! I love finding treasures in my stash!

Oh wow! That is all I can say about the seed bead extravaganza brought to us from Mackin-Art. The way she twists the inspiration from a tropical island to the Mackinac Island in Michigan is pure genius.

SilverRoseDesigns tussled with her Muse over the color palette to use for this painting... and lost! She wanted bright; the Muse wanted muted. The results are extraordinary with a blend of textures and shapes and colors that give your eye many places to look.

Penny at MyEarthlyJewels jumped right in with her first Art Bead Scene challenge featuring a handmade polymer clay focal that she made herself. The colors are sumptuous! Looking forward to seeing more of your entries in the future!

Jenn Judd grabbed a handful of beads and created something that is nothing short of fabulous. I would be proud to wear that bracelet any day!

Miss Malin over in Sweden is conjuring up the summer sun with her beautiful necklace. It just so happens that she had a beaded ring lying around the suiting this just fine as a clasp to complement the focal. She even created a wardrobe for the person who would wear this on the beach!

Kristi over at DreamSomeDesigns created a fantastically earthy and intriguing multi-strand necklace with turquoise, lucite, coconut shell heishi and one of her fabulous new bronzclay charms.

Another new designer on the ABS scene is Deb of Green Shoot Jewellery Design in the UK. She had to wait for just the perfect sari silk ribbon and paired that with some awesome links from MissFickle for a wonderfully bohemian necklace.

Creatively Kym found the perfect match to those serene faces in the painting with a Gaea face bead. A very clever way to frame this face using Vintaj filigree and some tasty tidbits from Pinocean draw the colors from the painting perfectly.

Heather from Aquariart pulled together a cascade of polymer clay in bright tropical colors with her Tahitian Dreams necklace. The fun tassels reminded her of wearing a lei.

It was really fun for me to put together this array of amazing talent this month. We had a wonderful response this month with new bloggers and some even jumping into their very first ABS challenge. Welcome one and all! (If I forgot your link, or you would like to add it to this post, please leave your link in the comments below and I will try to add it to the list!)