What an amazing month July is. Around here, it's hot, hot, hot, and lately rainy, rainy, rainy, too. I heard on the radio this morning that June and July both set records for highest rainfall in the history of Indiana. The ground has stayed moist for what feels like forever, sending my handsome husband into fits of chagrin over mowing wet grass; he hates the clumping!
But this happened one night.
Along with this:
It was spectacular.
Our garden doesn't seem to mind, though, as we were able to harvest all of this near the beginning of the month.
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| Our bumper crop! |
I always look forward to time in my studio with my daughter, Annika, in the summer. No school, but as she's grown (she's 13 now), she's acquired a schedule of her own, so it was especially nice when this month she had the time to devote to making her own project for the Halcraft Pretty Palettes Challenge. She's been wanting to participate all year!
Here is this month's inspiration image that Erin put together for us. It's based on the aurora borealis video you can find on the
blog.
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| The July Pretty Palettes |
Annika set to work one day and put together something that I found pretty amazing. She didn't ask for help once, and made a multi-strand necklace that is balanced but asymmetrical and works perfectly with the color palette, which is tough for even some adults to do! Not only that, but her loops are beautiful, and I love how she interpreted the warm grey color by using chain that has a similar hue.
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Not only can she make jewelry, but she can cook one mean cheesecake!
This girl has skillz, I tell you! |
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| Isn't Annika's clasp cool? It's chunky and perfect for the weight of three strands! |
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| I love how it all comes together! |
I made a set of bracelets and chose to use gunmetal instead of the warmer copper tones that Annika used.
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| The oil-spill finish of the hematite beads in the bracelet on the right look though they were made for this project! |
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| This set is perfect for stacking or wearing individually! |
To see the rest of the Pretty Palettes Challenge pieces, visit the Halcraft blog or click on the images below! Playing along is so much fun. Next Wednesday Erin will reveal the August Pretty Palette with another really special guest from "across the pond"! Don't miss it!
