We’ve recently changed our jewelry design contest at Rings & Things. Instead of just one big contest, we’re now going to have a series of jewelry design challenges peppered throughout the year. The first of these is our Rock n’ Rollo Design Challenge. The rules are simple: just use any style of our rollo chain and either rainbow amazonite or larvikite gemstone beads in your design! And also – the design doesn’t even have to be jewelry! Any type of art or craft is eligible, so long as it incorporates the challenge supplies.

Oscar Wilde is quoted as saying “A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament.” Design challenges like this one really highlight this truth. Given the same basic building blocks, it might seem like you’d end up with the same basic designs. Not true!  Five of our designers created inspiration pieces that meet the contest guidelines, and all five use chain and gemstone in completely different ways:

“Wee Bird” riveted metals and rainbow amazonite necklace by Mollie Valente

A sweet etched copper bird pendant, riveted to brass. Mollie used a mesh choker for the back of the piece. Rollo chain is used as a stylish alternative to jump rings to link the gemstone connectors.

“Unfurled”  copper and rainbow amazonite necklace by Cindy Morris

I created the leafy bead cap with copper clay and strung a river of copper and swirly gemstone oval beads flowing from it. I used chain in the back to keep the necklace from feeling and looking too heavy.

“Reverse Stack Effect” larvikite necklace by Amy Mickelson

Amy combines a lavish and unexpected mix of materials (larvikite, dotted lampwork glass squares, wavy silver-plated disks, chunky rollo chain, hand-dyed silk ribbon) into a colorful statement piece. The full parts list is available in our newly reformatted design gallery. The gallery is now integrated with our online store, so it is much, much easier to find and buy the supplies that catch your eye!

“Slated for Chain” larvikite and silver-plated chain bracelet by Val Nygaard-Pouzar

Clean and classic: the shimmery larvikite (or black labradorite, as it is commonly known) gemstone bead anchors this symmetrical design.

“Eyeball in My Martini” necklace by Polly Nobbs-LaRue

With a “raku” ceramic flying eyeball, C-Koop enameled gear and swirly TierraCast copper links, you might not even notice the rollo chain and single rainbow amazonite bead on this necklace!

No matter what type of jewelry you design, I hope you will stretch your imagination and enter the 2011 Rock n’ Rollo jewelry design contest! With hundreds of dollars in gift certificates (and the possibility of free advertising for your work!) as prizes, and nothing but a emailed photo required to enter, why wouldn’t you rock out a stunning rollo chain design? Be sure to check out the contest page for all the details! ~ Cindy

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So simple, yet so fun! 6" long, 1/4 and 1/2" wide strips to make all kinds of jewelry with.

In July, we sent ten of our blog partners sample packs of our new 24-gauge metal bracelet strips. With summer in full swing, it isn’t surprising that not everyone completed projects (at least not yet) … but the WOW, those who did really brought their A-game!

Textured, layered and beaded cuff bracelets by Helena.

Helena Fritz hammered, riveted and even bead-weaved her way to an armful of gorgeous bangle bracelets – her lovely blog has more photos. Helena specializes in beadwork, which makes her first attempt at metalwork even more impressive.

Carole shows her polymer prowess.

Carole Carlson stepped out of her comfort zone and into the world of polymer clay with these fun bracelets. She found that the copper was easier to work with than the brass, which makes sense since it is a softer metal. Check out her blog for more info.

Just one of the bright and bold bracelets Carolyn created.

Carolyn Fiene also used polymer clay, but she preferred the brass as a base. Even though it is harder to form, she felt is held its shape better.  Link to her blog showing other designs that combine chain and bezel cups with polymer coming soon.

Layers of "ruffled" metal dress up Jan's brass cuff.

Jan O’Banion made several great designs by layering different elements onto the bracelets. She used recycled tins to make flowers on the ”Trashy Tinsel” bracelet above. Visit her blog to get a peek inside her creative world.

1/2" wide copper forms the base of this lampwork glass ring by Lubica.

Lubica Vinicenko used the strips as the base of some truly elaborate rings. You can see more pictures at her blog.

As you can see, these metal “bracelet” strips  are extremely versatile and fun to experiment with. Am I the only one surprised to see polymer clay and seed beads combined with sheet metal?

The back of my layered stamped bracelet. I curved short strips with my wood dapping set to make the matching earrings.

I’ve been having a blast stamping and texturing them. You can see the front of – and how I made – the “Earth Laughs in Flowers” bracelet in our design gallery.  Texturing metal with brass texture sheets is great stress relief, I must say!

Although July is already behind us, we’re always happy to see and share what you create. Be sure to send us some photos of what you make with these metal strips! ~ Cindy

PS - Molly Alexander posted her etching and mixed metal results to a photostream on Flickr – be sure to check them out!

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Thanks to a couple hundred of you guys for jumping in on our latest Design Challenge: brushed copper beads!  *And welcome to you visitors from the Rings & Things News Flash email!*

From the dozen or so brushed copper bead recipients, Rings & Things received dozens of awesome photos showing what they designed.

Back view (showing the round disk bead)

The grand prize winner is Kym Hunter! Kym built this simple but wonderful ring.

Front view (showing the flower bead)

We loved the simplicity, cleverness and cuteness of Kym’s ring!  Besides two brushed copper beads (puffed flower and striped disk), Kym used just a couple of pieces of felt and some copper wire–to great effect.

BOOKMARK THIS PAGE!
GET INTO OUR NEXT CONTEST
…to be announced very very soon…

See Kym’s other brushed-copper bead creations at the original Design Challenge blog post.  They’re in a photo gallery there with everyone else’s entries.

Don’t miss out!  You’ll find jewelry there like Melissa Meman’s drape earrings, inventively using the small brushed disk beads  (which she oxidized) as vertical design elements .

I promise you’ll have a great time browsing the photos  Thanks for sending a friend the link, to share & enjoy!

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Update on Rings & Things’ design contest

While the hard work is over for the contestants of our 2011 jewelry and design contest, the work for us has just begun!

Our panel of 6 judges is busy scoring this year’s entries, based on 3 criteria:

1. originality (creative concept)
2. craftsmanship (skill)
3. aesthetic appeal

Once the numbers are in, top scorers in all 3 criteria will be contacted and asked to send in their physical entries for the final judging round.  (Note: we do not give out scores, so please do not contact us asking for numbers!)

We expect to contact finalists via email between April 8 and April 12.  So entrants, watch your inboxes!

For those of you anxiously waiting to see if you’re moving on to the finals, rest assured that our judges know what you’re going through!

Our judges are not only active in the arts-&-crafts community, but are required to have submitted their artwork to competitive juries in the past.  They know all about the sweat and mental effort each of our contestants has contributed during the past months!

For those of you who do not make the final round, keep in mind that along the way you’ve gained experience promoting yourself and your artwork—and that’s always useful experience to have!

We love seeing everyone’s creativity and hard work each year, whether it comes from Olathe, Kansas; Maple Ridge, British Columbia; Nizhny Novgorod, Russia or anywhere else your talent might reside.

Congratulations again to our 2011 Early-Bird Drawing winner Sarah Breivis of Juju by Sarah (San Francisco, CA).  Click here to see the beautiful goodie bag Sarah received for getting in her entry by February 7.

PS, our New-Entrant Drawing is yet to come!  All contestants who entered Your Designs Rock for the first time in 2011 have had their names put into the hat for another chance to win a hand-picked goodie bag.  Watch for our New Entrant Drawing winner, along with all contest winners, the first week of June.

Till then, happy designing and keep creating with confidence!

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