Goodbye to another year!

I've finished my Christmas shopping and the tree is cut and ready for decorating. It's so hard to believe that this year is nearly over! My mind has been filled with ideas, new hopes and plans for the coming year. And of course, reflection on the year that's quickly flying away…

"Joyfulness" My first ever cuff bracelet featuring Jenny's polymer mixed-media focal. I loved creating the layout of the scattered beads and stitching each one in place.

It's been a great year for me—so much better than I had dreamed in a lot of ways! It's been another fabulous year with AJE—I feel honored to be a part of this talented group of inspiring ladies! And it's been such a joy to connect with all you awesomely supportive readers.

"A Love for Autumn" This necklace is my very favorite necklace of the year! I used Melissa's enameled heart, but I gave it a little twist and turned it backwards to create a heart-shaped leaf for an autumn inspired necklace.

One of the things that I've loved most about 2014 was getting back into jewelry making. I had mostly abandoned it for bead-making, but this year I used writing tutorials for AJE and the wonderfully inspiring CoM challenges to push me to create more jewelry. And more and more jewelry! In fact, believe it or not, I've very nearly depleted my entire stash of beads and supplies. I sure hope 2015 will bring me a bigger jewelry supply budget… along with a good sprinkling of art beads to keep me inspired!

I had so much fun writing tutorials for you all! It gave me a good excuse to dig deeper into my little bead stash and create new things.

"Fly with Painted Wings" I really love Kristen's beaded beads!

My goal for jewelry creating this year was to spend as much time as I needed (sometimes that meant I was very late to a challenge reveal!) to make it something that I totally loved—to really develop my voice in my jewelry making. Lots of wire wrapping, working with various fibers and leather… and always trying to dream up new ways to use a component. Looking through my bulging jewelry box I feel that I did just that and I'm so happy!

"Wings of Gold" Caroline's stunning gold moth was quite a challenge for me—probably one of the largest focals I've ever used, but I'm so very pleased with the results.

"A Countryside Spring" This necklace is a relatively simple design, so simple in fact that the only work that is my own is the stringing and arranging of beads. The star of the show is Lesley's button clasp which paired up beautifully with my sister Bethanne's rose pendant and my mom's fabric covered bead cord—it's all about the art jewelry elements!

"Sweet Flower Dreams" Sue's sweet little chicklets were another fun challenge! For this bracelet, I pushed myself to create without any wire or metal components and supplies.

That bulging jewelry box also makes me wonder if I keep too much! I have such a hard time parting with my jewelry, especially when it's become the home of a long coveted art bead from an artist I really admire. With my own bead-making I always keep it in my mind that the bead I am crafting is meant for someone else and I very rarely get attached to a bead I make… but jewelry making is totally different.

"Wood Fern" I am so very thrilled to be one of the first owners of Linda's new ceramic lovelies! I tied it all together with a scrumptious batik ribbon from Karen and added a little creek-pebble for a necklace that will always remind me of the woods that surround my home.

"Crimson Raven" My leather feather paired up with few speckle beads and a couple black rustic beads from Lesley. There's something so fun about using mismatched elements!

"Star Burst" More beaded beads from Kristen!

Still a few more lovelies to inspire in the new year…

All made by the AJE team!

Do I have plans for the new year? You bet! Nothing too big, a couple wild dreams and some realistic goals, but mostly I hope I just get to keep on doing what I love. I'm excited to see where that all will lead me next! And I'm looking forward to sharing in all the new adventures with you all!

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into my jewelry box at some of my jewelry creations from 2014 featuring AJE components. Thank you to my AJE teammates for making all these inspiring lovelies!

Happy Holidays to you all and wishes for a most wonderful and creative New Year!

Rebekah Payne

Tree Wings Studio