Monthly subscription mystery boxes seem to be all the rage these days, with many arts and crafts companies getting in this fun way to introduce their products to the masses. When I found out Jesse James Beads was doing a monthly Magical Mystery Bead Box, well I just had to try! As I noted in in a previous post I am fast becoming a fan of Jesse James Beads so starting a subscription was a no-brainer for me.

Each month Jesse James Beads picks a theme, with a matching color pallet of beads, charms, findings and a surprise project. For September they had “Into the Woods”. A lovely earthy color pallet of greens, golds, browns, teal and silver. I wouldn’t normally have picked this color assortment but I found it a wonderful push to go outside my comfort zone.
This selection of stunning goodies made me think of time long ago. When I saw the owl pendents included in the box what came to mind was Athena, Greek Goddess of wisdom, inspiration, warfare, mathematics and art.

Now you might wonder why I had Greek mythology on the mind. Recently I had the chance to see The Getty Villa‘s Buried by Vesuvius Treasures from the Villa dei Papiri exhibit. So many lovely sculptures, paintings, literature and delicate treasures, it was a site to behold. One statue in particular caught my attention and my imagination, Athena Promachos (First in Battle), Roman, first century BC–first century AD.

Using that amazing statue of the goddess as my inspiration I created a necklace from the Magical Mystery Bead Box. Athena’s symbol of the olive tree is represented by leaf charms from a Jesse James Beads Goddess mix, her owl from charms from my bead stash, and the multi strand pattern represents her snake fringed aegis (protective cloak). The pendant is a replica of an ancient Athenian coin, with a image of the goddess herself stamped on the front. The majority of the beads and all of the tassels come from the Into the Woods box. With a few Czech glass beads and metal components from my collection.
Even though I used a lot from beads from the subscription box I still have so many more left over to create many more projects. When the October box arrived I was so happy with the new assortment I knew I had to sign up for a longer subscription.

Until Next Time, Safe Travels