Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal - Bead Hoarders Edition

It's finally here!  I've been dying to show you this piece for some time now and had to keep it a big secret until today!  The lovely Lori McDaniel Anderson is once again hosting a Bead Soup blog party and this time it's the Hoarders Edition (which is pretty appropriate for me).  I was paired up with Amy Severino who sent me a beautiful fused glass pendant (by Jody Peterson) she'd been hoarding along with a pretty selection of beads:

Amy said she'd had this pendant in her stash for almost seven years and had looked at it hundreds of times with grand intentions but the piece just never made it to her beading table.  She said she was a little sad to part with it, but she's a big fan of Lori's swaps and hops so in the spirit of the party she sent it.  I'm sure hoping she likes what I did with her treasure.  

I'm really not sure why the pendant read "spring flower" to me - maybe it was the sparks of pink and green in the glass.  You know macrame is my thing, but to be a little daring I tried a sort of 3-D flower, then attached it to a ring to hold the pendant.  It seemed to be missing something, so I added some macrame leaves (with the sparkly little beads down the centers) and presto!

This necklace is definitely out of my comfort zone, but I'm really pleased with how it turned out.  Many thanks to Amy for the pendant and inspiration and to Lori for hosting these inspirational hops that bring so many artists together.  Here's a peek at what I sent to Amy:

Amy's blog is at Amybeads - I can't wait to see what she did with the cute little Marla James owl I sent to her.  I've loved this little guy for ages but just haven't ever found the right project for him.

I hope you'll join me to see what everyone else has made.  Lori will have the list of participants up here.  Happy hopping!!

It's PARTY Time! Bead Soup Blog Party 8 Reveal

It's finally here - the big reveal for Lori Anderson's 8th Bead Soup Blog Party!!  This is an event jewelry makers like myself anxiously await all year.  It's like the Thanksgiving of handcrafted jewelry where you can gorge on images of beautiful pieces until you can't stand it anymore.  It's like mardi gras and New Year's rolled into one.  Can you tell I'm excited?  If you're not familiar with the concept (Bead Soup Blog Party, not parties in general), it's pretty simple:  our hostess-with-the-mostess, Lori Anderson, assigns partners from the massive list of participants; the pairs exchange "bead soup" consisting of a focal, clasp and a few coordinating beads; each designer makes something using at least the focal and clasp (they don't have to be used in the same piece); and then we have a party!  This is where you get to see all the amazing things everyone has made.  

This year I was paired with Marianna Boylan of Star Girl Jewelry & Lampwork Glass Designs.  I did this blog post all about her, in case you missed it.  She sent this gorgeous "soup" for me:

Marianna made the lampwork bead and that photo doesn't really do it justice.  I'll give you a closer look:

Isn't it beautiful!?!  I really wanted to use it in my piece this year and I think I just tried too hard.  I had an idea in my head and I just couldn't get it to translate into reality.  I spent hours on it and it just didn't do justice to that focal.  Lori did a blog post about the time I was struggling with it called Don't Be Afraid of the Do-Over, do I decided to take her advice.  I thought I would try my luck with the other focal Marianna sent, the ceramic mermaid pendant by Gaea, so I pulled out some cord and beads and came up with a palette.  

And this happened.

My mermaid goddess.  I'm really excited about this piece.  I messed with a few different design elements and I think the piece has flow and movement.

All the flow and all the movement brings the eye back to the star of the show, the mermaid pendant.

Want to see more?  You can check out my reveals for the 6th Bead Soup Blog Party and the 7th Bead Soup Blog Party or you can hop over to Lori's Bead Soup Blog Party page where she has the entire list (almost 500 participants!) of blogs to visit.  I don't know about you, but I plan on visiting every one of them.  It might take me a few days, but I'll get there!  Happy Hopping!

Soup's On - Bead Soup, That Is!

Woohoo!!!  Check out the loot my Bead Soup partner, Marianna Boylan, sent to me!   There are pearls and dragons blood jasper and sparkling crystals and I love the little flower on the metal branch.  That ceramic mermaid pendant is by Gaea, and the lampwork was done by Marianna herself!  Let me get you a closer shot of the lampwork glass bead.

Isn't that pretty!  See I told you she was talented.  Well I did!  You don't remember that part?  Really?  Go back to this post and reread it.  I'll wait here until you get back so I can say "I told you so".  And be sure to come back on May 3rd to see what I made with my soup!

My Partner for the 8th Annual Bead Soup Blog Party

I don't know if you know this, but Lori Anderson hosts the party of the year for jewelry designers/bloggers - the Bead Soup Blog Party.  Seriously.  I'd been following her parties before I started this blog and was always so envious because it looked like everyone was having so much fun.  Once I'd started this blog, the first thing I did was to sign up for her next part and I haven't missed one since.  

My partner this year is Marianna Boylan of Star Girl Jewelry.  She says she does some wire work and some polymer work and a "whole lot of glass".  I did a little stalking and boy, does she make some pretty things.  She gave me permission to swipe a couple photos to share with you, so feast your eyes on these:

And you know how I am about beach things, so you can guess how I feel about this set:

Then I found this clasp and thought I'd died and gone to heaven.

You can find more of her work in her Etsy shop, too.  So what kind of bead "soup" does one send to someone as multi-talented as Marianna.  Good question.  We chatted for a bit and when she mentioned she loves owls, I knew I had the perfect thing. 

The ceramic owl is from SuzieQBeads and I thought it would make a great focal for Marianna.  I added a couple of choices for the clasp - an over-sized brass lobster clasp and a flame painted copper toggle from OregonMadeJewelry.  Then I filled out the soup with an eclectic assortment of beads with everything from Swarovski crystals and pearls to Czech glass and gemstones.  And, of course, everything is in shades of teal and turquoise with bits of tan and caramel because those are my very favorite colors.  This is a soup I would send my very best friend.  Heck, it's a soup I'd love to keep myself!

And remember that first micro macrame owl I made and said it was a gift?  I made it for Marianna.

My soup from her should be arriving any day now, and the mail carrier will probably get sick of seeing me at the mailbox until then.  I can't wait to see what she sent and I can't wait to see what she makes from the soup I sent to her.  The big reveal for the Bead Soup Blog Party is May 3rd, 2014, so mark your calendars.  If you want to know more about the party, Lori has all the details.

If you just can't stand it and you need something to tide you over until the reveal, you can review last year's party. I was paired with the uber talented Julie Cannon of Studio Juls  and you can see what I did with her gorgeous lampwork beads and the rest of what she sent me here.  

7th Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal

Yay!  Today is the day I can show you what I made from the fantastic bead soup my partner Juli Cannon sent me!  Do you remember what everything looked like?  You can go here and read more about everything she sent if you'd like, but I'll give you a hint:

I have been wanting to try a different fringe technique for a while and Juli's lampwork focal was the perfect piece.  I used several colors of seed beads and made billions of loops (okay, you got me... I didn't count and there might not be quite a billion, but there are lots).

And after all that work, the clasp didn't look right.  Well, shoot.  So I stewed around on it for a week or so and decided the only solution was to make my own using some of the matching lampwork beads.

It's simple, but it works and it doesn't distract from the rest of the piece.  That's a win in my book.  

Of course, that meant I had to make another piece to use the clasp, since the rules say you must use at least the focal and the clasp.  I sketched out a sort of funky necklace and it actually came together just like I'd hoped.  That never happens. 

And what's even better?  This piece can double as a wrap bracelet.  In fact, I think I like it better as a bracelet!

Many thanks to my partner, Juli, for the great beads I used in these pieces AND the second set she sent just for me:

And heaps more thanks to our gracious hostess, Lori Anderson, the mastermind behind the whole Bead Soup phenomenon.  She does an amazing job at bringing together a talented group of jewelry designers - 541 designers from 28 countries!  With so many folks eager to participate, she had to split us up into three reveal dates to keep things manageable. Hop on over to Lori's blog where she has a list of ALL of the other participants:  here.  Oh, and don't forget to check out Juli's page to see what she did with the soup I sent to her.  Happy hopping!!

7th Bead Soup Blog Party - Soup's On!

If you make jewelry, you've probably heard of Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Parties, and if you haven't, you're missing out.  Lori explains it best, of course, but in a nutshell, a whole bunch of bead enthusiasts get paired up and send one another a "bead soup" consisting of at least a focal, a clasp and a few coordinating beads.  Then each person must make something using at a minimum the focal and the clasp.  I love to  see all the different soups - there really are endless possibilities.  Then seeing how those soups are transformed fascinates me.  

I have been partnered with the lovely and talented Juli Cannon.  This woman has some mad talent.  She makes lampwork beads AND does bead embroidery and bead weaving and jewelry design.  Her work is incredible.  Pop over to her blog, Studio Juls and take a look around.  You'll can thank me later.

So that gorgeous soup up there?  THAT'S what arrived in my mailbox the other day.  My eyes rolled completely back in my head, I swear.  Just look at that focal.  Juli made it to go with the dalmatian jasper beads - isn't that spiffy!?  She made the round lampwork beads with the swirls, too.  

And if all that wasn't enough?  She sent me another set just because!

I am so in love with this set there aren't words.  My very favorite colors all rolled in together.  I just want to carry them around petting them all day.

And, because obviously Juli is an all or nothing kind of gal, she put in some Czech glass buttons for me to take her package past "over the top" and right to "out of the park".  

I sent Juli a soup with a crazy lace agate with gray and yellows for the focal.  The porcelain owl bead is there just because I thought he was cute and matched the assorted glass seed beads and the mix of stone, recycle glass, Czech and Greek ceramic beads.  I put in a couple of different clasps - one metal and then one made of tagua nut.

This is the second time I've been able to participate , so if you're looking for something to do while you wait for this reveal, you can read about last year's here.  Be sure to come back on March 30th to see what I make with Juli's beads.  Oh, and if you want an endless supply of eye candy, check out the list of participants and their blogs on Lori's blog here.