Bead Soup Blog Party!

It's the reveal of the Bead Soup Blog Party!

This party caught me off guard a little, I guess. I've known the reveal date all along, don't get me wrong. However, I procrastinated, as is my way. I didn't intentionally procrastinate, but the beads were refusing to speak to me!

Remember this?

That was my gorgeous bead soup from my partner, Terry.

I made three versions of this necklace before I came up with something un-hideous. I didn't take pictures of the first three because those versions were ICKY! I finally came up with something.

By the time I got home from work Friday night, the sun was pretty low in the sky so I had some issues with lighting.  That's a crystal AB Swarovski bicone on the left - it's a bit hard to see what it is.  The rest is made of garnet chips from my local bead store. I liked the garnet with the focal better than more neutral colors. I felt like it really let the focal shine.

So...I saw the amazing focal:

... and immediately thought "brass". So I dug out a simple Vintaj brass lobster clasp. The clasp I got from my partner:

... was way too gorgeous to hide at the back of my neck. And I couldn't figure out a way to feature it that didn't take attention away from the focal.

I worked it a couple different ways - I used several kinds of brass chain and made dangles out of the other beads:

...she included in the soup. It was ... blah. Boring. Everything was all along the same color palate and I didn't know how to introduce color without throwing everything off.  I also did an asymmetrical design that definitely did not work. It involved pearls which were screaming "WHITE!!!" and the focal did not like it.

Let me also just say that these colors were challenging for me. I work with "beachy" colors - blue, turquoise, green, etc. Neutrals aren't anything I'm used to working with. So I didn't know what went with what.

The rest is made of garnet chips from my local bead store. I liked the garnet with the focal better than more neutral colors. I felt like it really let the focal shine.

I knew the bracelet had to have the gorgeous clasp from Orrtec Designs as the centerpiece. So I went with the original idea I had for the necklace:

This is three different kinds of brass chain with dangles from the Chinese crystal beads in topaz.

The earrings go with the bracelet instead of the necklace:

I may change these to go with the garnet instead. I may change the bracelet too, quite frankly. I like the necklace, but I'm kind of "meh" about the other two pieces.

Remember these items?

I'm in love with these, but I wasn't able to make anything that did them justice. Naturally, I thought earrings. But I couldn't make them work. I made four or five pairs of earrings with them and I couldn't make anything that didn't make me want to run away screaming.

Remember these?

I've been lusting after all the silk fairy ribbon I see in other peoples' designs, but have never had any. I literally squealed when I saw it! I made a version of the necklace that had the ribbon incorporated but it just didn't look right. I felt like it was out of place somehow. The other problem is that I tried to do that nifty wire-wrapped thing with the ribbon. That's HARDER than it looks! I found this tutorial and tried to use it with ribbon. I've since come to the conclusion that in order for ME to do this, I need a third and possibly a fourth hand. That is going to take some time for me to learn.

I feel bad because I didn't use a TON of the materials Terry sent me. I tried, but they were soooooo gorgeous, I was scared!

I mentioned this the other day, but creativity has been elusive for me lately. There's a lot of upheaval in my world right now and my creativity is suffering. I'm still in love with these materials and am still planning to create with them. I need more time, but I'll get there.

This post is CRAZY LONG so I'm going to stop babbling now!  Please, please, please continue the blog hop. I can't wait to see what my partner creates with her soup!

To continue the hop, go visit Lori and see what everyone else made!

Sneaky Peeky

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know there's a party tomorrow. Right?

I finished my pieces last night about 2:00 am and took pictures tonight when I got home from work in a waning sunlight.

I finally made something I don't think it hideously ugly. Yay me. 

Here's a sneaky peek

Be sure to come back this weekend to see the whole thing! (And if you don't make it here until the following week or month, that's okay too. Because, yeah, it's a big list.)

Soup, Soup, Soup!

According to Google Reader, I follow 206 jewelry blogs. It seems like all 206 people are in a frenzy over Bead Soup! I'm one of them - believe me!

Now that Terry has received her soup, I can show you what I sent.

Remember this picture?

Well, now I can show you this:

Let me tell you a little bit these materials. I was inspired by my recent vacation in Maine and decided to do a Maine-themed soup!  The Keith O'Connor focal is from The Beadin' Path in Freeport, where I spent a good couple of hours. It reminded me a lot of a sand dollar I found at the flats, and then everything stemmed from there. My one regret is that I didn't find a lobster bead!

The small item next to the focal is a quartz frog - that was just for fun! The shells and pearls are to represent the beach. The earthier ceramic beads from Gaea remind me of the rocky coast. The tourmaline is from a strand I picked up in Tucson this past February. My boyfriend's family has a tourmaline quarry on some of their property and a LOT of tourmaline has been found there. I even have a ring with a tourmaline in it.  The "blueberry quartz"is actually a glass replica of the real thing. Maine is known for blueberries and lobster. I greatly underestimated how hard it would be to find it on short notice, though, so the glass replica will have to do.

While I was at Hobby Lobby picking up the Vintaj charms (flip flop and star fish), I came up with a great packaging idea. I bought a blue pail and some scrapbook stickers and sent everything in this.

 

Picture stolen borrowed from Terry's blog

I then wrapped all the beads in tissue paper in varying shades of blue and green and sent it off! You should go to Terry's blog post and look at her pictures. When I was putting everything together, it was about 11:30 p.m. and the pictures I took were terrible because it was dark in my bedroom and I had to use a flash so none of the pictures look very good.

So, that's what I sent.  Have you gotten your soup yet?

Mmmm....Soup!

Do you love soup as much as I do? I could eat soup every single day. However, summers in Phoenix aren't that conducive to eating a big bowl of hot soup. Good thing there's Bead Soup to hold me over.  Okay, totally lame opening, but let's move on, shall we?

Friday afternoon while I was at work, my cell phone buzzed letting me know that I had an email. A little later, I read it and it was from my Bead Soup partner, Terry. Terry let me now that her soup had arrived and that she loved it! It's always such a relief to hear that they like it, isn't it? She also said that she got delivery confirmation on my soup so it would be waiting for me. Of course, my boyfriend and I had a dinner at my boss' house Friday night and I didn't get home until late. It was the longest night ever because I knew there was some beady goodness waiting for me in my mailbox!

As a side note, when you get something in the mail (not bills, but stuff you order or stuff someone sends you), so you open it right away, or do you wait? My boss was saying that he ordered a new computer and it came a week ago and he hadn't even opened the box yet. I don't get it. I'm the type of person who tears into the packaging while I'm still in the car!

Anyway, forgive my first few pictures because they were taken in my living room with my cell phone camera because the sun was down already.

 

 Then this morning, I braved the 109-degree Phoenix heat and took everything outside so I could use the light and take some better pictures.

Terry did a blog post saying that she got the ingredients for my soup from a number of different Etsy vendors.

Orrtec, Melinda Orr Designs

Beads & Botanicals

Hopemore Studio

Kas Beads & Ribbons

B'Sue Boutiques

Here's what I got!

That's my focal - isn't it beautiful? This artist makes these out of polymer clay! When I clicked on the link for Hopemore Studio, I was excited because I think these are beautiful!

 

The gorgeous clasp.

Aren't these pretty? I so admire people who work with metal - it's something I've been too afraid to do myself, but I can admire it in other people!

When I opened the little package with the ribbon, I literally squealed out loud! I've been lusting after these silk ribbons for AGES, but didn't own any because I didn't think I knew how to deal with them! I can't wait to use them in some designs! I'm in love!

Aren't these adorable?

Glass beads in a yummy topaz-type color and jet

The whole soup.

The earthy/neutral colors are not something I normally work with so this will definitely be a challenge for me! While pushing myself creatively is something that's always a bit uncomfortable, it's a good thing to do. I can't wait to sit down at my messy, messy bead table and get to work!

Thank you, Terry, for the gorgeous soup!

Can You Feel It?

The excitement in the blog world over Bead Soup Blog Party?

I can!

The Soup

I just finished packaging up Terry's bead soup ingredients and I couldn't wait to show you the sneaky peek!  Here's what I'm sending her...  Hmmm, I wonder what it could be!

I'm especially proud of the packaging.

Erm...that's supposed to be facing a different direction, with the blue on the bottom and the green on top. Ugh - I love you Blogger - I really do!

You'll have to check her blog to see what I sent!

BSBP - Need I Say More?!

First off, I just want everyone to stand up right now and give Lori a huge round of applause and maybe a hug. She's had a heck of a time getting everything put together for the Bead Soup Blog Party, amid some pretty serious personal issues that came up. She is Wonder Woman and  am in awe of the amount of time she spends helping other jewelry designers. So go give her a hug - she deserves it! While you're at it, she also really likes pie. :)

I was on vacation last week so I'm a bit behind when it comes to updating my blog with all the news.  My boyfriend's family is from Maine and we get out there about once a year to visit them.

 

 While we were playing with our nephews, 

...eating lobster,

...walking on the beach,

...finding sand dollars,

...and sitting on the porch until the sun went down,

...I got an email from my BSBP partner, Terry!

Terry sent me a lovely email introducing herself and her jewelry.  I am enamored with the vintage stuff she has in her Etsy shop and website!  Here are two of my very favorites:

The color combination in the second one is just stunning! I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it! The first one just appeared on her blog today as part of the Mostly Metal Challenge hosted by Michelle Mach.

After spending some time looking at Terry's blog and website, I knew I had to put together an amazing soup for her. I started by visiting The Beadin' Path in Freeport, Maine.

I spent a long time wandering around in there and was thrilled to find the perfect focal for Terry. They wouldn't let me take any pictures inside the store, so here are some exterior shots.

When I found the focal, I didn't really know where I wanted to go from there, so I decided to let it simmer for a while. Once I got back home to Phoenix, inspiration struck! And then I realized it would be easier to find the ingredients back in Maine. I powered through, though, and I think I've put together just the thing. I'll post a teaser picture tomorrow or Thursday. It's going out in the mail tomorrow morning and I will take some pictures before I finish packing it up.  I went with a "theme" - hopefully she doesn't think it's cheesy.

While I was gone, the number of unread stuff in my Google Reader went from 0 to 492! I have some reading and beading to do!

I also made a couple of bracelets for my boyfriend's mom and sister while we were there and I took pictures of those too. I'll update you later - I've probably worn you out for now!

Don't forget Lori's hug! Be back soon!

The One In Which Our Author Comes Out of Hiding

Well, not hiding, actually - just taking the time to sit down and blog. I have been busy, but haven't we all?  I recovered from my broken fingers, and although one of them is still pretty sore, we're feeling much better.

So, yeah. What's up? With school over, I've been working a lot, but also making some jewelry. One of these days, I really will take some pictures. No, seriously! I haven't made anything with my Fairy Tale Bead Swap beads yet - I don't normally work with red so it's kind of throwing me off my game. I have them on my beading desk and every now and then I run my fingers through them and move them around a little bit, but the right thing just hasn't made itself known yet. I want to make sure I do Christine's gorgeous beads justice.

And...in case you've been living under a rock, did you know that the next Bead Soup Blog Party signups are going on right now?



I had such a great time last time, that I just had to sign up again!  Click here to sign up.

I debated long and hard as to whether I would even sign up. I've had some fairly serious health problems over the past few months and the future is a bit uncertain at this point. There really aren't any details I can share right now, but your positive thoughts would be very nice.

I am going to make more of an effort to blog more often and to take some pictures of my creations. I'm going on vacation this Saturday - my boyfriend's family is from a small town in Maine and we're going to visit them. We're going to eat lobster, spoil our nephews, walk down by the wharf, go the flats and swim and spoil our nephews. Oh, did I already mention that? Our nephews are 10, 9, and 3 and we only get to see them about once a year since the Arizona to Maine vacation is kind of expensive. So, when we see them, we (okay, just I) tend to spoil them absolutely rotten! I can't wait to have some serious play time with them!

Here we are a year ago. Love those kids.