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Saturday, May 10, 2014

Bead Soup Reveal

For some reason I can't find my photo of the complete soup sent to me by my wonderful partner, Sierra Barrett over at http://giraffecanhas.wordpress.com/, I will post it as soon as I find it, but here is my Bead Soup Reveal!

Sierra sent me some really interesting pieces to work with that were not my usual thing at all, so I decided to create something different than my usual style.  No seed beads involved at all!

I went back and forth about making this a necklace or whether to turn this into a freestanding sculpture.  I originally wanted to see the vase like focal pouring out something, either as a fountain into a river with trees in the fall dropping leaves into the river.   But then I also wanted something I could wear. So I merged the ideas into something that would be wearable but more sculptural.  All the beads came from my soup, the only thing I added was brass and copper wire twisted together.

The pictures don't quite do this justice in terms of how beautiful these orange beads with the flecks of red are.





This 8th annual Bead Soup Blog Hop has a LOT of participants.  My thanks go out to Lori Anderson for arranging these fun exchanges.  I encourage you to go take a look at her work and the full list of people participating over at the  Bead Soup Blog Party.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Pearls

Pearls aren't something that I often wear and only very occasionally use in my own jewelry making.  I was always horribly disappointed when I would see things that claimed that June's birthstone is the pearl.  I've never particularly thought about why I have a distaste for them other than having always found them boring.  That said, how they are created is sort of fascinating.  The Guardian has an article up about an exhibit at the V&A that I wish I could go see about pearls though.  The article is a fun read in refuting the "pearls start from a grain of sand" myth and detailing the more specific science of how pearls form out of excrement.
It sounds like there are some amazing pieces of historical importance as well as beauty on display for this exhibit. 
The article is here.

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Bead Soup Reveal!

Here it is!

 As a reminder, the way this works is that I received a package of beads from my partner, Krafty Max that included among other things a beautiful red flower focal bead and a floral clasp that I needed to incorporate into my creation.  The flower clasp was far too beautiful to place in the back of the necklace though! I tried this out a couple of ways, first with the smaller silver flower from the clasp as the top piece leading to the larger flower that would sit lower on the body, but ultimately I decided on really putting the focus on that beautiful reddish orange flower.  If you read about my inspiration, you'll see why I chose to add the turquoise color palette that I did.  I happened to also have some really interesting mixed beads that actually incorporated that red color along with a couple of shades of turquoise.  I hadn't made anything with these yet, so this seemed like the perfect project to add them in.
I can't wait to see what everyone else has created, especially my partner! I'm off to visit her site myself...


And remember, there are three reveals this time around, so this list is only the first group. I can't believe how many people are participating in all three reveals.  Please visit these other amazing artists!

Alicia Marinache
Amber Dawn Goldish
Barb Solem
Bev Breisinger
Birgitta Lejonklou
Breana Fry
Brenda Sue Lansdowne
Bridget Torres
Carol Dee Myers
Carolyn Chenault
Cassi Paslick
Cece Cormier
Cheryl McCloud
Cindy Wilson
Crystal Thain
Cynthia Riggs
Dana Hickey
Dana James
Darlene Fortier
Deana Hager
Deanna Cox
Deb Brooks
Debra Behrends
Denielle Hagerman
Denise McCabe
Diana Frey
Diana Welte
Dini Bruinsma
DiYana Alcalde
Dolores Raml
Donna Millard
Dot Lewallwn
Duane Clark
Dyanne Cantrell
Eleanor Burian-Mohr
Elisabeth Auld
Elizabeth Owens Dwy
Emily Greer
Enikö Fabian
Erin Grant
Eva Kovacs
Eva Sherman
Gina Hockett
Grace Rotenberg
Gretchen Nation
Hannah Rosner
Heather Davis
Heather Marston
Heather Powers
Ingrid McCue
Jacqueline Marchant
Jan Petek
Janeen Sorensen
Jane-Michael Stallings
Jasvanti Patel
Jayashree Paramesh
Jayne Capps
Jean Yates
Jennifer Cameron
Jennifer LaVite
Joan Williams
Jodie Marshall
Judy Riggs
Julie Anne Leggett
Kat Barron Miller
Kathy Lindemer
Kim Hora
Kim Houston
Kim Sparks
Krafty Max
Kris Lanae Binsfeld
Krista French
Kristen Stevens
Kristi Harrison
Kumi Fisher
Laren Dee Barton
Laura Bracken
Laura Demoya
Laurie Hanna
Laurie Keefe-Cecere
Lea Avroch
Leanne Loftus
Lee Anne Messerschmidt
Leslie Schenkel
Linda Anderson
Linda Djokic
Linda Murphy
Linda Sadler
Lisa Liddy
Lisa Suver
Liz DeLuca
Liz Engriser
Lola Surwillo
Loretta Carstensen
Lori Anderson
Lori Bergmann
Lori Bowring Michaud
Lori Poppe
Lori Schneider
Lyn Foley
Maddison Langford
Magdalena Sikora
Mallory Hoffman
Marcella Austenfeld
Marcy Lamberson
Maria Clark
Maria Rosa Sharrow
Marianna Boylan
Marie Covert
Marti Conrad
Mary Ellen Merrigan
Mary Harding
Molly Alexander
  Nan Emmett
Niky Sayers
Pam Chesbro
Pam Farren
Pam Sandy
Pam Traub
Pamela Gangler
Patricia Buchanan
Patricia Johnson
Patty Miller
Paula Hisel
Peggy Gabrielson
Perri Jackson
Rachel Baron
Rachel Stanley
Rain Hannah
Rana Wilson
Renetha Stanziano
Robin Reed
Rochelle Brisson
Rose Rushbrooke


Ruth Szapa
Sally Russick
Sandi Volpe
Sandra Pendragon
Sandy Richardson
Sarah Small
Shannon Hicks
Shari Replogle
Sheila Daniels
Sheila Davis
Shiraz Biggie
Shirley Moore
Skylar Bre'z
Staci Smith
Stacie Florer
Stacy Pomerleau
Stephanie Weiss
Sumi Rani
Susan Sheehan
Suzette Bentley
Tamera Norris
Tracy Choy
Tracy Stillman
Valerie Norton
Vicki Holliday