Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal

Thank you for stopping by!  Today is the 8th Bead Soup Blog Party reveal and blog hop. What is a bead soup I hear you ask?  It's a wonderful collection beads, comprising a gorgeous focal and a clasp, that is exchanged between partners from anywhere in the world, and on reveal day (today) we share what we've created with the beads we received!

In case you missed my post about the beads I received, here’s an other photo of them. I received a huge bead soup from my partner, Esterina. She was clever enough to realise that she could fill the box with beads and not have to pay extra postage, I wish I had though of that! Esterina is a polymer clay artist and she sent me some of her own beads, including two focals, that are amazing! She really is quite talented.



Here’s the first piece I created with the soup Esterina sent me. I used the clasp, one of the gorgeous focals, two of the coordinating polymer clay beads, faceted amethyst and rose quartz, silver beads and purple ceramic beads, all from the soup. I added some glass pearls and daisy spacers. I used a silver pinch bail to attach the focal to the strand of beads. 



Here’s a few more photos of the polymer clay beads and focal.





I thought a few earring were in order. The first pair match the necklace. I used some of the pumpkin shaped ceramic beads from the soup and paired them with larger glass pearls. The second pair pretty much made themselves, keishi pearls from the soup and silver stardust beads. The last pair I made with the batik leather drops and lampwork beads also from the soup and hung from purple anodised niobium hooks.



Here’s a quick memory wire bracelet, using the lampwork beads and random wooden and enamel beads from my own bead soup bowl. I was hoping to have another bracelet completed and ready to show all of you but I'm still waiting on a set of carved wooden beads that I just had to have!





Well enough about my soup, head on over to my bead soup partner, Esterina of e-Klei Jar  and then all the others! Please visit  Lori of Bead Soup Blog Party for a full list of the participants.

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Bead Soups have arrived!

Don't you love this time of year, when the handmade bead and jewellery community come together and exchange the most glorious beads! Today I'm going to share the soups my Bead Soup partner and I exchanged!

Yay! Bead soups have arrived and now it's time to play show and tell.

Soup sent

First things first, the soup I sent off to my partner Esterina. I began preparing a beads soup right after the signup day, I don't usually do this, I like to wait until I find out about my partner. Well, don't you know it, I had prepared a bead soup with a polymer clay focal that was a little too much like what my partner usually worked with. After emailing each other we agreed to challenge each other a little, which is what the Bead Soup Party is all about, so I changed the soup completely.

This is the soup I sent my partner! A cloisonné focal, czech glass beads of various types (pressed glass, fire polished beads and some matte "beach" style beads), an enamel leaf, blue dragonscale agate, mixed 6/0 seed beads, pineapple quartz disks, an s clasp and a polymer clay mood bead. I'm not sure how these are made but when you hold it in your hand it changes colour; yellow, brown, green, blue and purple are some of the colours I've seen. I included it because the design seemed to be similar to the blue flower on the focal.

Soup Received

Now it's time to share with you the beads soup I received from my partner.

Quite an embarrassment of riches! I could barely fit all of these lovelies in one picture, so I sectioned them out into my favourite dish and photographed them.

top left are the gemstones - amethyst coral and rose quartz

top right - African and Indonesian lampwork beads

middle left - coconut shell beads and batik leather beads

middle right - silver spacer beads, keishi pearl, purple ceramic beads and two clasps

And finally in the bottom picture some of Esterina's own polymer clay beads

Already without even trying I can "see" at least 3 pairs of earrings, 2 bracelets and 3 necklaces. We shall see just how many pieces I can get done before the reveal on May 3rd. I might just be making things with this soup for quite some time to come :)

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Bead Soup is Cooking!

 

Back After a Break

It's been a long time since I last wrote a blog post, a whole season in fact. The reason is simple: I wanted to spend the Summer holidays with my girls before they decided their mum was too boring to be around, lol. I suppose I'm quite lucky, both the girls and I have common interests and a similar sense of humour, although I really can't wait until the youngest outgrows the teenage eye rolling, groans and muttering to herself!

 

And Now for the Bead Soup

One thing I didn't want to miss is the 8th Bead Soup Blog Party, organized by Lori Anderson of Pretty Things. This is my third BSBP, you can read about my past creations here. This year my partner is Esterina of e-Klei Jar in Indonesia. This is her first BSBP and we have been emailing each other, and as usual, Lori has made a great pairing with us!

Esterina makes gorgeous polymer clay beads and jewellery which you can see on her blog. Here are some of my favourites.

 

After chatting with my partner via emailing I've put together an interesting bead soup for her. Here's my teaser photo.

The reveal date for this blog party is May 3rd. For more information and the full list of participants please visit Lori's blog closer to the reveal date.

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Wonky Bead Blog Hop

Welcome to the Wonky Bead Blog Hop!

The Mission

Purchase a “Wonky Bead Set” from Kristi Bowman Design at Etsy and create a piece of jewellery and share your creations of Reveal Day!
 

Mission Accepted!

Kristi had a number of different sets of the beads in her Etsy store, Fuchsia, Magenta and Red. Each set is a mixture of different shapes, sizes, colours and textures. Of course, I chose the Fuchsia set, and I couldn’t resist adding the earring set as well.

I had truly forgotten what it is like to work with polymer clay beads. This Wonky Bead set has a lovely feel, smooth and silky with a matte finish.



Purple Poppy components (earrings) by Kristi Bowman, Turkish Delight czech rounds (earrings) by Zoe & Bruno, Anodised Aluminium earring hooks in purple, Wonky beads by Kristi Bowman, Shabby Flower Frame by Patina Worx, Purple hemp and leather by Beadsmith, Sari silk  Beads made by me, Wood Beads, Pink faceted Tourmaline, Gold Stardust bead, Brass chain and clasp from stash.



I’m going to keep this set for myself, since I’ve already worn the earrings and the colours are perfect for almost everything in my wardrobe!

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Bead Hoarders Blog Hop Reveal

Bead Hoarding is an Addiction, it sits right up there with Bead Shopping! Of course you need to go shopping first, then the hoarding kicks in. There are two types of hoarders, the organised type and the dis-organised type. I am, of course, completely organised...NOT! My bead hoard is spread out everywhere! Although, mercifully it didn't take very long for me to find the subject of this challenge. What took the longest was trying to find the brass jump rings and tiger tail. Still looking!

Lori Anderson of the Bead Soup Blog Party has given out a challenge. Dip onto our hoard of beads and just make something. Well, there were lots of decisions to make - what would I use, what shall I make, can I really bear to part with this or that? I ended up chosing one of my earliest hoardings and coincidentally the most expensive (curse you eBay!). 

Quite a few years ago I attended a polymer clay workshop taught by Christie Friesen. During the workshop I made a bird brooch by following the steps in the Birds of a feather book, we were also introduced to some steampunk designs. A short while later Christie was having a sale on eBay, selling the pieces she made while creating the book Steampunkery. Well I couldn't help myself I just had to have my own steampunk dragonfly. I'm not sure if it's the one on the cover or made to photograph the instructions but it's a CF original and I'm happy about that.

I knew I was going to have to do something with it someday, but I kept putting it off. I did however start a bead soup that I could use when I decided what I wanted to make. Earthy toned seed beads, freshwater pearls, brass beads and a few czech firepolished beads strung up and woven through the chain and sari silk to add just a bit of interest. The real stumbling block was the location of the holes in the wings. I'm not 100% happy with the setup of the chain at the moment, I may still tweak it.

What really surprised me was the green (likes more yellow in the first photo) sari silk. As you can see its quite frayed and organic looking, I had pictured a deep earthy purple but ended up using the green instead.

For a full list of participants please visit Lori

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My Country - Of Thee I Bead Challenge

Welcome to the Reveal of My Country - Of Thee I Bead Challenge, hosted by the amazing Nan Smith. Thanks Nan, for organising this beading challenge!

Firstly a little bit about me. I'm an Aussie, descended from Cornish and Welsh settlers (no convicts in my family, would be more interesting though!) who came here in the early 1800's. When I decided to take part in this Challenge I wanted to show everyone a little more about Australia. Apart from being the only country that eats the animals on its coat of arms (kangaroo and emu) we also have some very unique works of art, created by the original inhabitants of Australia.

Below is a print of an artwork from an unknown Aboriginal Artist. This style is called dot painting, and the animals found along the bottom are in a style called x-ray. The wavey lines and circles created by the artist represent water or smoke (lines) and campsites or campfires (circles).

For my challenge piece I wanted to construct a bracelet created from a print of a dot painting. Unfortunately, using resin in the middle of winter meant my wooden disks ended up with tons of bubbles. More practice with resin is definitely required! I did end up with two reasonable disks which I've turned into earrings.

Please take time to visit the rest of the participants. A full list is available at Wired Nan

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7th Bead Soup Blog Party - 3rd Reveal is Here!

I'm over the moon to be taking part in the 7th Bead Soup Blop Party, this is my second time taking part, see here for last years reveal. Huge thanks and a big get “well and hope your feeling better soon” to our amazing hostess Lori Anderson of Pretty Things. (Read more about the BSBP on Lori's blog in the link.)

This massive event with over 500 participants from many countries was split into three separate reveal dates, and because of Lori’s illness we have had two weeks between each reveal. I still haven’t finished blog hopping yet and it’s time for my reveal!!

Also a great big thank you to my swap partner Penny of Smelly Nelly and Etsy shop Forgotten Tracks. Penny sent an interesting soup for me to work with, some of the soup is in colours I don’t normally work with and others are right up my alley. Be sure to visit Penny at Smelly Nelly to see what she made with what I sent her. Here’s is a reminder of the soup she sent me.

The first piece I made was these earrings. Those disks were calling me from the soup dish on my table for a few days before I made them. I’m not sure if the disks are agate or pressed glass but I love them any way. I’ve paired them with vintage brass wire and 2mm lemon jade beads and red copper wire. They measure 3 inches or 7.5cm from the top of the hook to the tip of the jade beads.

This necklace was a simple design, but I really wanted to include the pinch beads from the soup. I’ve never used beads of this shape before. You might not be able to see it in the photos, but the beads, which are a lovely chocolatey brown have an iridescent petrol finish that picks up the colour of the crystals (also from the soup) quite nicely.

Here I've used three of the dragon-veined (dragon-scale?) agate beads from my soup. I LOVE these beads!! I've teamed them with brass bead caps, vintage brass chain and some orphaned lampwork beads from Genschi. The Focal is a large carved wood button from my stash.

And, last but by no means least, the focal and clasp. I’ll be honest, that focal had me stumped, I knew I wanted to use it as a pendant, but how? Then all of a sudden everything came together. I found a brass pendant at Spotlight (local craft/haberdashery store), used a smudge of Vintaj Patina in moss green, glued the focal and paired it with some of my favourite brass chain. The czech bead dangles are from Zoe and Bruno and the wooden disks are from my favourite local bead store Absolutely Beads. The lampwork bead and sari silk are from my stash.

Don't you just love the fish clasp? I also use a little Vintaj Patina on the focal to bring out the centre detail.

Ok that’s it for me time for everyone to get hopping! Visit Lori for the official third reveal list and don’t forget to check Penny of Smelly Nelly to see what she has made with the bead soup I sent her.

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Bead Soup Blog Party - Ingredients Revealed!

The 7th annual Bead Soup Blog Hop has begun and I have been paired up with Penny Houghton of Smelly Nelly and her etsy shop Forgotten Track . Here is the soup that Penny sent me...

Bead Soup all wrapped up and sent with a postcard!

A peak inside the box.

Dragon-veined Agate, Pink Quartz, lampwork and Czech beads

Shell focal and the cutest fish clasp!

A little bit of everything.

Postcard from Melbourne.

My mind is working overtime with ideas at the moment! Definitely seeing some earrings, maybe a bracelet and I can't decide between two or three different ideas for the focal. At least I have until the third reveal on 13th April, I can try our a few of my ideas. Thanks Penny!

Here are photos of one of the soups I sent to Penny. The clasp is antiqued brass and I included two focals, one is a large antiqued brass key, the other is a wood tree. I included Czech glass rondelles, Czech tile bicones, African Jade Faceted Pebbles, Czech pressed pin wheels, Tibetan Agate Barrels, Czech fire polished 6mm beads and finished it off with a few ribbons of Sara Silk. Has anyone spotted a pleasant little surprise? I had my soup mixed up about two weeks before I knew who my partner was and had a cute wooden tree focal in the mix. When I found out who my partner was I visited her blog and etsy shop and discovered that Forgotten Track uses a tree logo!

Remember I said this is just one of the soups I sent? Visit Penny's blog for photos of the Bead Soup Dessert I sent which included large Rainbow Quartz beads, Pink Czech Donuts and other beads.

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Introducing my Bead Soup Partner

This is the second year I've participated in Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party. The Party has grown so much that it involves over 500 beaders from all around the world!

This year I've been paired with Penny Houghton, a beader in Castella, Victoria, right here in Australia! I'm not exactly sure of Penny's style yet, but I do like the polymer clay I've seen on her blog so far.




Here's a sneak peak of one of the bead soups I've sent. I couldn't decide on colours and styles so I decided to send a second "dessert" soup. Hope she likes it! Penny and I are part of the third reveal on the 13th April, so don't forget to visit and discover what we have made with our bead soups!

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Memories and Thanks Blog Hop

If your here for the Focusing on Life Challenge please click here.

The Memories and Thanks Blog Hop was organised by Lori of Pretty Things, you can read more about the reasons here. This blog hop is for the people in our lives who mean a lot to us. Create a piece of jewelry that tells that story.

I chose to make a piece of jewellery to remind me of my Father, Allan Williams. It was only a few months after my fourth birthday when my Dad died. Being so young I've been told that I couldn't possibly remember what happened, but I do.

My Dad was a Welder by trade but his real passion was music. After graduating high school he attended music school at night and on weekends played guitar in a local band with his brothers. I still remember the afternoons he would practice for the weekend gigs. I was allowed to play along with him on a toy recorder for the first few minutes of practice time. After practice I would sit on his lap and tell him all about my day, right after searching his pockets for the tiny pack of Smarties he used to keep just for me.

I was sitting in my bedroom in the afternoon, waiting for him to get home from work, when it happened. He was walking across the front lawn when he had a heart attack and died. He was 33 years old.

I decided to make a bracelet to remind me of my Dad. Since he played guitar ( I still have the same guitar) I used a MOP-style guitar pick. I made 3 holes with a small hole punch and strung a mix of glass pearls and AB crystals, joining them together with large jump rings. I finished off the bracelet with raspberry/chocolate sari silk, a heart clasp and an angel wing charm. Finally I used a transfer on the pick itself and sealed it with mod podge.

I think I'll make another bracelet for my younger sister, she was only one year of when Dad died. We've always been close, and since she's moving 1200km away I will be nice to have something to keep us connected.

Please visit Lori for a full list of participants at Pretty Things.

For Marianna

Posted with Blogsy

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3rd Annual Challenge of Color - Reveal

Hello my friends and welcome to my little corner of the 3rd Annual Challenge of Colour. For those not familiar with the challenge here are the guidelines, choose your favourite palette from one of two original palettes  created by Miss Brandi Hussey (I chose both). The pictures are from the Earth As Art exhibit which can be found at the United States Geological Service and have been taken from the Landsat 7 satellite. Using your chosen palette or palettes you create something...a piece of jewellery, or an accessory.

Stand by for a picture heavy post….

Colour Palette 1 - The Great Sandy Desert, Australia

 

Now, as an Aussie I couldn’t say no to this one!

Before we get into the beady goodies, would you like to know some interesting facts about the Great Sandy Desert?

• The Great Sandy Desert is one of ten deserts in Australia.
• It is the second largest desert in Australia (after the Great Victoria Desert) and covers 284,993km² (110,038miles²).
• Kata Tjuta Uluru National Park (Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock) is located in the far south eastern corner of the desert.
• The average rainfall is 250mm (10 inches) but most is lost due to evaporation. With average temperatures of 42^oC (108^oF) it’s hardly surprising.
• The Great Sandy Desert is the subject of one of the largest, 10m x 8m (33ft x 26ft) Aboriginal artworks. Called The Ngurrara, it was painted by the traditional owners of the desert in 1997.

OK, enough education, on to the pretties!



I had originally intended to make a polymer clay bead around the key, but no matter what I did the clay kept cracking. so, instead I wrapped the key with sari silk and wired some extra key charms. The rhodonite heart and the swirl beads were from my stash.

Colour Palette 2 - Mississippi River Delta

I ranout of time to research some information about this one, so I’ll look forward to reading what other challenge participants have found out.



I fell in love with these lampwork beads by Angela Gensch and just had to use them for this bracelet. Milky Aquamarine czech beads were used for the kumihimo work. this piece will be given to a family member for her birthday (it’s OK she already knows).
This challenge has be a learning experience but also loads of fun. I’d like to thank Erin, for allowing me to take part, and Brandi for her gorgeous palettes.

Please visit Erin for the full list of participants.

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