Welcome to the 3rd Bead Soup Blog Party – we’re rockin’ the house!
I am so excited THE day is here! Thank you for partying with me, whether this is your 8th or 125th stop along the Bead Soup tour.
I want to give a great big shout out to my dear friend and Bead Soup Blog Party creator , Lori Anderson. Lori has been our fabulous hostess and has put in a tremendous amount of time behind the scenes organizing this party of 210 participants. Lori has shared so much of herself through inspirational stories and blog tips along the way. {She’s like the big sister you always wish you had}. Lori, here’s to you (insert the sound of clinking glasses here)!
Just in case the Bead Soup party is new to you, here’s the quick low-down. The participants were randomly paired with a partner and exchanged bead components consisting of a focal piece, clasp, and coordinating beads. Our only “rule” was that the clasp and focal needed to be used in our finished piece. I participated in the inaugural party; you can see my post about it here.
Imagine my delight when I found out I was paired with Amanda Davie, an artist whose work I had long admired on Etsy. That was only the beginning, just wait til you see the Bead Soup that Amanda sent to me! Oh my, Amanda spoiled me. I received a treasure trove of gorgeous lampwork, stones, pearls – all sorts of gorgeous beads. The best part? The real jewels in my “soup” were all of the handmade components. Amanda sent me a polymer clay bezel clasp, copper and bronze metal clay pieces, an enameled link, and several resin-filled bezels. Now let’s move on to the pictures! Without further ado, here’s my stunning Bead Soup –
It was a tough decision with so many great beads to chose from! From the start though, I knew I would make something long. That was my ticket to incorporating as many beads as I could. I had various lay-outs going: single strand, double strand, a combination of strands! My husband stepped in to the studio, took one look, and had advice for me as well. That’s when I knew I better rethink where I was heading. I’m awfully proud of my finished necklace, entitled “Light and Day”, taken from the snippet encased in the resin bezel I chose. I finished off the piece with Amanda’s own copper/brass/polymer clay clasp – sure makes the necklace pretty from all angles.
Let’s see…for the chain portion of the necklace, I relied on my old faithful friend, wire. In “Light and Day”, I chose a beautiful and warm bronze wire (which I oxidized to a nice, aged patina). I created bead caps and metal disc links topped with buttons from bronze sheet metal. The stand-out element has got to be the beautiful polymer clay discs by Christine Damm of Stories They Tell.
I just love the eagle resin-filled bezel that Amanda created, right down to the great color. The perfect color. To add some size to the focal, I added a rectangle cut from bronze sheet. This also gave me the opportunity to add extra holes for dangles. I added Amanda’s copper and bronze metal clay leaf and branch. I adorned the Lake Michigan beach stone with wire and seed beads. A touch of leather was added here and there to further the rustic feel of the necklace. My focal reminded me of a dream catcher. In the end, I really enjoyed the challenge of working with a color scheme and a motif that I do not ordinarily work with.
51. Lori Dorrington, Lori’s Glassworks
The next party’s sign ups begin August 1-3, 2011. Don’t miss it!
Follow Me on Pinterest
{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
← Previous Comments
Hey Cindy,I have to admit I kept looking back at the original photo and was so amazed at how you used the pieces.Big Hugs,Cat
Wow- you really did a stunning job designing with some beautiful beads!
Love your bead soup original. Hope you’ll show us how you use the rest of the bead soup. Thaks for the chance to win!
Hi Cindy, I really like all of the texture you added to your necklace and all of your wire work. Thanks for the giveaway too.
Wow! Did you have some awesome ingredients to work with! I will definitely have to check out your partner’s store. Your designs highlight her work so beautifully! You do have reason to be proud! It is a wonderful piece and the title “Light and Day” suits it perfectly!
Wishing You Creativity,
Suzann Sladcik Wilson
Oh Cindy,
I LOVE your work, your style is so magical to me…I can always recognize it! What a beautiful necklace friend & the pieces you got in your soup are gorgeous. Together…this is a stunning necklace girlfriend, I LOVE it!!!
Big Hugs,
Susie
Amanda makes such amazing things and combined with your talent, it really comes together beautifully! Your wire wrapping combined with your overall aesthetic is really appealing to me! I love how you backed the bird with a textured piece and I’m dying to find myself some of those little bolts. I haven’t run across them yet in my travels. 🙂
Aloha!
What a great pile of soup you got! Wonderful colours! Would love to win your give away!
Thanks
To anwer Barbara’s question, and if anyone else is interested in the brass bolts used my focal piece, you can find 1/4″ brass micor fasteners from both Ornamentea and Objects and Elements! 🙂
what a great necklace-i love the combo of techniques you used and i’m in love with the textures! amazing job with your soup!
sarabeth
Love with you did with your soup! So many fun little details to look at 🙂
What a great combination of colors!
What an absolutely tremendous bead soup you had. I can’t believe you were able to incorporate all of that. I know I would have found it all so overwhelming. But you created a brilliant piece. Love it.
So lovely! My favorite part is how you wrapped wire on the Lake Michigan stone. Such a nice little touch on a wonderful piece.
Stunning Piece – I just love it and how you used your soup ingredients!
Hi Cindy, you design a wonderful piece, I am still going through the list to see all the designs. Thanks for adding me to the drawing. Lynn
Hi Cindy, your design is wonderful , I am still going through the list to see all the designs. Thanks for adding me to the drawing. Lynn
Cindy you make really awesome soup!! I have enjoyed visiting some of the other pieces.
Oh my goodness I am green with envy over your soup mix…how gorgeous! I adore what you have created. Such an interesting piece that has me going back for another look… well done!
Karyn
Australia
I really like how you used the various pieces in your soup – the colours work really well together.
Oh Cindy – this is absolutely gorgeous! I can see your fingerprint on every inch of your necklace. I love the unique details you added to each element of your soup ingredients – beautiful!
LOVE what you did. Just amazing components and and equally amazing finished necklace! Truly unique and creative.
Bead Happy!
Michelle
Really beautiful wire work Cindy! Especially love the little bead wrap around the pendant. Sweet finished pieces.
Cindy-you did an amazing job with the mixed up soup I sent you. Simply amazing. I absolutely love the necklace, and the wire work is stunning. Thanks so much for being my partner. I had a great time working with my soup, and have had so many comments on the beautiful buckle you sent. Love what you created-xo amanda
Yes, I am still hopping…and so glad to land on yours today! I keep looking back at the photos, cause there is so much eye candy going on. There are so many elements I love about it. Really, really like the little leather tie in the middle of the blue disc. LOVE the wire wrapped loops. Actually, there’s just nothing I don’t like about it!
And I’m glad you set your giveaway for the 3rd, so I didn’t miss it, like I have with a couple of others. That is so nice of you to give away some of your lovelies.
Lovely necklaces! I especially like the one with the eagle/thunderbird and how you created that fab focal piece using the bird and bead dangles on the brass.
I found the beadsoup blog party through Sig Wynn Evans’ blog, and I have been going through the list to visit everyone’s creations.
W O W! Your necklace is really imaginative and beautiful. I love every aspect of it. What you did to create the pendant out of the eagle was great. This has so many interesting details, I keep looking at it. Wonderful, wonderful job!!
Very pretty piece! Love your design work!
These are so beautiful. You got a marvelous soup to work with and you did amazing things with it! I like the palette a lot. The blues and grays and muted natural tones are so soothing, and this necklace rests like a lazy river around the neck. Lovely for slow summer days spent with a glass of lemonade under shade trees. I’m really loving the textures you brought to it with the wire wrapping and dappling. They also remind me of rings in water. Very, very pretty!
And very generous of you to hold a giveaway, too. ^__^ A piece like that, so simple, is so zen. It brings a sense of calmness with it.
What a soup you got! Loved your necklace! Wonderful eclectic design! I loved how you wrapped the connectors. Cool look!
Hi Cindy;
It is taking me ages to get to all the soup blogs. I’m glad I made it here at last, since your necklace is outstanding. It is exceptional from beginning to end. I especially like how you beefed up the focal, and added the drops. Interesting wire working with the tiny beads around the stone. Your work is always unusual and never fails to insire me.
Your bead soup piece is gorgeous and youbr log is just lovely. I’ll be back.
Very creative designs.
What a yummy mix of bead soup and equally amazing necklace. Beautiful work indeed!
Beautiful! I left you a comment earlier but I wanted to return and thank you so much for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment. So nice of you!
Oh yes, I am envious of the lot you got from Amanda. Very pretty. And I think you did wonders with it. I love that necklace. A favourite!
Still making my way to all the blogs. Love what you did. I think it is one of my favorite pieces so far.
{ 1 trackback }