8th Annual Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal

The day has finally come for the Bead Soup Blog Party (BSBP) Reveal.  I blogged about the BSBP when my soup arrived in the mail from my partner, and again when my partner got my soup.  You can find those posts here and here.  So, to recap, this is the soup I received:

I created a bunch of pieces, using most of the soup ingredients.  I started on the focal, the curved copper band with swirls and painted coloring.  As beautiful as this focal is, it proved a challenge for me to use it.  The reason for this is that I'm mostly a necklace girl.  This focal was simply made for being a bracelet.  I really tried hard to think of how I could make this into a necklace focal, but in the end I made it what it wanted to be, a bracelet.  I also incorporated the silk sari fabrics into this and 2 of the pink shell beads...  I had some vintage buttons that became the beads for the bracelet band.  Here are some shots of that piece:

 

I had this pink cord necklace that perfectly matched those pink shell beads... I also had a pendant that I had made out of polymer clay which had that same pink color, and those items were what created the second piece.  From the soup, the only items I used in this piece are the pink shell beads:

Next up, I had to use the clasp.  I didn't want to use the clasp in the same piece as the focal because I have an aversion to mixing metals.  The metals in the focal piece were copper and the clasp is silver tone.  The clasp also is in the whimsical shape of butterflies.  I decided to do a spring inspired piece using most of the multicolored crystal beads that were found in my soup, and I decided to make a butterfly pendant using my upcycled materials.  This butterfly pendant is created with fused plastic snack bags:

Next, I still had more of those fun, bright pink shell beads to use, so I decided to pair them with one of my dyed tyvek pendants as seen here:

The soup included a bunch of pearls, some glass ones and some freshwater pearls.  They were all in various shapes, sizes and colors... and some of them were drilled off center.  I decided to pair them with this great neutral variegated cording that I had.  I also decided to go for another bracelet design and earrings (another rarity for me).

Next I zeroed in on a small grouping of pale green cube beads (possibly fluorite).  I decided to do a boho look necklace with these pairing them with varying strands, disc beads from my stash and some garnet colored glass beads from my stash, and the focal is a multi-colored polymer clay bead:

There were 4 large moss agate (?) beads in my soup which I decided to pair with a polymer pendant that I made last year, which was sitting around waiting for inspiration.  The pendant was created while playing with Lynda Moseley's controlled marbling technique.  I pulled in some coral beads to draw on the orange tones in the pendant:

And finally, I wanted to use at least one of those metal sheets that I was sent in my soup.  Now, they were quite a challenge.  First, I'm no metalsmith... but I do like to play around and experiment with things.  These babies are big, about 3" by 4", and the metal is quite heavy.  I don't have any tools that can cut through that, nor do I have any great shaping tools.  But I do have a vice and decided today at the last minute to play with one of the plates to see what happens. I paired my bent up piece of metal with some thick grey knit cordage, its almost like a scarf necklace:

I still have some ingredients left over for further play! Plenty of the silk sari fabric, a couple more of the various colored crystal beads, the big green lampwork bead, and still a few more of the pink shell beads... oh, and the other 3 metal plates (though I think the one with the best impression will become a polymer clay texture plate). ;)

I had so much fun creating things with the soup.  It was a definite challenge for me, as all of the ingredients were items I wouldn't normally have acquired for my own supply, so it really pushed me to work with things out of my "norm".  I'm considering making 2 of the pieces part of my "permanent collection", so I think it's safe to say that I created pieces with which I'm quite pleased!  Please do have a look at my partner's blog to see what she did with the soup I sent her.  My partner is Arlene Dean from A Glass Bash, and you can find her reveal here.   Here is the soup that I sent to her:

Thank you Arlene!  There were close to 500 other participants in this blog party, please take some time to check out some of the other soups and reveals!  You can find the full list of participating artists, with hotlinks to their blogs here.  Many thanks to Lori Anderson for organizing everything!! Oh, and leave me a comment and let me know what you think about my creations! :)

Soup Mail Received

After two trips through the mail, the bead soup I created for my BSBP partner (Arlene Dean of a glass bash) is finally in her hands!  While my package was in transit from my home to hers, she heeded the call to help out family in another state.  So, when she realized how quickly the reveal date will be looming upon her, she enlisted her family back at her home to forward the package to where she is staying.  I'm relieved that she finally has it!

So, here's a photo of the entire soup I sent:

As you can see, I was thinking in terms of burgundy reds, purples and gold.  I included: some yardage of silk ribbon that is dyed in purple to red gradations with sparks of gold thread, there is some yardage of both a grey color and a red tone of bamboo cordage, some gold tone chain, french ear wires, 2 brass filigree pieces, some czech glass beads in vials - in tones of red to lavender, yellow gold, and purple to black, the beads on strands are - one strand of large teardrop shaped purple agate, the next row are round purple and rose colored marble stone beads, some clear glass teardrops, two strands of faceted crystal beads that have burgundy/magenta sides, a strand of rose colored faceted crystal beads and a strand of gold colored freshwater pearls, and handmade components of polymer clay flower blossom headpins, a fan shaped dyed tyvek focal, a polymer fan shape with donut clasp, and a handful of rustic polymer disc beads.

Here's a shot of the handmade components:

 The first pieces I made (and which set the tone for the color scheme) were the flower bud shaped headpins which I made using the tutorial from polymer artist Lillian de Vries, her lovely blog is called "at the clayground".  You can find her tutorial for these flower beads here.  Here's an up-close look at those flowers:

My partner had commented that she really liked my tyvek flowers and shells.  So I had originally intended to try something new, in creating a dyed tyvek flower surrounding one of these polymer buds.  Well, when it was finished, I wasn't as happy with it, so I decided to make her one of the shell/fan shaped pieces, sticking to a color scheme of burgundy/magenta/pinks and purples with accents of gold.  Here's the final focal that I created using cut, formed and heat fused upcycled tyvek that was hand dyed:

 

I wanted to make some polymer beads in the same tones of the flower blossoms, so I made these rustic shaped discs in the same hues and added gold to their edges:

And finally, the clasp I made in a polymer fan shape with a donut connector in the same color tones as the flower blossoms too.

I really loved this soup and wanted to keep it for myself, but I am afraid my funky style will prove to be a challenge for my partner.  When we began our dialog, she didn't give me any information on the types of things she likes, and her blog doesn't really give me much to go on either... she just said that she doesn't like to provide too much information so that she can have a challenge.  So, I made and curated a soup that I would love to receive. So far, my partner has said that she really likes the flower headpins, but not much else about it.. so hopefully those pieces will provide enough inspiration to figure out how to utilize the rest of the soup ingredients.  I gather that my style and my partner's style are likely quite different and I believe that using the both soups will prove to be a challenge for us both!  Anyone who knows me, knows that I love the creativity that comes from a challenge, so I am really looking forward to both my creating and seeing what my partner makes of my funky collection to her.  The reveal date is May 5th, so be sure to check back to see what everyone in the Bead Soup Blog Party has created!

Soup mail!

I received soup in the mail yesterday!  That is, bead soup...  I signed up to do the 8th Bead Soup Blog Party which is organized by Lori Anderson of the Pretty Things Blog.

So the way this blog party works is that we are given a partner with whom we swap a gift of soup beads, and then we have a month or so to design something with the soup that we received.  The soup each person receives is totally unique and a complete surprise.  The soup must contain a focal, a clasp and complimenting beads.  Lori Anderson, and a few people who help her, processed all the requests to join the party and spent loads of time partnering everyone.  This was a Herculean task to say the least, as this blog party has something like 600 participants, and she endeavors to not repeat partnerships from past bead soup blog parties. 

Lori partnered me with a glass bead artist named Arlene Dean who blogs over at A Glass Bash.  Arlene sent me a beautiful package that I received yesterday (March 21st).  It was presented in a beautiful little box with a matching gift card:

I opened the box and I first laid eyes on this:

Beautiful blue silk sari ribbon and some great metal textural plates!  So fun!  I've always wanted to try some sari ribbon, so I was thrilled to see that!

Delving further into the box contents revealed some spools of wire and these organza bags:

...and upon opening those bags, here's the full soup:

I love the focal, it really reminds me of SPRING with those bright colors!  I think Arlene must have known that since I'm in PA, I've had a long winter and am craving spring!  And the clasp is darling, two interlocking butterflies.  Here's a close up of the focal, clasp and large green lampwork glass bead:

 The complimenting beads are a melange of various sorts, which also remind me of spring.  I really love the large moss agate beads and the bright pink dyed shell beads.  There are a couple various colors of freshwater pearls, a couple acrylic pearls and the rest are mostly faceted glass or czech beads.  Here's a close up of the bead mix:

I'm really looking forward to creating something with my soup.  The gears are churning already!  The reveal is on May 3rd, so you'll have to check back then to see what recipes I come up with to utilize these charming soup ingredients!

As this is a swap, I did indeed send my partner a package of soup.  It's likely at her house by now, but while it was in transit from my home to hers, she had to attend to some family matters elsewhere; so it awaits her opening.  Thus, I cannot share a photo of the soup I mixed for her until her eyes have seen it in person... I will tell you that I have a couple handmade components in her soup and it's all coordinated in a color combo that I love, but rarely use myself.  I will post photos of what I sent her as soon as I hear that she's opened the package, so check back soon to see what I concocted!

Have you joined in any of the past Bead Soup Blog Parties? If so, leave me a comment telling me about your experience, and remember to post a link so I can check out what you did with the soup!  If you haven't, leave me a comment anyway and tell me how you'd use my soup ingredients! ;)