Saturday, September 17, 2011

Soups On!!! My Bead Soup Creation- The Big Reveal!

You may remember that I recently joined a group called Bead Soup. I exchanged a group, or "Soup" of Beads with a partner who had been matched with me by the amazing Lori Anderson, the moderator extraordinaire of this group. The next three pictures are reminders of the amazing hand made lamp work glass beads that my partner Christine Brandel, sent to me. The whole object of this exchange was to give our partners something that they might not normally pick for themselves, a combination of beads that would cause their partners to stretch outside their comfort zones.

I have to tell you that when I opened the wonderfully wrapped package from Christine, I was thrilled!!!! I was so in love with the colors and the shapes and so very flattered that these beads had been created just for this exchange and just for me!!!! Some times synchronicity just happens and this was one of those times. How was Christine to know that lately whenever I work with Red I always add a touch of turquoise or bright sky blue?? This is a new combo for me, so new in fact I was not sure that I had even blogged about it!!!
Now look at the clasp!!! Spectacular , don't you agree??!!

And here are her faux Milk Glass beads, also wonderful!! I adore the rounds with bumps!!
So after opening and thinking and running the beads thru my fingers and closely studying the beauty of each bead, blogging about the soup and thinking some more, it was time to come up with a plan! What was I going to do???
I was in love with the soup, but I am not a beader who strings beads. I love to do bead embroidery and bead free form weaving and what I call bead collage. Where was I going with this particular mix. This was the part that was challenging for me.!!

So my first step was to go through my stash and pull out anything that I thought might work with my soup. I went through the reds and got several different types, found some vintage white glass beads that I had forgotten that I had and found some blue lucite flowers and the perfect color of #8 sky blue seed beads.

On the left above is the soup from Christine and on the right is what I pulled from my stash.
By this time I had decided that I wanted the wonderful clasp to be in the front of the piece as it should have a major role in the design. One of my favorites from the soup are the ruffled disks that there were three of. So I used one of those to embellish the clasp. the clasp would close the necklace on the right hand front side to the piece. Then I set about stringing and fretting!!!


And here it is! First As I wear it and then for a full display of the entire piece.







I took these pictures in the late afternoon sunlight as it was the Only sunlight we had all day. it does throw some serious shadows but it really makes the beads sparkle and come to their full beauty so I had to include them!! You just had to get a small idea of how wonderful Christine's hand made beads are. She has an ETSY shop called A Hot Piece of Glass and I would be thrilled if you would pop in and take a look at her wonderful creations!!

I also created a pair of earrings to go along with the necklace. I usually don't wear sets of things but I felt that this necklace really called for a sassy pair of earrings to accompany it!! I wanted to highlight the wonderful white hobnail beads that resemble the vintage milk glass pieces. I added a blue Lucite blossom with a red drop center and a deep ruby sparkling crystal bead to top it all off. So all of the beads in the earrings are somewhere in the necklace.


I wore the necklace for the first time today and I had three people comment on it!!! I think that this is a piece that I will be wearing often! It is bold colorful and unusual enough to go with many of my outfits and such a fun piece to wear.
There were a total of approximately 362 participants in this exchange from all over the world (5 continents and 21 countries)!!!!. The entire process was beautifully orchestrated by the amazing artist Lori Anderson. For the full list of participants with all of their blogs showing all of the wonderful pieces created just for this reveal click here.
This was a huge labor of love done with great style and a huge commitment of time and vast quantities of energy and patience and I would like to personally thank and bless Lori for doing it ALL!!!

I am planning on visiting every blog on the list but I will probably do it in groups of 6-8 at a time. I know that it will take time as I love blogging and I adore beads and I love to be inspired! I know that I will be filled with ideas and notions to bead and there is only so much that one can absorb at one time , and I MUST absorb it ALL!!!! So SLOW and STEADY will get me through all of this beady luciousness!!!
My very first stop however, will be Christine's Blog to see what magic she ahs wrought with the soup that I sent to her. Just to jog your memory and to entice you to make that Blog Hop along with me, here is the soup that I sent to her!

Remember the full list of Participants and Partner Pairs HERE. So hop on in and enjoy the Soup!

89 comments:

Miri Agassi said...

I love what you did!! Beautiful shiny colours!! Well done!!

Laura Catherine said...

Elizabeth, What a lovely post! Thanks for inspiring me to get to beading this weekend. I am loving the turquoise and red combo!

bubbygigi said...

Your necklace is beautiful. The colors and beads must put you in a cheerful mood when you wear it. Just looking at it makes me smile.
Gita

KristiBowmanDesign said...

What a beautiful happy necklace!!! That little enamel flower is absolutely adorable and is perfect with all those glass flower beads! Gorgeous!

Starry Dreams Jewellery Designs said...

I love the colors and what you have done with the beads! The earrings are so cute! Great job!

PeggyR said...

I love the colors you received. Great beading. Looks like it was a great swap.

Barbara said...

OMGoodness! I related to so much of this post, which I found via the back door through another blogger. A few of your words ring so true for me too -- fretting comes to mind after reading your post LOL! -- then you are not a jewelry maker, more of a bead embroiderer, that's me too -- and I love lampwork beads. I would probably never make my own, and I admire these a lot. In spite of not being a bead stringer who makes a lot of jewelry, you came up with a lovely set, awesome in fact. I'm sure it looks even more beautiful in person!

KayzKreationz said...

You did such a wonderful job with your soup. I love the fun, whimsical feel to it. Looks great.

Tracey Leeder said...

What a wonderful post. You both sent and received wonderful soups! Your creation is so bright and happy. Great job.

Unknown said...

Such a wonderful whimsy!

VS said...

What a beautiful soup you made my friend, your work is truly stunning!! Thanks for sharing & all I can say is yummmmmy!!!

VS said...

What a beautiful soup you made my friend, your work is truly stunning!! Thanks for sharing & all I can say is yummmmmy!!!

horimarika said...

This necklace is so happy! I love it.

Clayworks by Lisa Boucher said...

Fabulous job putting that bright and fun mix together! Very nice work ~ )

Christine said...

FANTASTIC!!! I absolutely LOVE what you did with my beads! I'm so glad you enjoyed this, and were able to make the beads into something you enjoy wearing! Very well done!!

EB Bead and Metal Works, LLC said...

Stunning! I love how you have the clasp in the front to show it off! Gorgeous work!

T... said...

very pretty.....love the colours....

Karyn B said...

So whimsical, and pretty, and fun! I love how your soup turned out!

Anonymous said...

Love the necklace. The colors are so cheerful! For not being a bead stringer on a regular basis, you sure hit this out of the park - congrats!

Ro Bruhn said...

What a stunning piece you've created Elizabeth, a real talking point. Thanks for the link to the others, I'm off to check them out.

Ro Bruhn said...

What a stunning piece you've created Elizabeth, a real talking point. Thanks for the link to the others, I'm off to check them out.

EmandaJ said...

Whimsical and charming! Love the color palette too. We’re all being pushed outside our comfort zones — with amazing results!

Enjoy the hop,
Emanda

http://artemisiastudio.blogspot.com/2011/09/bead-soup-reveal.html

Pretty Things said...

I am SO sorry for being late — today our internet provider decided to crash. My stress level is through the roof, to say the least! They’re still working on it, but it’s like dial-up.

How can you NOT be happy wearing that piece?????? I adore it. LOVE. And the special clasp just makes it all the cooler.

I hope you’ll participate again!

Love, Lori

Tracy said...

This really is bead "eye candy"...just love these beads and your soup design. Nice job!

Jacky said...

Oh that enamel clasp is just GORGEOUS!!! What a great swap and I looove your new necklace.

Jacky xox

Ann said...

A very cheerful combination.

Createology said...

Your bead soup necklace and earrings are absolutely stunning. The way you have used the beads and clasp really enhance the cheerful colors. That cherry blue fabric is perfect with this necklace you have so wonderfully created. I can see you really enjoyed participating in Lori's bead soup party. I am off to visit your swap partner...

Lupe Meter said...

Nice work! Lovely necklace!

Maggie said...

What wonderful beads and that clasp is amazing. You did a great job, lovely necklace.

KathyE said...

Elizabeth, I love, love, love the necklace and earrings. They are soooo YOU!

KathyE said...

Hi, Elizabeth,
I don't know if my previous comment posted.

I love, love, love the necklace and earrings! They are soooo YOU.
You continued creativity amazes me.

martha brown said...

WOW Elizabeth! Your necklace is beautiful!!!!!

Laurie's Jewel Box said...

You did a great job using those beads. I know you will enjoy wearing it.

Shyme said...

What wonderfully colorful and fun pieces!

Third Eye Gypsy said...

What an amazing soup! I love the colors and the design you created!

Shay Stone said...

That's quite a fun piece you created with your soup!

Wendy said...

Beautiful! I love red and turquoise together! You had some fantastic beads to work with! Great job!

Anonymous said...

I love that clasp on yours!! Amazing pieces and the beads are lovely!!! Thanks for stopping by my blog as well. :)

Unknown said...

so cute, & I love the cherry fabric you used for a background! ;)

Jenni said...

no wonder you are wearing it already...such a delightfully happy piece...I love the clasp at the front, too. Beautifully done.
jenni

DaviniaDesign said...

This is such a yummy piece.
I love it!

Marcie Abney Carroll said...

What a great color combo! I love the way you've organized the design with the two layers. Good job!

one-eared pig said...

Wonderful necklace! I love the double strand and the offset use of the clasp.

jessememan said...

very sweet necklace! I love how you added beads from your stash to pull it together...the multi-strand portion really works. Nice work :)

I LOVE color! said...

Lovely design.So cheerful looks patrotic
Be Blessed to be a blessing

Anonymous said...

for someone who doesn't make jewelry(exception your gorgeous beaded cuffs) this is just spectacular. xox Corrine

Do Be Do Bead Do said...

I really love your piece... the colors are just wonderful!

Patternsforbeads said...

Amazing how light blue can go with such a strong color like red. I love the clasp, that is really special. It is a really nice piece that I bet you get great comments on when you where it.

Lyn Foley said...

Hi - Really like what you created with your soup, and the earrings added a nice touch.

Could you let your partner know I liked her creation as well? I ws unable to comment because I don't have a Google ID, nor an "open id", and her comments section will not allow anything else.

sorry to bother you with that.

Christine said...

Lovely, cheerful necklace!

Susan Elliott said...

FABULOUS!!!! YOu should be so PROUD!!! That's one beautiful necklace and the CLASP -- Mon Dieu!! C'est Formidable!! Lucky lucky and talented E!

Marianna said...

wow that's gorgeous!!! I LOVE those colors! what great soup to work with!

Sharyl said...

Really nice work from both of you! I enjoyed seeing and reading about your swap!

beautifullybrokenme said...

I just love the fun, bright colors in your finished piece. So beautiful!

Andrea said...

Definitely not free form bead weaving or bead embroidery, but what a fun bright piece. Probably makes you feel happy and youthful when you wear it.

Karen Williams said...

Fun! Thanks for sharing your process, too!it's always interesting to peek 'behind the scenes'

Bobbie said...

Pretty work! The clasp is something special, isn't it? I like that you put it in front so everyone could enjoy it when you wear the necklace.

Kathy ~ Artful Accents said...

Such a beautiful mix of colors! It's cheerful and fun looking!

Claire Maunsell said...

I love these beads, but would have found these to be a real challenge ( not nearly sombre and dreary enough for me, I suspect...hah!). I think you have made a wonderful necklace with these superb beads!

Anonymous said...

I love the retro color scheme. Perfectly displayed with the cherry print fabric. Nice job!

Sweet Freedom said...

Wonderfully whimsical piece! I just love it! Great colors, and that clasp is awesome!

Cindy Cima said...

Beautiful soup! Love what the necklace you created with it!

Christine Altmiller said...

so bright and happy!!! i just love it!

Anonymous said...

It was a great idea putting the clasp on the front side, it is so beautiful that yiu have to show it! I have to admit, I would have felt lost with this soup but you did a great job!
Ambra

Beadaholique said...

Oh! My gosh! This is just ADORABLE!! Those milk glass beads are soooo beautiful. Great job!!

gail vanderster-zwang aka angelmoose said...

I love the milk glass and the clasp and the rest of the soup you received! You made an amazing piece of eye candy and i'm sure you will get those amazing ooohs and aaaahs everytime you wear it!

gail vanderster-zwang aka angelmoose said...

i just wrote a comment, but not sure if i did it correctly for you to get it! i went on your etsy shop and added items to my favorites! your fabric beads are amazing, i need to save up for some! you'll get lots of ooohs and aaahs over your creation for a long time to come!

Carol Tannahill said...

An absolutely lovely set! It looks so fun and happy to wear.

Stacey said...

Your soup is absolutely wonderful. I adore turquoise and red together anyways - but that lampwork and that clasp - ahhhh awesome. The fact that you don't string didn't hold you back - your piece is lovely and no doubt is fun to wear!!

LeeLu Creations said...

Oh my! What an awesome soup! That clasp is to die for!! I love what you created. Very bold.

Anonymous said...

That really has turned out beautifully and the earrings are a perfect addition!

CraftyHope said...

What a really fun piece! That color palette is gorgeous and you really made it shine. Beautiful!

SoulsFireDesigns said...

Love it! What gorgeous colors and the way you put them together, just fabulous!

Unknown said...

what lovely beads you received and I just loved what you did with them. I love the red and turquoise, one of my favorite combinations. What a lovely job.

Anonymous said...

What a fun necklace! I love how you were able to pull perfectly matched things from your stash! Love the results!

Anonymous said...

a lovely happy piece.

Snazzy Doodle Designs said...

What a fun piece!

Terri said...

Sweet..almost like candy. Beautifully strung. A delight for the eyes. You did a soup-er job!

Elysian Studios said...

That clasp is awesome! I love the design you created with your bead soup!

Marie Cramp said...

Oh! That is such a fun piece!! Love it!!

Barbara Lewis said...

Oh my goodness! This is beautiful! Christine is so talented and apparently you are too! Love what you did with her things and I'm incredibly intrigued by your tyvek beads. What a genius idea!

Aquariart said...

Love what you did with those beads! They would look great with a very vintage dress or white lace. Great soup!!

Jenny said...

Nice to get here on my delayed hop. I to oam doing blogs in batches... The necklace is fun and funky. Looks like candy...

Jo said...

That is so lovely! The enamelled flower is especially beautiful.

Skye said...

What a super cute necklace and earrings! Great job!

Geanina said...

Beautiful set, Elizabeth ! What a fun, colourful and happy necklace ! Love the contast. Well done !
Geanina :)

Maneki said...

Lovely necklace! I like the colour scheme, which feels both retro and fresh. It has a brightness that makes it feel like the perfect, happy summer jewellery. Great job!

Sweet Willow Designs said...

Very happy design. Good work.

Myléne Hillam said...

I love the "fairies in the garden" feel about this piece and yet it is much more sophisticated than that. It has so many gorgeous elements in it but that enamelled flower clasp is truly wonderful. You did a great job of working it into the design. Lovely necklace!

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