Bead Soup Blog Party # 8

Meet Flora Dora, off on yet another shopping expedition.  With hair quaffed and shoes polished, she's wearing a new hat and dress and sports the latest style in classy handbags.  Her hands and legs are moveable and she thinks she looks pretty hot.  I'm going to hate to tell her she's just a brooch :)

I loved the 'Iris' coloring on the 10mm black beads Tania including in my parcel.  They were my inspiration for the rest of the components I used in this pendant and beaded 'chain'.  Porcelain flowers and lots of Czech beads.  Wish I could capture of the AB finishes better for you, mostly Jet AB and Vitrail.

So both fun pieces to make and wear, thank you so much Lori and Tania for the opportunity

These are the beads I sent to Tania and the pieces she made with them

And it's that time of year again where the blog is dragged out again, (huffing and puffing) from the back cupboard under the stairs.  I have no idea why it hides in such an inaccessible place most of the  year, it's really very friendly once I dust the cobwebs off and talk to it a little.

And off course it's that time of the year again when Lori Anderson is hosting her annual Bead Soup Blog Party - this year it's the 8th to be run and my 2nd participating.  Last year I partnered Adlinah from Singapore, this year it's much closer to home with Tania Hagen from Pelima Designs in Gisborne, New Zealand.

Here is the soup I received from Tania :)

Looking forward to designing with these.  

Now how did Tania know my two favourite colours are red and black?

On Being a Productive Little Bunny - 3rd Reveal BeadSoupBlogParty

WHAT A JOURNEY - at times joyful, at times frustrating, but most of the time very satisfying.

A reminder of the wonderful array of beads and components and the three beautiful focals from my BeadSoupBlogParty partner Adlinah. 

I had so many ideas rushing round my head but a couple of must do’s stood out straight away.

The first necklace literally ‘fell into place’ as I was pushing a variety of the beads round the beading mat.  I loved the colours of the swirly lampwork beads so made a ‘Frosted Peacock’ colour brick stitch base and stitched the beads and components onto that.  The stringing is Blue Agate, Red Coral and Silver.  It can be worn both horizontally and asymmetrically.

My daughter fell in love with this necklace at first sight so I guess it already has a new home J

Adlinah sent me the most beautiful clasp - a vintage Pearl Box from Japan, circa 1960’s. 

I’ve always wanted to create a vintage, nostalgic type of lace bead embroidery, flowery, feminine, and very frou frou, and this clasp was the perfect catalyst to get me started. 

This is the result …

 

So onto a focal …

I simply love the colours and shape of the handmade glass focal disk by mandrel2 (Etsy) - Scarlet Red and Montana Deep Blue, edged with Metallic Silver – yum.  I so wanted to do this lovely focal justice and played with many combinations of what Adlinah had sent and what I had in my stash. 

But everything seems wrong until I realized all it needed was something relatively simple, where the focal itself would be the star. 

I’ve attached two clips on the back so it can be either a brooch or a hairpiece.  Ultra Suede front and back with an insert of Lacy’s Stiff Stiff to keep it perky.

Earrings …

I luuuuv making earrings and was spoilt for choice.  Here’s three pair I've made so far.

  












The second focal Adlinah sent was a porcelain clay pendant by Mary Hubbard of White Clover Kiln.  
I love the mint colours in the little birdie pendant and the Swarovski Mint Alabaster beads that were in my pack.  He’s so cute, I had fun creating this necklace (and poem).  Hope you enjoy them both …

Billy Bird has built a bower

With love and leaf and twig and flower

A room with a view in a minted tree

Cos a Sensitive New Age Guy is he

Happy and proud as he sits on his branch

And watches the butterflies play and dance

Now all he needs to complete his life

Is a Sensitive New Age Bird called ‘wife’

And some more fun – still a work in progress – Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

I’ve glued little resin bears to the red foam shapes Adlinah sent me and will string them into a necklace.    

I've yet to use the rubber tubing, the third focal and four beads but they ARE earmarked - good things take time ...

Thanks so much for looking and please take the time to visit my beadpartner in Singapore - Adlinah and also check out the other artists who've all taken time out of their busy schedules to create pieces of art for us all to drool over.

Lastly none of this would have happened without the love, patience and support of Lori Anderson whom I can't thank sufficiently with just words.

BeadSoupBlogParty #7 third reveal is today

Yes today is the day -

Watch this space !!!

UFO's and other unfinished business

If you're a creative person, you never seem to have enough hours in the day - which invariably leads to lots of unfinished projects as your brain leaps forward to yet another great idea.

Today I actually finished a necklace that's been sitting waiting for a clasp - yes JUST a clasp, for over a year.  Well to be really honest it also needed rethreading as I'd cut the beading wire a smidgen to short (don't ya hate it when that happens?).

Anyway, for no particular reason today seemed to be the day to do it ...

TA DA!

PAPER ROCK SCISSORS
Paper wrapped beads with Marble, Agate, Jasper and Chalcedony

Then I played with a few pieces of Paua - hairclips and a tie tac

Plus I've been playing with my Bead Blog beads, lots of ideas forming but I can't say a word till the 13th April (ssshhhhhhh)

And a DRUM ROLL from me

My gorgeous GORGEOUS beads have arrived safely from my partner Adlinah Kamsir in Singapore.  Adlinah posted a really tantalizing distorted photo of them on her blog and I nearly went insane trying to figure out what was there.  I even thought at one point she might have changed the colours in the photo as well just to tease me further ...

but no, the colours are the same and so beautiful ...  And so beautifully packaged too along with some sweet munchies to chew on as I bead.  What a lovely thoughtful thing to do.

I will cringe as she opens her beads from me ... beautifully packed in ... boring bubble wrap.

So here is my BeadSoupBlogParty beads and I can't wait to get started with all these lovely goodies - no less than 3 lovely focals and the clasp is a vintage pearl box clasp.  Heaven!

Will keep you posted as the saying goes :)

Ooo, ooo, ooo

Arrived home tonight to find a card in the letterbox saying a parcel was being held for me at the main Post Office cos it needed a signature for delivery ...

JUST GOT TO BE MY BEADS from the lovely Ally at www.dreamstruckdesigns.blogspot.com. 

Power on again now but to be off for another 2 hours tomorrow.  Off to bed now, will post more tomorrow when brain has caught up with tired eyes lol

Ahhh, the best laid plans of mice and men .....

Due to kitchen renovations our power supply has been on and off in the past two weeks more times than I care to remember - and it's about to go off again for another three hours - THEN ***hopefully*** it will stay on and I can start posting again :)

So till then ...