Friday, May 09, 2014

Bead Soup Blog Party: Dragonfly's Pond



My partner ChristieMurrow of Charis Designs Jewelry sent such a generous bead soup, it was a little difficult to know where to begin. I LOVE the focal and clasp, both from Havana Beads, one of Christie’s favorite local artists, and I knew I wanted to be able to see both on the front of the finished piece.


Christie’s soup included stone beads in pale pinks, which set off the smoky blue of the focal in an unexpected way, while the reddish brown tones of the accent beads pick up the rusty color in the toggle clasp’s glaze. Christie also included an assortment of silver beads, ivory pearls, and a couple of fun and funky blue beads.

From my stash came a few indicolite Swarovski crystals, short lengths of chain rescued from the thrift shop, and a handful of my own lampwork beads. It was *really* tricky to match the blue of the pendant, so I finally gave up on an exact match and just went with pretty blue beads in hues that complement the focal and bring to mind the dragonfly’s pond. I used a few of Christie’s silver beads, but left out the ivory pearls.
Figuring out a way to showcase the focal was the biggest part of the challenge for me. I don’t work often with pendants of this style (substantial, with a front-to-back hole), and was stumped for how to present it. Leafing through bead mags gave me a few ideas and I wound up making a bead link with one of my lampwork beads. Tiny dangles add movement to the focal and tie in colors from elsewhere in the piece.

From there, it was a matter of making a few more bead links, stringing some beads, and connecting the sections with chain, with careful attention paid to the overall length – with such a long pendant, I wanted to keep the necklace on the short side.
I’m really pleased with how the necklace came out. It was a joy to work with such a fresh-to-me color scheme, and I had a blast working with the lovely ceramic focal and clasp.

Christie, thank you for sending such a tasty bead soup, and Lori, as ever, thank you for being our fearless leader!

See what my partner Christie Murrow did with the beads I sent her:

To check out all of the other wonderful Bead Soup results, click on this link:
http://www.prettythingsblog.com/2014/05/welcome-to-8th-bead-soup-blog-party.html


75 comments:

Anonymous said...

Such a romantic and blissful necklace design

Regina said...

Lovely necklace, I love the way all the colors have come together. Nice job.

coffeeaddict said...

beautiful and intricate :-)

roomforchange said...

Gorgeous Soup! Your jewellery is lovely!

Bluefinch said...

BEAUTIFUL piece! Love the composition! Well done!
Rachel

Cece Cormier said...

Great soup to work with and gorgeous necklace.

Charis Designs said...

Love it! I really like how you added the pop of blue/green above to pick up the colors of the pendant. it's a beautifully asymmetrical design- something that I struggle with. Thanks for being an awesome partner! Christie

Spun Sugar Beadworks said...

Oh this is so beautiful! I love it!

Dana said...

What a lovely soup mix and you always create stunning pieces no matter what beads you have to work with. Your soup to Christine was great...love the hearts as you know I do.

Terri said...

Wonderfully designed! Really Soup-er

Sheila said...

This necklace is WOW! Love the clasp by the focal. Great design!

Jean A. Wells said...

You were correct to put the clasp and focal toward the front. Beautiful work. Jean

Coloraddiction said...

Just beautiful! Soft and sweet

Monique (A Half-Baked Notion) said...

An exceptional design with unusual ingredients... gorgeous!

Cris Peacock said...

Beautiful Chris! What a wonderful combination of colors for your creative necklace!

Marybeth said...

Wow! I love how your piece tells the story of that dragonfly. The different use of colors makes me think of him flying over different plants near his pond. Nice job!

Unknown said...

Lovely soup! & beautiful creation!

Bev said...

Wonderful soup pieces! Love the focal.

Unknown said...

Great designs! Love the colors and wonderful ingredients to play with!! Well done!!!

Leanne said...

Love what you did with the focal! Very pretty!

Andrea said...

Very lovely!

WindDancerStudios said...

That dragonfly is sweet! Great job!

Shai Williams said...

I love it! I am a dragonfly addict and yours is one of the more unique.

Jael said...

Beautiful soup!!! You did great, showcasing but not overpowering the focal!

DebiDeaux Designs said...

Love the soup! Love how you cooked it! Great job!

Anonymous said...

awesome piece. you showcased the clasp and focal beautifully. those frosted teal beads are spectacular

Ghislaine said...

what a gorgeous soup you got to play with, the piece you created most definitely made it shine!!! awesome job!

gelfling50 said...

Hi there I love what you did with this soup. The flow of the piece just works and I agree with you seeing both pieces from the front is brilliant. I like the color combination and I am partial to dragonflies so that pendant is to die for. The texture of the necklace is amazing...You did an awesome job with your bead soup. Thank you so much for sharing your work with us all

Brittany Kuhlman, COC, CPC, CCC said...

Your design came out beautifully. I love how you pulled in the blues of the focal even without a perfect match. Great job!

Niky Sayers said...

What a charming necklace you created and love the tiltle of your piece.

Unknown said...

I really like the layout of your necklace...you did a great job on it!

Tammy Adams said...

You created a beautiful design with your soup. I love how you incorporated the focal, and made the clasp visible from the front too.

Silver Parrot said...

Very nice job. You showcased the focal beautifully!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful piece, and the name you gae it is perfect! Kudos on a well served soup!
-Suzann Sladcik Wilson

Karin G said...

Your necklace is beautiful, I particularly like the asymmetry and how you played with the different beads and colors. It is very both earthy and elegant.

Anonymous said...

Christine, I love that focal also. You certainly did it justice!

Kokopelli said...

What a lovely necklace!

Unknown said...

Nice soup! Your necklace is so lovely...well done!

elisabeth said...

Beautiful - I love your mix of colors!

Cornerstoregoddess said...

I think it was the Soup of the Dragonfly! Love what you did with yours.

fay ................................................... said...

Nice job integrating all the colours!

Purple Fish Studio said...

beautiful bohemian necklace. I love the balance of complimentary colors!

KayzKreationz said...

I love Havana Beads. You did a wonderful job incorporating all the beads into your piece and the dangles with the focal are great. Great job.

Donna Cruz-Comia said...

Lovely designs :)

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous soup, and a gorgeous necklace too!

Jasvanti said...

Your necklace is so divine, I love it!!

min said...

such a pretty necklace. It's complicated yet simple at the same time(??) The mixture and combination seemed to work so well together.

Empty nester at last said...

excellent work! I think you really captured the pendant perfectly with the other beads. It really stands out!

Pepita said...

I agree completely with your decision to showcase the clasp and you've made a beautiful piece of jewelry.
Alenka

bairozan said...

The necklace is beautiful and you did a great job designing it to accommodate not just the gorgeous focal and clasp but also most of the different pieces in your soup! Amazing job!

Karen Mitchell said...

Lovely eclectic necklace. Love the combination of colours and beads!

PyxeeStyx said...

Lovely necklace. The colors do complement each other very nicely.

BluMoon said...

Love the dragonfly necklace lovely colours, well done.
Jackie

Lori Anderson said...

I LOVE what you made!!! I absolutely love it. Wonderful job!

Thanks for doing this!

bailaora said...

very inventive projects!congrats!

Cassi said...

What an elegant necklace! I love the asymmetry and balance. It's beautiful.

Deelitful Boudoir Photography said...

I love how you present the focal. And the lovely clasp!! Well done!! It works wonderfully!!

Barb Fernald said...

Pretty necklace design. You did a nice job with your soup!

Maria Rosa Sharrow said...

Love the color combo you used. Such a lovely piece.

PiPa said...

The necklace is so cool with all thos edifferent materials and colors but absolutely well mixed together!

Jo-Ann said...

You created a wonderfully elegant necklace!

Kepi said...

What a well designed necklace, I love how you put it all together, so lovely!

Unknown said...

Dragonflies are one of my very favorite buggies to use in jewelry!!! You did a great job on this! Love the total design very pretty!!! Have a Blessed Day!!!

Becky Pancake said...

Hi Christine, Your necklace is beautiful. I like your design.

Just Beads said...

Beautiful soup ingredients and a great result. I like it.

Janice said...

What a great color scheme! I really like the asymmetrical design and how you used the clasp. Beautifully done!

Krafty Max Originals said...

You are right, adding those few crystals from your stash just MADE the look!! AMAZING job!! ~KM

https://pattimillerbeads.blogspot.com/ said...

I LOVE your piece! It is so lovingly put together - so many intricate parts. I really love the rough green beads with the crystals. Great contrast!

Treasures by Louise said...

Beautiful necklace from a beautiful soup. Love the asymmetrical design.

AnnodArte said...

Great soup and great pieces!

Unknown said...

Beautiful colours, beautiful jewellery! ♥Very romantic♥ it has something special!

Unknown said...

Great necklace! I love the colors. It's very textural. makes you want to touch all the pieces of it. The pendant is beautiful.

CraftyHope said...

Very nicely done. It sounds like it was a bit of a challenge for you at times, but you worked through it quite well! It's a lovely necklace.

TesoriTrovati said...

That is the best thing about a hop like this, challenging yourself to go out of your zone! What a natural and soft palette you had! I love the way you added the glass bead to the bail of that pretty pendant. Thank you for sharing your talents with the world! Enjoy the day! Erin

Christine said...

Hi Chris - your necklace is gorgeous!! I love your combination of colors mixed with that great thrifted chain - I'm still hoarding a short piece :)