Saturday, April 27, 2013

Soup's On! (the big reveal!)



Please visit my partner Christine's blog, Sweet Girl Design, to see what she created with the Bead Soup I sent her!

Here they are - my finished Bead Soup pieces - at least the ones I have finished so far! I've got another *this* close to done and beads pulled for yet another piece featuring Christine's lovely alternate focal. I'm still reeling from how much beady goodness she sent to me - it was such a lush, generous package filled with all kinds of gorgeous!

Note: I'm having a really difficult time loading pictures to the blog tonight - tried to load pics of the soup Christine sent, but it's just not cooperating. You can click here to see what she sent me.

When I first opened Christine's box of Bead Soup, I really wanted to turn some of the briolettes into a pair of dangly sparkly earrings - but wound up shelving that idea, because the holes on the labradorite and sodalite briolettes were just sooooo teeny tiny. It was impossible to get sterling wire of a sturdy-enough gauge through those holes, so I just went with super fine beading wire and made strung pieces instead - and I'm thrilled with the results!

Christine's handmade vintage rhinestone and filigree focal is absolutely stunning, and I really wanted to do it justice. I sketched out 4-5 different ways to work with it - I wanted to try it with everything, but in the end, I had to pick one and roll with it!

I wound up taking inspiration from the vintage Czech enamel necklaces pictured in one of my favorite eye candy jewelry idea books, Fabulous Fakes, by Carole Tanenbaum. The necklaces each feature a lovely large embellished filigree pendant, accented with dangly bits, suspended from lovely beaded strands. I thought about making it symmetrical like the necklaces in the book, really I did - I laid it out so everything matched, but it was just, well, just *too* symmetrical, and really kind of boring.

I decided to play up the blue and brass tones, so I found some great brass chain at Shipwreck Beads, and dangled Christine's lovely blue rondelles from every third link. On the other side, I used some of my etched handmade lampwork beads in a "brassy" color (transparent light brown) and strung them with a bead soup mix I already had on hand from a prior project. (A while ago, I used this same color scheme on a lanyard, and I really like it - it's elegant and stylish without being fussy.)
The grey-blue of the sparkly briolette crystals Christine included in the alternate focal package were perfect for the dangles from the filigree pendant. I used 22 gauge annealed steel wire to wire them to the dainty brass chain (also found at Shipwreck Beads). Let me just state for the record that I LOVE briolette/drop shape beads, but goodness gracious, they sure are nerve-wracking to wire-wrap, aren't they? Christine's lovely filigree toggle clasp finishes off this necklace perfectly.

This next piece is actually the first one I finished - the result of one of the many sketches I made based on Christine's soup.

This one features the afore-mentioned lovely labradorite briolettes with tiny holes, as well as some smaller blue rondelles that Christine sent, the brass rounds and dyed impression jasper, and one of my own handmade lampwork Nebula Series beads in a dark oceany blue. I used one of the "woven" round links Christine sent as part of the clasp, with a brass S-hook for the other part - had to bend the S-hook though, so it would lay properly.


The final pieces are a set of three stacking bracelets, all based on the color scheme that  Christine sent, and incorporating as many of her beads as I could manage.

The first bracelet features one of the four vintage chandelier crystals that Christine sent me, which I combined with two of my etched lampwork beads, brass chain, some milky white faceted Czech beads and some of Christine's brass rounds. The second bracelet is very simple, but I love it: Christine's bright blue freshwater pearls and more of those yummy blue faceted rondelles (have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE faceted rondelles? No? Well, I *do* love them!). The third bracelet incorporates mixed media - wire, recycled sari silk fiber, one of my Desert Dreams series lampwork beads, and more of those great milky Czech faceted beads, with some cool brass spacers. I suppose you *could* wear just one bracelet at a time, but so far, I've worn all three bracelets together - I think they are happiest that way.

Christine, thank you SO much for being my partner for this Bead Soup Blog Party - I really appreciate it, and had a wonderful time designing with all the lovely treasures you shared with me! (And I'm pretty stoked that I got a new friend out of it too!)

Lori, thank YOU for hosting this incredible project. This is such a labor of love and life-force, and you handle it with style, class, kindness, and love. You are putting good energy into the world. Thank you!

As soon as I get the other pieces finished, I'll post pics and write-ups for them. In the meantime, you've got plenty more eye candy to check out - here's the link to the rest of the (more than 200) Third Reveal posts. Please visit as many posts as you're able, and do leave comments!

http://lorianderson-beadsoupblogparty.blogspot.com/2013/04/welcome-to-3rd-reveal-of-7th-bead-soup.html

36 comments:

Nelly May said...

Such elegant pieces. Just amazing.

Linda Younkman said...

Super work. What lovely pieces you made with your soup.

Unknown said...

Very nice pieces! I love the vintage look of the first necklace the most.
kathy

bailaora said...

so sparkling and elegant projects! my fav is the first necklace, congrats!

AWJewelry said...

Loved the pieces that you made, especially the bracelets

Othel said...

Beautiful jewelry! The bracelets are my favorite.

VS said...

Wonderful soup friend, I LOVE the beautiful rhinestone focal, that's just YUMMMMY! :)))

CraftyHope said...

Oh, both of your necklaces turned out so elegantly. I can't even decide which one I like better. And, what a great idea to use the rest of the beads in the soup to make a bracelet stack!

Barb Fernald said...

Great stacking bracelets! And the necklaces are very chic. I love how you used the rhinestone focal!

Pepita said...

Nice job! The multistrand necklace is my favorite.

Christine said...

Chris, I love your designs!! Your asymmetrical with dangles, vintage necklace is divine! I found out how hard to labrodite briolettes were to work with after I sent you some! :) I love your necklace with the Nebula bead - your beautiful lampwork beads in your designs are just the right touch!! Your stacked bracelets are lovely - such a great idea to use up your soup!! I'm so impressed with what you made with your soup!

Just Beads said...

Beautiful soup, very nice soup. Love them all.

cherryeve said...

Elegant work, good job! :) I Love the first necklace most...

~Jane

Kari Asbury said...

All beautiful designs but I really love those bracelets!

Ode to Paper said...

Beautiful designs, very romantic!

Anonymous said...

Love your pieces! I enjoy the Carole Tannenbaum book, too, and your necklace is very reminiscent of the Czech pieces. Well done!

LoriF said...

Wow, I love those bracelets...and the "feel" of everything! Just gorgeous!

Donetta said...

I think you nailed it: beautiful and elegant without being fussy. I love each piece!

Clayworks by Lisa Boucher said...

I love the wire wrapping on one of the bracelets. Very creative work with your soup mix!

Giorgia Rossini said...

I love the bracelet set!
ciao dall'Italia

Skye said...

Beautiful work :) Love the bracelets!

VasDea said...

Great pieces - very elegant.

Unknown said...

Beautiful designs especially the necklace with 3 strands. Would love to see it in real life - hard to photograph those lovely beads!

Linda K. said...

Beautiful! I love the 3-strand necklace best.

steufel said...

What delicate pieces - my fav is the multi-stranded necklace. Awesome!

gelfling50 said...

Just beautiful...I loved the color scheme the designs . Brilliant, mesmerizing and lovely

Thank you for sharing with us all, bye for now and Happy beading
http://jaacquelinesjewels.blogspot.com/2013/03/bead-soup-blog-party-reveal-is-here.html

Becky Pancake said...

Your designs are all pretty. My favorite is the first necklace.

la mar de bonita said...

Nice cooking, Christine. Love the stacking bracelets!

BeadsByEarthTones said...

vintage elegance....absolutely enchanting. i really admire your work!!

Cindy Cima said...

Love the vintage feel of your designs! Love, love the stacking bracelets!

Kepi said...

Beautiful, great pieces.

PiPa said...

Interesting, elegant pieces! Love the asimmetry you created

Unknown said...

Your pieces are all so feminine and lovely. You did a fantastic job with your soup.

Peggy said...

OMGOMGOMG your stuff is drop-dead gorgeous. Chris, you are such a fine artist! I'm in awe....

Unknown said...

What a fantastic job,you made some beautiful jewellery with your soup the stacking bracelets are fantastic.

Nelly May said...

Beautiful! Such striking pieces.