First, I’d like to thank Lori for all the hard work she has done hosting the Bead Soup Blog. Lori, I know you have had to surmount a lot of problems in your life, but HEY, GIRL! you’ve succeeded! By doing so, you have set a wonderful example to the rest of us to not give up, even in our darkest days, and soldier on. My hat’s off to you. Hugs and Love!!
I’ve had a lot of fun with the Bead Soup Blog 2013. From dreaming and creating OOK jewelry from the stash I received to learning how to take pictures. I need to get a better camera, but I’m sure you’ll forgive a novice jewelry photographer…LOL
I sent a smorgasbord of items to Diana, my partner. In this hot mess, you’ll see chain, SP head pins, various semi-precious stones, amber bi-cones, amber beads and amber Swarovski crystals, a lovely little SP leaf clasp and even a couple of beads I made myself from Kato polyclay.
I didn’t want her to get bored…LOL
I was so excited when I opened my package from my partner, Diana Gonzolez. She sent it in a lovely little box that she had decorated with Washi tape.
Here’s what I got.
Look at those two mermaid focals. I made two separate necklaces from them. And those sparkly beads! Wow! What beautiful colors. You’ll be seeing them all over the place. Quartz is one of my favorite stones to work with, and whaddayaknow, quartz roundels Yippee! The brown speckled heishi and the matching seed beads were a challenge. I think they added interest to the pieces where I worked them in. I haven’t used the plastic drops yet, but I’m sure inspiration will hit any day now. The two tiny Day of the Dead beads (posed to the north of the crystal roundels made their way into my wild and crazy bracelet. More on that later! Let’s get to the goodies!
I am learning metal-smithing and just adore forging different things. Links, chains, beads, focals…the list is endless. Pretty soon, I’m going to brace myself and tackle soldering! LOL It was quite a rush when I annealed my first copper piece as I was working on it. Forming a ball on the end of an earring finding was cool, too. Pickling, throwing stuff into a tumbler with some metal shot and seeing it come out all bright, de-burred and strong is quite satisfying.
THIS is the first item I made from my cache.
I used one of the mermaid focals and some of the AB beads and blue beads she sent. I thought of the sea and its waves and tides. I thought of the Voudon loa (goddess), Yemaya-Mother of the Sea. Her colors are blue and white. I made a few links that symbolize the wave motion and some more in the spiral to symbolize the eternal movement of the sea. A clasp to close it with and viola! I called it good.
The Second Necklace
Along the same lines, but on a more delicate scale, the second necklace is more ‘sparkly’ with a wider variety of beads and shinier copper.
The THIRD necklace
For my birthday, my partner gave me a lovely silver and black opal dragonfly. I didn’t have a chain to put it on; I wanted to make something and incorporate the dragonfly in a way that kept the pendant from moving around on the chain. I used some of Maria’s AB beads to make the stalk the dragonfly was resting on, jump rings to add more interest, and silver chain. I think it turned out rather well.
My funky bracelet
What to do next…hmmm…I have some memory wire. I’ve never worked with memory wire. Off that bridge I jumped! Seven loops of wire, curl the end, thread on some of her beads and throw in some of my own. See the little Day of the Dead beads? Fiddle around, back and forth, and I decided I wanted some movement. I threw on some crimp covers (since I hadn’t included crimps originally), and mashed them flat. Then, using my crimp pliers and a special set of crimp pliers that turn crimps into beads, I fixed them on the wire so they didn’t move. Now, my sections of beads moved freely on the wire. Yippee! I like sections of the shiny silver wire showing through.
The next day, I had a dinner to attend. I wore this bracelet and the first necklace I made as a trial run. I got lots of good comments on both, but the beads on the bracelet decided to follow the law of gravity and slid to the lowest point, under my wrist. Sigh. The bare wires didn’t look so good now. So, back to the studio (the half of my bedroom dedicated to jewelry work…LOL) I went. I threw on about twenty more crimp covers, effectively making smaller sections with fewer beads in each to slide around. NOW, I have the movement I want, and the beads are all visible all the time. YAY
This has been fun, and I haven’t even used all the supplies Maria sent me! Look for more pics in the future. Maybe by then I will have honed my photography skills, too.
Visit Maria’s blog to see what she has done with all the fun things I sent her.
| Diana Gonzalez | www.arteypoemas.com |
Visit the rest of the reveals, too. Here is a list of names and links to help you get there:
Mutterings of a Crone 
I loved the first necklace and thought you captured the sea very well in it. I also loved the second necklace and the dragonfly necklace is to die for. But the memory wire bracelet was the best. I would have never thought to use crimps on memory wire like you did. What a great idea!
very elegant and delicate projects, my fav is dragobfly necklace!congrats!
Love it!
I love all your jewelry but especially the first mermaid necklace. In factit made my favorites list which will be published tomorrow.
kathy
Such a wonderful soup you made..I LOVE the 1st necklace with the mermaid focal! So fabulous, GREAT JOB!!!
Lovely bead soup. And I like the 3 necklaces a lot! Good job!
Beautiful work. I love the funky bracelet. And the other pieces too.
Beautiful work and great use of the materials!
Awesome designs! I am partial to dragonflies so I really love that necklace but the mermaids are great too. I love that you did very different styles with each of them.
Very nice, but I think you did an especially nice job with the memory wire bracelet.
I love the first necklace!
ciao dall’Italia
Love the first necklace – well done.
I like all of your designs but what struck me was the all the swirls…..they make the beautiful beads stand out and give your designs a lovely light airy feeling.
I learned something new today…crimps on memory wire! Necessity really IS the mother of invention! You made lovely pieces from this great selection of beads.
I really like the way you used your wire spirals to give the mermaid necklaces a wavy” look. Such cool designs! The crimp beads on the memory wire is a GREAT idea!
I love the mermaid necklaces, and the way you designed waves in the chain. Amazing troubleshooting on the memory wire bracelet.
Good job using your soup. Your wirework does look like waves in the first necklace.
Great pieces, very nice designs
Very fun pieces! Love the wire waves – great job!!
I like the mermaid necklaces the best, the copper goes so well with the mermaids’ skin color.
i think you did well with your copper work….complimented the pieces nicely!
I love your metal-smithing, every piece is so interesting.
You did a brilliant job with those mermaid focals. I totally get the ‘waves and tides’ of the first necklace.
You did a good job with the help of metal-smithing. All the pieces are very nice.
Nice job with your soup! I just love the first mermaid necklace…really cute!
You made some stunning jewellery i love all of them.
Those necklaces are so delicate and ethereal. Love them to bits.
Lovely pieces!! Love what you did with the mermaids!!
All of your design are wonderful, but both of your mermaid pieces are real works of art! I love your metalwork on them. They’re divine!!