Bead Soup 2014 is Served!

My partner, Barb Solem, sent me some great soup to work with. Very industrial chic in nature. I pondered and tried a few ideas before arriving at this result:

I took her amazing metal heart focal and added it to some very heavy gun metal link chain and then added her steel gray wired hook and loop clasp to that. Part one finished. To that I added a chunky, heavy strand that included the soft gray rondelles, the dark gray lava like rounds, interspersing the sparkly spacers…all sent by Barb. I included a strand of BIG Fools Gold nuggets that I got in Tucson years ago and never knew what I’d do with them. Voila! Industrial Chic is complete.

Here’s a few more shots, including matching earrings that used the “spring” connectors that Barb sent.

Close up of the focal.

And the clasp. And some matching earrings.

 

Be sure to check out what Barb did with the soup I sent to her. You can find her here.

And then check out Lori Anderson’s blog page for the scoop on this year’s Bead Soup Blog Party and a list of other participants!

It’s coming! Bead Soup 2014

Mine will be up by morning…check back to see what I made with the great soup I got from my partner Barb Solem.

Dia de los Muertos / Day of the Dead Jewelry Blog Hop Reveal

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and the Southwest. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. The celebration takes place on October 31, November 1 and November 2, in connection with the Halloween,  All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. That’s the basics.

Sugar Skulls and marigolds are central to the theme and along with painted faces and decorations, those elements make their way into jewelry. It’s time to reveal what we made for the Halloween/Day of the Dead Jewelry blog hop! sponsored by Suburban Girl Studio.

I’ve got cuffs! Lots of etched cuffs with sugar skulls, marigolds and bright colors.

All of the above were etched and colored by me. Colors are from Color Me This metal patinas.

In addition to the etched versions, I have some amazing glass sugar skulls from Torch by Night Lampwork. One is ring size and the other is cuff size. Both are on interchangeable Sirius System findings from McDuck Creations.

I hope you’ll visit all the blogs in this hop! Lots of creative minds have come together. You can find them here:

Diana Ptaszynski  http://www.suburbangirlstudio.com

Staci Smith  http://www.stacilouiseoriginals.com/

Kathleen Breeding  http://99bobotw.blogspot.com

Sue Kennedy  http://www.suebeads.blogspot.com

Dianne Miller  http://www.artbydianne.blogspot.com

Lisa Liddy  http://www.lisaliddy.wordpress.com

Toltec Jewels  http://www.JewelSchoolFriends.com

Linda Landig  http://www.LindasBeadBlog.com

Laura Medeiros  http://Www.zoeowyn.blogspot.com

Veralynne Malone  http://www.veradesigns.blogspot.com

Lynn Jobber  http://thecreativeklutz.blogspot.co.uk

Michelle McCarthy  http://www.fireflydesignstudio.blogspot.com

Karen Totten  http://www.starryroadstudio.blogspot.com

Jayne Capps  https://mamasgottodoodle.blogspot.com

Jenny Davies-Reazor  http://jdaviesreazor.com/blog

Joan Miller  http://metalmudandsand.blogspot.com/

Melissa Meman  http://melissameman.blogspot.com

Melissa Trudinger  http://www.beadrecipes.wordpress.com

Kari Asbury  http://hippiechickdesign.blogspot.com

Inge von Roos  http://www.ingetraud.wordpress.com

Andrea Glick  http://zenithjade.blogspot.com

Stephanie LaRosa  http://Www.stringaholic.blogspot.com

Lola Surwillo  http://www.beadlolabead.com

Jennifer Cameron  http://glassaddictions.com/blog

Diane Hawkey  http://dianehawkey.blogspot.com

Kristi Harrison  http://kristibasket-itsanewday.blogspot.com

Nicole Valentine Rimmer  http://www.nvalentine.blogspot.com

Tanya Goodwin  http://www.Pixiloo.blogspot.com

Shai Williams  http://shaihasramblings.blogspot.com/

Sandra McGriff  http://skyescreativechaos.blogspot.com

Sarajo Wentling  http://www.sjdesignsjewelry.blogspot.com

Marie Covert  http://thistledown-and-swaddlings.blogspot.com

Lisa Stukel  http://www.carefreejewelrybylisa.blogspot.com

Laurie Vyselaar  http://www.Lefthandjewelry.wordpress.com

Sherri Stokey  http://www.knotjustmacrame.com

Pam Traub  http://www.klassyjoolz.blogspot.com

Lori Dorrington  http://lorisglassworks.blogspot.com

Kristen Stevens  http://kristen-beadjourney.blogspot.com

Eleanor Burian-Mohr  http://cornerstoregoddessjewelry.blogspot.com

Sally Russick  http://thestudiosublime.com

Dawn M. Gallop  http://www.flipflopsandpoptarts.com

Christine Damm   http://storiestheytell.blogspot.com

Artisan Whimsey Patina Sunset Challenge

Slipping in under the wire with this challenge on Artisan Whimsey…I’ve been out of town for a short, but much-needed break with my parents in Colorado Springs!

Rita from Toltec Beads reminded me about this challenge and how perfect it would be to take part in with Color Me This patinas…I loved the beauty of heat patinas but I didn’t love the fact that I couldn’t replicate them at all, much less get great results regularly. I’m sure it was something I wasn’t doing, but given the fact that I love colors and also had a need to attempt to replicate some colors on design sheets for other designers, I went the route of working with some of my own blends and cold application patinas that are now on Etsy. More about those another day…

For Melinda Orr’s challenge on Artisan Whimsey, I decided to submit one of my newest creations and part of a series that will grow as the ideas are overflowing (more than the time available to implement them!)

I have been making etched copper and brass cuffs for a couple of years now, selling them on Etsy, Facebook and at shows. I love the etched textures and I love coloring them. One of my favorite patterns is a background of peacock feathers.

This is one of several color variations I’ve come up with. It features Turquoise and Sapphire over Burgundy and Plum (all from the Original set of Color Me This 6-pack). I’ve swirled and layered and sanded and played til I got something that I liked. This particular one not only mimics the colors of peacock feathers, but also has some great sunset colors with the Burgundy and Butterscotch shades. On top of these, I’ve added some  luster with some shimmer dust powders and played some more.  You can find others on my Facebook page. Check out other Patina Sunset Challenge participants

7th Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal is Here!

It’s finally here! Seems like the time flew by but I managed to get both my creation and my post done while it was still daylight! Here’s a refresher of what my partner, Mallory Hoffman, sent me:

I thought her Bacon and Egg beads were so cute that I kept the theme going. I used mixed metals: brass wire, copper and brass jump rings, brass chain and lots of dangles. I’ve been making Cork Pendant necklaces for a few months and kept looking for a cork that had a chicken or something “fowl” on it. I ended up finding this one from Rex Goliath Pinot Noir that says “Free Range” on it… a stretch perhaps, but it works for me. Here’s the close-up shot of my pendant with Mallory’s focals, a cute, tiny crocheted chicken, and various other brass and copper dangles and baubles. I made some of Mallory’s other glass beads into “egg” dangles, too. Here’s the full shot showing the silk ribbon for the necklace hanging off the toggle that Mallory sent me. I like using toggles this way in front and it makes the pendant detachable, too.

I hope you’ll check out Mallory’s blog, “For the Love of Beads,” to see what she made with the beads I sent her. And then settle in to check out a couple hundred other participants! You can find the links here at Lori Anderson’s blog. And there will be two more BSBP reveals coming in the next few weeks!

PS. The cute crocheted chicken is by Cori Ruszkowski…check out her work here.