The bead soup is simmering

I am happy to report that my bead soup has arrived and I am totally up for another challenge.  My partner, Tanya Wiles at Tenebrous Hollow Studio, is a fiber artist and she makes some really interesting pieces.  She also hand forged the tiny little clasp!  The focal is really unique and I have never worked with anything quite like it.  This should be an adventure once again. 



Here is another shot after I stirred my soup.  Look at all that handy work in the flower, really neat. There are so many interesting little bits and pieces, an idea is beginning to brew...  If you have no idea what this event is all about, please hop on over to Lori's blog and read all about the fun.   



Now that Tanya has her parcel, here is a picture of what I sent to her.  I can't wait to see what she comes up with, and the blog hop is always fun. 



The reveal date for my group is August 11, so be sure to come back and check out the results of this fabulous exchange.

Cheers,

Rhea

Making some Bead Soup

I have had so much fun the last two times, I decided to play once again in the Bead Soup Blog Party, hosted by Lori Anderson. 

This time around my partner is Tanya Wiles.  Her blog can be found here.  I am excited to see what she sends as her personal style is still a mystery to me.  I hope she can find use in this little batch of beady soup!  Here is a teaser that I will reveal once she gets her parcel.

The whole idea is to send some bead soup (a focal, a clasp and some complimentary beads) to your partner, make something from what they send you and then show it off on a blog hop.  It is such an inspiring exercise.  You never know what you will get and it really helps you work outside of your traditional supplies.   Here is what I conjured up the first time around.  To read more about it the post is here.

The second round was really tough, but I was up for the challenge.  I really learned a lot from my second round.  To read about my doughnut saga read here.

I hope you will all tune in to see what this year will bring for both me and my partner.  This round there are three reveals and mine will be on August 11th.  

Cheers, 

Rhea

Time for the Bead Soup Blog Party!

Hey there loyal followers and hopefully some new ones! 

Welcome to my little corner of the Bead Soup Blog Party (BSBP).  I am super happy to post my big reveal for Lori Anderson's BSBP.  Please head over to Lori's blog for a full list of participants in order to be able to fully enjoy the experience of the hop. 

Here is a picture of what my partner Cory sent along to inspire me.  I have to admit, this was a major challenge for me!  She sent me lots of items that were of a larger scale than I typically work in.  Also, in the past, I have not necessarily embraced the gemstone donut as a viable centerpiece.  I love how this exchange offered me the opportunity to stretch myself creatively.



My favorite part of my soup was the clasp she sent.  I am not used to working with metals in a finish other than silver, I love how this experience pushes us to try new things.  I did decide that I was going to make something that could utilize this clasp as a focal, so here is what I made.



I really love the color combo on this piece.  Again, this is not something I would usually do in terms of color palate.  Typically I have been wearing this piece with the clasp in front but off center, but I could easily wear the clasp in the back for a different look.   I was amazed at how difficult it was to find beads with a copper finish in the mainstream shopping experience.  I had to seek out a local specialty bead shop in order to find adequate supplies.   



And then there was the donut...I am not going to lie, for me this was difficult to use.

I was able to use the focal by utilizing lots of other fun materials from Vintaj.   Again, I was stumped on size.  After lots and lots of consult with my artsy friends, I embraced my giant modified focal and added a simple chain.  The necklace is quite long as I used 36 inches of chain. 



And here, a nice close up of my focal.  I really love the look of the patina on the bird.  This little detail also actually ties the two pieces together quite well. 

 

Here you can see how nice they look together.  Surprisingly, they coordinate very well.

 



I still have some left over soup to continue to challenge me.  I really love those cream colored carved beads, but everything I tried to make with did not work due to the size issue.  I do not give up easily.  I am confident my extra beads will end up in a project soon.  There is a special place I am going to use Cory's handmade bail, so stay tuned to see the completion of a really cool mermaid project soon.  

Thanks as always for stopping by!  I hope you will use the links provided above to visit other blogs on the hop!

Cheers,

Rhea

A bit of Bead Soup

I am so excited to be able to get crafting now that I have my bead soup.  My partner Cory sent along a lovely parcel of beads for me to play with for Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party. 



I love, love, love the copper toggle.  I am not sure which focal I will use, I do love the handmade peyote bail made by my partner.  She packaged everything so nice and included this handmade embellishment pictured below.  I do have to say that these beads are of a much larger scale than I would usually choose for myself.  This is the spirit of the challenge though and I welcome the opportunity to try to create something outside of my creative box. 

        

   

Here is the reveal of the beads I sent her.  We are allowed to show off what we sent once they have been received. 



Keep following along and before you know it the blog hop will be upon us!

Cheers,

Rhea

Bead Soup is on!

I am participating in my first ever Bead Soup Blog Party and I am loving it!

My partner's name is Kari and she has a lovely blog called Pearl and Pebble, where she documents her creative life.  She even makes her own beads from scratch!  Please stop by and check out her art. You will also be delighted by pictures of two little baby boys who are simply adorable.

Kari send me a wonderful bead soup that I can hardly wait to play with.  The ceramic centerpiece is by Muddy Fingers on Etsy.  There are also salway nuts, ocean jasper, white fossil stone and a gorgeous sterling clasp.  She is so cute, she wrote me a little bead soup recipe in the box.

Stay tuned and before too long the actual blog party starts and all of us will be posing our creations.