Wednesday, March 10

Bead Soup Cafe - Bead Soup Swap

Thank you to Lori McDaniel Anderson for creating and hosting the Bead Soup Café site and matching me up with Joyce Becker from Oregon who has been a perfect swap partner and now a great friend. I learned that Fire Mountain Gems & Beads has a facility in Oregon at One Fire Mountain Way, Grants Pass, OR 97526.

I enjoyed opening each of the little wrapped packages of beads! My swap partner Joyce Becker chose beautiful beads and lovely colors that all make a delicious and appealing bead soup. The pearls, Adventurine and mother of pearl all churn together to make a lovely ocean mix of colors and shapes. The Lotus flower focal is very exotic and I can envision wearing it in a long necklace. The oblong lampwork pendant is swirled with colors that match the other beads. I am excited to begin the design process and see how these lovely beads inspire me.
VINTAJ BIRD EARRINGS
I added the gold elongated beads to spotlight the handmade brass embossed, painted and glazed Vintaj art beads that Joyce Becker made. She included the teal rondelles that she matched so perfectly. I needed ear wires to match so took a trip to the bead store. The brass seemed more gold than what I usually think of as brass and I don’t have much for findings in gold. But I like the shine and brightness that the gold brings and I’m excited about wearing them with a teal top. 


LILLY PILLY NECKLACE WITH EARRINGS
The Lilly Pilly mother of pearl focal from Artbeads needed to be adorned with the Adventurine rounds and silver star fish to complement the shine in the elongated mother of pearl beads. It’s almost as if we transported to the sea where we can enjoy the smell of the air and warmth of the sun. I can almost feel the sand under my feet...wouldn’t that be wonderful! The star fish looks much darker in the picture than in real. I’m not sure why they cast such a shadow during the photo shoot.


LAMPWORK PENDANT NECKLACE 
I first slid and knotted the elongated carved mother of pearl beads onto a silk ribbon and added a rolo tube to attach the focal too. I enjoyed bringing sparkle and width to the Lampwork Art Bead by wrapping it with 22 gauge silver wire (another recent bead store purchase). I think the earrings match well and are created using the pearl drops, Adventurine and silver spacers (which I also added to the end of the focal). 


DRAGONFLY AVENTURINE NECKLACE AND EARRINGS 
I have owned this silver circle chain for a very long time and it seemed to be in hibernation while it waited so it could shine in this design. It brought together a beautiful design with all of the different shapes of Aventurine skipping through the park of circles. The dragonfly focal is laying on a sterling silver loop with the word RESPECT. Respect life, respect nature, respect the earth, respect the individuality of each person. Which of the earring pairs do you want to wear with this necklace? 


VINTAJ TREE EARRINGS 
Joyce Becker handmade the beautiful Vintaj brass embossed, painted and glazed tree components that I used to make earrings with Swarovski crystals in my favorite colors of turquoise and purple. I will enjoy wearing them and they are keepers as mementos of the fun that we have had creating jewelry. I am also showing my bead board as I try to think of a design to use white and teal rice pearls. I used 28 gauge tarnish resistant silver argentine wire to make a little flower from the white pearls but the wire breaks very easy so I’m on to a new design.

IRIDESCENT TEAL RICE PEARL BRACELET WITH EARRINGS 
In the end, I used .45mm silver beading wire to string the rice pearls and the accent silver beads. I had the square beads with two holes side-by-side allowing me to double strand the bracelet. I also had a square magnetic clasp with crystals that matched the square components within the bracelet. I am pleased with the results and happy that I found something that worked. The rice pearls have a iridescent teal shine and that is the more dominant color when looking at them in the sunlight. That color didn’t come through in the photo but does a photo ever do the piece justice compared to holding it in person?


THE ENTIRE COLLECTION 
This is a photo of the entire jewelry collection from one bead swap with add in’s from my stash. It is surprising that new beads that come matched up for inspiration can lead to all of this!


 Thank you to Joyce Becker for being my bead soup swap partner! I enjoyed getting to know you and wish Oregon and Minnesota were next door neighbors so that we could have tea and share jewelry tips and techniques.

The Bead Soup Swap & Participants:

Lori Anderson, hostess

Anastasia Urbanski

Andrea Garvens

Ann Snyder Rishell

Bee Kuhlman

Becky Pancake

Birgit Klughardt

Bobbie Rafferty

Bridget Torres

Candida Castleberry

Christina Hickman

Divya N

Donna Hoblit

Dorit Woldenga

Elaine Robitaille

Elisabeth Auld

Ginger Bishop

Heather Canepa

Hope Smitherman

Inge von Roos

Jackie Locantore

Jayne Capps

Jenny Kyrlach

Jennifer Reeb

Jill Bradley

Joan Williams

Jodie Marshall

Joyce Becker

Kate Dufour

Kathleen Breeding

Kathy Lindemer

Katie Nielson-Nunez

Katrina Baslow

Kelly Hosford Patterson

Kim Hutchinson

Lisa Baxa

Lisa Long

Lorelei Eurto

Lucy Clasen

Marianna Wehner

Melissa Trudinger

Monica Dockery

Natalie Ettinger

Natalie Moton

Pamela Traub

Raquel Rosario

Robin Reed

Rochelle Brisson

Sarah Beardslee

Shaiha Williams

Susan Kelly

Terri Gauthier

Terry Jeanette Carter

Valerie Norton