Bead Soup Blog Party - Blog Hop Reveal!!

8th Bead Soup Blog Party List of Participants' Blogs

Finally, the day we all have been waiting for - the big reveal!  I'm writing this on Friday, and have it set up to post at midnight eastern time tonight/Saturday morning - hopefully it will work.

First, I would like to say thank you to the party administrator Lori Anderson.  She is so amazing - throughout all of this huge thing, and with everything she has been going through in her life.  I would never have been able to handle something like this, so kudos and hugs to her!

Now, as many people might have already guessed, this is my first time participating in what has become a very popular event.  I'm first and foremost a glass beadmaker - I rarely make jewelry, and I almost always use lampwork in any that I do make.  So this was a huge challenge for me, not knowing what I would get and having a deadline to create something out of unfamiliar components.

I have to say, it was really fun!  I am proud of myself for actually being able to come up with something that I think looks nice and used every single thing I was sent.

My partner in this party is Kat BarronMiller of Midnight Kat Productions.She sent me this gorgeous selection of beads - you can see the blog post about them here. 

The soup was beautiful, and it took me a few weeks of pondering to finally decide how to use it.  I knew from the beginning that I wanted to add pops of color to bring out the lovely autumn tones in these stones and in the brass findings.  I wanted to enhance the red and complement it, so I added some scarlet glass pearls and some amethyst gemstone beads.  I also added tiny metallic purple glass pearls and some deep chocolate brown pearls - some shiny and some with a matte finish for visual interest.

Stringing the necklace was pretty simple, so I started with that - adding two strands so the wearer could twist them if they liked. The brass wire really worked nicely - easy to wrap into connectors. I really love the look of the brass chain with the pearls, too.


The tricky part was coming up with a pendant that would incorporate all of the larger pieces - the dragonfly and flower, and also the agate focal.  I know we were't required to use everything, but I loved all three, so I couldn't leave any of them out.

I've never used anything this large in my jewelry, so it took me awhile to figure out what to do.  At first I thought I might glue the dragonfly to the stone, but I really wasn't sure I wouldn't make a huge mess of that, and I doubted it would come off if I messed it up.  So I decided to just make a sort of wire bail with the chocolate pearls, and then hang the dragonfly in front of the stone with some chain links.  The effect is somewhat cumbersome when handling the necklace, but once it's on, it hangs well.

I connected the flower element above the pendant using the flat connectors and some chain.  It's a little odd-looking, but I like it.


Lastly, I attached the pretty clasp.  The pearl strands are strung on Soft Flex wire and crimped, so the whole thing feels pretty substantial and strong.


I had tiny dragonfly charms left, along with vintaj drops, connectors, and balls, so I made some earrings to go with the necklace. I love these teeny litle dragonflies!  The whole ensemble reminds me of fall, which is just my thing.

Now, strangely, I don't wear a lot of jewelry, and don't have pierced ears anymore, so I will likely give this to someone I love as a present.  :)

My muse had a great time with this challenge - thanks to all for reading!

Now, go forth and visit all the other fantastic artists!
8th Bead Soup Blog Party List of Participants' Blogs