Friday, August 24, 2012

Soups On! Come See What I Made!

Welcome to my contribution to the 6th Bead Soup Blog Party! Just a quick refresher, the Bead Soup Blog Party (BSBP) is a huge bead exchange that pairs jewelry designers together to trade beads (the "soup") and share what they create. It culminates in a crazy, fun, blog hop party reveal and that's where YOU have landed!

My partner for this BSBP was the lovely and talented Grace Dorsey and this is what Grace sent me. GORGEOUS lampwork beads that this talented artist creates herself!

I must have been inspired by Grace's beautiful beads, because I went a little nuts and made 9 pieces of jewelry with her soup: 3 necklaces, 2 fibula (pins), 2 pairs of earrings, and bracelet and a ring!!

As BSBP alum know, every soup has a focal bead and a clasp as part of the mix. The focal that I received was truly a piece of art. I knew that I wanted to made a necklace with it that was special enough to do the bead justice, yet simple enough so that the bead remained the focus of the piece. I created a bail for the bead out of heavy gauge copper wire and silver solder to accent and create a mixed metals effect.
I strung the bail onto 2 pieces of leather and finished it with the toggle that was part of the bead soup. The metal of the toggle and the metal of the bail weren't working together, so I hammered and oxidized the toggle to give both elements the same rustic look. I really like the way that it turned out!

The following 2 necklaces were made by combining the beads with pure silver rings that I fused and hammered. Yum!


I was very pleased with the way the two fibula (a Fancy-Nancy name for brooch or scarf pin) turned out. I've never made these before and will definitely try them again. They'll look beautiful on a coat lapel or scarf.





Couldn't resist a couple of pairs of cutie earrings!

My favorite piece that came out of this BSBP was the bracelet. LOVE! These beads are so gorgeous that all they needed was some simple silver wire wrapping.


Finally...the most challenging piece - the ring. Grace had included some lovely saucer like beads that were amazing, but I wasn't sure how to use them. After a lot of experimenting, I decided on this ring. The ring is all one piece of wire that starts with a spiral through the top beads then winds and zig-zags all the way around the band.

That's my BIG bowl of soup!! I hope you'll visit my partner Grace's blog to see what she did with the "ingredients" that I sent her. Here's a peek:

If you'd like to see the rest of the bloggers in this part of the BSBP follow this link: http://lorianderson-beadsoupblogparty.blogspot.com/2012/06/participants-of-6th-bead-soup-blog-party.html Thanks for reading and enjoy the blog party!!

57 comments:

  1. Very unique and interesting wire work on the copper bail an the ring :)

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  2. Love that ring and fantastic to see such an array of fabulous creations

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  3. My goodness you ended up with a whole line of art pieces out of this. Your wirework and talent to make the beads stand out really show. Great job.

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  4. Jane, I am positively blown away with what you created! Well Partner,
    I've never seen anything like what you did with my beads. Every single piece just wowed me. And the rings! I was really curious about how you'd use those discs. As busy as you've been, it's really impressive what you turned out! I'm so glad you used your metal work in each piece. The moment I received your soup, I hoped to see more of your silver creations with my beads.

    Congratulations on your beautiful work! I love what you do!

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  5. Those pins are wonderful!! You made a lot of lovely things from a gorgeous soup!

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  6. Wonderful soup! Love the lampwork and silver together!

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  7. Wow! What a beautiful soup you received and what a wonderful job you did with these gorgeous beads!!! Love all of them.

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  8. I love fibula pins and rarely see them. Your pins turned out great.

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  9. Fabulous designs! I love the ring :)

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  10. Ooh, I love all of your pieces, but especially the pins and the ring. You just reminded me that I need to try my hand at fibula pins, as I wear so many scarves in winter.

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  11. Nice job on your bead soup! What an awesome bail! Love your beautiful designs!

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  12. Each and every one of your pieces is so simple and thought out, but all amazing. Like you, that bracelet is definitely my favorite!

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  13. WOW, very diverse! I love the lampwork! That ring is STUNNING and I never could have done that. I adore the fibulas and the bracelet -- I'd wear them now! You did such a great job!

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  14. Wow! You have such an incredible sense of style. I love it all but the fibulas really drew my attention.

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  15. WOW!! wonderful designs. The beads themselves are so lovely & you added just the right touches to let them shine. Your ring is truly inspired. I have never seen one quite like it.

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  16. Gorgeous lampwork beads and you showcased them beautifully with each jewelry design. Soup-er cool!

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  17. So pretty! I would have made 9 pieces too with those beautiful beads! Your silver work is divine! Laura

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  18. What a lovely group of bead soup and you did them justice! I would be hard pressed to chose a favorite, but I put the ring on and wear it right now!

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  19. The bail for the focal is so unique! Lots of great creativity here!

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  20. Lovely bead soup = beautiful creations well done!

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  21. Such a talented lady.Lovely pieces.Love and hugs Tanya

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  22. Oh my goodness! Such pretty pieces and some of my very favorites of the hop! Love the ring, flower earrings and your fibula are AWESOME! Shawl pins are so unique and outside the box! Great job!

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  23. Wow! You did get a little crazy! I really like the second necklace and the blue earrings. Great job.

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  24. Every single piece is great but I especially love the pur silver ring necklaces and the ring!
    Good job, congrats!

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  25. I love all your pieces, bracelet is my fave too!!
    ciao dall'Italia

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  26. Beautiful, creative work! I love the fibulae - they are something that have been on my to-do list forEVER. Really need to get on that! Love the bail on the necklace, too - everything is fabulous!

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  27. WOW, I don't know which I love best!! Everything is so beautiful!!!

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  28. Lampworksare amazing and you use them perfectly! congratulations!

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  29. I love it all but especially the earrings and the ring. Great job!

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  30. I really like your bale for your focal. A very unusual way to display that wonderful focal. The ring is so cute, I've never been able to make a ring I like, but that one makes me want to try again. And the bracelet with the wire-wrapping makes the beads really stand out. Wonderful pieces.

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  31. Love all the items you made. Great soup and wonderful jewelry.

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  32. That bracelet caught my eye at once! Such beautiful beads and you made them sing!

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  33. Love your work here. I believe this is the first time I have seen fibulas and I love them. Your work here was really stunning. Great job!

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  34. I simply love your work.. the pins are to die for.. great job.

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  35. Love the beads you received and the wirework that you did with them is great. Can't hardly pick a favorite.

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  36. Fantastic soup and great designs!!

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  37. I love the pins! I'm going to have to try that. :)

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  38. Wow - 9 beautiful pieces!! Your bracelet is gorgeous and love your ring!

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  39. I am more than halfway through the hop and yours are by far the most beautiful pieces so far ;-)

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  40. it is all stunning! but really, the first necklace, i could see that on my neck :) the focal is such an eye-catcher, and just leaving it simple was such a perfect idea!

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  41. Wow, beautiful soup and your pieces made it justice!! The wirework of the lat ring catch my attention, maybe because is the last one... but all the pieces are very beautiful.

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  42. What a wonderful bead soup you received! Everything you made is fabulous. I especially like the sweet earrings and the scarf pins.

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  43. All of your designs are great! I really love the simplicity of the first necklace. It focuses all of your attention on the beautiful focal bead. I also really like the ring. The saucer bead is gorgeous!

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  44. Great group of pieces. I really like the pins, they're a very different offering. And the swirls are a great touch.

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  45. Those really are beautiful beads and you totally did them justice!

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  46. a fabulous work you did with your soup! very creative! I especially love the ring!!
    greets
    jacqueline

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  47. Ohhhh, wow! Love-love every piece! :)

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  48. You do wonders with wire. Your scarf pins are very cool. Great job on all.

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  49. Everything is wonderful, but that ring is WOW!

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  50. I love the modern designs you created and these are amazing!

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  51. Wonderful pieces! All gorgeous.

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  52. Oh, my! All your pieces are stunnig! The earrings are adorable, but I must say the pins and that ring, spectacular! Incredibly creative and what talent!

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