BSBP Is Well Underway!



 

Yesterday was the 1st Reveal for Lori Anderson's

7th Bead Soup Blog Party

and next Saturday, April 6th is the 2nd Reveal.  

 

My partner, Francesca Watson, and I are in the 3rd Reveal that takes place on Saturday, April 13th.

 

 

 

 

Everyone is so excited to participate!

 

It's a huge undertaking for Lori (I cannot even begin to imagine all the work and countless hours involved to pull this off the way she does!)  and it's a ton of fun for all of us who are hopping around each other's blogs, commenting and drooling over delicious soups!

 

Please stop by Lori's blog today and see the list of the participants in the 1st Reveal and hop around today and try out some yummy soups.

 

Don't forget to come back here on Saturday, April 13th to see what Francesca and I have cooked up, too!

 

 

 

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and the 1st helping of Bead Soup!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Yummy Bead Soup Ingredients

I'm participating in Lori Anderson's 7th Bead Soup Blog Party this year.  It's my second time to participate in one of the Bead Soup Blog Party's and I'm so excited!!
 

 

 

 

Since there's so many people fixing soup and coming to the party, there's three reveal dates and my partner and I are in the 3rd Reveal which will be on Saturday, April 13th, so be sure to mark your calendars and come back and check out what everyone has created!

 

You might recognize my Bead Soup Blog Party Partner.

Lori paired me with the ever-so-talented
Francesca Watson!  How cool is this?! 




Francesca Watson

 

I was fortunate enough to already follow
Francesca's blog and know of her beautiful work.

For those of you who don't know, Francesca's one of the jewelry artists and writers who collaborate on the popular
Art Jewelry Elements blog.

Francesca also teaches jewelry workshops in San Antonio, Texas on everything from metalsmith techniques, to etching, embossing, wire work, to mixed media techniques like enameling and resins.  She's got a fantastic array of classes which I'd love to take,...if only I were closer to San Antonio! 

 

 

Francesca, along with another jewelry friend of hers, has put together a Metal Retreat September 9th - 15th in Trout Lake, Washington.  It's going to be tons of fun with some very talented ladies! Be sure to go and check it out - I believe there's still a couple of spots open.

 

Then there's her jewelry - wow!  Her Etsy shop is loaded with the coolest of items.  I'm especially fond of her Studded, Argentium Silver Link Bracelet that she custom makes for her clients. 

 

 

Francesca Watson Designs - Silver Bracelet on Etsy :-)

 

Francesca and I decided to share the soups we sent
each other on our blogs today.

I had played around with many different 'soup mixes' and finally decided to incorporate an 'Arizona' theme and built my soup for her around the 5 C's of Arizona. 

  

Anyone know what the 5 C's are? 

 

Arizona's 5 C's are: 

Copper, Cotton, Cattle, Citrus and Climate.  

 

Nope, I didn't throw in any cows or grapefruit (seriously thought about the grapefruit though!!) but instead based my soup rather 'loosely' around these 5 C's of our state and tossed in ingredients that either represented the actual item or something else from the State of Arizona. 

 

   




Bead Soup from me to Francesca!
(with a few things left out of the picture - my bad!!)

 

There's a couple of Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Nuggets from the Sleeping Beauty Mine in Globe, AZ,  and other Turquoise beads/chips to represent Turquoise which is our state gemstone (and one of my all time fav's as well!).

There's some little hand carved clay birds to represent out State Bird, the Cactus Wren, and our climate/tourism/environment.  I tossed in some recycled Sari Silk (not pictured) and waxed lined to represent our cotton, some leather (also not pictured) for the Cattle, some Copper for all the copper mines here in AZ, and some pink-ish/peachy jasper to represent our
ruby red grapefruit (citrus). 

 

  



Handmade copper toggle clasp I sent Francesca

 

I didn't photograph the copper toggle clasp I made her with the rest of the ingredients because it was bathing in liver-of-sulfur when I took the bead soup shots and I was too lazy to retake it or wait.  (I know,....bad me!)

Then, I added a few extra ingredients at the last
moment. Hey, that's what soup's all about, right?

I had a bunch of fun cooking up this soup for Francesca and I hope she enjoys it. 
 

 

Now, are you ready to see the soup Francesca sent me? 

 

How lovely is this package?  And the card?  So elegant!


 

First, let me show you the clasp and

the three (3!!!) Focals she sent to me:

Beautiful Clasp of Argentium Silver made by Francesca and
Three (3!!!) Focals, one of which she made herself!! 

 

Francesca was extremely generous with her ingredients.

I'm just gonna say it right now,...I AM SOOOO LUCKY!

One thing most people don't know is that I really like Czech glass beads.  (And  you thought I only had a thing for Pearls, didn't ya?!!)

Wow!

 

What I do is look at them, touch the strands, marvel at their finishes and their shapes and colors, thinking of the possibilities and then I usually end up setting them back on the table and walking away with out purchasing them.

Just look at all the colors, sizes, shapes and various textures!!

 

Why?  Because I feel I have to be practical and purchase beads and supplies that I know I will use and already have a design in mind for.  How silly is that?! 

I didn't used to be that way. Nope.
I used to buy beads because they spoke to me.
It didn't matter if I knew what I was going to do with them or not or if it was one, tiny bead or an entire strand - if it grabbed my attention, I usually walked out of the bead store with it.

When Francesca sent me this bead soup and I saw the many Czech glass beads she sent in such lovely finishes, shapes, sizes and textures - I was just beside myself.

She didn't know it, but she triggered that long ago feeling of excitement I used to get when I'd see certain beads and even though I had no idea what I would create with them, I knew I had to have them because I fell in love with them.

That was a cool feeling to have surface again.

I know these beads spoke to Francesca too because they came from her personal stash and she took what she loved (it was in the card, you'll have to trust me on this one) and gave from her heart.  And such a generous heart she has!
(And an excellent sense of color, too!)

The Entire Bead Soup Francesca Sent To Me!

I've got visions of designs that I hope come out
even a smidge close to what I see in my head. 

You know that saying,
"Your eyes were bigger than your stomach"?

Well, I hope that my visions are not beyond my talents,
but they may be! LOL!! 

I hope I can do this great soup the
justice it deserves!

Be sure to stop back by on April 13th to see
how our soups turned out!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Soup-er Amazing Soup Ingredients!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Click here to go see Francesca's Blog Post!

Kalmbach's Bead Soup's On,...

Welcome to my little cup of Bead Soup! 

Back in September I got a package from Kalmbach Publishing with some 'Bead Soup' from Bead World of Glendale, AZ in the mail.   This was in conjunction with Lori Anderson's new book, Bead Soup (which is a fantastic book and is so unique as far as beading and jewelry instruction books go!)

 

 

Here's the original post where I told you how excited I was to receive some 'Bead Soup' from Bead World, a place I regularly shop at (bead soups were sent from bead stores from all over the place to tons of people!).

And just look how fun the beads are that they sent me, too!

    I popped in to Bead World and shared my little goodies with the girls in the store and snapped a couple of pics and now it's time to see what I finally created with the yummy pieces of goodness they so graciously sent my way.
 

 

 

I stewed and stewed (no bead soup pun intended!) over what to create - nothing looked quite right and I haven't worked with crystals for a little while and all these beautiful shiny beads were just 'blinging' back at me. 

Did I want to hand knot something, did I want a link style bead chain,...should I wire wrap a cool pendant necklace or bracelet or should I string something?
Nothing seemed to fit, at least at first anyway.

 

Here's what I finally decided on.

 

 

 

These are the earrings I created to go with it.

 

I created these with some Swarovski Crystal Circle Pendants (don't ya just love those!!) and some chain and jump rings from my own stash and a few of the beads from my bead soup.

 

 

Here's the Set Together

 

 

 

 

I decided I wanted the lamp work pendant bead to really stand out,

and this style and design seemed to do this it quite well.

 

 

 

 

 

I tried to put one of the Swarovski Crystal Circles in the necklace,..but it just wasn't working for me.

 

 

 

 

I decided to name her Desert Gypsy because she reminds me of the Belly Dance costumes my sister would make to wear in her dance classes - they were always so amazing!!

 

 

 

 

And because it reminds me of the colors of the beautiful Arizona Desert!

 

I wanted to make a bracelet out the remaining beads, but I haven't quite decided how I want that to be yet. 

 

 

Thanks to everyone over at Kalmbach for doing this great Bead Soup Promotion for Lori Anderson's new book, "Bead Soup" - this sure was fun!

 

And, thanks to all the great folks from Bead World - you know how much I appreciate you!!

 

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Desert Gypsies!

 

 

 

Cheers,

~Shel~

 

Kalmbach Bead Soup Party - Teaser!

I wanted to fill you in on the Kalmbach Bead Soup Party to celebrate the wonderfully talented Lori Anderson's (Pretty Things Blog) awesome new book:

Bead Soup
32 Projects Show What Happens
When 26 Beaders Swap Their Stash.

 

Kalmbach Publishing got together with several wonderful suppliers who graciously handed out cups of bead soup and asked people who received beads to create something from what they were sent and then to blog about it.

 

Letter I received from Kalmbach
 

 

I was fortunate enough to receive this awesome 'bead soup' from Bead World!

Gorgeous Greens I received from Bead World!

Oh yes, that Bead World - the amazing bead shop here in Glendale (Scottsdale and Phoenix, too!) that's right around the corner from me that I stop in all the time!!

Here I am with Vicki from the Glendale Store and my copy of Lori's Book.

I've got to have my piece finished by the 31st of October and emailed to both Kalmbach and Bead World no later than the 2nd of November.

Although it doesn't give any rules as to a specific date you have to post your before and after photos on your blog and their Facebook Page, I've already seen some people who have finished their pieces and posted them so I've set a deadline for myself of the 19th of October.  Be sure to come back here on Friday the 19th and see what sort of soup I cooked up, okay?

Here we are showing off the cool cup of bead soup I got from Bead World!

 

Plus, this week, Lori has been hosting a Bead Soup Blog Tour where the participants of the book are sharing their designs, telling their stories and having some fabulous give-a-ways. And, Lori is have a grand prize give-a-way too, so you won’t want to miss out on this one! 
(You know it’s gonna be a good one when Lori puts it together!) 

 

Hop on over to the Pretty Things Blog and check it out right now!

 

Everyone have a great week!
 

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Cooking Some Soup!

Bead Soup Mix from Bead World!

 

Cheers,

~Shel~

Hopping, Hopping, Hopping,...

Well, I'm still blog hopping this week,

trying to get to everyone who participated in

Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party

this past Saturday.

I've encountered so many wonderful blogs, made new friends, seen some of the most amazing jewelry designs ever

(I'm w/Lori - my hat's off to all the peeps working w/seed beads - you amaze me!!)

and I love all the various mediums people have utilized - simply amazing!!

I have even picked up a few "Great Finds" here and there

from some of the wonderful artists I've encountered.

Like these lovelies from Raida Disbrow over at

Havana Beads - Oh My! 

Havana Beads on Etsy

How lovely are these goodies?  

They arrived yesterday (Thank you Raida!!) and WOW!

"Love" - Ceramic Bead by Raida Disbrow of Havana Beads

Coolio, huh? I know,...I know!!

They're so SWEET!

So, what are some of your great finds from the

Bead Soup Blog Party?

Do Share!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Cool Finds!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Bead Soup Blog Party is TOMORROW!!

It's Tomorrow,....It's Tomorrow!! 

Can you STAND it?!!

Oh, the excitement!

Peeps are taking pics and pre-posting like crazy today,

getting ready for the big reveal tomorrow!

(Me, too,...me, too!!)

Visit Saturday, the 17th and check out all the glorious

EYE CANDY from everyone's

Bead Soup Creations!!

Until Tormorrow!

Peace, Love and Great Anticipation!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

My First Bead Soup!

I'm getting excited for my first "Bead Soup Blog Party"!! And no, you don't exchange soup recipes on your blog. Although that would be rather yummy - this is probably a bit more colorful!

Lori Anderson's having a Bead Soup Blog Party over on her blog "Pretty Things" and there's a BA-Zillion people signed up! (Well, almost!)

I've peeked in on some of the past Bead Soup Blog Parties and have completely drooled over the beautiful pieces folks have put together out of the beads they were sent. There are some talented people out there, that's for sure!

I've got my focal bead, my clasp and my other beads all put together and am waiting to see who my soup partner is so I can send them off this week. I hope they like what I've picked out. I'd love to post a pic of what I'm sending, but I'm not sure that's allowed!!

I must say though, that they're pretty 'safe' - color wise - and not too risky or anything. I know I'd love to get them and create something beautiful out of them, so I'm guessing it'll be okay! But, you want to know what's totally freaky?  I didn't include one single pearl - NOT ONE!  That's the most unusual thing I've done all week - so out of character for me. But, I'm not going back and 're-doing' my bead soup mix that I'm giving away because I love the focal bead and the clasp too much and the beads I picked go quite well with them - pearls just didn't make the mix this time! Oh my,...pearls not making the mix,...that just hurts to say! 

"Pearl Stash" from one of my trips
to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show



Any Hoo,.....Go ahead and hop on over to Lori's blog - "Pretty Things" - and check out the details of the Bead Soup so that next time around, you can participate too!

Have a great week everyone!!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Here's to a Cup of Bead Soup!

Cheers,

~Shel~

"Peace Baby"
Labrodorite and Kyanite Bead "Sculpture"