Bead Soup Blog Party

Huzzah! And time to pull those party poppers!  

Thank you firstly to Lori Anderson for all her hard work and for giving me the chance to partake of this party!

Secondly, a BIG thank you to my partner Liz DeLuca who makes the most beautiful beads and shared with me the fruits of her talents!

When I received my beads I was like a child receiving a parcel from Down Under, and upon opening it stunned by their inner sparkle and I'm guessing they're a lot like Liz from the correspondence we've had and her blog posts!

I had sat down earlier in the week and typed a whole post including links for when I uploaded pictures of what I'd made, but it was all on my laptop which I've just packed up and sent away with my 9 year old to his Dad's, complete with SD Card containing said, as yet not uploaded pictures!  I was organised because I work nights Thurs, Fri and Saturday and have a propensity for forgetting stuff at weekends! Sadly, I've actually been off sick this week what with one thing and another (details are boring/icky) so I now have time to post and nothing to hand! Those who know me will laugh as that's typical of me ... As Rabbie Burns once wrote, 'The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men. Gang aft agley' But I have taken some with the mobile and am rather taken with the 70's porno soft focus it has managed to give them!  I will however, return to decorum and add on the original edited photos when I get my lappy back :)

I didn't want to detract from the loveliness of the selection Liz sent, so I went back to my stringing roots. I added very few small ivory frosted crystals to give a little space and lightness, if one thing was transmuted to my hindbrain when I saw the beads was; how the light played through them was important. I've been beading for just over three years and tried a range of different things to keep me learning and soothe the restless beast that is my creative bint ... multipersonalities? check!  I moved ahead from stringing quickly,  wishing to produce more complex and intricate pieces.  And I don't believe I can do 'chunky ' very well.  So this was a challenge on one hand, and a comfort, like Gran's Mac 'n' Cheese, on the other!

I chose to embellish the focal bead with fringing, because I like it, and thought I could try out Lynn Davy's technique.   I'd do it again, but learned several things ... one, crimps are tricky - why did I not remember this?  Two, doing a project like this for public consumption is not the best time to try out a new thread.  Although I am loving the SoNo ... but it has a little bit more stretch to it than I had thought! Three, beading with toddlers around is hazardous to one's mental health!

Here it is, Liz, I hope you think I've done your selection proud, and thank you once again! 

I am retiring to bed now, but rest assured, I will dig out the silverskin opnions and have a couple of martinis later whilst browsing through all the wonerful Bead Soup Party Blogs!

If you are in a partying mood and not yet had the chance to sign up, please do the next time, and snuffle along the trail to the many, way more talented than I artists! xx


Edited To Add - original photos ...

I think these are possibly more 'true' in colour represetation :)