In The Pink

The Bead Soup Blog Party  hosted by  Lori Anderson is really so much fun!  Lori works very hard to organize, connect and visit everyone who participates in the Blog Party.   This past blog hop included 400 participants from all over the world!  I have made so many online friends because I was part of this fun.  Thank you Lori Anderson!

One of the unique characterisitcs of Lori is that she has the tips of her hair died pink. To show her our appreciation a group called In the Pink  was started from the BSBP.  We were asked to do something pink with our hair and share our thoughts about Lori on our blog or on the Facebook group Bead Soup Cafe today.

I have had the pleasure of spending a day with Lori shopping and having lunch (with pie for dessert!).  She is soooo much fun to be around!  She deserves a big round of applause!

The pictures of "pink" hair are great!  I was going to actually do a not permanent color on mine but did not have the courage to do it!  So here I am with my pink hair!

Some energetic behind the scenes fun has been going on the last few months because of our love and appreciation of being part of the Bead Soup Blog Party hosted by Lori Anderson.   We love you Lori!

The 6th Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal #2

Lori Anderson of Pretty Things has brought together an awesome community of creative and sharing jewelry artists!  This is the 6th Bead Soup Blog Party and the third one that I have joined in the fun.  My partner Lori Callahan sent me some awesome beads to work with. 

I have not done much wire working and decided that now was the time to try my hand at it!  Lapis is one of my favorite stones.  I wanted to set off the lapis focal bead so I made it the center piece of my creation.

I used a simple chain to keep the focus on the wire work and beads.

 Next I made a beachy bracelet!

Lori made this awesome clasp!

I also made earrings that are simple and can be worn with anything!

Check out Lori Callahan's blog to see what she did with the soup that I sent to her! Thanks Lori - I love my bead soup jewelry!

 And also thank you to Lori Anderson.  You have been the best hostess and you are a sweetheart!  Make sure to check Lori Anderson's blog here so you can see the other soups for the Bead Soup Blog Party for Reveal #2.

I got a package today!

My bead soup was in the mail today! 

Woo hoo!  I love getting packages!

                                    

Look at this awesome tin that Lori Callahan of Dancing Wire and Beads made for my bead soup!  It is decoupaged on the top of the tin with lots of cool words.  I love it! And the soup looks soooo yummy!

"My, my" said the little birds "what do we have here?"  "Lots of pretties I see!"

That lapis focal has a gold streak down the middle!

I am loving that silver clasp and the pearls and shells!

There are lapis beads, coral beads, pearls and shells and a sterling filled clasp.... it has my muse swimming with ideas!  Totally different from beads that I have worked with which makes it so fun to do this BSBP!  Thank you so much Lori Callahan for the gorgeous beads!   I will tell you that lapis is one of my favorite stones.  Yay!  So exciting!  And thank you to Lori Anderson for hosting the 6th Annual Bead Soup Blog Party!

Meet my BSBP Partner!

I am so excited to be a part of Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party this year!  I have participated twice and really enjoyed it.  I almost did't this year but at the last minute decided to join the Party!  I am glad I did and am looking forward to working with my partner.  We have some things in common! 

My partner is Lori Callahan of Dancing Wire and Beads... check out some of her creations from her Etsy shop.

I love the wire work and the colors of this bracelet.  Lori also does seed bead work that is beautiful!

I have been mulling over what kind of soup to send her.  She is multi-talented and has some awesome pictures of macrame work on her Facebook page.

I need to get something interesting together for her that is for sure!  It is going to be fun! 

Bead Soup Blog Party Today!

Melissa Mesera sent me some beautiful lampwork beads... so pretty.  She called them "Starry Night" beads which is a perfect name for them.  They are mostly dark blue and silver but there is a streak of green through the beads too.  I was able to make three pieces from the beads that she sent to me.  The first piece that I made was in a style that I have been doing alot of... I know we are supposed to be stretching ourselves and doing something different but I started with a process that speaks to me and then I branched out a bit and made a bracelet that was a totally different from any I have made so far.

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The neckpiece I made using fiber wrapped cord with a wire of beads entwined through it.  The green color of the beads is brought out by the lighter fiber that I used.  I just love this "Starry Night" piece!

Aren't these beads beautiful!

I then made some earrings from the beads as well.  They are simple but will compliment the neckpiece beautifully.

Then I got brave and started working with the rest of the beads to make a bracelet that does not have any fiber in it!!!  I used the beautiful clasp that Melissa sent me on the bracelet.  I am getting better at wire wrapping so I am pretty happy with how it turned out.  My 26 year old daughter liked it too.... for her to say that she would wear this bracelet made my day!

Thank you so much Melissa!  I really enjoyed looking at the beads while I worked with them.  They are mesmerizing and so interesting!  You can visit Melissa's blog here.  Her Etsy shop is  one-eared pig beads.  She has some beautiful jewelry in her shop.

To see what everyone else has done check out the list  at Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party .  Thank you for stopping by and joining the party!

Bead Soup Blog Party... I am ready!

It seems that life has pockets of busyness... mine has had a deep one the past few weeks!

 I am one to procrastinate and think that I can finish most tasks in half of the time it really takes to do them...  always ready to pull my hair out at the last minute!  So I am learning to work on projects a bit at a time to keep moving forward with them... and I was successful with this one!

I am ready for the Bead Soup Blog Party this Saturday! I finished working with the beautiful soup that my partner Melissa Mesara sent me.  Her blog is one-eared pig!  

 As it turns out my kids are coming home, we are going camping and I am missing an Art Show and a dinner party on Saturday.  Thanks to technology I  have my blog ready and scheduled to post on Saturday morning.  I won't be able to blog hop much until Sunday evening though.  I am so looking forward to perusing all of the creativity out there!

This is really a fun project! Again thanks to Lori Anderson for hosting this party!  There are over  350 participants from all over the world!  Check it out starting this Saturday.  There will be links to the lists of the blog participants on everyones blog.  Happy Thursday!

Travels and Surprises

We spent the last ten days traveling to my hometown to attend the wedding of my niece.  It had been two years since I have seen many of my family members so it was really a special visit.  We drove the 350 some miles to get to Saxonburg Pennsylvania with our new camper in tow.  The wedding and visit were awesome.

 I am convinced that the creatures from the other dimension live in Western Pennsylvania... as we traveled the country roads that were lined with forests of trees that canopied over us I was sure I spotted some wee creatures.  We drove through the rain with the sun blinding us as the leprachauns created a rainbow to find their gold.  The roads are winding and narrow with lots of bumps and gullies in them.  My reaction to the terrain surprised me as I spent the first 40 years of my life there. I guess it is the result of living on the coastal plains for the last eight years.  Delaware is very flat and open for the most part.

We drove back east via Phoenixville Pennsylvania so I could meet my bead friends at the Interweave Beadfest show... we stayed at a wonderful KOA campground that was tucked back in an even more remote area than where I grew up.  I love camping!  I also loved the bead show.  My oh my... almost overwhelming!  I bought some fun stuff... like some wool and a felting needle and a kumihimo kit!  I have had some fun with both of them and will post some finished products soon.

When I got home from the trip I had a wonderful surprise waiting for me!  My bead soup partner Melissa Mesara had sent me treasures!  I love her Etsy shop One Eared Pig!  I was excited to see what she sent me.

The box came in the mail!

In the box there was a card and another box!

In the other box were bags of awesome bead soup!

Melissa makes amazing glass beads.  Van Gogh's "Starry Night" was her inspiration for these beads.  I love the color and the metallic streaks.

Definitely "Starry Night"!

 Love these beads and clasp to really make the soup taste good!

More starry night beads to add as well!

 

...and some "just because" beads that are so adorable... the mutant fish has three eyes...

He won't miss a thing with those eyes!

Thanks Melissa!  I can't wait to get started with this bead soup!  I love how creative and eclectic you are!  Even the card was awesome.  This is a picture of Neodymium Chandelier by Dale Chihuly.

Amazing!

Hope you all are having as much fun with this Bead Soup Blog Party as I am!  I am looking forward to see what everyone else creates!

BSBP Partners!

It is time to share our beads and get creative!  My partner is Melissa Mesara who makes amazing glass beads and jewelry!  Check our her blog and her Etsy shop One Eared Pig Beads!  Love that name!  Here is one of my favorites from her Etsy shop.

Green Raku Glass Necklace handmade by Melissa Mesara

The Bead Soup Blog Party is so much fun.  It is fun to put together the soup for your partner and fun to get a present from them too!  It is amazing how creative and inspiring everyone is.  Such a big group of participants this year too.  Thanks Lori Anderson for putting this together!  And thanks to Melissa for being my partner!

7000 Bracelets for Hope

Lori Anderson  has shared a special cause with us on her blog Pretty Things.  The 7000 Bracelets of Hope cause is an awareness effort for those who have rare diseases and is being backed by the Global Genes Project.  They have asked for jewelry designers to make bracelets that would go with blue jeans for families that have children with rare diseases. We are blog hopping on April 16th so check out the other bloggers who have made bracelets here.

I have made this bracelet to send to a family for this cause.

 It is made from polymer clay and glass beads and is strung on elastic so it can fit any size.

I hope this makes someone smile a little and feel that they are loved and being thougth about.  Illness of any kind is such a difficult part of life.  Sharing love and good thoughts is one way to reach out to those who suffer.

Because I have been blessed I want to do more and I do have my own special causes.  My husband suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from his time in combat in Vietnam. He also has diabetes and other issues from Agent Orange exposure.  He has lived with issues from this for 40 years and is finally getting help for it.  It is frustrating when you are struggling and don't know why.  It was a relief to finally put a name on it and have ways to help cope with it. I think about those with rare diseases having that same struggle. 

I am so thankful for the blessings in my life.  I have three healthy children and I have been fairly healthy too. We all have life struggles but it is easier to deal with them when we can share our hurts with another. Be kind and show some love to someone that you see is struggling!  Someday you may need that love back!

Sharing Secrets-Renaissance Wax

I have learned so much from blog hopping.  I have to thank  Lori Anderson for getting me started on this journey.  It has been so much fun meeting all of you out there in blogland!  I really appreciate how willing everyone is to share what they are doing and how they are doing it!


My newest find from reading your blogs is using Renaissance Wax for polymer beads.  I sometimes prefer a shiny or glossy finish on my polymer beads and have found that the sealant products don't seem to stay on the beads all of the time.  Especially the beads that are on a bracelet or beads that get handled more.

I came accross a blog by Diva Designs that explained how and why she uses Renaissance Wax to polish polymer clay beads.  You can purchase the wax from her Etsy shop PC Diva. 

The bead on the left was sanded but not polished yet and the bead on the right was polished with the wax. I had a time getting a picture to show the difference... but this one does a little bit.  It is better than this looks... really!  The finish is softer and more natural looking with the wax polish than the finish from a sealant.  I find that the more I polish the beads the shinier they get.  I use a piece of denim from some old jeans as a polishing cloth.  It works really well. 

Hope this helps you as much as it helped me! Thanks Lori and Lynda!

Yours truly,
M

A Bee for Barbara

I was asked to make a neckpiece for my friend Barbara.   She is very creative and sells her wares at the local shows.  I met her at a local show and she purchased a few pieces from me for herself and for gifts.  She wanted a piece that had a bumble bee on it designed in black and yellow. Of course I said that I would make this piece for her.  I thought it would be easy since a bumble bee is fairly simple... hmmmm... I made at least 15 bees before I was happy with one... each one a little different.  It wasn't so easy!  The first ones were just too big like they were from another world.  The others just didn't look right.  Hard to explain.  I wanted it to be cute but not too cutesy if that makes sense. So today I finally put the neckpiece together.

I think the bee is cute... but still not too cutesy!

I made yellow and black striped beads to wrap around the yarn covered rope.  They aren't bees but kind of look like bees.  I also made a clasp with a yellow and black striped bead. 

So this piece is not something usual for me to do but I enjoyed doing it.  Getting out of my box is a good thing!  Speaking of getting out of my box... the Bead Soup Blog Party reveal day is coming soon!  February 26th. Again something different for me but I really had fun making it and my Friday Bead Friends love it! Check back on the 26th and I will have a list of all 210 Bead Soup Blog Party participants with their links so you can see what everyone did!