Bead Soup Reveal!

Many thanks to Lori Anderson of Pretty Things for organizing the largest Bead Soup Blog Swap blog hop party ever -- with 362 participants! It was a herculean task just sorting and pairing all the members, but she also had computer crashes, horrendous migraines, and jewelry shows. WOW.
.
I was partnered with the generous and talented fellow Texan, Angela May of Canterbury Cottage. This is what I sent her . . .

And this is what she sent me.
I love the subtle colors of lavender and moss with a swirl of ivory. I was challenged by this lovely mix, not because of the colors, but because of the scale of the focal. The stone rectangle is two inches by one and a quarter inches with a slight wave. Beautiful, but larger than what I usually use in my jewelry.
.
I waited for the mix to speak to me. What came about is called "Mistral" after the cleansing storms of the Provençal region of France.

Along with the focal, I used some of the other beads Angela sent and added colored crystals with brass chain. Isn't the chain beautiful? Angela and I did a little swap of our own -- I sent her a custom Renaissance Angel Wing for the generous length of the twisted brass chain she sent me.

The clasp is at the back and is especially lovely with short hair or a dramatic "up-do".Earrings use the same cracked agate as at the back clasp and paired the pink irregular Lucite beads with sparkly pink crystal.Now, get on over to the first couple of batches of bead swappers:
The Hostess, Lori Anderson and her partner, Manuela Wutschke

1. Aimee Wheaton and Barbara York
2. Alice Craddick and Sandra Richardson Check out my mom and her partner too!.
3. Alison Sachs and Amy Severino
4. Allison Scott and Cynthia Abner
5. Amanda Cargill Austin and Charlene Sevier
6. Amanda Davie and Patsy Evins
7. Amber Dawn and Kim Ballor
8. Ambra Gostoli and Christine Hansen
9. Amy Freeland and Christine Altmiller
10. Ana Krepel-Novak and Eleanor Snare


11. Andrea Morici and Hope Smitherman
12. Andrea Trank and Jayne Capps
13. Andrea Turini and Charlene Jacka
14. Angela May and Emanda Johnson Me and my partner
15. Anitra Gordy and Elizabeth Owens Dwy
16. Ann Rishell and Debbie Price
17. Ann Sherwood and Lynne Bowland
18. Anna Lear and Barbe Saint John
19. Anna Sabina­­­­ and Erin Siegel
19. Nan Emmett and Erin Siegel
20. Astrid Boyce and Birgitta Lejonklou

For the rest of the fun, check out Lori's blog HERE.

Look what I got in the Mail (and email)!

I have been emailing back and forth with my Bead Soup Partner, Angela May at Lady Hawthorne about our bead soups. We were both having a bit of a time getting it together and, come to find out, our soups crossed in the mail. I have not heard whether she has received hers from me yet, so I will not show what I sent, but I will say that the color scheme of what I received is very similar to what I sent. Yes, we do have a lot in common -- maybe we are telepathic too, who knows!

Here is a close-up of that gorgeous stone bead -- this digital images does not do it justice! Crack quartz, glass and Czech beads with silver end caps and a lovely filigree clasp. I cannot wait to begin designing in my head. I already have some ideas.

Also, there has been a flurry of activity on the Bead Soup yahoo Group with several of the participants making Etsy Treasuries. Here is one by Hope Smitherman of CraftyHope where my amber and honey quartz earrings have been featured. I just LOVE that! (click on the image to enlarge)


Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Hop has a reveal date of September 17th, so go on over to her blog and check out the list of over 360 participant's blogs.

Other than that, I have been busy trying to prepare for next weekend's four day Quilt Retreat. I usually end up bring almost everything but the kitchen sink, but I am trying to pare it down this time. We shall see if I succeed.

Bead Soup Teaser #1

I uploaded a photo of the lovelies I sent to my Bead Soup partner, Angela May at Canterbury Cottage and then whiled away the better part of an hour playing with photo effects on Picnik. I cannot wait to see what Angela does with them. More sneaks to come . . . stay tuned