It's Bead Soup reveal time!

The bead soup my wonderful swap partner, Tandra Boyer, gave me was just what I needed to get the creative juices really flowing again.  My muse had been playing hide and seek with me for awhile, but the soup fixins intrigued her....and me too!  So, ready to see what my muse and I came up with? 

When I first opened Tandra's package, I just couldn't take my eyes off the rhinestone shoe buckle and the sparkly magnet clasp.  Those two elements seem to combine so naturally with pearls and bead chain to create an almost Downtown Abbey-esque feel, don't you think?

The next element which called to me was the little bead-filled bottle.  And I was intrigued by the idea of combining the two main colors from the soup fixins, turquoise and purple.  While I love each of those colors individually, I hadn't really considered using them together until I saw them side-by-side in Tandra's package.  Now, I just can't stop combining those colors in piece after piece.  

So fresh and springy!  

Then for some earrings...

And then an almost finished bracelet...

See what I mean by not being able to stop using Tandra's color combo?! 

So now, be sure to check out Tandra's blog to see what she did with the bead soup I sent to her.  Here's the link:  http://alittleinkalicious.blogspot.com

Plus, hop on over to our fabulous Bead Soup Blog Party hostess, Lori at www.prettythingsblog.com to see what she has cooked up with her soup.  And check out out main party website  www.beadsoupblogparty.com for links to all the other Partiers

Bead Soup -- Look What My Partner Sent Me!

I received the most wonderful package in the mail the other day from my Bead Soup Blog Party partner, Tandra Boyer.  When I opened the package, there was this beautiful tin box and lovely card -- made and embellished by the super-creative Tandra.

 And, inside the tin box was a beady feast....all organized into the cutest little tins and organza bag....

 

The little organza bag held this vintage rhinestone focal (I suspect it graced someone's shoe, once upon a time) and rhinestone magnet clasp (super-strong!)....

Then there was this adorable little glass bottle, filled with aqua/turquoise colored beads...

Finally, inside the little tins....pearls....

More vintage rhinestones...and vintage bead chain....

A gorgeous selection of aqua/turquoise colored beads....include two multi-hole long beads which will be great as spacers.  And, because Tandra knows how much I love purple, she even put in a special collection of lovely purple beads.   

 

The entire collection looks like this....

Now just I need to stop fondling and drooling over these lovelies, and start putting them together into new pieces of jewelry....   The creative juices are flowing already....

Bead Soup -- what I sent to my partner

My Bead Soup Blog Party partner this year, Tandra Boyer, told me that her favorite color is orange.  And that she's not too fond of purple.  We had a good chuckle over this, since I'm just the opposite (love purple, don't care for orange). 

Given her fondness for orange, I knew I had to include both carnelian and fire agate beads in my selection for her.  Then, as contrast, I included several different blues....including a few that are almost purple (tee hee!) 

The focal is a fabulous agate bead which mixes a bit of orange with a deep blue, and I turned it into a pendant for Tandra using rose gold color wire and more carnelian beads; then just for fun I added carnelian and dumortierite dangles. 

Can't wait to see what Tandra cooks up from these soup fixins!

After a break of a few years, I'm finally back in the groove of selling my jewelry creations at Indianapolis-area art and craft shows.  The first one of 2014 is this coming weekend in Noblesville.  Called "Springtime in Indiana Art, Craft, & Craft Showcase", it will be held on the Hamilton County Fairgrounds on Saturday, 3/15 (10am-5pm) and Sunday, 3/16 (11am-4pm).

Here's just a sampling of the new wire sculpture pendant designs I'll have at the show:

Lapis Pendant

Montana Agate Pendant

Mammoth Tusk with Malachite and Amethyst Inlay, wrapped in copper wire sculpture

White Sea Glass Pendant

Sonoran Desert Jasper Pendant

Hematite Druzy Pendant

Rhodochrosite Pendant

Time for the 2014 Bead Soup Blog Party

I have been sorely remiss in updating this blog, and for that I apologize.  But, now I'm back and ready to participate in the 2014 Bead Soup Blog Party.  I've been paired with a lovely lady from California, Tandra Boyer.  Check out her blog here:  http://alittleinkalicious.blogspot.com


Tonight I will be putting the finishing touches on my soup ingredients for Tandra, then into the mail it goes.  Can't wait to see what yummy soup she creates from these baubles.

Bead Soup is Finally Fully Cooked.....and it's yummy!

Drumroll, please.....it's time to reveal the fun jewelry I created using the lovely bead soup ingredients sent to me by Vintage Susie.  We have been participating in the 7th Annual Bead Soup Blog Party, hosted by the fabulous Lori Anderson.  Vintage Susie and I exchanged our soup fixins about two months ago, and we now get to show off the fully cooked soup.

As a reminder, check out this blog post to see the yummy fixins that Susie sent to me:
http://www.wingedimp.blogspot.com/2013/02/soup-time.html

I just naturally gravitated to the browns and blues, and absolutely fell in love with the pretty ceramic heart focal, and the two ceramic rose beads.  So, into the pot those went first, along with the pretty clasp from the fixins, and after much stirring, stringing, and wire bending, here's the result...."Hearts and Flowers Necklace":

Vintage Susie makes the most wonderful pendants from old silver spoons, and the one she sent me was engraved with the fun phrase "A Rare Bird".  Hmmm....her package included several cute little wire and bead bird nests, too.  Yep, into a new pot of soup those went, along with a Bali silver butterfly from my own collection.  Stir, stir, bend wire, bend wire....and voila:

Now, how about a bracelet?  Those pieces of sari silk were calling my name, along with the rest of the blue and brown beads.....weave the silk through a bit of chain....stir it altogether, and a bracelet emerges from the pot:

Vintage Susie also sent me the cutest picture of a little girl on a swing, and it was just about the right size to fit into a coppery frame I had bought some time ago.  So, trim to fit, add a bit of resin on top, along with just a little bit of bling....  

And with that, my first time participating in the Bead Soup Blog Party has come to an end.  It has been so much fun....I'll definitely want to join in again next time. 

A big, big thank you to my wonderful partner, Vintage Susie.  Do go check out her blog at: http://www.vintagesusieandwings.blogspot.com/

And, for our fabulous Party organizer, Lori -- what can I say, but, "You Rock, Girl!!!!" 
[Be sure to check out Lori's blog too: www.prettythingsblog.com ]

My First New Orleans Experience....Definitely Won't Be The Last...

I had the opportunity to spend a little....and I do mean a little....time in New Orleans a week ago.  Although it was just an overnight trip to give a talk at a conference for my "day job", at least I had a few hours to walk around the French Quarter.

Great view of the river from my hotel room.....blue skies....temps in the low 70's...mmmmmm...

This was my first visit to this beautiful city.  Although I had seen pictures of all the cool ironwork balconies,  they are definitely much more impressive in person (and inspirational from a design 

perspective)....

Then there were all the fabulous musicians everywhere ....

Loads of folks were out enjoying the gorgeous day....

Cool little bookstore....located in the building where Faulkner wrote his first novel...

Art and artists were everywhere too....   This lovely work-in-progress was in the window of an art gallery....would have loved to have seen the artist at work.  Although I didn't get a photo of it, in a shop near this gallery was a phenomenal collection of all kinds of light fixtures and ceiling fans....and not at all the kind that you see in the big box stores....these were all works of art in their own right....

Luckily, I'll be returning to New Orleans in the fall....and this time for a full week.  Can't wait to really explore all the art and music of this great city....

Soup time!

My dear Bead Soup Blog Party partner, Vintage Susie, sent me the most wonderful package of treasures.  The soup fixings came in today's mail, and of course I had to open it right away....no delaying gratification for me....especially not where beads are concerned. 

My first peek into the envelope revealed this special wrapping....

And inside....first a collection of beads in turquoise and coppery browns....one of my favorite color combinations....and aren't those little rose beads adorable!?

Then a lovely uniquely shaped copper clasp....and a silvery and white sweet collection....with the cutest little bird nests....

....vintage pearly buttons....lacy medallion...I see a mixed media creation in my future...

...oh....and the best of all....gorgeous pendants made by Susie herself from vintage spoons....so creative!

So now it's time for me started cooking this wonderful soup into some fun new jewelry...

What's that on my face, you ask? Yep,it's a giant grin!!!