“Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.” – Helen keller
HELLO YES I AM HERE ! And welcome to the reveal for the 9th bead soup blog party ! Fancy, fancy. I can’t wait to see what everyone else made ! But that’s not what you came here for, now was it ? Well, this did go better than I expected, to be honest, which was terrinbly relieving for me. I can still do this = even if it was a much slower process than I am used to. finding tiny tiny little holes on beads could get challenging, and I had such a headache when I was done… But I was happy, too. Because you know what ? That’s one thing less my stupid eye disease stole away from me. And that’s that.
Secondly, I would like to apologize for the somewhat subpar photos. I was hoping to be able to go take shots outside, but (as many of you probably know !) the east coast of north america got snowed the hell in this week, (I am writing this on March 19) and I was no exception ! Whelp. The best laid plans of mice and men, indeed.
But I do in fact have a thing ! One thing. Which feels strange, likely, since i usually do multiple pieces per soup, but this was a much smaller affair, and I wanted to work things out into one pieces. So there we go, and there she is !
Badabing, badaboom. I had the clear image of a necklace the moment I saw the focal, and a rough idea of what I wanted to do with it. Most of the components in this pieces, beside the clasp and the ribbob,, came from either the soup or the dessert package Lori sent me. I wanted to stick closely to both the official and unofficial soup since there were so many lovely things in there, all matching the focal so well. I have to say that beside the focal itself, my favorite beads were definitively the Pacific Opal Satin Helix. Im so sad it’s discontoinued now 🙁 I want to hoard too ! Hahaha.
I used parawire for all the wirework in this piece. I find that I love it a lot more than artistic wire – it seems to kink less easily, as well as being avaliable in antique tones and color. This one is Brushed Silver, and im happy with the matching, but it doesn’t seem to be made in 18 gauge, which is what I usually use for jump rings, so ill probably try titanium next. The focal piece came together very easily, using the bead caps Lori sent me. I made all my loops bigger than I usually make them because I knew I was going to wan to thread something though for stability (I don’t trust 20g jump rings… I just don’t, lol) and threading ribbon though teeny teeny loops is a pain in the ass on a good day.
The links I worked on in my usual manner – I made each link first, then strung them all together to make a chain. I still wanted something a little bulkier than a simple chain without stealing the focal too much, while making sure I had something to keep things together if my jump rings decided to fail on me, sp I threaded ribbon though the chain and glued the beads on top to keep everything stable. I planned to use white ribbon at first, nut I couldn’t find any… I think i sent my last to Lori, whoops. There wasn’t really time to order any, so I used leftover red ribbon instead – and to be honest I think it works better than the whire would habe, especially since there are red in many of the beads, but very little white in the piece.
Well, that’s all she wrote ! Be sure to check what my lovely partner Lori Anderson made with the beads I sent her, as well as what everyone else made ! Have fun and stay crafty !
31 Responses to “Bead Soup Blog Party 9, Bead Hoarder Edition :: REVEAL !!!”
I’m first! I’ve still got two hours on my clock and I’m rushing, rushing!
I love what you did! That is such a favorite bead of mine and I’m so glad to share one with you! I have mine (similar colors but not exact) done with a tassel, too! And you were quite clever with using the extras I sent (and I notice the tea towel backdrop! 🙂 )
Thank you so much for being my partner. I hope you like what I made with your things!
I love it so much, thank you for being your amazing self, Lori <3
Your necklace turned out amazing! Also, I feel you at being slower at this. I seem to remember manipulating wire being a lot easier, lol. Either way. Great job! Glad to see you’re still making awesome jewelry. That focal is amazing, and I love the use of the ribbon. ♥
<3 Never not ribbon with me I guess. Maybe one day I’ll make something without ribbon 😛
Such a beautiful and eclectic design – what a fabulous focal and your wirework is simply magnificent.
I’m second LOL.
What a wonderful necklace. I love how you worked the beads into links and made a chain out of it.
I have trouble working with big round beads so I think you did a great job here
Fantastic- Love that focal bead!
I’m always in awe of people who can use ribbon in their necklaces and have it look like it belongs there.
Really great for not being able to see. Thanks for the tip on wire too – I have tried all kinds and do love Parawire. Was not aware of the kinking comparison. You did a great job on this piece – such a lovely focal too. well done.
My eyesight isn’t THAT bad, honestly. It’s mostly light sensitivity so I have to work in a dimly lit room, and it made finding the little holes a bit difficult ! I definitively went by feel on a few of them.
It’s been years since I’ve used artistic wire, to be perfectly frank, but I remember the coating getting damaged extremly easily by my tools, where it’s not the case with parawire. It feels a little sturdier, too.
oh wowza! what stunners! I LOVE all that texture!
So glad you could participate. We didn’t get too much snow, but it is so much darker than I expect Spring (ha!) to be, so photos are a challenge. I think your necklace is a lot of fun and I’m glad you didn’t use white.
What a fun creation, the focal is wonderful, and love all the red!!! Lovely, lovely!
Fantastic focal and great use of fabric! congratulations!
Wow, a really great necklace!
Great job with your design Audrey.
Lovely necklace. I love how you managed to use all of your soup plus dessert.
What a gorgeous focal! You did it justice. The design, wirework, and colors are wonderful.
I love how your piece turned out. You took a fabulous bead made it shine in your creation. All that wirework must have taken ages! Good job.
Great focal bead, great necklace. I love the addition of the ribbon. Such a fun piece!
Words that focal bead is a stunner! You did a great job showcasing it! Lovely!
I love the necklace. That bead is fabulous, and the red ribbon is great with it.
What a beautiful piece, you are so creative!
Wow! I love that focal bead!! You featured it very nicely. Great pieces!!
Love that you mixed the sari silk with the wire wrapping. Beautiful piece.
LOVE the necklace. The ribbon is fabulous. And the colors are so bright and happy!
I love all the different components you put into the chain and pulled it all together with the ribbon! It’s super eclectic and unique!
Beautiful! I truly love what you did! Even with bad eyesight…Great job!
Audrey, the necklace is fantastic! I really like it! You’re the second person I know with keratoconus, and funnily enough the other one is a beader too! She’s found great improvement with special contact lenses, hope you find something that works for you too!
Such a different necklace! Great job!