Saturday, March 3, 2012

Serving up some Soup- Bead Soup that is!

The unveiling has arrived. I must confess that I have mixed feelings about the finished product. The BSBP is all about going out of your comfort zone and trying new things, and to that end, this was a definite success. Andra Weber was my partner and she sent me some beautiful choices to work with. We discovered that we had several things in common- we both have 3 daughters and the same faith beliefs. Don't you love when you find a bead soul mate? While we do very different kinds of beading, we both enjoy learning new things, we love beads and most of all, we love Jesus! Can't wait to see what she created with what the soup that was sent her way. Please be sure to stop by her blog, Andra's Joyful Journey.

Andra blessed me with a lovely combination of copper beads, a copper clasp, copper glass rondelles and a beautiful focal bead from 2 Bead Sisters . You can see the full assortment here. She gave me lots of wonderful choices! The guidelines were as follows: you must use the focal and the clasp that your partner sent. Using additional items from your soup or from your stash are up to the individual.

So,without further ado, let me serve you up some soup from the 5th Bead Soup Party. I was able to finish the main piece, but there's another course that is still simmering after experiencing a technical glitch yesterday and a time glitch today. That means you have Bead Soup Part II to look forward to, but here's my soup de jour:)





For this challenge, I decided to depart from the usual stringing, and venture into knotting. In fact, there's not a single crimp in this piece! I loved, loved, loved the copper and wanted to play that up and use the warm, rich colors to balance the cool colors in the focal while weaving black components to tie it all together. I'm still a novice with the knotting, and tried several different weights/types of cording materials before finding what worked with the various sized beads. In retrospect, I probably should have used beeswax to keep the fibers more cohesive, but it's all about learning :). I've developed a crush on chain maille and so again, veered away from the known, and tried a Japanese triangle for the first time as well as creating the mobius chain on the one side of the necklace.


The other side was chain purchased from Michaels, where I have the joy of being a jewelry instructor.  I also used some 26 g copper wire to wrap the cording to the chain and add a decorative element that tied together the three different points of the necklace.

This was the necklace before I oxidized it (again, something new for me) using this technique. Can you see the difference? I love the bright copper, but didn't have enough jumps to make chain for the second side, and the purchased links were darkened already.  Not having a cohesive metal color is too far out of my comfort area.

So, what are the misgivings? I'm not as happy as I'd like to be with the quality of the finishing of the different techniques. Now that I've got a pearl knotter (and am learning how to use it ), I may re-do it after waxing the cords/strings. The big copper beads and copper clasp are so pretty and I'm not sure they were done justice, but for right now, it's done! I can't wait to show you my second offering in a couple of days. I'm using another form of beading that's one of my favorites. I also need to use the matching beads to make a pair of earrings and complete the set.

Ready to taste some more soup? Here's the list of all the participants. A  BIG thank you to our wonderful
Master Soup Chef, Lori!

Hostess, Lori Anderson


Special Book Sneak Peeks, Cindy Wimmer
1.  Adlinah Kamsir (Singapore) and Hajer Waheed (Kingdom of Bahrain)
2. Adrienn Lukacs (Hungary) and Agata Grygiel (Poland)
3.  Agi Kiss (Hungary) and Carolien Muller-Genger (the Netherlands)
4.  Agnes Asztalos (Hungary) and B.R. Kuhlman
7.  Alicia Marinache (Canada) and Dita Basu
15.  Bonnie Coursolle (Canada) and Fay Wolfenden (Canada)
16.  Carmel McGinley (Australia) and Tracy Stillman (Australia)


21.  Cheryl Brown (Canada) and Diana Ptaszynski
22.  Christina Stofmeel (the Netherlands) and Eva Kovacs (Hungary)
24.  Cilla Watkins (Canada) and Elaine Robitaille (Canada)
25.  Sabrina Straub (Switzerland) and Kathy Combs


32.  Dee Elgie (UK) and Joanne Lockwood (UK)
33.  Dian Hierschel (Germany) and Eniko Fabian (Austria)
37.  Doris Stumpf (Germany) and Eszter Czibulyas (Hungary)
39.  Elke Leonhardt-Rath (Germany) and Marjolein Trewavas (UK)


41.  Erika Nooteboom (the Netherlands) and Giorgia Rossini (Italy)
43.  Evelyn Duberry (Canada) and Gaea Cannaday
45.  Ginger Bishop (military, Okinawa) and Martina Nagele (Germany)
48.  Helene Goldberg (Australia) and Karen Vincent
54.  Joanna Matuszczyk (Poland) and Julianna Kis (Hungary)
55.  Joanne Tinley (UK) and Michaela Pabeschitz (Austria)
65.  Kristina Johansson (Sweden) and Penny Neville (Canada)
66.  Krisztina Erlaki-Toth (Hungary) and Nicole Keller (Germany)


76.  Lori Finney (Canada) and Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp (Canada)
78.  Marta Kaczerowska (Poland) and Milla Starchik (Canada)
83.  Michelle Jensen and Sandra Young (Canada)
92.  Rosa Maria Cuevas (Mexico) and Tejae Floyde
93.  Sabine Dittrich (Germany) and Sally Russick
95.  Shanti Johnson and Tracy Mok (Canada)
97.  Sonya Stille and Traci Zeller (Canada)
98.  Stefanie Teufel (Germany) and Tania Hagen (New Zealand)

As always, hoping this soup brings you a dash of grace and a splash of joy!

53 comments:

  1. Christie, The necklace is BEAUTIFUL!!!!! I love what you did with the chain maille. You are a brave partner to go so far out of your comfort zone so I thank you for that. I was going to post in the morning, but I can't sleep tonight ( combination of excitement and the percocet) so I am posting soon. Thank you for being my partner. I can't wait to see your next projects.

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  2. I'm a huge copper fan - I think you did well with it. I also love how your necklace is posed. It reminds me of an octopus or a squid :)

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  3. you did well while working out of your comfort zone!

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  4. OH...heavens!!! I love this! And you did so many new things to finish it! That is just very cool that you ventured out like that...I was NOT that brave! LOL

    And the chain maille - simply perfect!!!!
    Alesha

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  5. Oh yes - you rock the copper components! Chain Maille is definitive on my "to learn to work with" list - you did it in a wonderful way, also the knotting.

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  6. A beautiful piece! I love all the different components that make it very interesting, but not in a busy sort of way. You are very brave to try two new techniques for the Bead Soup Party. Fabulous job!

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  7. So unique! I love your chain maille, and I have "a thing" for copper myself!

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  8. Very nice, lots of different textures that go well with the earthy colors you've chosen.

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  9. LOL you sidetracked me with your Pinterest post :D I was off checking out your boards and completely forgot to post here! I love your use of the copper and your oxidation. You can take an sos pad and lightly buff the edges to bring some warmth back out when you're ready to experiment with it again, it's one of my favorite things about copper :) Nicely done!

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  10. This is a lovely necklace! Really original, you did a great job combining chainmaille with knotting!

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  11. I love your mixture of mediums, texture and colour. A fab touch with the chain maille too! Lovely :) x

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  12. I love the lampwork focal! I have never knotted any of my designs, you've inspired me. Have fun hopping around today.
    Cheers!
    Lori

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  13. I think you are being a bit hard on yourself. I work with seed beads but can totally appreciate your work and creativity. Beautiful!

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  14. What a great necklace - so many different techniques yet they work wonderfully together.

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  15. Loved the end result but must say I really didn't mind the bright copper at all!

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  16. Congrats on stepping outside your comfort zone! You did a wonderful job and SO BRAVE with the knotting!

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  17. Super Super! Love it!

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  18. What a wonderful contrast between the knotting and the chain. And yeah I prefer it darker too.

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  19. Hi Christie! I think your BeadSoupI is wonderful! Wish I could do chainmaille like that, it just defies me! Great job!

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  20. I love the free flowing form of this design. Great job!

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  21. This is not just a necklace but a compendium of techniques. Knotting, chainmailling, some wire work, everything is there! Good job!

    Ambra

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  22. This is not just a necklace but a compendium of technique. Knotting, chainmailling and some wire work, everything is there! Good job!

    Ambra

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  23. You did a great job venturing into new techniques. I really like the cord and think it balances the focal with the chain elements. Great work!

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  24. I think it turned out amazing!! Even though you are just learning some of the techniques you did great, the necklace 'flows' very nicely!! ~KM

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  25. I love what you made with your beads!
    Very unusual, but lovely!

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  26. Werable,...lovely,.....nicely done!

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  27. That's some super-cool knotting! Awesome job.

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  28. I think it turned out really nice!!! Awesome that you played with new techniques on this piece...

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  29. I also think your necklace turned out great! I love how you mixed in the chain maile

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  30. Christie - what a beautiful design! I am in awe of the knotting - I've tried it and failed miserably - but you've inspired me to try it again. The different techniques you used added so much texture and movement to your necklace - beautiful job! :)

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  31. Your necklace is beautiful and I absolutely love the chain maile detail! Nice job!!

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  32. The focal is so unique. I love the look of the copper, the black cord and the focal. It all goes well together!

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  33. Loved how you used the chain maille and the knots inbetween the beads. Great Job!!

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  34. Lovely! Love the addition of the chainmail!

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  35. I LOVE Japanese weaves! I wish sterling rings weren't so expensive now! My first experience with it was with Niobium rings via Spider's web site. If you haven't visited it, you should!

    And I love anything with a tassel! Big fan. And I like the knotting, something I'm not good at!

    Thanks so much for playing and please join me this summer!

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  36. I absolutely love your bead soup creation!

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  37. well i love it! anything chainmaille is high on my list. beautiful.
    ~diana

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  38. Nicely done! Beautiful creation!

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  39. Great work.. I have not had much luck with chain-mail so that is awesome!

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  40. I think you did a wonderful job! I love this necklace and would wear it! I love your combination of different techniques!
    Sonya

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  41. Very cool necklace - I can see myself wearing it - great job!

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  42. Love the focal and chain maille piece. You did a fabulous job putting that together. It's gorgeous!

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  43. I love what you did with your soup. The chainmaille section is really great. I get the feeling from reading your post about the process, you have grown as a designer. Can you feel it? Do your clothes still fit?

    Great job!

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    1. Lol, Jean! This had me laughing. Yes, they do, but thank you! It's what I love most about BSBP- it challenges us all to grow, but in the best way possible!

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  44. Lovely, you really brought out the color of the focal.

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  45. It's so great that you pushed yourself to try so many different and new techniques in making that necklace. I'm impressed! And I think you did a very good job - especially with the chainmaille sections - it looks great!

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  46. Very cool design! The chainmaille section is neat. Great job~

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  47. Isn't it fun when you have to stretch your imagination and learn something new? It happened to me to during this soup and I love it. Your knotting looks very good; the chainmaille is gorgeous - a fun touch of chain where no chain has been before :) - and oxidizing the chain was a great idea, you got the piece uniform and together in a very elegant way.

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  48. Congratulations on stepping out of your comfort zone and trying a few new techniques. It's great that this challenge can get you to use materials and processes you've never used before and then wind up with a new piece of jewelry as well as a new friend. It's a win-win situation! Nicely done!

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  49. Beautiful work!
    I love how you mixed techniques and media.
    Really inspired.

    I can't believe I'm still hopping along!!
    Have a great weekend.

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