Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal – Four Months After!

Hi everyone!

I know I’ve been gone for quite some time, but now I’m back to (finally) reveal my Bead Soup Blog Party pieces! This fall has been really tough. I had to go through hand surgery, which took some time to recover from, and then my boyfriend got a relapse of cancer. Thankfully it seems he will be ok, but as I think you can understand, it was kind of hard for me to focus on beading.

Well, ehough with the bad news. Here they are, my Blog Party Pieces! I had originally planned to make only one piece, but ended up with two. They are quite different.

The first one is a heavy, sparkly necklace featuring the focal that I recieved in my Bead Soup.

I matched the pendant with crystals and shell beads from the Bead Soup, and then I added some czech glass, stones and tibet silver from my own stash.

The second piece is a bracelet.

I combined the copper toggle from the Bead Soup with copper components and Soochoo jade from my stash, and then  made two collage links to match.

I wanted an “old” look so I went for a crackled glaze finish. I also didn’t seal the images before putting the glaze on, which causes the ink to leach a bit. Sometimes the not-so-perfect finish adds more personality to the jewelry, and in this piece I think it worked out nicely.

Thank you so much for looking – and I hope you all will have great 2012!

Bead Soup Blog Party reveal coming soon!

I’m so sorry for not having oisted my Bead Soup Blog Party reveal yet! I’ve been sick but I’m feeling better now so I hope to show my creations soon!

Bead Soup!

I got my bead soup! It was such a treat to open my bead soup package.

My partner Eszter sent me a huge pack of beads in wonderful tones of amber. I am really excited to get started working with my bead soup!

I’m sorry for the poorly composed picture,  I really can’t seem to take good pics of bead soups in general. I got a great mix of crystal, glass and shell beads. There was also a huge amount of seed beads (someting like 80+ grams in total!) so I can make a load of jewelry with this!

I really like the focal as well. It’s a glass (I think) heart, quite large – I love the color shifts.

Don’t miss out the big reveal on September 17th!  Please check out Lori Anderson’s Bead Soup Party Blog to learn more.

Metal claying!

I fired my first metal clay piece today! If you want to know how it went, please check out my brand new metal clay blog!

New bracelet/earring set and Etsy listings!

First off, I’m very very happy to tell you that I have finally been able to start working with metal clay!! I have been longing to get started for a looong time, and now I have – yay! It will probably take some time before I’m ready to show off my work, and when I do, I will probably use another name for my metal clay stuff. But first things first, I haven’t even fired my first piece yet, haha.

Meanwhile, I have been doing some regular beading too. I made this simple bracelet with some luscious agate beads.

I had two leftover agate beads so I also made a pair of matching earrings.

I really like how this set turned out. The combination of deep fuchsia, black and brass – and not to forget, the lampwork bead – really speaks to me. I put them in my Etsy store here and here.

I also decided to put all of the bangles I made (pictured above) for the Rings & Things’ Design Challenge in my store!

Ok, I’m off to do some metal clay-ing – and also, which is very important, to put together my bead soup kit for my partner in the Bead Soup Blog Party! So excited about the party – it has to be the most exciting social beading event ever!!

Rings & Things’ Design Challenge!

It’s finally time to reveal what I did for the Rings & Things‘ Design Challenge! We were  sent brass and copper sheet metal bracelet blanks, and I was very excited to move out of my comfort zone and create something totally different from what I normally do.

I ended up with six bracelets, some made with techniques that are completely new to me. I also had to incorporate a little bit of beadweaving in two of them – I think it worked out pretty well!

Thanks for looking!

Sale!

I decided to put a few things up for sale in my Etsy shop. I’ve taken25 to 50% off a selection of items, including the ones pictured below. Most of the sale items will not be relisted once they expire, so take the chance to shop at discounted prices! Visit my shop here to check it out!

Bead giveaway winner!

First of all, thanks to everyone who participated! My blog does not have thousands of followers, and I am so happy for every single person who takes the time to stop by. This is my way of rewarding you for coming here.

The random number generator has chosen a winner, and it is…

Cheryl at BeadRoe!

Congratulations, Cheryl. I’ll email you to get your mailing info.

Book giveaway at Pretty Things Blog!

Lori at Pretty Things has reviewed the book “Hot Connections Jewelry”, which seems to be really great book, and now she is giving away a copy of the book! Check it out here.

Oh, and don’t forget that the sign-ups for Lori’s Bead Soup Party is just 8 days away! This is the kind of beading event you don’t want to miss!

Summer Bead Giveaway!

Alright, it’s time for the bead giveaway!! I’m sorry for the extremely poor picture quality, I had to take the picture with my phone and the light was not the best so there was not much I could do. This time I put together some beads, cords and also some of the sheet metal bracelet stamping blanks that I recieved from Rings & Things.

Here is a full description of what you can win:
2 brass sheet metal bracelet stamping blanks, size 6 x 0.25 in.
1 copper sheet metal bracelet stamping blanks, size 6 x 0.25 in.
6 raw brass rivet nail heads, length 0.25 in.
1 large round rose quartz bead, approx. diameter 20 mm
20 pcs 5 x 3 mm petro tourmaline rondelle beads
9 tiny 3 mm round tiger eye beads
1 large 35 x 35 mm rounded square wood jasper donut
4 pcs hollow raw brass look round beads, approx. diameter 20 mm
2 pcs pink fake pearls, 10 mm diameter
20 pcs raw brass look 11 mm bead caps
13 pcs 9 x 6 mm lucite flowers in shades of pink
1 brass look dragonfly charm, 40 x 25 mm
1 brass look oak leaf pendant, 68 x 52 mm
2 cords in shades of brown

And here is the photo:

The giveaway is open until midnight the 3oth of July, and the winner will be revealed the day after. To enter,just leave a comment to this post. Please keep in mind that I need to be able to contact  you if you win, either by email – or you can leave a link for your blog in the comments form.

Good luck!