Servin' it up Bead Soup Style

"When you have a good stock, you can make a good soup."
~Martin Yan

What could be better than one serving of Bead Soup? Why, three...or actually four, of course!

Are you hungry, bead peeps? Because there is a lot to chew on here!

I am delighted to be participating in the 2nd Bead Soup Swap organized by the lovely Lori from Pretty Things. This time around there are 90 participants. That is a lot of soup!

I was paired with Michelle Reilly of bMichelle Designs. She was really so generous. She knew that I asked for cool colors, but she found another set that she thought would be perfect for me, so she sent both! Isn't that sweet?

Both sets included handmade PMC silver clay toggle clasps. The detail on each is so very intricate. I just took a class at the Bead & Button show with Sherri Haab using PMC3 silver clay {more on that later!}, so I can completely attest to the amount of work that had to go into these.

One set was a beautiful mossy green with accents of peach. I love that color combo. I used a silver dragonfly from Thailand, one of the new Susan Lenart Kazmer Industrial Chic bar connectors {which I highly recommend} wrapped in pearls and some chain and spacers from my stash. Most of the rest were from Michelle's gift including that really cool stone connector. Tell me, Michelle...where can I get more of those?

Facing North

I call this soup "Facing North". I am not an outdoorsy kind of gal, but I do know that if I am lost in a woods and want to know my direction, I can look for moss on a tree and that direction will be north. And in another lifetime I was an assistant trainer for Leadership Portage County and ran their opening and closing retreats. We used to study the native American idea that personalities can be divided into four main directions: North, South, East and West. I am much more of an East South East girl, so going North is sometimes hard for me. North has direction and gets things done. North finds that the best way is to just do it yourself without regard for others you may mow over to do it. North takes the bull by the horns. I could use a little more North in my life.

The second set had this drop dead gorgeous brilliant blue glass egg. {A Kelley Wenzel perhaps?} The bright blue is a stretch for me, but I love the way the egg has this softness to it. I need to put a bit more thought into something special for that one. There were other glass beds, spacers that looked like pyrite and some blueberry flavored faceted drop shapes. But the one that I chose to work with was the fantabulous swirly glass bead. There is a deep mystery there.

I Can See Clearly Now

To this awesome extra helping of soup, I used a silver bar chain, with the simple elegance of some faceted iolite from my cupboard. The beauty of that stone is such that it needs little adornment. And I loved Michelle's PMC clasp so much I put it front and center, where it should be. Iolite literally means "violet" (ios) "stone" (lithos). It is sometimes called a blue sapphire. Iolite was used by Vikings to give them a sense of direction when navigating. It is said to enhance leadership ability, inner strength and self confidence and is associated with clairvoyance. Hence the name, "I Can See Clearly Now" {maybe I see a pattern forming here...seeing clearly, enhancing self-confidence and going North...hmmmmm....}.

Last, but certainly not least, I have a friend I met at a local art show who wanted to play along on the Bead Soup. But unfortunately, she doesn't have a blog {yet! email her at mizar@charter.net and tell her that she should start one!}, and you kind of need to have one if you are going to hop around on them. But I didn't want her to miss out on all the fun, and I just know you will all love her as much as I do, so I invited her to play with me. My third soup ingredients is from Sharon Misuraco of Off The Beadin' Path.

Sharon knows my tastes and style pretty well, and she picked things that she knew I would love. The key is my very favorite motif, including the logo for my company, and Sharon picked this lovely ceramic key from Tracey Dock that has a nice weight and a lovely rough texture and soft turquoise color. There is some turquoise chain from MissFickleMedia herself, Shannon LeVart {love it!} and some fun copper beads. Added to that are some lovely turquoise colored ceramic beads from Boulder Junction, WI.

The Key Element

To these yummy morsels I added a length of variegated ribbon {that I picked up at Bead & Button 2009 from Sonoran Beads} with shades of mossy green, gold and lavender and paired it with the last of that faceted iolite that I have been hoarding {oh...for about 5 years!}. I wire wrapped the copper beads she sent in the center of the chain for added visual weight to the piece. And the ending is a lovely copper swirly clasp {perhaps from Miss LeVart as well?}.

I call this one "The Key Element" because of that focal of course, but more so that the key element for me is inspiration. It is everywhere. It is in me. It is in you. And it is in these components. And really, anyone reading this should jump in and play along {please tell me there will be a next time, Lori!} because we are all making up the 'rules' as we go...just so we can break them again! But we are all faced with inspiration every single day. {What will you do with the inspiration facing you?}

And this is what I sent to Sharon. But I will let her tell you in her own words...
The ingredients: Erin generously sent me an abundance of pieces to work with! And don't miss the Moonstruck chocolate, which I saved for a reward upon completion of the necklace :) I chose the power word, "Harmony", and Erin surprised me with this beautifully done pendant that she created with Vintaj natural brass. So delightful! She also shared some of her precious beads from Heather Powers, created especially for one of Erin's projects at the gallery where she will soon be having a show. Look at that terra cotta sari silk, (the camera didn't do it justice), an extra hand-stamped focal, lava beads - healthy to wear! - a sassy silkie bead, brecciated jasper rectangles, vintage rollo chain, copper glass dangles, and a handmade awesome clasp! I gazed at these for days, and as the deadline neared, I went with my original idea.

From Deep Within

The outcome: "From Deep Within" Usually I wouldn't explain the name of my piece, but I want to mention how this collection of components absolutely forced me to go deep within my creative zones to bring out the best I could for each one! And lava comes from way deep within the earth, bringing us a glimpse of concentrated minerals. This was the first time that I used sari silk, so I completely winged it, and now I'm hooked! It was hard to leave anything out of the necklace, but I hope I knew when to quit! I have plans for the leftovers already. All I added were the 2 styles of chain and a few more of the Czech dangles. I'm so thrilled to find the perfect use for the Kan Fashions chain I found at the Denver Gem Show. The black and copper tied in perfectly with the lava and the silkie bead and the warmth of the sari silk.

A big hug and thank you to Erin, a true-blue-beady-buddy, for coming up with a way to include me in the "party", even though I don't have a blog - yet!

So, what do you think of the soup? There is something here for anyone's tastes. And this is just proof that when you have that good stock, you can make a good soup.

Are you hungry for more? Michelle was so generous with her ingredients that I was able to make some lovely earrings with the some of the extra blue beads and the pyrite colored spacers and some sterling daisies.

Free! To a good home....

If you would like to win these, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post {you deserve a prize if you stayed until the end of this one!!!}. I will pick a random winner at the end of June from all comments received on this post. Feel free to pass the word. I don't care if the winner made soup or is just here to sample! Become a Follower of my blog and that counts as a second entry {just leave a second comment for that to count...I am math-challenged}. Easy-peasy!

Thanks to Lori for hosting this fun party...again {you can read about my first soup here}. Be sure to go and sample more soup from the list on Lori's blog Pretty Things. If you didn't get a chance to participate this time around, be on the look out for the future. You try new things, meet new people and have a lot of fun doing it.

And if you are interested in challenges, don't forget about my monthly Inspired by... challenges. The current challenge is to be Inspired by...Paper Crafting and you can read all about it here and view the entries here. I would love to have you come and be inspired!

And just 'cuz I like you...here is a heads up... be sure to check back this week for more chances to win other giveaways!

Enjoy the day!