Bead Soup #7 is in the House!!

I received my bead soup from my partner, Bev of Country Frog Creations, the week before I was heading out of town...so unfortunately, I had to delay sharing her wonderful soup until now!

First off, I absolutely MUST share with you the beautiful job Bev did of packaging her soup.

Wow, I wish I was that crafty! I am creative, but crafty is something different--I'm sure some of you out there can identify. I love the little envelopes that Bev used!

Once I got past my awe of how pretty the soup looked packaged up, I dove right in and explored all the goodies in my soup! Here's a group shot:

Then, because one of the few stipulations of the Bead Soup Blog Hop is to use the focal and the clasp, here is a close up of each:

Finally, I love, love, love the old key she sent, and already have some ideas for it! Just such a cool piece!

As to what I sent Bev, since she did already receive hers, I can post the picture here. I sent one of my lampwork focals, pretty crystals, sea glass, a pale green gemstone (I think it's Amazonite) and some lead-free pewter. I sent two toggles, because I couldn't decide!

Our reveal is March 30th, so be sure to check back then, when I unveil the creation I compose using  Bev's Bead Soup!

Art Jewelry Elements 3rd Reveal...and I'm behind already!

The past two weeks have been extra crazy for me, and I am already behind on my earring creation for the Art Jewelry Elements earring challenge...plus I am away from my studio for the next few days, so I will have a lot of catching up to do once I am back at work!

But, and this is a good but, the earrings I do have to share are awesome, mainly because of the art jewelry element I am including.

Week 5 Earrings

Aren't those scarabs amazing? I have been hoarding them since August, when I bought them at BeadFest Philadelphia from Diana of Suburban Girl Studios LLC. And these earring are mine, all MINE! I love everything Egyptian, and will be adding these beauties to my own personal collection.

Since I only have one pair to share, have fun checking out the rest of the creations by clicking the links below!

Bead Soup Blog Hop #7 Is Coming!!

Last summer I participated in the 6th cycle of the Bead Soup Blog Hop, hosted by Lori Anderson. Well, the time for the next Bead Soup is upon us, and this time there are over 500 beading bloggers participating! As last time, Lori has broken partners up into three different reveal dates, to make surfing the blogs a little bit easier to manage.

I have been selected for the first reveal, which will be March 30--don't worry, I will remind you! I am paired up with a fellow crafty soul, Bev Breisinger, who lives just a hop, skip and a jump from my aunt down in Pittsburgh! Small world, right? Bev is a lover of all creative things, has a soft spot for cool buttons, and also dabbles in digital media. You can visit Bev's blog, Country Frog Creations to learn more about her crafty world.

Once Bev and I have both received our soup from each other, I will post my goodies and get to work! For now, here is a preview of what I sent to Bev...kind of looks like a fat hummingbird with the Photoshop filter applied, but I guarantee it's beads!

Art Jewelry Elements Earrings: Reveal #2

Welcome to the second reveal of the Art Jewelry Elements Earring Challenge! I have two more pairs of earrings to share, this time made with my own lampwork beads as the handmade component. To see my earrings from the first reveal click here.

The first pair has my lampwork beads which feature simple blue flowers on a black base--but I used silver glass for the flowers, so they actually display a myriad of hues, like silver glass likes to do. I decided I didn't want to just stack them with other beads, so I used some silver-tone chain to create a triangle-shaped dangle. These are a lot of fun to wear, but it was hard to get a good picture of them, since they like to swing!

The second pair was a pleasant surprise. I had an idea in my head that just didn't work out the first time. Then, after I took a little break, I got another idea. I tried to use some waxed linen cord, but I couldn't get my lampwork beads to hang correctly. So I got *really* frustrated. The next day, I just decided to go for it and try some copper wire, but used it in the same way I had planned for the linen cord. It was a little tough maneuvering the wire, but I love the results!

While I made the lampwork beads, the ultra-cool disc beads are ceramic cogs made by Marsha Neal. they have such a cool combination of coppery-green and rust colors, the camera can never do them justice.