FINALLY!! The 2nd reveal of Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party!
Just a refresher...My partner is Jenni Connolly of Victoria, Australia! Jenni sent me this fantabulous bead soup! I was giddy when I saw this focal:
And I'm not a red girl, or a heart girl now that I think about it...but this resin & copper heart is gorgeous!
And the rest of the delicious ingredients:
Jenni's own lampwork, copper chain, clasp, cord ends and red coral, labradorite and gray sari silk.
Now, on to the main event!!
The day my soup arrived, I had just come back from a girly outing which consisted of picking up the dress shown to wear to my next show...as soon as I opened my soup package, I knew "other forces" were at work and that I had to create a piece to wear with this dress!
Oh, where do I start? Jenni's gifted labradorite, coral rounds, gray silk and connectors. From there things went a little crazy, and everything but the kitchen sink wound up on this piece. Branch coral, druzy, pearls, tribal charms, souvenir spoon bowl, antique lace, Zambia coin, quartz point, salwag, tree branch from a fallen tree in my back yard, and lots of waxed linen!!
Big, bold and not for wallflowers! I know it's not everyone's taste or style, and it's a little busy to say the least, but I love HUGE jewelry and I'm in LOVE with it!! Did I mention I live in a tiny-rural-farmland-southern-the place that time forgot-town? Guess where my next show is? As my husband so kindly stated: "Baby, you are going to get a lot of strange looks, prayers said for you, and too many "Bless your hearts" to count!" My reply was "How is that different from any other day?" Him..."you win!" ;)
Next up was using the focal...
Again, I wanted different...and this WIDE cuff bracelet was born! I drilled another hole in to the focal and went to work sewing and beading. There's some more of Jenni's sari silk, coral and labradorite, as well as quite a few antique buttons, lace, copper chain/charm. I love the tattered feel of it!
I couldn't neglect the awesome lampwork beads, copper chain/clasp that Jenni sent me. After two "busy" pieces, I toned it down a bit...but kept it large (I usually only ever wear one piece of jewelry at a time, and tend to gravitate towards a bold piece).
My own floral polymer clay focal in gray & terracotta & Jenni's lampwork bead hangs on a tree branch from my yard (fell during those nasty storms that affected almost the entire east coast) that has been dried, painted, sealed and drilled. I added the hand forged chain and clasp from my soup. I've already worn this and received LOTS of compliments!
And a simple pair of copper/lampwork earrings:
I had a bracelet put together that used the remaining lampwork, but I just wasn't happy with it, and took it apart last night...it just didn't do Jenni's beads any justice!!
So, that wraps up my BSBP reveal. As always, it was so much fun! Thank you Lori for all the hard work and attention to detail a swap of this size entails!!
Now, run along and check out all of the other participants in the 2nd reveal!!
