Saturday, September 17, 2011

Hot, Fresh, Chunky Soup...

just in time for lunch!  It is definitely soup weather here in MD today!  You might break a tooth on this soup, it is so chunky!


What is bead soup?  Well, Lori Anderson has hosted a Bead Soup Blog Party for the last couple years...I believe this is the 4th one...I have participated in all of them and this is the biggest by far...362 jewelry artists swapped beads (the mix had to contain a focal and a nice clasp) and each set out to create pieces utilizing what was sent. 

This year I was paired with Mary Ellen Parker from BeeTreebyne.  She sent a gorgeous soup mix in lovely autumn colors, complete with one of her signature  polymer clay leaf pendants.  Here is a reminder of the raw mix, to use as a before shot.


I knew immediately that I would make a necklace since that pendant is so huge! I also knew I would be using copper wire in some way to pull it together.  My quandary was over how to hang the gorgeous leaf...I mean I could just put that on a copper chain and call it a day and it would be beautiful...but that's not what this challenge is all about!

I created a sort of bail out of 16g copper wire...it was supposed to be 2 smaller leaves, but as my hubby graciously informed me, it turned out looking more like a pair of wings, which is okay too!


I used more copper wire and created swirly links with the fancy jasper nuggets.  I enameled a couple of the smooth copper beads in sunset orange and embellished them with twisted copper wire, then for something different, made up some wire beads.  Initially I was going to use the tiny swarovski crystals on thread and have a fiber element, but after playing around a bit with that idea, decided to take the crystals off the thread and combine them with 1mm copper beads and 1mm green agate beads I had in my stash, then wrapped them on with 26g copper wire. 


Utilizing more 16g wire, I made a bunch of jump rings for the chain and to connect the other links...get ready for this, I actually sawed them!! and I didn't break a blade!

After oxidizing and tumbling, I added the pendant.  But wait...there were some other elements Mary Ellen sent that I really loved, but didn't think worked in my necklace design.


I decided on a simple, but fun, chunky bracelet using the big faceted quartz beads.  I added copper bead caps from my stash and some brushed copper rondells.  To finish, I added some more of the copper jump rings I made and hammered out a swirly hook clasp.  I really liked the look of the African brass leaf bead, so I used one of my enameled headpins to hang it as a charm on the end of the bracelet for balance.

Thanks, Mary Ellen, for sending such fun, beautiful, challenging soup mix!  Thanks, Lori, for hosting this behemoth party!  Thanks, readers, for stopping by and saying hello and leaving your thoughts and comments.  It means so much to me, as I know it will to the other talented artists who participated in this blog hop, so go take a gander at what everyone else made and show them some bead soup love!

Click here to see the full list of participants!


73 comments:

  1. h of your necklaces, but the one with the beautiful leaf focal is my favorite!

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  2. Back as promised:-) And your necklace is sooooooooo pretty. Love the colors and the romantic feel it has!

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  3. A work of art, beautiful!! That focal is something!

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  4. Melissa,
    You worked Wonders with your mix!
    One of the best parts of the bead soup exchange is sending off a mix with a few ideas for it swimming around your head .
    Then then seeing what you sent transformed into something unexpected and Wonderful by your partner!!! I LOVE your creations!!!
    Thank you for being such a great soup partner !!!
    m.e. :D

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  5. oh my word! these are SOOOO beautiful! I LOVE both creations...you certainly did well with the soup you received!

    Just my idea of heaven! ;o)

    hugs

    hello gorgeous xxx

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  6. Just really gorgeous Melissa! I knew you would make a really lovely. You always do!!

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  7. I absolutely love the polymer pendant and the wings/leaves that you created!

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  8. Melissa, I love your necklace and bracelet smiple and beautiful.
    Therese

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  9. Beautiful focal by m.e., she was my partner last time, love the way you attached it, great piece!

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  10. Absolutely gorgeous, I love that pendant!
    Deb x

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  11. Your Bead Soup pieces so just beautiful.

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  12. Lovely pieces!!! I am normally not into polymer clay leaves, but what you have made of it is just stunning!

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  13. Gorgeous, just love those autumnal colours!

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  14. So pretty and fun. I love the way you attached the leaf pendant. And the wire links. All is pretty.

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  15. Anonymous6:51 PM

    absolutely stunning!!!! love your wire work too.

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  16. Pretty pretty pretty! You made a lovely soup my friend!

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  17. So pretty! I love what you came up with. Gorgeous!

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  18. Loving all that wirework! And those wire beads are to die for! Doesn't matter if you call them leaves or wings, they are the perfect complement to the focal! Just stunning!

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  19. I am SO sorry for being late — today our internet provider decided to crash. My stress level is through the roof, to say the least! They’re still working on it, but it’s like dial-up.

    I always love your wirework, and the pendant bail you made is wonderful, along with all the links for the gemstones. Well done!

    I hope you’ll participate again!

    Love, Lori

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  20. Melissa, I know I'm always in for a show-stopper when I visit your blog - whether it's metal, wire or enamel. The first thing that struck me was your innovative and beautiful bail. What a clever design element in itself! It really balances the large leaf focal so well - wow. This necklace is the perfect Fall piece...I want to see it in person next weekend! ;-)

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  21. Hi Melissa! I work whit the copper wire and i lie your jobs. I follow you. See you soon!

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  22. You did a fantastic job designing around that beautiful focal.

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  23. GORgeous!!! What color and style and flow---absolutely beautiful pieces!

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  24. Wow! That first necklace with the large focal is a showstopper!

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  25. Anonymous11:57 AM

    fab focal. I love the earthiness of the piece and your wirework

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  26. What a gorgeous focal, and what great wire work to make a home for it. Just Lovely! Love the quartz bracelet too!

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  27. Terrific solution! I had to deal with a HUGE focal too! We’re all being pushed outside our comfort zones — with amazing results!

    Enjoy the hop,
    Emanda
    http://artemisiastudio.blogspot.com/2011/09/bead-soup-reveal.html

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  28. OMGoodness...your soup is DELICIOUS my Friend!!! I adore your design, it's truly stunning & your wire work is excellent & creative! Well done, another AMAZING cup of BEAD SOUP from a very talented designer!!! ;)

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  29. Holy cow, what a gorgeous focal, and you showcased it phenomenally. Gorgeous work, on both!

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  30. Love it all - stunning necklace, and the quartz bracelet is beautiful! Nice!

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  31. Love your necklace your mix was beautiful and you did a GRAND JOB! I am always drawn to wire wrapping. I reconized a photo at the top of your site as a piece in the Step by Step June/July I also had a piece in that issue my first ever.

    Love your work :>
    Theresa

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  32. Loooooooved this. It's really quite stunning and I like the whimsical wrapped links. The bracelet is awesome too! Great job!

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  33. Really pretty! I love the detail of the bail you made...it works perfectly!

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  34. Chunky yet delicious. Gorgeous! - Love the loopy wire work with the stones!

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  35. Wonderful pieces - I like the way you wire-wrap the beads. Seems, you have a lot of experience with that. Greetings, Michi

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  36. Beautiful jewellery! I love that bail you did to suspend the leaf. It's fab!

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  37. Melissa, I love your necklace!! The leaves as a bail is awesome, love the look.
    Thanks for stopping by my blog and your comment on the copper and silver pendant I made for my partner. Have a great week.

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  38. What gorgeous work! LOVE both the necklace and bracelet. Just beautiful!

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  39. Oooo these pieces turned out stunning Melissa! Love what you did with the pendant. It is a real statement piece. Great job!

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  40. The moment I saw this I thought to myself, wow, fabulous work with placing the pendant! Such a bold piece deserves nothing less. And the bracelet is marvelous.
    Great soup!

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  41. I love the wire work in the piece! Those twisted, beaded components are amazing. Love the necklace! I'm a bracelet girl so I LOVE the bracelet@

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  42. Can't wait to catch up this weekend!! Your wirework on these pieces is to die for!!! :)
    Jen

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  43. just stunning your design is beautiful and love the colours, at first glance I thought the leaf was leather.....so pretty

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  44. I totally love these. The wire wrapping is terrific. As you mentioned ..perfect for Autumn! Really Soup-er!

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  45. Wonderful! You have created a terrific piece of wearable art. I like your use of wire throughout the peice. Thank you for sharing your artistic process along the way. Cheers!
    Lori

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  46. Wow, the necklace is so pretty and the pendant is fantastic! I love the bracelet too!

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  47. They looked like leaves to me. . .until you said the thing about the wings. Then, that's all I could see. Ah well. :)
    The necklace has really left me speechless. I seriously can't find the words to express how very much I like it. Way to go!
    The bracelet is also spectacular. You really made some quite beautiful pieces. Thank you for the inspiration!

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  48. Love everything about this But those hand made links are particulary delicious! This is stunning!

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  49. That's a fabulous leaf and what you created with it is just as fabulous. I really love the bracelet too, something like that I could wear everyday.

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  50. The wire spirals are great! They really accent your soup mix wonderfully! Really beautiful work!

    Julie & Andrea

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  51. Beautiful craftsmanship, Melissa! I just love both of your pieces! That leaf focal is so special, and you really made the perfect piece for it!

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  52. They are all so beautiful. Everything is well-balanced and perfectly composed.

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  53. Anonymous8:21 PM

    Cool wirework. And I liked how you added your photos with a bezel effect. Nice!

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  54. Gorgeous Melissa! I love all your wirework! The leaf/wing bail is great! Very creative!

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  55. That necklace is a work of art! I adore the wire links and the addition of the enamel to the copper beads and the Leaves (wings...aren't husbands wonderful? LOL!) The bracelet is stunning and perfect for everyday or a night out on the town.

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  56. Mary Ellen sent you beautiful pieces, and your compositions are just fabulous. Love them. Great job. And thank you for visiting! Riki

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  57. I am so sorry I am so late hopping your way. My computer dug it's heels in and said Not gon'a go thaat fast.:^)
    Your designs are nothing short of amazing.
    Be blessed to be a blessingrations

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  58. I love the color, and the wire work and the awesome focal, This is one of my favorites, did I mention awesome.

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  59. Very nice mix of colors unusual to the eyes...they also somehow remind me of the mix of colors or the riot of them during fall.

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  60. Chunky yes, but also delicate with the wire scrolls - I love it.

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  61. I LOVE the pieces you made! They're both gorgeous!

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  62. Beautiful necklace! Love your wire wrapping!

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  63. Hot, fresh, chunky, and delicious! Your wirework is great, and I love the bracelet.

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  64. I like the pieces you made so much. You did some really different wire work - what a great idea putting the small beads into the wire beads. Such a nice balance in both the necklace and the bracelet. Very good job.

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  65. Both of your pieces are delicious. You did justice to the leaf focal in your design.

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  66. Anonymous3:55 PM

    Gorgeous soup! Love it!

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  67. I love your pieces, Melissa. Your wire work is stunning...love the wire beads with little beads added to them...great designs.
    jenni

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  68. Very creative as always! having seen that bracelet in person i can testify to it's beauty, I LOVE it! The fancy jasper is wonderful and your wirework is perfect!

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  69. Anonymous12:42 PM

    Wow! Your necklace is perfect! The loops around the gemstones, the spirals... Wow! Speechless.

    Ambra

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  70. Lovely creations. That leaf is perfect and you certainly made it pop with the ingredients, and I love the earthiness of your bracelet, both are beautiful!

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  71. My post is up late, but I DID get my pieces finished! Read about mine @ http://www.borntobewornjewelry.wordpress.com

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  72. Very pretty. The focal is gorgeous and you managed to enhance it.

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