Sunday, November 27, 2011

BIG CHANGES in the Cup of Bead Soup project!


This has been in the planning for MONTHS 
and I'm excited to finally fill you in!


If you've been a follower of this page or my main blog, Pretty Things, you're familiar with my Cup of Bead Soup project.  For the past year, I've purchased beads, sight unseen, from various bead makers and tasked myself with creating things with components I didn't choose myself.  It's been a fantastic way to push my design skills and break out of making the same old/same old.  In essence, it's a one-woman-production of the Bead Soup Blog Party.



Starting next year, a bead maker will create 
FOUR identical Cup of Bead Soup kits.  


One for me...
three of YOU!

When it's Cup of Bead Soup time,
I'll write a post for interested participants to comment on.

Three lucky people will be chosen at random,
and these three designers will receive the same kit I do.


Each Cup of Bead Soup will have 
a different price range, with all proceeds
going directly to the bead artist.
(Support handmade!)



The four of us will then create a piece of jewelry
and have a mini-blog hop 
to show what four people can do with the exact same beads.


Sound like fun?


Then stay tuned -- a blog button will appear soon
with the date of the first "pick me!" post.


The first bead contributor will be....


Barbara Bechtel of Second Surf and Floridity!
I hope you like this new format
and I can't wait to create with you!


Photobucket


Lori Anderson makes jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off. She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Cup of Bead Soup with Sue Beads -- earrings

Sue has been so gracious in dealing with my looming deadlines and incapacitations and I kept her through November as the Cup of Bead Soup artisan.  For now, I'm going to show you just one pair of earrings I made with her enameled filigree disks she sent me, and save the rest for a later feature.  I'm so sorry -- it's not normally me to be late but if you saw my to-do list, you'd understand.


Sue is also going to be in the Virtual Craft Show, so you don't want to miss commenting during that time because her giveaway is awesome!


These earrings were a case of serendipity.  I was working on a piece for my book and there happened to be some wood rings sent to me by a contributor.  As so often happens, my desk overflows and those rings settled next to the filigree, and these Bohemian-style earrings were born...



Ear wires by Vintaj
Antiqued brass jump rings by Tierracast
Enameled filigree by 



Please visit her at