2nd Cup of Bead Soup with Lutka and Co.

You can read more about the Cup of Bead Soup project by clicking here.

Today I'm going to show you the second piece of jewelry I made with handmade lampwork beads by Lutka and Co.


I took apart this set:

And chose the ones with yellow in them.  Yellow is a tough color for me to work with because I look horrendous in yellow, and have you found yourself not making jewelry in colors you don't rock in?

So here I have these beautiful floral beads in pink and yellow, and I'm trying to decide on the contrasting color.  Well what DO I look good in?  Purple!

I had this small bag of purple keshi pearls (oh how I love that shape!) and a silver bead I'd been hoarding that reminded me of folded paper lanterns.  I know, I know -- I mixed bright silver with Thai and oxidized -- but I didn't think it was too distracting and on the wrist, it worked.  It doesn't always work -- but I think it did this time.

Some of the beads had raised details, while some were melted in.  I liked that.  This is definitely a "touch me" textural bracelet, so having everything down to the glass have a touch factor really made this a treat.

Yes, this is one of my more traditional styles.  However, I did try to shake it up a bit with the addition of the textured pearls rather than crystal or smooth gemstones, and I went a little asymmetric.  Asymmetry, while one of the styles of jewelry I admire the most, is not the easiest for me to do, and in jewelry of this style, TOO much asymmetry would hurt the eyes, I think.

You can visit Lutka & Co. by clicking here for the store and and here for the blog.

Stay tuned through the month of September for more, and visit the Cup of Bead Soup Page for past creations!

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off.  She's also a contributor to Art Bead Scene and is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.

 

1st Cup of Bead Soup with Lutka and Co.

Having a Cup of Bead Soup going on at the same time as a Bead Soup Blog Party is what they call insane.  So Lutka and Co. is on through the end of September and I'm pushing hard!

You can read more about the Cup of Bead Soup project by clicking here.

I received these bead sets:

I immediately gravitated to the large purple, white, and pink hollow beads in the upper right.  As in, yanked open drawers to find this ONE piece of Vintaj Arte Metal I knew I had.  

I had a strange idea that I thought would be creative, out of the box, and really super-neat if it worked out.

I wanted to make a chandelier fan pull.


Can you see it?


Really, it's a super-easy project.   I took a thick piece of twisted silver, double-stacks of large silver daisy spacers, and 8mm Amethyst, 3mm Rose AB2X, and 4mm Violet Opal Swarovski crystals, and adorned the Arte Metal.  Stack it all together, and here you go.  Pretty, pretty.

Very simple, and not jewelry, but oh I love it.  I hung it from the fan in my library and it was a cruddy weather day and I kept falling off the ottoman since I have NO balance so I have a lovely collection of blurry photos and pictures of the floor and my feet, but this will give you an idea:

It looks like I missed some crystals, but I did use a pattern in putting them around.  Equal sides have two crystal sets clustered closer than the other equidistant sets, but putting them all the same distance around took away from the look of the bead.   (You gotta trust me on that one.)

The hardest thing to do was connect the ball chain to the loop on the chandelier.  The TOP of the fan pull hooked in just fine, but I had to do something with the bottom.  I threaded the ball chain through the "pendant" loop, cut a long length of 24ga wire, and started wrapping and wrapping and wrapping up and around and down.  It's nice and firm now, and I didn't bother to oxidize it because the air will oxidize it soon enough.

I hope you enjoyed the first installment of Cup of Bead Soup, and look for more soon!

 

 

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off.  She's also a contributor to Art Bead Scene and is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.

 

2nd Cup of Bead Soup with Lisa Boucher of Clayworks

Today is my second showing of work made with ceramic beads by Lisa Boucher of Clayworks.  You can read more about the Cup of Bead Soup project by clicking here.

I think this is my favorite pendant of the group Lisa sent.  This necklace came together quickly and with very little thought.  I love when that happens!

I used bronze jump rings to connect the pendant to links of, of all things, an inexpensive chain I found at Ben Franklin.  Where I live, Ben Franklin is the closest thing to a Michaels there is.  I usually never buy beads or chain from either one, as they've knocked off bead-maker friends of mine, but sometimes they have things that I groove on.  In this case, it was a large-link antiqued brass chain that I knew I could take apart and use as links.

I used the smaller accent beads Lisa sent and dangled them in the center of the textured rings.  This is where I say I LOVE Vintaj 3" head pins. Yeah, yeah, I know -- way more wire than I need.  But I always make wrapped loops, and I like having plenty of wire to "crank" around the neck of the wire.  I also used Vintaj wire to link together the bone beads (again, a Michaels find).  Teeny tiny wood beads I rescued from a vintage necklace accent the ceramic beads.

I finished the top of the necklace with faux suede cording from Barbara Lewis.  I don't like large chain at the back of my neck because it annoys me and I'm always fiddling with it, and besides, I love how the color blends with the colors of the ceramic.  The clasp is another Vintaj piece.

I'm much happier with this piece than my last one.  And I REALLY appreciate the suggestions I received via post and email.  I think I'm going to rework it and add another strand of something to the linen.  I really DID want suggestions, and I'm glad you guys took me up on it.

Stay tuned for the last piece, coming soon!  In the meantime, please visit her at the following sites:

Shop: Clayworks by Lisa Boucher

Blog: Lisa's Clay Happenings

Happy Creating!

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off.  She's also a contributor to Art Bead Scene.  She is also the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.

Cup of Bead Soup with Miss Molly's Designs -- #2

This is my second design with the bevy of beads from Miss Molly's Designs.  This time, I chose to work with the pale blue and brown set, with beads that ranged from the chunky to the more sedate.

Enameled beads by nature are lightweight, and I wanted to make a "half-and-half" necklace, meaning, half the necklace would be predominantly enameled beads, and the other half would be something else.  What that Something Else would be remained to be seen.

The challenge was three-fold -- one, find beads that matched the size of the large enameled beads, two, find complimentary colors for the unique blue shade, and three, find beads that were of equal weight to the enamel beads.

After much poking around, I found a solution.  Large fluted bleached wood rounds, natural wood triangles, and these awesome Czech glass beads that couldn't have had a more perfect coloration if I'd designed them myself.

My other challenge was to NOT use metal spacers between any of the beads as I'm used to doing.  I just automatically go for them every. single. time.  I was determined this time to just leave it alone, choosing to finish the necklace with an antiqued vermeil clasp.  

Question is, what do you think?  Do you think I SHOULD have used small gold spacers between some of the beads?  Is the bleached wood too pale?  I know I got the size right, but tell me what you REALLY think.

You can find more of Miss Molly's work at the following:

Molly Alexander

Shop:  Click here

Blog:  Click here

 

 

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off.  She's also a contributor to Art Bead Scene.  She is also the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.

 

 

 

What is a "Cup of Bead Soup"?

What is a "Cup of Bead Soup"?

Well, I wanted to continue the exciting challenge of the Bead Soup Blog Party, but this time for myself, challenging my skills by working with one artist a month.  I receive a package of beads from a new artist each month, sight unseen, and then I create with them.  I blog here about the creations for a month, explaining techniques, thought processes, and obstacles I meet along the way.  It's also a great way to introduce you to new and exciting beads!

Interested in participating?  Email me for details!