Monday 26 May 2014

ENJOYING THE BEAD SOUP BLOGS!

Just a quick note to let you all know I am still going around your blogs so don't be surprised if I pop up at your place soon. 

The computer hard drive gave up on my 2 year old computer and we had to fit a new one so I have lost a lot of stuff and am trying to sort out.
 
I will be doing the giveaways probably in a couple of weeks to give everyone like me a chance to leave a comment and get a try for them. Thanks for reading this.

~Jackie~

Saturday 10 May 2014

BEAD SOUP BLOG PARTY THE GREAT REVEAL TODAY!

Well here it is at last the day to reveal what we have made with the soup our partner or partners sent us. First I would like to thank Lori Anderson who although she has been so ill made the decision to hold the party again this year, bravo Lori.

Ok here goes my first partner was Hannah Annear her blog is at Wordpress www.quirkyhannah.wordpress.com
You can see in a post below the items both of my partners sent me. I used the piece of Labradorite to make a focal with some lovely bronze wire which I hammered and textured it could actually be used as a focal on a chain or with the addition of a pin a brooch.                                                                                                                                   

















My second partner was Sarah Strover of www.beaupepys.blogspot.com 
I had a lovely assortment of items to challenge me from Sarah. First up is a necklace, the focal was most unusual, I used two of the smaller green goldstone beads above it and I really liked how the Moonstone nuggets looked with the white wash that had been used on the carving. I felt the five Ugandan paper beads gave a feeling of spring freshness to enlarge on that I made two leaves of Polymer Clay and used a couple of my round red and green clay beads for a pop of colour I finished off with some of Sarah's silvery feathers and the clasp she sent me. Oh yes I added a bit of chain and some tiny silver beads.


I made a pair of earrings with the rest of the feathers Sarah sent and a second pair with some really cute glass pepper lamp work beads.
















Next I made a ribbon necklace with the Kokou seed beads ( not sure if I got the name right) I had some gold ones in my stash so added two of those and threaded them onto hand dyed silk, I could have knotted between the beads but then they couldn't be moved up or down to change the pattern so I left them free for now.


The last piece I made was a composite of Hannah Annears pretty flower Clasp and Sara's beads with the addition of some faceted Aquamarine, silver beads and bead caps and tiny freshwater pearls from my stash. I used Sarah's Kashmiri Lac bead for the focal, more of the lovely green goldstone rounds she sent me and a pair of green tree Agate beads. I put two pictures below so you can see the whole necklace with Hannah's clasp.



Well that's it for this year folks, I will be doing some giveaways, not decided what yet though if you are interested please mention you would like to be included in the draw when you leave a comment.
Thank you so much for visiting my blog, every comment is much appreciated.

Here is a link to the rest of the party, I hope will enjoy visiting some of the other blogs! 
http://www.prettythingsblog.com/2014/05/welcome-to-8th-bead-soup-blog-party.html


~Jackie~  
  


Saturday 3 May 2014

NEW BRACELET!

This is my first post in a while not because I had nothing to post about but quite simply because I was ill yet again this time Lara bought home the virus! I seem to have spent the last few months ( since before Christmas ) sick with just a break between of three weeks. Well I am ploughing my way through this one and spending a lot of the night coughing I am really fed up with it and I am usually so healthy! Enough said this is not what I want to write about.

I have made all the pieces for the great reveal next week. Made before the virus kicked in.

But I wanted to make something with a few pretty lampwork beads I had collected, they are a tablet shape with little white flowers I decided on a bracelet, the lampwork looked really sweet with some of my white freshwater pearls but I felt it needed something else, I found some tiny silver beads worked very well. I thought I might make a simple S clasp from some Parawire I had bought ages ago, I fancied doing some hammering and Parawire hammers really well I discovered. I do love hammering there is nothing so satisfying, I think I would like to buy some small texturing hammers if there is such a thing, have to find out! I know this is not a great picture as the light was not good, the result you can see in the photo below it is for sale of course!

~Jackie~