You Don't Need Magic....: September 2011

Today is the big day! The Bead Soup Blog Party projects are now Revealed....(This fabulous event is hosted by Lori Anderson of Pretty Things Blog. ) Thank you Lori!

I promised that today you would see what I did with the beads Christi (as in the really talented Christi Clothier) sent me. I'm really proud of what I did. I was a little nervous at first because I really wanted to do her selection justice, and..... this of course was the biggest hurdle for me.... I was working out of my comfort zone... these were not beads I had chosen...they weren't the shape or size I might have chosen...but the palette was awesome...I knew it would stretch my skills, make me really push the envelope, and think about all the things that go into the design of a great piece of jewelry.

I tend to be fairly decent at working with colors, although Purple and Salmon-y Orange were not necessarily a combination I had worked with. So I set about my task with the enthusiasm of a 5 year old with a new box of crayons.

But before I show you the finished product, I want to remind you of the beads I received before I did anything to them and who they were from (just in case you missed my earlier post)...

Cool aren't they.???...They were sent to me by Christi Clothier of 2 If By Sea blog. Christi is a phenomenal artist. She's been published in a number of magazines and her work is so "earthy" and really pretty. I've never been a fan of highly polished, traditional jewelry... I love the organic feel of her jewelry...,.... it reminds me of "life". Unpredictable, and with lots of character....

And now.....the big REVEAL!

I found a set of borosilicate beads I made about a month ago in my stash. I think they were pretty well suited for the focal.

I really wanted the focal and the clasp to stand out...but I always like a lot of "danglies" on my bracelets..so it was a challenge to make the focal stand out and not get lost in everything.

I'm pretty sure that was accomplished by wiring it to small sections of chain on either side.The large rings of the chain,help to keep it "open" and "airy" and yet not distract from the clasp or the focal.

I added copper from my personal bead collection to work with the clasp and the colors in the focal and complimentary beads.

I pretty much used most of the beads Christi sent in the finished design.

I really enjoyed this experience and I'm looking forward to the next one. This was a fun way to learn more about me.

To see more Bead Soup Bead Party projects feel free to visit the links of the partners below. There were more than 350 people who participated in this event..so you'll have enough blogs to hop for a long time....

Have fun!

Here's the listing of all 362 participants and their partners...Click on each of their links to see all the wonderful "Bead Soup Goodies"!

The Hostess, Lori Anderson and her partner, Manuela Wutschke

1. Aimee Wheaton and Barbara York

2. Alice Craddick and Sandra Richardson

3. Alison Sachs and Amy Severino

4. Allison Scott and Cynthia Abner

5. Amanda Cargill Austin and Charlene Sevier

6. Amanda Davie and Patsy Evins

7. Amber Dawn and Kim Ballor

8. Ambra Gostoli and Christine Hansen

9. Amy Freeland and Christine Altmiller

10. Ana Krepel-Novak and Eleanor Snare