8th Bead Soup Blog Party- Ready to Roll!

Time for the Bead Soup Blog Party bead exchange to begin. My partner in this endeavor is Kumi Fisher who lives on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. My lucky beads get to go live with her there, while her beads are traveling to the freezing cold climes of upstate New York. I can see the packages waving at each other as they pass by in some post office somewhere in California- Aloha! Mine filled with lampwork and hers filled with some of her wonderful handmade metal beads and adornments.
I can't wait to see what Kumi makes out of her bits and pieces, and to be inspired by the bits I find in the package she has sent.
Kumi does a lot of experimenting with metals- it seems like she's tried a little of everything- enameling, using alcohol inks, hammering, coiling- you name it! What started out as a little something to do in her spare time has turned into a passion that can't be stopped!

Here are a couple of pics of the things Kumi can expect to arrive in her mail box shortly.

Color / Colour- Les Couleurs Focus on Life Week 17

Today, we will quote from the immortal words of Kermit the Frog-

"Why are there so many songs about rainbows
and what's on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,
and rainbows have nothing to hide.
So we've been told and some choose to believe it.
I know they're wrong, wait and see.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers and me.

Who said that every wish would be heard
and answered when wished on the morning star?
Somebody thought of that and someone believed it.
Look what it's done so far.
What's so amazing that keeps us star gazing
and what do we think we might see?
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers and me.

All of us under its spell. We know that it's probably magic. "

OK- kind of a goofy song, and who knows what it really means, but color is such an important part of what we do every day- it can make us feel happy or sad, the difference in light can make a day dreary or lively, it influences us whether we are paying attention or not! I was getting ready to make a kind of blue/ aqua deep sea creature pendant, and then I looked at the colors that were already on the table and saw how lovely they looked together, thought of the prompt for this week and went off on a bit of a tangent. So here you go! 

And end with the words of Henri Matisse:

Seek the strongest color effect possible.. the content is of no importance.


Want to hear more colorful thoughts? Start at Sally's Blog!

Handmade Lampwork Glass Bead Headpins and Sets

I've been working on beads sets a little at a time lately. Trying to make more supplies available in my etsy shop. I've kind of decided on the name 'stone soup' for the types of sets I'm making right now. They look like they've got bits and pieces of stone all through them- very organic.



I've also made some headpin sets. These are great fun to play around with! When I made the pins, I left the copper wire about 5 or 6 inches long, so there's plenty to work with. Before I used them, I decided to hammer them flat just because I like the way that looks; then I went to town! I've made a few necklaces out of them-added a few flattened copper baubles as well- making these little paddle dangles is a wonderful way to use up copper scraps. Being new to metal working, I always seem to have a lot of those lying about!

Out of My Box and Into Yours

I've been thinking about entering the newest juried pendant show from the ISGB- Awakening the Vision- Creative Discoveries and wondering about getting out of my box.  I had an interesting idea for a bead right after I heard about the show, which I tried out; it still needs some practice before it is where I think I want it to be. But, even though it is something new, it is not really 'out of the box' for me.
That got me thinking about boxes- mine, yours and what lies between. Where, exactly, are the edges of my box? On at least one side those edges seem to bump up firmly against precision work- things like dots in a row and drawing with stringer. It's a place I go now and then- teeth gritting and brain kicking like a child. I'll make a bead or two, label them ugly and imperfect, and then go on to some crazy style I'm perfectly comfortable with~ something like a portal, a fish or a 'comb jellie' bead. Something that is WAY out of a lot of boxes!
I'm not sure whether I will manage to make a bead to enter in this show. I often start out on these journeys and end up with nothing that I think is worthy of entry. But it's gotten me really thinking about things I need to work on, and I think that is really the point, after all. Working towards a show entry is always a challenge. This promises to be a bigger one than usual! Time for a bit of a brain stretch...

Jodi's Jewels and Me

Just a quick post to show off some lovely pieces made with some of my beads!

Jodi of JodiMooreJewels has fallen in love with my portal pendants and has done some lovely things with them. It's always fun to see what someone else does with beads I've made. Jodi's got a wonderful sense of color, and really draws out the colors of the focal in her beadwork. Now it's time to give her shop some love....