Saturday 25 March 2017

Bead Soup Blog Party - Bead Hoarders Edition

At long last, it's time for another round of the Bead Soup Blog Party. We pair up, swap beads, create, and reveal our goodies en masse. This time, Lori Anderson decided to add a twist: hoarding. For a long time, I convinced myself I wasn't a bead hoarder, but looking at the beautiful handmade beads I've collected over the years is evidence to the contrary. We were asked to choose a special hoarded bead and send it to our partner.

I was very lucky to be paired with Alice Craddick. She loves color. Although I usually stick to certain palettes, I, too, am drawn to colorful delights. Here's the zesty set of orange, lime, turquoise, and purple beads Alice sent me.

Photo from Alice

I was so excited, I even forgot to take a photo! I immediately started making earrings from the small beads, but that pinwheel focal took more time. It's so unusual, and I wanted to compliment the fun, colorful design.

I was very tempted to use the lime lampwork beads (top of the photo) in earrings, but I decided to work them into a necklace with the focal. The lampwork is by Buckaroo Beads, and I love, love them.





                           




In the necklace, I used the ceramic pinwheel, small faceted blue glass, and the lime green lampwork. The rest is from my stash, so this necklace has definitely turned into a stash buster!


I also made a pair of who-hoops with some of the small beads Alice sent. 







I'm sure you're wondering what I sent to Alice, so here are a couple snaps. And yes, it's all pretty colorful. I couldn't choose one color, so I sent Alice a rainbow of components I've collected over the past 8 years.





A huge thank you to my swap partner, Alice, for the delightful collection of beads and for reminding me how fun it is to go a bit wild with it in my designs. Now, I'm off to see what she made!

You can find the full list of participants (it's a doozy!) on Lori's blog, Pretty Things. It goes without saying that Lori is a spectacular hostess. Thanks so much for hosting another Bead Soup Blog Party and for encouraging us to dive into our stashes!

41 comments:

  1. Nice work,Leah! That focal would have been a challenge for me. You totally got it! The whole necklace looks great. Fun earrings, too!

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  2. I like your necklace - sure good to wear!

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  3. Everything is so colorful and unique; you seem well matched as partners. Your pieces make me smile.

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  4. I find color exciting too, so your necklace really speaks to me. I love that unusual focal, and you did a fabulous job with it. Love the earrings too!

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  5. Hi Leah, You showed that unusual focal perfectly. Great job using your swap beads.

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  6. I absolutely love how you treated the pinwheel focal. I can't get enough of looking at it. You turned something potentially hard to manage into a rock star! Really brilliant!!!

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  7. Love that focal! And the colors. Fabulous!

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  8. Stunning - both the soup you sent and the soup you got. That piece with the wire loops all the way around is particularly inspiring. You've done a great job with everything!

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  9. Love your soup (sent and received :) ) and what a wonderful job you did with yours Leah. Your necklace is so much fun. Love the pendant. Especially the tiny dangles on the pendant (carnelian? )

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    1. Yep, carnelian! I've hoarded those for a long time. Thanks so much, Janine.

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  10. I totally love how you used the pinwheel. Those orange beads really add to the loops. The earrings are fun too. I rest like the owls. This was a fun hop and thanks for being a being my psrtner!

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  11. I totally love how you used the pinwheel. Those orange beads really add to the loops. The earrings are fun too. I rest like the owls. This was a fun hop and thanks for being a being my partner!

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    1. Thank you! It is such a special piece. I hope I did it justice. Those little orange beads are carnelian. They make a pretty chiming sound when they move against the ceramic.

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  12. What a fun focal bead--and what a fun necklace to go with it! I love the design that you made... and the cute earrings, too! Lovely work, all around! :D

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  13. I love the way you embellished the pinwheel! A great way to tackle an interesting challenge.

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  14. Oh wow - gorgeous creations. I love how the necklace turned out

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  15. Love that pinwheel focal and what you did with it!

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  16. The who hoops made me giggle, great name for them! You really embraced the colors of the beads you were sent and created a striking piece.

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  17. You did a fantastic job with that focal!! I would have been intimidated by all the loops! You were very giving also with what you sent your partner!!

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  18. What a wonderful soup - that focal is magnificent and I love your bold design. I'd definitely wear this one!

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  19. very interesting focal and great necklace you prepared!I admire!

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  20. I always love what you design! Your necklace is totally fun and whoooo doesn't love owls?!!!

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    1. Exactly! Can't go wrong with owls. Thank you.

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  21. Hey Leah, guess what? You're a bead hoarder ;) That necklace is wicked cool! Your earrings are adorable, too.

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    1. Bead hoarder? Moi? Maybe just a little. Thanks, Carrie. :)

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  22. I adore how the pinwheel necklace set turned out! I think it's just lovely.

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  23. I would have been totally baffled with that focal but I absolutely love what you made! It's colorful yet subdued enough that I would totally love it. You rock!

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  24. This is a really Beautiful design!! I love the asymmetry, the colors, the texture... LOL It has it all!! Great Job. I love the earrigns too!

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  25. Beautiful necklace and earrings. You really used the focal nicely.
    Dolores

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  26. Such an interesting design - I have never seen a bead/disc(?) with loops all around

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  27. I love the bead soup Alice sent to you, the necklace you created is amazing!!! I love that you used the beads in a way that the colors just blend so beautifully!

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  28. Wow that focal was fantastic! The necklace is wonderfully creative, playful and colorful. Those earrings are lovely and fun too!

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  29. Oh my heavens! First off, I love love what you created. It's fun and whimsical and all of the components work perfectly together. FUN! Just as much as I love what you made, I LOVE what you sent. The color makes me smile big time. I'm sure your partner made something fabulous with the goodies!!

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  30. Your soup is awesome! What a great pendant, you did it justice with that necklace! The earrings are nice too!

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  31. Thank you all so much for the lovely comments! It was a really fun challenge. I just got home, so I'm able to hop. Can't wait to see what everyone made!

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  32. I LOVE that focal! And I would just eat up the soup you sent her! OH my. Serious love.

    Thanks so much for participating!

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  33. You did a great job with the pendant and all of those pretty colors.

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  34. Stunning! I love the colours in your necklace and that soup you sent Anne is to die for.

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  35. Great focal and you have made such lovely things with your soup!

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  36. What a focal that is in your necklace!! It's colorful, fun, unique, large, fun to look at - and your necklace balances all of that out while still making it shine. I love everything about it, including the length. The earrings are awesome as well, and I love that you added the owls at the bottom. Get ready for loads of compliments when you wear these. They'd stop me in my tracks.

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  37. WOW! Great job with the focal!

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