Saturday, October 13, 2012

My Bead Table Blog Hop

Lisa Lodge, from A Grateful Artist, hosted a fabulous challenge/blog hop.  She sent 25 lucky people a selection of stray or orphan beads from her stash.  She asked us to combine those beads with some orphans from our own stash to create something awesome.

I was excited to take part and even more excited to receive my bead soup.


I took Lisa's soup and added odd beads from my stash, then mixed in some seed beads.  I ended up with quite a large cup of soup.


Yes, I stirred my soup with a spoon.  :)

I haven't done much in the way of bead soups, so I turned to Beaded Colorways by Beverly Ash Gilbert.  In her book, Beverly does an amazing job of explaining how to create a bead soup and how to transition between different colors of soups.  The projects are amazing and one in particular caught my eye.

Beverly's "Wander with Flair" necklace incorporates sari ribbons into a freestyle beading technique.


I had so much fun making this necklace.  There wasn't any "wrong" way to go and the bead soup blended perfectly into the fiber.


I was stunned to see the final product.


Never in a million years would I think I could make something like that!

It turns out that my approximation of beads was *way* off because I had over half my original soup left.

That soup became a bracelet.


I chose to do a freeform netting, similar to that in the necklace.  It was so much fun to just let go and string beads.  Lisa's bead soup was perfect.


I used a snap for the closure.  I love that it's hidden.


Please take some time and check out the other wonderful designers who participated in this hop.  I promise, you will see some awesome beady goodness.

Lisa Lodge, A Greatful Artist (our host)
Molly Alexander, Beautifully Broken Me
Audrey Belanger, Dreams of an Absolution
Ginger Bishop, lilmummy likes...
Tanya Boden, Fusion Muse
Michelle Buettner, Mishel Designs
Eleanor Burian-Mohr, TheCharmed Life
Mikala Coates, MaybeJust Perhaps
Marlene Cupo, Amazing Designs
Kathleen Douglas, Washoe Kat's
Mary Anne Klinglesmith Flesch, Hand Crafted Serenity
Mary Govaars, MLH Jewelry Designs
Tanya Goodwin, A Work in Progress - you are here
Tina Holden, PolymerClay Bytes!
Shelly Joyce, Au jour le jour
Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn'sCreations
Kathy Lindemer, Bay Moon Design
Susan Lloyd, Designs by Susan
Cynthia Machata, AntiquityTravelers
Inge von Roos, Inge'sBlog
Kristen Stevens, My Bead Journey
Sonya Stille, Dreamin' of Beads
Christine Stonefield, SweetGirl Design
Toltec Jewels, JewelSchool Friends
Norma Turvey, MoonlitFantaseas
Sandra Wollberg, Cityof Brass Stories


26 comments:

  1. That necklace is amazing. You should be so proud.

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  2. Tanya - this is GORGEOUS. I love what you did here. I love that you stirred your soup!!! Beaded Colorways was and is a huge inspiration to me. I did a bunch of free form weaving back when I read it and I do believe you've just inspired me to do more!!! I'm really loving these pieces!!! (Did I use the word 'love' here too much! LOL!)

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  3. Tanya, that necklace turned out absolutely stunning. That is a prize winner. You should definitely be proud of that, and the bracelet is amazing as well. Way to go with that gorgeous mix from Lisa. Very cool!

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  4. Tanya this is just so totally awesome!! Oh my goodness what a chef you are!!

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  5. WOW, incredible necklace, it is amazing. I love the soup mix and you did a great job! Your bracelet is perfect, I love free form too and you did it to perfection.

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  6. Hi Tanya,
    Beautiful necklace and bracelet! I love the look of the fiber in the necklace, it is a very nice touch. These pieces were a great use of your bead soup. I really need to kick the fear of freeform to the curb and just do it.
    Therese

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  7. Tanya I simply LOVE your creativity! Every time I see your name on a blog hop list I want to click right over to see what you did. You amaze me. Both pieces are STUNNING and unexpected and gorgeous!

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  8. Oh wow! Incredible... I'd better get my grubby mitts on a copy of that book!

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  9. Serious love here!!!! What a great testimony to Beverly Ash Gilbert. You took her concept, and created a STUNNING set. Great colors and textures. You need to email her and send her a pic, I bet she'd be thrilled.

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  10. Stunning necklace, perfect for the season, but one I would wear year round.

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  11. OMG, I absolutely *love* the two pieces you made. They are something I would be proud to wear. I am going to have to check out the book you mentioned. Maybe I can create something that beautiful, too!

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  12. Wow - just wow! Your necklace is super gorgeous! And that bracelet is stunning as well. I love the colors in both and the textures, too. But that necklace,...oh my goodness that necklace - it's a real beauty indeed!!

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  13. Tanya, am in love with your necklace and everything about it, from the free form stringing (HOW DO YOU DO THAT?) to the use of the fiber. Delicious. The matching bracelet is a perfect companion and really like the "hidden snap closure", going to have to remember that one ;o).

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  14. I was just pondering sari ribbons, and you used them so beautifully. What divine textures.

    And what Marlene said: HOW DO YOU DO THAT?!

    Btw, I also study an Okinawan form of martial arts - moto bu ryu.

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  15. Tanya - what fabulous creations you made with your beads! The use of fiber in the necklace was so perfect! Stunning craftsmanship (or as I like to call it, craftsWOMANship. Thank you so much for participating in the hop.

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  16. Oh my goodness that necklace is incredible! I prefer earthy colors and very rarely do you see such a show stopper in those colors.

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  17. WOW,WOW, WOW How beautiful, I love what you did, I think I am going to have to try that with ribbon and multi-strands.

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  18. All I can say is WOW! What a beautiful necklace/bracelet set you made from a very eclectic soup. Fabulous!

    :) Molly

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  19. VEry Fall colours too.The hidden closure is a great thing as it allows the rest of the beads to speak by themselves. Lovely pieces.Love and hugs Tanya

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  20. That is just beautiful! You did a great job! The hidden snap is ingenius!

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  21. That is stunning!!! I LOVE them. I beleive I have that book, I may have to go find it and get to creating.
    Thanks so much for sharing your design inspiration.
    Sonya

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  22. OMG - that's one gorgeous necklace!!!

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  23. Your pieces are gorgeous!! I'm definitely going to have to check out Beverly's book!

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