Art Jewelry Elements - Nightmare Bead blog hop

Looking for the 1st Reveal of the Bead Soup Blog Party®?  Click here!



I love Art Jewelry Elements, a relatively new collaborative blog with some amazing art bead makers!  I joined in one of their blog hops run by Jennifer Cameron, a glass artist I just love (and she's also a contributor to my book!).

Her blog hop involved her nightmare bead, so named because it apparently interpreted her daughter's vision of a nightmare.  I really like this bead style (and that's what's in the book!) so of course I had to join the hop.

Here's my bead.

As luck would have it, my friend Carol Wingfield Myers had sent me some enameled beads that matched perfectly!!!  But I wanted to add a "nightmare" aspect to it, so I tried, for the first time, to work with steel wire.


And y'all.... that was a nightmare.


I take off my hat and bow to those who can master this beastly dirty wire, but I apparently should have read up on it first!  Do I coat it with Renaissance Wax FIRST, or last?  I didn't have baby wipes on hand to clean my hands so my trusty t-shirt is now a work shirt.  And I am so GLAD I keep every tool I've ever bought, because I was able to cut this stuff with a trusty pair of Barracuda cutters I'd stowed away.


But I couldn't have picked a better wire, because the color is PERFECT for this bead.

The wire has a finish unlike anything I've worked with (oxidized sterling doesn't match it).  I looped the wire, because my own nightmares and dreams often loop back on each other and I have the same ones over and over, but with elements of OTHER dreams inserted.  Talk about confusing -- is it a dream, or is it real?  The dangles are made with apatite, a stone I haven't really worked with much because it can be brittle (again -- like a nightmare if not used just right).

I had some dyed ribbon that worked beautifully with the beads (a good dream this time!) and then worked out a bail that I'm not sure I'm happy with yet.  The IDEA was to make a bail out of a spiral, but what to do with the ends?  I didn't want my beads falling off (nightmare.)  So I tucked them under, purposely being a little.... organic with them (organic is a great substitute for "oops", "messy", and "that-wasn't-where-I-was-going-with-that-but-it'll-work").  

So there you have it!  The Nightmare Necklace.

Oh, you want more?  OK, then!  My top nightmares (and ones I've heard are pretty common).   I don't fall, I don't show up naked anywhere (a nightmare for all involved!), I don't see scary beasts.  No, it's all about planning.  And college.

:: I show up for college graduation, only to find out I didn't take a class and they yank me out of line.

:: I can't FIND a class I know I need to take, or I find it, but only after a) the class only has 2 minutes left, or b) I show up on the last day -- for the exam.

:: I HAVE my diploma, but suddenly The Men in Black show up at my door to take it away because (oh guess what?) I didn't take a certain class.

Obviously, I have issues with college.  It was easily the hardest thing I EVER did.  The military was easier to manage.

I hope you enjoyed the Nightmare!  Please visit Art Jewelry Elements for more monthly challenges!

Visit the other participants!

Beti Horvath: Stringing Fool

Gretchen Nation: Art Food Lodging

Karen Totten: Starry Road Studio

Kathleen Douglas: Washoe Kat's

Keirsten Giles: The Cerebral Dilettante

Kristen Stevens: My Bead Journey

Lola: Bead Lola Bead

Lori Anderson: Pretty Things

Nancy Pederson: Something Heartfelt by Nancy

Pam DeBoer: Purple Notes from the Studio

Rana Wilson: Rana Lea Designs

Shannon Chomanczuk: For My Sweet Daughter

Lori Anderson creates jewelry and bead kits as well as collaborative mixed media art with her son, Zack.  Visit her shops by clicking here.  She is also the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party®   and author of the book Bead Soup.

Join her at the Facebook group Bead Soup Cafe for bead chat, swaps, challenges, and lots of eye candy!

Welcome to the 1st Reveal of the 6th Bead Soup Blog Party® !

I'm so happy you're here!

So what is the Bead Soup Blog Party?  It's a huge blog hop and beading challenge that has grown into so much more than I ever expected.  There's now a Facebook group for bead and jewelry designers and this October, a book!  To say I'm honored by everyone's participation is a supreme understatement (click here to see the maps!).


As with all my BSBP reveals, this is long, but I hope it's worth it!  Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and experience my pit falls, ah-ha moments, and be sure to visit the links to the many talented bead artists my partner sent me!


My partner for the first reveal was Patti Vanderbloemen.  Patti sent me two royal helpings of soup...

 

After the giddiness wore off, I thought I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to do, and even ordered some extra beads for my plan.  But as best laid plans often do, the plan changed.


I knew the blue Bead Soup would be my easiest, so I started on the black, red, and white one first.  I knew I didn't want to mix Donna Millard's lampwork with Marsha Neal's focal, and that focal was my first stumbling point.  I sat there at the table, beads everywhere, and idly picked up a bronze headpin, bronze bead cap by Lesley Watt, and a gold Swarovski crystal pearl from Bead Soup #2.  And guess what?  Brilliant.

I sat with the pendant for a few days and tried to figure out what else to do.  I ended up mixing part of Bead Soup #1 with Bead Soup #2 -- the clasp by Leann Weih became the focal ABOVE the focal, and I pulled out my newest favorite, bronze wire from Objects and Elements, to wrap around an olive green Lucite bead from my own stash.  I also wrapped the link that goes through the clasp with 22-gauge wire for a more substantial and interesting link.

I had bought that wonderful mother of pearl bead at the Bead and Button Show this year and it seemed destined for this piece -- but for some reason, I HAD to use the extra headpin and decided to drill a hole in it to make a link to the (poorly) wrapped Lucite bead.  And remember the gold tangle beads in Soup #2?  They were too bright for this necklace, so I did a QUICK dunk in Jax Brown, praying I wasn't going to ruin them.  I left them in a rustic state because that seemed to work for this necklace.

I wanted to add some color to the necklace, so used multi-faceted dyed red jade from LimaBeads from my stash and square Czech glass beads, also from my stash.  I made a couple of bronze wire cages and stuffed one with white sari silk and captured a jade bead in the other.  I've been super-interested in texture in jewelry lately, so that's what drove the decision.

And here's the finished necklace...

NOT the best photo, but it was 105 degrees outside when I took it and that just had to be that!  I'm rather fond of this.

So that was the first piece, and it made me feel I could actually DO something!  

On to the second piece, with Donna Millard's distinctively patterned lampwork beads.  When working with beads that have a strong pattern, it's important to let the beads do the talking and not have too many other conversations going on in the background.  

I made a pendant for this one with a piece of etched copper from an old project (I save EVERYTHING) and a larger piece of nickle silver.  I stacked a few metal spacers between the two pieces for depth, and riveted some random things in.  The funny thing?  I made this pendant a month before my soup arrived, yet it's perfect with those red beads!

I decorated the links of the red lampwork bead links with tiny copper beads... see them up there?

Then I let the beads do the talking and made a simple linked necklace.  I hope the relative simplicity and modernity of the pendant worked well with Donna's lampwork.  What do you think?

Since I had plans for the clasp Patti sent, I made my own using one of the sterling silver beads I was sent and a lot of wire....

I had one more bead left from Donna's lampwork and the silver beads, and I wanted to see if I could use as much of the bead soups as I could, so I made a two-strand bracelet with bead clusters from the seed beads Patti sent and onyx from my stash.  Here's where I used the silver toggle Patti sent (made by Lesley Watt.)

Then there were the two sets of headpins Patti sent!  I made one pair into a kind of Gothic style:

And the second set is made with some vintage rhinestone beads and photographed against my first wedding cabinet card (I collect cabinet cards, but never had a wedding one!).  It seemed fitting.

So that took care of Bead Soup #1 and part of #2!  

The second soup, the blue soup, I was giddy over because I LOVE fat, chubby lampwork beads.  These are gorgeous substantial beads made by Lea Avroch.  I also love blue, and really need a blue necklace.  I knew I wanted to incorporate my favorite things (dangles!) but I really wanted it LUSH.  

I happened to have a charm by Lesley Watt arrive on my doorstep a couple of days before I started work on the necklace, and since I'd already used the bronze clasp in the earlier necklace, I found another toggle from Lesley and went to town.

And the final piece, which took about three hours of intense wire wrapping.  

I managed to use almost everything Patti sent me.  I only had a few red seed beads, six cultured pearls, a bead cap, and a few Swarovski crystal pearls left over, and I think that's all!

Here's what I sent to Patti, and you can click here to see what SHE made!

And the rest of the BSBP6 Reveal #1 participants! 

Hostess, Lori Anderson, PrettyThingsBlog.com

Alice Craddick,  Alice's Beads and Baubles

Alicia Marinache,  All The Pretty Things

Amanda Tibbetts,  Amanda Made

Amber Dawn Goldish, Inventive Soul

Annita Wilson,  AW Jewelry

Beti Horvath, Stringing Fool

Birgitta Lejonklou,  Create With Spirit   

Candida Castleberry,    Spinning Spun Sugar

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations

Cassie Donlen, Glass Beadle

Cheri Reed,  Creative Designs by Cheri

Cheryl McCloud,  One Thing Leads to Another

Cheryl Roe, BeadRoe

Christina Hickman, Vintage Treasures Jewelry

Cilla Watkins, Tell Your Girlfriends

Cindy Wilson, Mommy's Dream

Cindy Wimmer, Sweet Bead Studio

Cory Celaya, Art With Moxie

Cory Tompkins, Tealwater Designs

Cris Peacock, Cris' Page

Cynthia Deis, Shiny Little Things

Cynthia Machata, Antiquity Travelers

Cynthia Wainscott, Exotic Peru

Dana Hickey, Magpie Approved

Dana James, Dana's Jewelry Designs

Dana Lang, Tumblestone Handmakery

Debbie Price, Green Shoot Jewellery Designs

Denielle Hagerman, Some Beads and Other Things

Diane Valasek, Dragonfly Close

Doris Stumpf, Glaszwerg

Dyanne Everett-Cantrell, Dee-Liteful Jewelry Creations

Elaine Robitaille, Too Aquarius

Eleanor Burian-Mohr, The Charmed Life

Enikö Fabian, Perl-eni

Erin Prais-Hintz, Treasures Found

Heather Davis, Blissful Garden Beads

Heidi Post, Ex Post Facto Jewelry

Hilary Frye, FryeStyle

Ilenia Ruzza, Ilenia's Unique Beaded and Painted Jewelry

Inge von Roos, Inge's Blog

Jami Shipp, Celebrating Life

Jayne Capps, Mama's Got to Doodle

Jean A. Well, Jean A. Wells Handcrafted Artisan Jewelry

Jean Yates, Snap Out of It Jean! There's Beading to Do!

Jennifer Cameron, Glass Addictions

Jennifer Pottner, Rock Candy Beads

Jennifer VanBenschoten,  Jewelry, Art and Life

Jenny Davies-Reazor, Jenny Davies-Reazor

Jenny Vidberg, Shyme Design

Jessica Dickens, My Jewelry, My Life, Me

Jessica Klaaren, Beadful-Things by Jessica

JJ Jacobs, Coming Abstractions

Joan Williams, Lilruby Jewelry

Judith Johnston, Judith Johnston

Judy Riggs, Rigglettes

Judy Turner, Silver Rains

Julie Anne Leggett, The Peaceful Bead

K Hutchinson, Jumbled Hutch

Karen Meador, Dreamcatcher Ranch

Karyn Bonfiglio, Plus Size Bangles

Katherine Gale, Terra Beadworks
Kathleen Lange Klik, Modern Nature Studio

Katja Benevol Gabrijelcic, Slovonske Technobe

Kelli Jacobson, Creative Moon

Kelly Ramstack, Adventures with Kelly

Keri Lee Sereika, Pink Lemonade

Kim Ballor, Vitamin C... A Daily Dose of Creativity

Kim Bender-Hora, KimmyKat

Kirsi Luostarinen, Kirsi Luo Korut

Kitty Bozzini, Kitty Lampwork

Laura Demoya, The Bead Therapist

Laurie Hanna, Laurie's Jewelbox

Leah Curtis, Beady Eyed Bunny

Lesley Watt, The Gossiping Goddess

Linda Inhelder, Must-Haves Jewelry

Linda Landig, Linda's Bead Blog and Meanderings

Lisa Liddy, Metal Me This

Lori Dorrington, Lori's Adventures in Etsy Land

Lori Poppe, Adventures in Creativity with Lorillijean

Mallory Hoffman, For the Love of Beads

Marge Beebe, Rock Creek Creations

Marianna Boylan, Pretty Shiny Things

Marion Simmons, Shade Tree Studio

Marla Gibson, Spice Box Design

Marti Conrad, Marti C's Clay Blog

Maryse Fritzsch-Thillens, GlassBeadArt, Lampwork Beads

Melanie Brooks, Earthenwood Studio

Michelle Hardy, Firefly Visions

Mikala Coates, Maybe Just Perhaps

Nan Emmett, Spirit Rattles - Spirited Earth

Nancy Boylan, Snazzy Doodle Designs

Nancy Peterson, Beading From the Heart

Nicole Rennell, Nicole Rennell Designs

Niki Meiners, 365 Days of Craft

Niky Sayers, Silver Nik Nats

Norma Turvey, Moonlit Fantaseas
Paige Maxim, Paige Maxim Designs
Pamela Gangler, She Always Loved Pink

Patricia Johnson, Patricia L. Johnson Glass Art

Patti Vanderbloemen, My Addictions ... Handcrafted Jewelry by Patti

Perri Jackson, Shaktipaj Designs

Raida Disbrow, Havana Beads

Renetha Stanziano, Lamplight Crafts

Shannon Hicks, Falling Into the Sky

Shannon LeVart, Miss Fickle Media

Sharon Driscoll, Right Turn Art Werks

Shelby Foxwell, Sundown Bead Designs Rhetoric

Shelley Graham Turner, Fabric of My Life

Sherri Stokey, Knot Just Macrame

Shirley Moore, Beads and Bread

Skylar Bre'z, Brising Beads

Stacie Florer, Soul to Substance

Stacie Stamper, Park Avenue

Stacy Alderson, Iridal's Attic

Stephanie Haussler, Pixybug Designs

Stephanie Stamper, Rainy Day Designs

Sue Hamel, The Bottle Cork and Crystal

Suzette Bentley, Ellie's Bijoux

Szarka, Magpie Gemstones

Tammy Jones, Jewelry Making Daily

Tania Tebbit, Glass, Craft, & Artful Goodness

Tanty Sri Hartanti, TJewellicious by Tanti

Terry Matuszyk, Pink Chapeau

 Tina Bosh, Every Good and Perfect Gift

Tracy Bell, Copper, Glass and Recycled Trash

Vonna Maslanka, Just Vonna

Next reveal date -- August 11th!

 

Lori Anderson creates jewelry and bead kits as well as collaborative mixed media art with her son, Zack.  Visit her shops by clicking here.  She is also the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party®   and author of the book Bead Soup.

Join her at the Facebook group Bead Soup Cafe for bead chat, swaps, challenges, and lots of eye candy!

A Quick Look at the Bead Soup Book!

I had a quick look at the Bead Soup book these past weeks.  I'm pleased to announce that Jeannie Dukic's butterfly necklace, made with a bead soup I sent her, made the back cover!

Hard to tell in this hasty photo, but the book designer used clever recipe cards and sticky notes in the book to hold key information.  Isn't that clever?  I had an idea about recipe cards but she went the extra mile on it.

Cindy Wimmer took all the photos of the bead soups in the bowls (was it really last summer when we did all this????) and I'll tease you with the soup that my son picked out:

Humble seed beads from our local Ben Franklin (the closest thing we in rural areas have to a Michaels), frog beads by Green Girl Studios, and a clasp from AD/Adornments.  WHAT do you think he came up with?????  Because trust me, he had DEFINITE ideas about what worked and what didn't.  "NO, Mommy.  Seriously?" was often heard while we worked together.

If you're interested in a pre-order with free tutorials and an autograph, look to the right and you'll see the link.  You can also buy the book a little cheaper at the Kalmbach store, but won't receive the free tutorials.

It's almost here -- and I can't wait!

Lori Anderson creates jewelry and bead kits as well as collaborative mixed media art with her son, Zack.  Visit her shops by clicking here.  She is also the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party®   and author of the book Bead Soup.

Join her at the Facebook group Bead Soup Cafe for bead chat, swaps, challenges, and lots of eye candy!

The Bead Soup Blog Party® -- Where are we from?

I can't believe it's almost that time!  The 6th Bead Soup Blog Party®, Reveal #1, will be this Saturday!!!!


One of the fun things I do for the BSBP kick-off is to map where everyone is from.  My husband and I sit down and several hours later, we have pins in the map for everyone.  We've learned so much about geography doing this, let me tell you!  I'm ready to win the blue piece of the pie next Trivial Pursuit game!  :-)


So without further ado, here is the entire party, all three reveals, mapped out for you.  Click on the maps to get a larger view!

The Entire Map: 45 US states and 25 Countries

 US and Canada details: 

Europe details:

 Asia and Antipodes details:

(Oops.... I missed Singapore, I'm sorry!)

It never ceases to amaze me how this blog hop keeps growing and expanding.  Each party, we gain new people, but what does that mean?  It's not just about numbers.  Numbers alone don't make a blog hop.  No, what makes the numbers meaningful is they're assigned to PEOPLE, and each person who joins in the fun opens their world a little more.  Not only is everyone expanding their design horizons, they're expanding their network of friends and colleagues -- especially since the Bead Soup Cafe opened its doors on Facebook and took the BSBP from an event to a community.


I'm so excited to see what the first reveal group makes!!!!  Visit me here on Saturday and see what everyone made!

Book Reviews:  More Summer Reading

Lori Anderson creates jewelry and bead kits as well as collaborative mixed media art with her son, Zack.  Visit her shops by clicking here.  She is also the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party®   and author of the book Bead Soup.

Join her at the Facebook group Bead Soup Cafe for bead chat, swaps, challenges, and lots of eye candy!

Chicago -- Architecture

Out of the 300+ photos I took in Chicago, I noticed that the majority were of architecture and the interesting lines of buildings and other structures.  Here's a quick little tour with Zack as the guide from the top of the double-decker bus (temperature, 104). 

Celtic church window.

Juxtaposition of the modern

 (Trump Tower, currently the 2nd tallest building in the US) 

and the old (Wrigley Building).

Lake Point Tower condos.

Above Fannie May Candies.  My complaining about how to get a decent shot prompted Rick to look for my Christmas present for this year, a zoom lens.

(Click for a larger photo.)

Don't know why,

but I like the Red Eye.

 

All that architecture, and I notice the paint on the road.

The John Hancock Center, whose weight is supported by the cross beams you see on the front.  (I about got my head knocked off taking this picture,  leaning out the trolley window upside down).

The Chicago Theater marquee.  

Another "GET YOUR HEAD BACK IN THE BUS!" moment.

 

Marina City, the first urban post-war high-rise residential complex in the United States.  The bottom part is the garage, but it is MANDATORY valet parking --can you see that all the cars are BACKED into their spots and there's nothing stopping them from going woopsie-doodle out the door?  Yeah.  I'll stick to driving, not parking.

More to come!

Lori Anderson creates jewelry and bead kits as well as collaborative mixed media art with her son, Zack.  Visit her shops by clicking here.  She is also the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party®   and author of the book Bead Soup.

Join her at the Facebook group Bead Soup Cafe for bead chat, swaps, challenges, and lots of eye candy!

I'm Exhausted. (and I sneak in vacation photos while I'm at it)

I am so tired.


Getting rid of an arsenal of prescription drugs has its pitfalls in some ways -- it can wreak havoc on your system.  At first, I had tons of energy, but right now, I feel overwhelmed and exhausted.


And I'm going to let that be OK for now.


Rick and I watched a movie both yesterday and today so I could rest ("J.Edgar" and "Letters From Iwo Jima", both wonderful).  I finished two books but I missed my book club brunch this morning and was really upset about that but the weather and I guess the travel gave me a killer migraine and I just NOW was able to get upright.


I feel like this fish from the Shedd Aquarium.  Grumpy and crusty.

I took this through glass and can't believe how well it turned out.

Sometimes it's easy to dwell on the bad stuff.  The exhaustion, the list of things that keeps getting pushed off, the web updates that aren't getting done, the jewelry that's not being made.  But I'm human.  Not Super Woman, and even those who play Super Woman in real life AND on TV have bad days -- they're just better at hiding it (which is why they wear a cape).  And which is why they're Super and I am just Woman.

staring out the trolley window in Chicago

The important things this week have been spending a huge amount of time with my son and husband.  The trip to Chicago, while 100+ degrees each day, was worth every second.  We had the TV on for about half an hour the entire trip.  Zack tried lettuce for the first time (HUGE bonus for a kid with severe food issues).  He was a dream rolling with things, enjoyed the museums and the Ferris wheel (which had been an iffy proposition at first) and was an absolute joy. 

making the kidlet smile is the only thing that matters.

So I'm slowly packaging replacement Bead Soups to send out, packing up prizes you've won, supervising thank you notes (you guys at BeadSoupCafe.com have made me cry and Zack thrilled with your coin collections you've sent him.)  I'm praying special parts I ordered for my first Bead Soup Blog Party® reveal arrive on time.   And I'm mourning my friend whose death I just found out about.  More on that later as I share photos with the Air Force family, the classmates who loved him, too.  I know that's affecting me badly.

I learned of John's death before we left for Chicago, and when I saw a flag, I thought of him.

So right now, life is a bit like a Ferris wheel -- it goes round and round and round, and when you're at the top, it's exhilarating, but when you're at the bottom, you feel the weight of all that machinery above you and you just want to get back on the ride and reach for the sky again.

The lesson in all this -- figure out what's important first.  Give yourself the break your body tells you you need.  Do what you enjoy.  Love your family and friends.


And always enjoy the view from the Ferris Wheel, no matter what.

Lori Anderson creates jewelry and bead kits as well as collaborative mixed media art with her son, Zack.  Visit her shops by clicking here.  She is also the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party®   and author of the book Bead Soup.

Join her at the Facebook group Bead Soup Cafe for bead chat, swaps, challenges, and lots of eye candy!