Saturday, April 27, 2013

BSBP #7 !

It's finally here! After two ( very much appreciated ) delays, the final round of the seventh Bead Soup Blog Party is here!

For those who may remember, my partner for this round is Lucie Bouvier and here's what she sent me :)


You may remember that those bottom red and black spotted beads turned out to be poisonous seeds that had been banned in this country, and had to be tossed... so sad :( Despite their unfortunate demise, they did give me an idea for a project using the sole remaining bead in that baggie...
Originally going to be a pendant for a necklace, it ended up becoming a zipper pull/bag charm.. because I needed one :)
 See? A cute little death theme zipper pull in honor of 'deceased' poisonous beads ;) lol

 Okay... so back to the beginning.

When I got this lovely soup, I was both thrilled and a little stumped... everything was RED. I've never had a single colour soup before.. it kinda threw me for a bit. Still, I immediately sat down and sorted things into baggie with beads from my own stash that I visioned going with them into different projects.

Since the focal is the one that always seems to be the 'ohmygodtherevealistomorrowandIamnotgonnamakeit' piece I'm still working on the day before the reveal, I decided to tackle it first. I knew right off I was going to pair that simple heart with pearls and gold, and that I wanted to add something to the heart itself. I envisioned strands attached via fancy metal connectors, so did up two strands , one for either side of the heart... and then got sick >.< Everything was sealed up into the baggies and set aside. Once I was feeling better... the separate strands/connectors idea no longer struck the same spark it had and so it stayed in the baggie while I played with the rest.  Once again, the focal piece became the last one finished >.< lol I think it's now traditional for my BSBP pieces. I tried to resuscitate  the connecter idea a couple days ago, but was plagued with head aches that made hammering a bad idea, until today I bit the bullet and took it apart to start from scratch.

Twice.

 Really glad I did since I rather like the way it turned out :) 
bsbp heart golem beads red pearls glass metal wing skye chaos bloghop
Heart on the Wing
Sticking with my original colour scheme/layout, I alternated white potato pearls, red glass seed beads, and gold oval beads with the red swirled glass beads Lucie sent me. The golem Beads heart pendant has a gold coloured wing layered over top .. and of course, I made matching earrings :)

If that was my LAST completed piece... what was my first, you ask?
Well duh... when stumped, fall back on the best muse kick starter... EARRINGS!

gunmetal filigree unicrone glass red drop beads faceted garnet rondels bsbp skye earrings
Gothic Droplets

 I took two gunmetal filigree bead caps and squished the little buggers flat... then used some gold jump rings to attach a couple faceted garnet rondelles and the Unicorne glass drop beads to the bottom. And I only lost one garnet and three jump rings somewhere beneath my desk >.< lol


The next done is actually three pieces... what I'd originally intended to be a triple strand bracelet changed it's mind as I was still working on the different strands, and instead became a ' stack' of bracelets. I'd add in a few bangles to fill out the stack, but haven't made 'those' yet.. so here are the three main ones...

bsbp coke pearls trinket factory skye bracelets gunmetal
Coke bracelets
I used the coke bottle cap bead, and the other red & metal bead form Lucie, and paired it up with more pearls - this time some gunmetal coloured ones in various sizes, and more little red glass seed beads as spacers.

The next piece was another one that was 'in progress' for a while. It began with the Tagua Nut toggle clasp, and the accompanying nut beads Lucie had sent.. I knew it was going to be a charm-style bracelet from the start, but beyond that I was a bit stumped. I kept getting over powered by the red >.< Finally I hit upon the perfect colour to ease of the fierceness of the red.. a choice I blame completely on Shelley Graham Turner and her darn purple bead situation. You may remember that from my post ' Sneak Attack', where my project bead faeries sent her a huge box of purple beads... Which she turned into another group called Jilly's Bead Posse, where we all make purple jewelry to donate to raise funds for Alzheimer's in memory of Shelley's sister Jill.

Anyhow, thanks to Shelley, I ended up with purple taking over my creative center of my brain, and knew the only way I was going to get this bracelet made was to use purple. Decision made, I then sorted through to find the right shade of purple... then the fun began. I started making dangles only to run out of head pins... so I had to take a break and run out for more. Then after making a couple dozen mixed dangles, I decided one style in particular, and rather then do a bracelet full of mixed ones, I'd do mainly these... the already made dangles that no longer fit could be made into earrings later on.

I got all the dangles attached... and then ran into trouble with the toggle. First I didn't like the way I had it attached.. so I fiddled with it a few times... then my adjustable clasp plan didn't work because I'd forgotten to check my chain link size versus my lobster clasp >.< So I was faced with a heart breaking choice.. either remove EVERYTHING and put it on a bigger linked chain... or do a simple lobster clasp with an extender chain and use the tagua clasp for a different project.

Which way did I go...?

bsbp charm bracelet tagua nut toggle purple bell flowers czech glass metal Skye
Garden Charms

Neither :)
I nipped the bracelet in the center and turned half the toggle clasp into a focal instead, attaching the chain to either side. I added a third link with a flower and crystal dangle off the new focal, just because I felt like it :)

The red parts are all from Lucie, and are all natural nut beads :)

This bracelet will be heading off to Shelley to be sold in support of Jilly's Bead Posse's Alzheimer's efforts :)  I might be sending the coke bracelets too if I get the remaining bangles finished to complete the set. The pearls do have a very purplish tint to them, after all ;)

So, despite the delays and the issues that popped up, I'm happy with how things turned out, over all. It's going to be hard to part with that charm bracelet... that is one of those pieces that I love and want to make mine... but if I kept it it would rarely get worn, and I KNOW that. Far better to stick with my plan for it :)

Thank you for dropping in to check on me :) Sorry I've been pretty invisible around here this month. I'll try harder to blog more again! In the mean time, make sure to hop along the rest of this reveals list and enjoy some truly lovely work :) To find out what my partner did with the soup I sent her, click HERE.

78 comments:

  1. Nicely done! Love your solution for the charm bracelet. It's truly ooak!

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  2. I agree with Katie. The bracelet rocks!!!

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  3. Sandra your pieces are stunning and I am like you, I absolutely adore the charm bracelet. If it goes to auction, I definitely want to bid on it. Please send me the info. I adore the way you changed things up and used the clasp as a focal. I love the necklace too and the multi bracelets are a great and cool idea. I would have never thought to smash bead caps the way you did the for the earrings. They are way too cool. I sure hope you are feeling better. You sure could not tell it from your soup!

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    1. Thank you :) I've flattened a few bead caps for various projects, and only some of them work right >.< this style always works fabulously though :) As for the bracelet, I don't 'think' it will be auctioned off. Most piece will be added to the etsy shop and the proceeds sent to alz.org. Some however, are sent off to different charity auctions or sales to help out various smaller local Alzheimer's programs. I don't believe the etsy shop is open just yet, but if you keep an eye o the website, you'll know when it does :) http://www.jillysbeadposse.com/

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  4. What beautiful soup and what you made from it. Great idea on the clasp, changing it to a focal. All are beautiful, great job.

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  5. Gorgeous pieces Sandra! The charm bracelet will have a very happy owner.

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  6. Love the earrings. Like the other goodies also.

    Carolyn
    Carolynscreations@live.com

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    1. Thank you :) I'd been working with all the pretty and white and NEEDED a touch of goth tossed in ;) You're all just lucky I limited the skulls to just the one piece ;) lol

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  7. Oh, I love your all red creations!!! the bracelet really rocks and I'm glad you decided to donate it for such an important cause.

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  8. Girl, you just rocked that soup, didn't you? All your pieces are way cool, but I'm seriously digging what you did with the clasp on the bracelet. Way to go!

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    1. Thank you :) It came from desperation... I designed the entire thing around the colours and look of THAT clasp, and I REALLY didn't want to have to take off ALL of those dangles to move it to a different chain just to keep using it >.< I owe this bit of inspiration to all of the other BSBP soups I've seen where the designer uses the clasp in unorthodox ways :)

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  9. Hmmmm, I finally got that first picture to load and I think I have a bunch of those seeds too. They are the pits from acai berries. I got them with tagua nut beads as well. Are they really poisonous?
    Your pieces look great and no one would ever by able to tell you weren't comfortable with red! You've nailed it. I love the bracelet, such a great color combination and one I would never have thought of.

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    1. I don't think they were pits, and they didn't come with the Tagua nut.. That one came with a different selection of nut beads. I know the poisonous ones were from Ecuador ( because that's hat the little label in the baggie said ;). I DID find this article for you though abut the recall on bracelets made with them http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2078362/Thousands-deadly-seed-bracelets-recalled-Eden-Project-gift-shop-reveals-beans-twice-fatal-RICIN.html

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  10. LOOOOOVe your creations. I tackled the focal first to, because, well, because. Only, in my case it worked, lol. I have yet to receive a single color soup, but you definitely rocked yours. <3

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    1. My first soup I ever received will always be my favorite. Even though I only 'loved' the one design, I LOVED playing with all the new materials and completely stretching myself to try new styles. It's also the only swap where my partner and I hit it off and still remain friends :) Each soup I've had since has challenged me in a different way, and I've struggled to at least meet those challenges if not blow them out of the water ;)

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  11. Love your creations, especially the heart & wing necklace! What a wonderful soup you cooked up...LOVELY!

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  12. Gorgeous pieces, great job with your soup!

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  13. I always enjoy your creations as they are so different then what I could come up with in my wildest imagination. Great job. I just love that bracelet.

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  14. Love the winged heart necklace - the colours are fab! I appreciated what you did with the bracelet - turning one-half of the toggle into a focal. not everyone would have been as flexible and creative. You did a wonderful job with soup!

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    1. Thank you :) Necessity is the mother of invention, they say... ;)

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  15. I love how rhe purple toned down and balanced the eye popping red in the second bracelet. Super!
    kathy

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    1. Thank you :) It took some doing to find the right shade of purple to balance out the red, but I was determined! lol

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  16. Here I am being a good friend and Creative Chaos fan..visiting your blog, reading along, minding my OWN business AND WHAM! My name is here and I am being blamed for something, AGAIN! What a minute for the record people...SANDRA started the purple avalance! So, I think its only fair she get run over with a purple snowball (Did I say SNOW?!! LOL)

    Okay, now with that out of the way...I laughed when you mentioned 'ohmygodtherevealistomorrowandIamnotgonnamakeit' LOL I have that issue too!! I KNEW you had to get a skull in there somewhere. And I think the banging out of the beadcap is genius, love the look. AND you know I love that bracelet. Thinking I might have to bid against your friend Christa~ You did a great job!

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    1. :D Thank you, Shelley :) And you always pull me into these things;) first the pink hair... then the purple jewelry... lol ;) Yes, I AM the one behind that avalanche of purple beads landing on you, but hey.. you DID ask for purple beads ;)

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  17. I find red to be one of the hardest colors to work with and you did a FABULOUS job lady!!! Love 'em all. Zipper pull was such a cool idea!!

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    1. Thank you. I ALWAYS either pair red up black & gold.. or with white & gold. ALWAYS. And even as I was sorting things out, I found myself falling back into that pattern and forced myself to STOP >.< lol I did give in on the heart necklace because it almost demanded the white pearls, but I turned to the purple and the gunmetal instead. The heart necklace originally had amber in it too, but that got cut out in the final remake lol

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  18. It's not easy working with hearts, but I love your piece-it is romantic but not too much. ANd the zipper pull...too funny!!!

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    1. :) Thank you :) And yes, I needed to pay homage to those poor dead(ly) beads ;)

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  19. I totally forgot that you were the one who got the poisonous seeds!!! That was certainly an unusual bead soup gift! I love your memorial zipper pull...so cute. Everything is beautiful, but the Heart on the Wing necklace is my fave.

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    1. Thank you :) I'm rather glad they came to me. Like I said, they were a learning experience and a muse kicker ;) lol

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  20. Love what you did to save your bracelet! And thanks for the warning about the seeds....I brought a whole load of them back from Peru last time. Time for another burial, I guess.

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    1. Thank you :)

      :( So sad. If they were only smaller, you could use them in resin and seal all the poisonous dust away from contact, but alas...*sigh*

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  21. Love what you did to save your bracelet! And thanks for the warning about the seeds....I brought a whole load of them back from Peru last time. Time for another burial, I guess.

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    1. Thank you :)

      :( So sad. If they were only smaller, you could use them in resin and seal all the poisonous dust away from contact, but alas...*sigh*

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  22. You did a terrific job with your only red beads - love them all!

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  23. Love the elegance and simplistic look of the heart necklace. You speak my language talking about squishing little buggers and such - great humor in your writing and the zipper pull memorial :D My favorite is the coke bracelets - excellent color choices and it all goes so well together. Well done !!

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  24. until now I wasnt going under my beading desk, fishing all the lost seedies, bicones and whatever I will find there. :-)
    I havent heard from that poisson beads before. Beading and learning for life- what a combination ;-)
    I love your coke and your gardencharms bracelet.
    thanks for the story around your beading place
    Greets Gite

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    1. Thanks! And you never know what you'll learn that day when you get out of bed in the morning ;) .. or what you'll find if you dare to peek under your desk with a flash light ;) lol

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  25. Lovely jewellery! They're all very nice, but my favourite is the heart necklace. Like your idea to make the bracelets stackable rather than one three-strand piece -- it makes them much more versatile as you can mix them in a way not possible with a multi-strand bracelet. Fab job!

    And now onto my first reaction when reading your post: Oh darn, now I want those beads you had to discard! You even made me look them up. (Not plotting to kill anyone, promise. *lol* Just have an interest in various beads and an old fascination for medicinal and magic/witchcraft plants. I grew up with datura/jimson weed, foxgloves and wolfsbane in the garden so I'm quite responsible and learned early on to respect poisonous/toxic plants.)

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    1. Thank you :) As for the beads, I know... I was thinking of saving them 'just because' , but not using them... but I have a cat and he'd no doubt find a way to get them >.< If you keep an eye out, maybe you'll be able to find some for your collection ;)

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  26. I remeber reading about your bead delima a couple of weeks ago! I would have been heart broken too! I do love exotic beads and would love to put them in a private stash! My favorites here today have to be the heart necklace and the charm bracelet. I love the way you used the all one flavored soup. Very Nice!

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    1. Thank you for your comment :)

      Well, apparently not everyone knows they're poisonous, and despite being made illegal here in Canada, some little shops still have them, simply because they were never told >.<

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  27. difficult soup-big challenge-great results! congrats!

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  28. Well, you definitely did an amazing job with your red soup! I especially love the Garden Charms bracelet and your Gothic Droplets earrings are fabulous!

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    1. Thank you :) I've decided that the earrings are the piece from this soup that I'll keep for myself.. and I've worn them a few times already :) they have just the right weight and swing to them for my taste :)

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  29. Oh, Sandra - I love love LOVE the story of you putting that charm bracelet together - charm bracelets are SO awesome, but few people appreciate the engineering that goes into building a successful design! Not only that - Your death-themed zipper pull is a great way to remember those "poor little poisonous seed" beads! The heart and wing necklace is so lovely - I was having a hard time visualizing your original plans, and then finally got to the picture and thought, "oh my, that is delightful and perfect! She nailed it!" Super job on that one - and oh, how I love those Coca Cola stacking bracelets! I bet those are loads of fun to wear! Fantastic work!

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    1. Thank you :)I still haven't finished making the rest of the stack to go with those three bracelets >.< lol I've been busy sitting on my porch enjoying the sunshine while I make endless dangles for more charm bracelets :)

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  30. Lovely pieces! love all the bangle and bracelets, especially the charm bracelet and the Heart and Wing necklace is gorgeous.

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  31. Red is one of my favourite colours and you've managed to make these pieces simply ooze with gorgeousness. These pieces scream "WEAR ME". Love 'em.

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  32. Gorgeous pieces - love that garden bracelet !

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  33. Love your perseverance and you beautiful jewellry.penny

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  34. I love your necklace with the heart and the coke bracelets. Beautiful creations from your soup!

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  35. All of them are beautiful designs. My favourite is the Garden Charms bracelet - I'm in love with it. Great work.

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  36. Poisonous seeds? Yikes! How in the world did you determine that?! Love the death theme zipper pull! I also find red a hard color to work with. You really made it work out. Nice designs!

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    1. Thank you :) I posted that top photo in the Bead Soup Cafe, and a lady told me about it. she knew I was in Canada and that these had been made illegal here, so sent me a link to the website about it! apparently these beads are very popular for making bracelets with, and one place had to put out a recall on their bracelets!

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  37. Gothic Droplet earrings are awesome! I love all your pieces though - great work with that soup!!

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    1. Thank you :) They're as fabulous to wear as to look at ;)

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  38. wow! Great work! Lovely pieces! My favorite is the garden bracelet :-) Hugs, Doris

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  39. Such cool creations...lovin' the last bracelet! Really Soup-er!

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  40. All your pieces are just wonderful! Great color and design. The garden charms bracelet is my favorite!

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  41. Sandra all of your designs are great. I can totally see myself wearing the first two designs. I like the charm bracelet too.

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  42. I hate that you had to throw out some of your soup, but I guess rules are rules. You definitely rose above that and created some beauties! Nicely done!!:)

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  43. I love zipper pulls -- no bead goes unloved! And I'm really fond of the Coke bead bracelet -- I love those beads! I like squishing bead caps, too -- rather cathartic!

    Thank you for joining in with enthusiasm and for your hard work!

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  44. Great pieces!! I love your Coke bracelet set and your charm bracelet - lovely!!

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