Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Bead Soup Unveiling!

I've been waiting for this day for a long, long time! My partner, Dana James at Dana's Jewelry Design sent me some seriously and completely luscious beads for my ingredients. I was in awe. Pearls are some of my favorites gems but I felt totally out of my league with these beauties. Check out the abalone--that soft, shimmery, silvery gray just whispered to my soul. I totally loved the rose quartz rectangular beads and the kyanite ovals. Check out the Swarovski crystals in two different sizes! The heart-shaped clasp caught me by the throat because it's beautiful and funky. The Bead Addict in me came out in full force and giggled--a little maniacally--with glee over such a treasure. How could she resist?


After I got HER calmed down enough to start thinking about what I was going to do with my wonderful ingredients. I admit that panic settled in because these ingredients cried out for something more elegant than plain ole' soup. I also felt trapped because I normally don't do hearts. Understand I give heart-embellished jewelry to others who do hearts, but I rarely if ever do hearts for myself. The Bead Addict had already declared that what ever was made from this mix of treasures from Dana would be ours--I mean mine. 

Since I teach classes at two different universities, I checked my calendar. The Bead Party would fall what would be my midterms week! I had to use my time wisely and get this delicate creation done NOW.  About that time, the horror of the BP Oil Catastrophe hit the news and I realized that the damage done could spread world-wide. It hit me that these precious gifts from the sea might become exceedingly rare and I understood that Dana blessed me with something even more than mere beads--but a gift that could turn into an heirloom treasure.  Thank you Dana. I hope I did justice to your wonderful and beautiful gift!

Click on the pictures for better viewing and detail! 
  
So I put on my music CD that was a symphony to whale song and created. The first piece that I did was the necklace... I was enchanted with the rose quartz Dana had included, but wanted to reserve them for something else. So I pawed through my stash and ran across a diamond-shaped rose quartz strand. That maniacal giggling you hear in the background is Bead Addict. Another addition were the biwa stick pearls my husband had bought for me a couple of years ago. They were elegant and totally out of my area of stringing "expertise" but they worked well with what I was doing...framing that gorgeous abalone focal.  I also added  a couple of different colors in the Swarovski crystals to emphasize the gorgeous pink ones Dana included. 


I completed this choker-style necklace with silver-plated chain and one of my own clasps. I did find one last tiny heart toggle, left over from a project I did for my aunt. To me, that was fate, because it was still within the theme of what Dana sent me. 

Then I because I'm on a huge bracelet kick lately, I made one with some of the left over ingredients. This was totally out of the box for me because I experimented with danglies. Since we decided...I mean I decided to keep this, I wanted to try something I haven't really worked on before. 


I used Dana's heart clasp because it was too pretty to hide in the back of a necklace. Secondly, it just seemed so natural to use that toggle in a piece of jewelry as part of the ensemble's focal. I used silver pearl head pins to combine the pearls and the stones to form danglies. The bracelet has a good weight to it--not to heavy but not so light you forget you're wearing it. It doesn't jingle-jangle--something that would get on my nerves since I use my hands a lot in teaching. 

Well, what's a bracelet and a necklace without matching earrings?!?! This was rather fun because I stretched myself again here. I wanted a pair of earrings that would compliment the necklace alone, without the bracelet. But I also wanted a pair of earrings that would compliment the bracelet if I chose to wear that without the necklace. Then to top it all off, I wanted a pair of earrings that I could wear with both the necklace AND the bracelet as a matching set. So this is what I came up with as a solution
Starting from left to right, the gray pearl buttons with the pink Swarovski crystals would be perfect for wearing alone or with the bracelet. They would also compliment the necklace. The kyanite and cyclamen Swarovski crystals would compliment either the necklace or the bracelet...or could be worn alone. The gray ablalone and white button pearls with the the crystals would fit the necklace well.  

So what got me out of my normal box? Using pearls and making danglies. Thank you Dana for giving a shot in the you-know-where to boost me from my conventional form of beading! 

I hope you visit others who are unveiling their Party Pieces as well. 

Carol, Carol Bradley Designs 
Wanda, A Frayed of Fibers
Diana, Vintage Blue Studio 
Marieke, Marieke's Blog
KJ, Silver Parrot
Maire, Maire Dodd 
Shannon, Miss Fickle Media
Dana (and MY Partner!), Dana's Jewelry Design
Charlene, The Bead Dreamer 
Elisabeth, Beads for Busy Gals 
Missy, Melissa Rappaport 

I also want to thank Lori Anderson, our coordinator, for all the encouragement she gives us!The fact that she keeps nearly 100 women together for this event is simply amazing and I wanna be like her when I grow up! :D 

Enjoy the soup... 

37 comments:

  1. I love this set of jewelery! its very soft and feminine, but also has edge, because of the spikey stick pearls, it is something I would definitely wear, its just beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cathryn, this is a beautiful set of pieces, you did a great job!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well done on all your creations, your obvious joy in creating them shines through and I am sure you will get tonnes of joy from wearing them too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think it was a perfect idea to frame the pendant with the stick pearls. Has a wonderful "mass" like that. And I love that you used that nice heart clasp for a bracelet too, we sometimes need to have something to look at when we have created jewelry, right? Very nice creations.

    ReplyDelete
  5. These are awesome pieces, Cathryn! I am always impressed with your ideas and your ability to do so much work given your schedule. Congrats on trying new things; the results are breathtaking.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh my goodness, these pieces just make me want to jump into the ocean right now! Great job.

    ReplyDelete
  7. this was a beautiful soup mix, love the ocean gems such cool colors, great job

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ohhh you made a lovely pc! It looks so summery like a Mermaid lost this and it washed up onto the shore! Its really a very lovely pc youve made and has a tinge of excitment. I would wear this anyday!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love your Bead Addict! Your pieces are all wonderful, fun, playful and beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wow! What a beautiful collection of pieces!

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a collection. You really used your soup!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Well Cathryn you did all the beads justice. It turned out wonderful. Everything fits together but holds their own nicely so that you could wear them on their own with all together.

    I can't wait to try out the turquoise colored set you sent me. I love what I made and have already worn it a couple of time. So now I'm thinking fine silver links and chain.....humm now you have me wanting to go play with more beads.

    Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Such a great collection of tastes. I love the way the spiny beads add movement and direction to the piece. Well done! Enjoy the day! Erin

    ReplyDelete
  14. Really romantic! You did a great job!!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Lovely! Lovely! Lovely!
    This was a wonderful post and I really enjoyed what you did with your bead soup!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Absolutely beautiful. These pieces all make me think of the feminine aspect of the ocean - think Aphrodite rising from the waves on a giant shell. Using the stick pearls in the necklace really made it special - great job!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Cathryn,

    It looks like you had a lot of fun and some of the bead colors remind me of the cat photo in your banner. Love everything you did and keep on beading!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Very Romantic design. Just Lovely.....

    ReplyDelete
  19. A beautiful job with your mix. Each piece so pretty and I really like the pink pearls added in.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Wow! you've got such a lot out of your soup, great job! Pretty, delicate and feminine. Perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Wow, that was one big serving of soup. Great design work. I love the placement of the cute heart clasp.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Beautiful, love the necklace, such soft colors and so many forms. Earrings are my next favorite. Great job.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Gorgeous soup you got there! The necklace is very soft and feminine and I love the earings! Well done.

    Karyn

    ReplyDelete
  24. I wanna go to the beach!! Just looking at these beads so elegantly put together make you wanna go to the seaside...^_^ Virginie

    ReplyDelete
  25. The stick pearls in that first piece make it!! lovely designs!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Your jewelry came out fantastic. I love it all. You are so very talented. I love too that you displayed them on the seashells. What a fantastic way to show of beautiful jewelry.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Absolutely stunning! Congratulations to you and your muse.

    ReplyDelete
  28. So feminie and elegant -- gorgeous!
    Emanda

    ReplyDelete
  29. Oh so very beautiful! So delicate!

    Thanks for visiting my blog too. I also got my red piece finished and posted it if you would want to stop back.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Thanks for commenting twice! Now we are even. hee hee

    ReplyDelete
  31. I can totally see your ocean inspiration in your main piece. I love all the earrings. You did a great job with some fun stuff!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Cathryn, your muse, aka Bead Addict, was filled to the brim with inspiration. Each piece is stunning and what's even more stunning is that you went outside your box, your comfort zone, to create them. I really like the cooling thought of these deep sea treasures; helps to temper this stifling heat that summer is heaping upon us.
    ps...I was glad to read that you understood my dilemma about my lantana. Pretty but they can grow like weeds.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Wow, so beautiful... very summery, yet the necklace is certainly elegant enough to be worn for a more formal occasion, too. I love how you combined both colors and textures in all of these pieces. Your muse rocked it!

    ReplyDelete
  34. I revisited your bead soup reveal and am marvelling in your designs. Again, great work.

    ReplyDelete