Bead Soup Blog Party 8: Revealed!

AND late, so sorry about that. -_-; Things didn't quite go as planned, in between working a double shift yesterday, returning home an hour before midnight so worn out that I slept in until noon today, which hasn't happened to me in a very long time. So then I scrambled to get all things household done, because I've got another super busy week ahead of me. It wasn't until I finally got to sit down and work on my weekly review post that I noticed my reveal post was still sitting in Blogger's drafts folder, and hadn't gone online as scheduled. Because I forgot to hit the "publish" button, no doubt.

My sincere apologies to all who came to this site only to find nothing's there, especially my super sweet partner Melissa. As a reminder, this is the bead soup she sent me:

I didn't use all of this soup, but I definitely got my jewelry mojo back, as I ended up creating four pieces with it, two necklaces, and two pairs of earrings:

What gave me the most trouble, was this gorgeous, but huge, huge focal Melissa sent me:

I almost ended up not using it at all, because my original plan for it didn't work out. I wanted to create a beadwoven bail for it, but since I'm no seed beader, of course I didn't have the beads required around. And while I do acknowledge that Miyuki beads are of superior quality, I refuse to pay €5 for 6 grams, when I know I can get them for less than half of it online. Needless to say, those beads appear still to be stuck in postal limbo, even with the one-week-delay for the reveal.

Then I tried pairing the focal against pretty much every brass stamping I own, and while many of them make for great bails, none of them worked for this pendant, due to the relieved surface. But! Just when I was about to give up, I stumbled across a very simplistic bail in my collection, which had been in one of B'sue's Facebook Friday Muse lots. Too bad she no longer offers them, sigh. In any way, this is what I came up with:

It seems that, whenever I've got to deal with unusually large pendants, I reach for my spool of memory wire. *laughs* This necklace is still missing a clasp (and it definitely needs one, due to the weight of the focal and those large turquoise colored beads in the front), but otherwise I love how it came out. It has a very rich feeling to it, with the warm gold, the pearl, and the faceted "gems".  

The other focal was an easy one to deal with. It's sunny, warm yellow demanded to be paired with copper, and since the chain I picked, also had golden components, it allowed me to bring in the cloisonne beads for an added pop of color. <3 p="">

This is where the dainty wire rose clasp ended up, by the way. I'm pretty sure this necklace will turn out to be a summer favorite of mine:

I also ended up creating two pairs of earrings, the first using hand-painted brass components: 

 And the second using copper plated filigree connectors, with earhooks I created from the leftover lengths of wire from the headpins I used for the orange frosted beads:

I'm a little sad I didn't use more of Melissa's bead soup, but I always can do that later. Those yellow beads she sent, would look great paired with copper, and I've already got plans for that lampwork bead.

Now, off you go, head over to Melissa's blog Beadrecipes and see what she created with the bead soup I sent her, and then to hostess Lori Anderson's blog Pretty Things for the full list of participants and links to their blogs.

© 2014 Stories from the City of Brass

Aussie Soup!

MY bead soup from my Australian BSBP swap partner Melissa arrived! Actually it did arrive about three weeks ago, I just didn't get to take pictures of it until last weekend, and to post about it until today. My day job in retail kept me running like a hamster in a hamster wheel due to the Easter holiday madness. Kinda like this:

And there's another holiday coming up here in Germany next week, 1st of May – no rest for the wicked.

Anyway! I was going to show you the bead soup I received. I was very happy to find that little package sitting on top of my mailbox after I returned home late at night from work. Yay! Instant cheer-up.

THIS cute little box contained several organza bags with beads, and when I opened the first one, I instantly knew I was doomed. Pastells. NOOOOOOOO!! I don't do pastells. At all. So this will definitely a challenge!

Fortunately there were no more pastells in the next baggy, but chalky white, yellow, orange and a deep red. Nothing I've got in my stash, but I definitely felt more comfortable with this part of the soup: 

Next up, the first focal – yes, Melissa was generous enough to actually sent two – a gorgeous donut shaped ceramic pendant decorated with a flower relief. It's huge, at least by my standards, as I usually do the small and dainty thing:

This is the second focal, also ceramic, and as you can see it matches nicely with the "warm" beads of the soup:

Here you can see the metal elements of the bead soup Melissa sent me: A leaf shaped toggle clasp, some very nice silver elements and ball-end copper headpins:

The tiny box contained a hand made dainty clasp made from copper wire in the shape of a rose:

Overall I couldn't possibly be happier with this soup! The pastels and the huge focal certainly have my creative gears turning, and the frosted surface and the pebble shape some of the beads have, reminds me of beach glass. Overall there's a floral theme to it, and I love the vibes this, combined with the colors give me: Beaches, flower power, retro chic, hippie culture, bell bottom pants and 70ies design ... 

See you at the reveal!

     

© 2014 Stories from the City of Brass

BSBP 8 – Meet My Partner

SODELE, nun da ihr voll informiert darüber seid, was es mit diesem "BSBP" auf sich hat (vorheriger Beitrag), kann ich ja endlich meine Komplizin vorstellen: Melissa Trudinger aus Carnegie, Australien. Und, ganz ehrlich, ich hätte es mit meiner diesjährigen Partnerin nicht besser treffen können.

Der Name wollte mir was sagen, sobald ich ihn auf der Teilnehmerliste erspäht hatte, ich wusste ich kannte ihn von irgendwoher, kam jedoch nicht drauf. Nach einem Besuch auf Melissas Blog machte es jedoch "Klick" bei mir. Ganz einfach, von meinen abonierten Blogs. Melissa ist eine sehr vielseitige Schmuckbastlerin, und sie futtert Challenges/Wettbewerbe quasi zum Frühstück. Manch einer mag sich erinnern, meine Stärke ist das eher nicht so ... Ich habe ihre Kreationen auf Earrings Everyday gesehen, in Erin Prais-Hintz' Wettbewerben, auf Art Bead Scene, Art Jewelry Elements ... 

Foto von Melissa Trudinger
http://beadrecipes.wordpress.com/

Wir beide fühlen uns zum Boho Stil hingezogen (wer sich unter "Boho" jetzt nix vorstellen kann, stellt euch mal Hippie-, Zigeuner- und Antik-Look gemischt vor, ansonsten einfach mal Google bemühen ...) wenns um Schmuck geht, aber trotzdem sind unsere Stile sehr unterschiedlich. Melissas Schmuck hat einen viel stärkeren Fokus auf die Perlen, während meiner eher auf Ketten und geprägte Messingschmuckteilen liegt, und ich Perlen eher als Akzente verwende. Auch ist ihr Stil deutlich farbenfroher, mit viel Keramik und Textil. Wir beide haben jedoch eine große Liebe gemeinsam: Tschechische Glasperlen. Werft doch einfach mal einen Blick auf Melissas Blog, wenn ihr mögt, den sie sehr passend BEAD RECIPES ("Perlenrezepte") genannt hat, da sie dort auch ihre Vorliebe fürs Kochen teilt.

Auch sonst scheinen wir einiges gemeinsam zu haben, mit ihr e-mails auszutauschen macht großen Spaß. Ich bin schon ganz gespannt mit welchen Zutaten Liss meine Perlensuppe gewürzt hat – schaut mal, hat sie sie nicht wundervoll verpackt?

  

SO, now that you know what this "BSBP" is about (previous post), without further ado, let me introduce this year's partner in crime: Melissa Trudinger from Carnegie, Australia. I couldn't possibly be happier, having her be my assigned swap partner. 

Her name tried to ring a bell with me as soon as I spotted it on the list, I knew I had seen it around ... But it took a visit to her blog to actually be able to place it. Quite simple, it was my blog feed. She is a very versatile jewelry artist, her work is all over the place. She is basically gobbling beading challenges up for breakfast. You may remember, I do have quite a history failed challenges ... I have seen her work around on Earrings Everyday, in Erin Prais-Hintz' challenges, Art Bead Scene, Art Jewelry Elements ... 

Photo by Melissa Trudinger
http://beadrecipes.wordpress.com/

Both of us seem to be drawn towards Boho style when it comes to creating jewelry, yet our styles couldn't be any more different from one another. I noticed there is a lot more focus on beads in her creations, while I prefer brass stampings and chain, and mostly use beads for accents and spacers only. Her work is a lot more colorful, I see a lot of ceramic beads and fiber. We have a shared love for the utter awesomeness that is Czech beads though. Just take a look at her blog, aptly named BEAD RECIPES, as Melissa also loves to share her love for cooking, and you'll see. 

Apart from that, it seems we have quite a few things in common, it is a lot of fun to exchange e-mails with her, and I can't wait to see what kind of ingredients she has seasoned my bead soup with. Just look at how prettily she's packaged it!

  

Photo by Melissa Trudinger
http://beadrecipes.wordpress.com/

© 2014 Stories from the City of Brass

Bead Soup Blog Party: A Blast From The Past

ES ist mal wieder so weit, die alljährliche Bead Soup Blog Party, kurz: BSBP, steht an. Für diejenigen, die noch nie davon gehört haben, hier noch mal eine Zusammenfassung, worum es geht:

Es handelt sich hier um eine Art Perlen"wichteln", mit über 400 Teilnehmern aus aller Welt! Man tauscht mit seiner zugeteilten Partnerin die Adressen, schickt ein Päckchen mit einer "Perlensuppe" des Weges, und die Empfängerin zaubert dann damit eine Kreation. Es muss nicht unbedingt Schmuck dabei entstehen, ich habe auch Taschenbaumler, Schlüsselanhänger, und sogar geperlte Pflanzen gesichtet!

Einige Regeln sind jedoch zu beachten: Die Perlensuppe muss einen Verschluss und einen Anhänger enthalten, und diese müssen von der Partnerin auch verwendet werden, allerdings nicht in ein und der selben Kreation. Das ist die Pflicht, der Rest ist die Kür. An einem festgelegten Termin werden die fertigen Werke dann auf den Blogs der Teilnehmerinnen online gestellt, und es gibt einen "Blog Hop", man springt von Blog zu Blog, und schaut sich an wer was für Perlen bekommen hat, und was daraus entstanden ist, was jedes Mal wieder total überraschend und inspirierend ist!

Organisiert wird diese Mammutaktion auch dieses Jahr wieder von Lori Anderson, und das, obwohl sie schwer krank ist! Sie macht sich eine Riesenmühe mit der Zuteilung der Partnerinnen. Mit einem Zufallsgenerator ist es nicht getan, denn es gibt so viel zu beachten: Nicht alle versenden international, dann gibt es die Perlenfädlerinnen, und jene die mit Rocailles nichts anfangen können. Es gibt Erfahrene und Unerfahrene. Viele haben schon in den Vorjahren teilgenommen, und sollen natürlich nicht wieder die gleiche Partnerin bekommen, und so weiter.

Leider ist die Anmeldephase für dieses Jahr bereits vorbei. Aber wenn ihr interessiert seid, empfehle ich euch wärmstens, euch mal bei der Bead Soup Cafe Gruppe auf Facebook anzumelden. Dort seid ihr immer auf dem neuesten Stand, und könnt im Moment hautnah mitverfolgen, wie bei den Teilnehmerinnen nach und nach die "Perlensuppen" eintrudeln.

Ich selber nehme dieses Mal zum vierten Mal teil, und dachte mir, das nehme ich mal zum Anlass, um meine Perlensuppen und Ergebnisse aus den Vorjahren vorzustellen. Meine Partnerin ist dieses Jahr übrigens Melissa Trudinger aus Australien, die ich später noch ausführlicher vorstellen werde.

IT is that time again, the annual Bead Soup Blog Party, the BSBP is in full swing! For those who may have never heard of it, here's a summary of what this is about:

Basically this is a huge international bead swap, with more than 400 beaders from all over the world taking part! You swap your address with your assigned Partner, and send each other a "bead soup", and the other has to create something using that bead soup. It doesn't have to be jewelry, I have seen purse and key ring charms, and even beaded plants!

There are a few rules though: Your bead soup must contain a clasp and a focal, and these have to be used by your partner, albeit not in the same piece. At a predetermined date, every participant posts their creations on their blog for everyone to see, and this is the day of the Blog Party. Hopping from blog to blog, seeing what everyone received and created is definitely my most favorite part of the event. It is extremely surprising and inspiring!

The one organizing this huge project once again, as in the previous years, is Lori Anderson, even though she is terribly sick! She has gone through great lengths assigning the partners, giving it a lot of thought. For example there are those who wont send international, there are seed beaders and those who are not, there are the experienced and the inexperienced. And of course there are many who already participated in the previous years, and are supposed to not end up with the same partner again! 

Unfortunately the sign up phasie for this year is already over. But if you are interested, I highly recommend signing up with the Bead Soup Cafe FaceBook group. There you'll always be up to date, and you'll be able to see most everyone posting images of the bead soups they've received as they arrive one by one, which is always very exciting!

Me, I'm taking part for the fourth time this year, and thought I'd take that as a cue to show you the bead soups I've received in the previous years, and what I've created with them. My partner this year, by the way, is Melissa Trudinger from Australia, whom I'll introduce properly in a bit. 

IN 2011 my partner was Sara Oehler from the USA. Here you can see what I sent her, and here you can see what she created with it. Here you can see what I created with what she sent me:

IN 2012 my partner was Susan Kennedy from the USA. Here you can see what I sent her and what she created with it. Here you can see what I created with the wonderful bead soup she sent my way:

IN 2013 my partner in crime was Merja Sundström from Finland. This is what I sent her, and here you can see what she did with it. Unfortunately the reveal page seems to be gone from her blog, but a quick search, and I found her creations on the BSBP7 board on Pinterest, whew! THIS is what I created with the amazing bead soup she sent me:

AS for 2014, the big reveal is on May 3rd, so there's nothing to show yet but the teaser I uploaded for my partner Melissa Trudinger from Australia!

© 2014 Stories from the City of Brass

7th Bead Soup Blog Party: Meet My Partner – Darf Ich Meine Partnerin Vorstellen

“OH would you look at this,” you’re probably thinking right now, “she’s still alive!”

Yeah, I know, long time no see. Nowadays I only ever seem to resurface when it’s time for the next BSBP, which does not bide well, as it’s become an annual event now. So, after the Big Reveal, see you 2014? Hahah, I certainly hope it wont be that bad.

So … while most of you probably know what the Bead Soup Blog Party is about, some may not, so here’s a real quick summary:

Bloggers from all around the world who have fun beading and creating jewelry sign up for this, and are assigned a partner. Partners send each other a “Bead Soup” which consists of a clasp, a focal, and some beads, and then create something with what they’ve been sent. On a set date the participants reveal their creation via blog post and there’s loads of fun involved hopping from blog to blog admiring everyone’s creations and drinking wine and having snacks. Well, the latter two might be just me.

So, without further ado, my partner this time around is the lovely Merja Sundström from Finland! She herself describes herself a “baby-beader”, but I think her work looks far from being a beginner’s. Why don’t you hop over to her blog, "Suntsan Supersimppelit", and take a look for yourself.

“OH, guckt mal da,” denkt ihr euch wahrscheinlich gerade, “die lebt ja doch noch!”

Ja, ich weiß, lange nicht gesehen. Dieser Tage scheine ich nur noch an die Oberfläche zu krabbeln wenn es Zeit für die nächste Bead Soup Blog Party ist. Und da die jetzt nur noch einmal im Jahr statt findet, heißts dann nach der Enthüllung wohl, auf Wiedersehen in 2014? Naja, so schlimm wirds wohl hoffentlich nicht. Hoffe ich.

Die meisten von euch werden wohl wissen worum es bei der Bead Soup Blog Party geht, aber manche vielleicht noch nicht, deshalb hier noch mal eine schnelle Zusammenfassung:

Schmuckbastelnde und perlenfädelnde Blogger rund um den Globus melden sich an und bekommen einen Partner zugeteilt. Die Partner schicken sich gegenseitig eine “Perlensuppe”, bestehend aus einem Verschluss, einem Anhänger, und ein paar schönen Perlen, und verarbeiten diese dann. An einem bestimmten Datum stellt dann jeder seine Kreation im Blog vor, und man hat dann jede Menge Spaß von Blog zu Blog zu hopsen, jedermanns Kreationen zu bestaunen, Snacks zu futtern und Wein zu trinken. Naja, letzteres vielleicht nur ich.

So, um mal endlich zu Potte zu kommen, meine Partnerin dieses mal ist die fabelhafte Merja Sundström aus Finland! Sie sagt von sich selbst sie sei noch eine blutige Anfängerin, aber das seh ich ganz anders. Am besten springt ihr mal auf ihrem Blog "Suntsan Supersimppelit" vorbei und macht euch selbst ein Bild.

THIS is the bead soup I received from her:

DIES ist die Perlsuppe die sie mir geschickt hat:

NOT one, but three clasps, pearls, agate beads, hand-made felt beads, fairy ribbon, and two focals. I love the cool, yet earthy color scheme, and I completely adore the ceramic focal she has sent me – the head of a fantasy creature, created by Othel Lehto.

NICHT nur einer, sondern gleich drei Verschlüsse, Achatperlen, Muschelkernperlen, Seidenband, und zwei Anhänger. Ich liebe das kühle und gleichzeitig erdige Farbschema, und besonders die große Porzelanperle von Othel Letho die den Kopf einer Fantasykreatur darstellt.

© 2013 Stories from the City of Brass