Bead Soup Party

Hello everyone!  I apologize for the lapse in blog posts, it has been a wee bit crazy busy lately.  I wanted to share photos of the bead soup I sent my partner Grace in the 7th annual bead soup party (challenge).  I haven't heard from my partner, but the delivery confirmation on the package I sent was February 13th, so hopefully she has looked at her package by now.  I hope she likes it!!!

First photo is of the bead soup (left) and the extra vintage earrings (right).  I packaged both in organza bags.

Here is the bead soup, it is a mixture of shell beads, different pearls, some glass and ceramic beads with a silver closure ~

Here is a photo of some of the vintage earrings I sent, except the bottom right earring.  I sent a variety or vintage earrings (only one of each style, gotta mix things up), but I do not have photos of some of the styles (at least not out of the organza bag, yikes) since I have used the partner earring or piece of several items in my mixed media projects or for pendants. This pic is reflective of the style of the pieces, or the partner of several of the pieces I sent.  I love vintage jewelry that I can cut up or use in other pieces.  It is really fun to upcycle or recreate items.  I wanted to send these as a bonus, since Grace does steampunk jewelry, and I think she could do something amazing with the vintage items.  Hope she likes these too! 

I received a very different type bead soup from Grace. :) Here is the bead soup as it  was packaged ~

 Here is the bead soup out of the plastic bags ~

I have to say, the beads are not my usual style, which is OK since that is part of the fun of the challenge.  Truthfully though, I had a moment of panic when I opened the package, especially with the eyeball beads and the lumpy bumpy glass bead that looked like it had lots of fish eyeballs on it.  They kind of scared me.  :)  The milifloral beads are colorful and interesting, but not my normal style either. The funny thing too is I have beads like the ceramic beads but mine are heart shaped.  I have never used them because they are a bit bigger (like almost two inches) than those in the bead soup, and I wasn't sure what to do with them once I received them.  Do you ever do that?  Order something and when you get it think, Why did I order this???  What was I thinking of making?  Anyway, after thinking about the variety of beads in the bead soup and what I could create with them, I got busy.  First, I grabbed my trusty wire and instantly felt calmer and more grounded.  After cutting and twisting my way through things I had a bracelet, necklace, and a pair of earrings!  How cool is that???  I blended some items in my  jewelry making stash to create a gift set for a friend, and I am pretty sure she will love it.  Her eclectic and international style is in line with the bead soup I received, and with the use of wire it fits my style of jewelry making too, perfect match.  

The reveal isn't until March 30, but here is a sneak peek of one item I made, using two of the most challenging to me anyway, he he he beads ~  

So happy I was able to create something with this colorful variety of beads!  I am thrilled that something that kind of had me panicked ended up turning out well.  It is good to try something outside our comfort zone every now and them.  I can't wait to see what other participants do with the huge variety of bead soups that went out.  Once reveal day arrives I will share photos of all the items I created. 

So my message to you today is try something that scares you, or that you would not normally do.  You might end up with something interesting, creative, or even spectacular.  At the very least you will expand your horizons!  :)  

I wish you a joyful and creative week ~ Pam 

Valentine Day Card Tutorial, My Bead Soup, and Handmade Fabric Mini Albums

Hello everybody!!!  How are you?  Doing well I hope!  I have been under the weather and it was NO fun.  No fun at all.  Woo, I must say, camping out in the bathroom for eons is no fun.  I was so tired too, it seems like it took forever to get my energy back.  Soooooooooooo glad I am feeling better.  It seems like everyone has been sick this year, and with a variety of things.  I had a flu shot too, my word.  OK, enough about that yuck stuff.  On to fun topics.  First, I want to show you several Valentine Day cards I made, and tell you how I did so with a little tutorial.  As you know, I love to upcycle things and repurpose things.

First, let's talk about the cards I made for my cutie grandbabies.  I ended up making one extra, I was on a roll.  :)  I have some old valentines that I picked up at an antique store a few years ago.  I made copies on white cardstock.  I love taking old images and using them in projects, or finding free clipart online.  

After I selected a few images I thought would make cute valentines, I pulled out some cardstock bases, and cut some felt to fit, using my pinking shears.  I then pinned the felt to the cardstock base.

 I did the remaining cards, and stitched the felt to the bases.  

Next I laid out my supplies to see if I still liked how things looked.  

So far so good.  I stitched my crepe and lace down, and then stitched my cardstock images on top.  I inked the cardstock with chalkboard ink before I stitched things down.

Last, I stickled a bit of accent on each card ~

Little bow for good measure ~

Done!

Now it is time to make some felted heart cards.  First, I felted some old sweaters so they were nice and thick.  

I decided to use the red sweater, and cut our some hearts from one of the sleeves, then added some trim ~

I took a large tag and added some scraps of purple cardstock (edge punched) and marblish pink cardstock and inked everything up ~

Next I stitched the heart to my tag ~

then I got out my little label maker and punched out love you valentine and added it to my tag, along with some stickles ~

I decided I wanted a wee bit more embellishment on the top of my tag, so I punched a little scalloped circle, inked it up, added it to the tag, then used a silver eyelet and added some various pink and red ribbon.  All done! 

I still had one heart left, with stitched pink crepe paper.  I cut and edge punched some purple cardstock scrap, added a wee bit of satin ribbon and lace to the base of my card, and stitched things together ~

Then I stitched my felted sweater heart and trim to the base ~

Time for the label maker punched sentiment, and a bit of stickles.  All done!

I am ready for Valentine's Day now!  

I have assembled my bead soup, and it is alllllll ready for mailing.  I can't wait to send it to my partner, I hope she likes it.  I peeked at her blog, and she does some super fun steampunk jewelry items.  For the bead soup challenge we were paired by Lori Anderson, who did TONS of work on this party.  She pairs people with a partner of different styles.  I hope my partner likes what I am sending to her!  :)  Here is a mystery picture of my bead soup ~ 

I can't share more until Grace receives it.  I can't wait to see what she does with it!!!  Check out some of her cool steampunk jewelry on her website.  We definitely have different styles, but I think her work is beautiful.  

Last thing from me today.  My next class, Handmade Fabric Mini Albums, will be available at The Art Studio beginning next Saturday (it won't be listed until next week, check about midweek and look under Mixed Media Classes).  I love love LOVE making these fabric books, and can't wait to show you how to do so ~  

Well, that is it for me this week.  I need to skeedaddle and get back to a few tasks before the work week is here.  I hope you all have a joyful and creative week ~ Pam

Addicted to Sparkle

Hello everybody!  How are you this week?  Doing well I hope. I have been as busy as a bee working on my classes for The Art Studio, but I also snuck in a wee bit of time playing with my beads and wire.  I love love love sparkle in almost any form, so playing with bits of glass, crystal, and even pearls is a fun thing to do every so often.  As I mentioned before, I joined the bead soup bash, and I have been sorting some of my beads trying to decide what would be the absolute most perfect thing to send.  In the meantime, here are a few pics of some earrings, a few danglies, and a quick necklace I made this weekend ~

I am working on a bracelet for a dear friend.  Here are some of the swarovski crystal and pearl beads I have wired up so far ~ 

I will turn them into a bracelet for her daughter's wedding.  I'll show you photos of the finished product once it is done.  

Well, I need to get my rear in gear and get busy on some tasks, so I will close for this week.  Be sure to stop by The Art Studio to check out some of the new classes.  I will have another class in a few weeks, and Mo's class is available now too.  So stop in and say hello!  

I wish you a joyful and creative week ~ Pam