Saturday 29 March 2014

Inspiration for Bead Soup Blog Party Revealed


I can't reveal my design for the BSBP yet but I can reveal my inspiration. I have been watching the new series of Da Vinci's Demons. Last night they opened up a device that I don't remember the name of but it is a compass that helps navigate the seas and it is reflective of Da Vinci's, Vitruvian Man drawing. The stars sent to me by Agata really compliment this theme.

In addition to the shapes in this show, I really like the opulent jewellery worn by the characters. Along with layered necklaces, characters such as Lacrezia Donati wear shoulder dusting earrings. I have not created many earrings so I think that they will be a nice challenge for this party.


(Photo source: http://www.bubblews.com)



Thursday 20 March 2014

My Yummy Soup is Here!

I have had a rough couple of days with my son so it was a welcome distraction when my soup arrived from Agata today. She was stressed about what she sent me but she didn't need to be. I loved every bit of the soup I got and it will force me to keep to not go off on a crazy tangent. I tend to over improvise at times which often results in an over complicated design that does not get finished. I have ideas swirling through my head but let me show you what she sent:

The whole yummy soup with all the elements and a lovely letter



Close up of all the elements. I love every one of them. I am quite smitten with the stars. I have some ideas of how to use them and I think this piece will be all for me too.


I was also lucky to receive one of Agata's beautiful bead crocheted bracelet. Her speed and ability is awe inspiring. I also love the little charm, she makes them herself and the colours match so much in my wardrobe. I am wearing it now.


Wednesday 19 March 2014

My Soup Landed in Poland

International postage is unpredictable at best, the lovely Agata from Inaurem has received my soup. Apparently 100gms of seed beads came as a bit if a shock to her heeheee. I partly sent that much because I'm an indecisive Libran and partly because I really have no clue how many beads are required for crochet. I wanted her to have the challenge of combining many colours but wanted to keep true to the colours we both seem to adore. 


Pop on over to the lovely Ms Agata's blog because her photos are way better than mine. Here is what I sent her. A Jasper focal (I believe it is porcelain Jasper) from far North Queensland. This was my basis for my soup, I picked this out first and built from there. I knew I wanted to add some pink as I had seen a bit of pink on her blog but not a lot. I went for more mauve/purple hues though as I had the most to match those and I'm not a big bright pink fan. I got a huge stash of pearls and knew that these ones would both blend (white/cream) and pop out of the design (dark blue). I wanted the blue to enhance the mauve qualities of the soup. I made the clasp as I was not satisfied with any in my stash. I also added the ceramic button as another clasp choice.  I added some bits and pieces to make sure she could do more than one piece, given the amount I gave her. Thankfully for her the rules don't require her to use everything so there are lots of options. 

Monday 10 March 2014

Addiction

Every now and then I go a little nuts and become addicted to making something or to a certain technique. At the moment it is beaded circles. I'm not even sure what I'm going to make with them yet but they look gorgeous. I have provided a little sneak peek below. It'll probably be a present so I have added a filter in case the future owner stops by.

       

Saturday 8 March 2014

Hint hint hint

So we aren't allowed to reveal our soups for the blog party yet but lots of people are doing pixelated photo hints. Here's mine. I put it in the mail this week, I'm not sure how long it will take for it to get to Poland so I guess I'll have to be patient and wait to see what Agata thinks :-).

Friday 7 March 2014

Capture a Cab Without Backing

I was told I capture cabs in an unusual way so I thought I would give a quick tutorial (for advanced beaders) here.

First I string enough 11 delicas (or seeds) to go around the cab, there must be an even amount of beads and a little lose is better than too tight. Then I pass through the beads and peyote.

Keep the tension tight

Peyote until you have enough of a strip to cover the height of the cab, if you have worked a tight tension, you should have a slight cupping effect. Change to the opposite side of the ring that you have been working on and switch to size 15 seeds. work in a slightly looser tension and position the cab into the bezel before you end the peyote.


Once you have positioned your cab and finished your first row of 15s, turn the work cab side down and work one more row. 



Turn it back and work rows of 15 seeds until you are happy with the end result. The below picture is a completed one. I probably could have pulled the tension a little tighter on the seeds. I cannot readily find 15 delicas but that would undoubtedly give a cleaner finish but I like the contrast between the delicas and the seeds. This method frees up design ideas, by not having to use the Stiff Stuff and Ultrasuede, double sided designs become possible.  



(oh and I am aware this is a different cab lol)












Monday 3 March 2014

Exciting Times

                          



I have been working on something but it will remain a secret for a little while. I got my Bead Soup Blog Party partner, Agata from Inaurem, she is all the way over in Poland. We've had some lovely chats via email and we have learnt that we have similar tastes in colours but very different skill sets. I am looking forward to a challenge and had a lot of fun making up my bead soup. I have provided her with a little challenge but have made sure that she is able to use the materials. I can't wait to see what she comes up with.