Bead Soup Blog Party

I signed up for the 6th Bead Soup Blog Party back at the beginning of the summer just before I went on vacation.  I received a beautiful package of beads form my partner, Noemi Baena (fuego, metal, y color) that involves a lot of different pieces that I'm not used to working with.  There's a lot more metal beads and the focal is an enameled bead in a shape I have never worked with before.  I'm excited as that's what I like about this blog hop, the challenge of working with materials that I am not used to.  I'm hoping that I sent her an assortment that is challenging and interesting as well. 
    Stay tuned for a reveal of what I create on August 25th.  Meanwhile, why not visit some of the other participants? One group is revealing this Saturday.  The participants list can be found here on Lori Anderson, the fabulous hostess' blog.

Twirly netting

I originally aimed for this to lie flat like some of the other netted necklaces I make, but it ended up getting this really funny twisty thing happening that I decided to encourage.

New beads!

I got a bunch of new beads for my birthday last month, which was partly why I was inspired to start beading again. That and the whole having time again thing (even if there is a thesis hanging over my head that I have to edit!).

Finishing up something else

Again, something I started some time ago, but finally finished while on vacation. The colors haven't photographed here as well I like, but a netted piece in browns and green and cream.   This will probably end up for sale some time in the near future.

Vacation!

It's been an extremely long year between graduate school and work and a lot of other things that came up.  I'm on vacation at the moment though in Israel visiting family so I've finally had time to work on some new things.   I'll try to post something every few days while I'm here!

 This one I had started probably two years ago when playing with seed bead circles, but I finally put it all together.  It's simple and different.

And since I am in Israel, a shot of Tel Aviv, taken from the top floor of Habima's new renovated theater complex.

New style

 A couple of years ago when I was in Israel over the summer I picked up some semi-precious beads on the streets of the Old City in Jerusalem. I haven't done much with them, but I decided to pull out this one and create something for a friend who generally has a different aesthetic than I do.  This is a long piece that just slips over the head. I was really pleased with how it came out and the combination of the wooden ring with the brass leaves and chain and malachite.

Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal!

It was down to the wire, but I turned this:

Into this:

The bead soup at the top came from the very talented Tammy Powley. You can see all of her work at her blog and specifically what she created with what I sent her here.  She sent me some great stuff and I tried to incorporate as much of it as I could.  I'm looking forward to playing with the pieces I didn't get to use in time for this reveal in the future.

There were beaders from five continents who participated in this bead soup party and huge thanks go to Lori Anderson for organizing the event.  You can find the whole list of participants and blogs on her website.  I'm looking forward to checking out all of them over the next few weeks.

I really loved the focal bead that I was sent and the way one of the clasps picked up some of the colors in the multicolored bead.  I don't often make really colorful pieces but I really wanted to use the seed beads I was sent plus extra beads from my own collection to capture how multicolored the focal bead was.