Saturday, March 30, 2013

The Big Day; Revealing of my design!

by ©Peggy Gabrielson

Bead Soup Blog Hop Party 2013 for me... is over! It was a pleasant but challenging experience for my first BSBHP, unknowns to me who my partner would be I registered with excitement without hesitation two months ago. Has it been really that long?

I Just Wanna Be Me...

Close up of the end caps that were altered in color... Thanks Gail Crosman Moore!
Lori Anderson, the originator and author of the Bead Soup Blog Hop Party is the mainstay of this annual event, where artistic individuals from all over the world are partnered by pairs handpicked by Lori herself, to create and design unique jewelry from beads and findings. The challenge forced me to think out of my comfort zone; the only rule to adhere to was to use the pendant and clasp that my partner sent me in her mix. 

My Bead Soup mix came in the mail!

The picture alongside shows the selection of beads Paula Hisel of Simplybeadiful took time to beautifully wrap and mail to me. I was so excited when I received the package in the post that day. Opening it as if it was a special present on Christmas Day; I laid out each piece in front of me, first by color then rearranging them by shape, leaving them on my desk so that I could take a peek at them as I sat typing on my keyboard. Each day I would glance over to my right, stop my writing, pick one up, then try to imagine how I would use it in a design. 

This scene continued for several days more. I finally picked up my camera taking several shots of the beads together, some with and without the pendant and clasp. Still not satisfied I took some of the beads away to help make the decision of designing easier, for me being a visual person, too much information can confuse my thinking pattern. My final piece came from my experience of many years of being a bead weaver, by combining old traditional style of crochet and using a modern twist of changing metal into different colors, all becoming one necklace. 

My focal pendant and clasp design was inspired as I previewed Artist Gail Crosman Moore promoting her latest DVD on how to colorize metal. I planned to enamel the pendant and clasp, but decided to use colored pencils as Gail mentioned to do. I was unsure of the content of the base metals in them. I tweaked her technique to give all the components an opaque quality, complimenting the string of seed beads used to crochet the beaded rope. The layers of colors were then sealed with a matte finish spray.
The end cap before altering with colored pencils

After the sealant dried 24 hours I then wrapped the pendant with a multi-colored fabric ribbon, securely fastening by stitching to it one bead at a time to the focal piece. The beads I chose to use for embellishing the fabric ribbon works well with my hand woven beaded bail pendant and enhances the iridescent shaped beads that Simplybeadiful included in my soup. The same beads and ribbon were used to hold the end caps and toggle clasp together. 

I have torch fired enameled metals, used alcohol ink on them, but have not use colored pencils to alter their look. It was a fun and great new adventure! I loved the inspiration I picked up from artist Gail Crosman Moore, sending me in a creative journey that I will explore more!
Another piece using the soup mix purple beads in my design, I added my enameled beads to it.

Inspiring Creative Minds! Learning Something New Every Day! 

Lori Anderson
Simplybeadiful





95 comments:

  1. LOVELY! And you used colored pencils? That's something I've never heard of!

    Everything is so beautiful and artistic. I hope you enjoyed yourself and participate again!

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    1. Thank you Lori! Your words are so kind! I will look forward to the next hop! I am following your blog and FB gives me notifications, so I will not miss out! It was fun PLAY~ing around motivating me think out of the box. YES coloring with pencils!

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  2. Dat ribbon... *paws at it* Is that kumihimo ? So lovely !

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    1. Hi Audrey! Thanks! It is the old traditional technique of bead crochet. I love thrift stores, I found an old edition of 'how to' in San Diego while visiting many years ago. The way I achieve my look might be different to some, creating a slip stitch instead of a single crochet so that the beads sit close and tight, also using a matching colored thread that is used for jeans stitching!

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  3. Really love the combination of what you did with the metal and the bead weaving. It works together beautifully.

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  4. Oh my goodness, you did an beautiful job on the beadwoven one. I am always amazed at your beautiful creations....Perfect!! ~KM http://kraftymax.blogspot.com/2013/03/7th-bead-soup-blog-party-reveal-33113.html

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    1. Thanks Marci! Coming from a bead weaver herself I really appreciate that! Congrats on your new published design!

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  5. I'm on the 3rd reveal, I'm partecipating for the 3rd time on BSBP
    I don't know how to make this beraded work, I always admire who can do this! you are very talented :)
    ciao dall' Italia

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    2. Oops... can't edit so I deleted my first reply Jo. Thank you! I think your metalwork is AWESOMENESS! I stopped by your Etsy store! You have a new fan!

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  6. Great pieces, super creative and they both worked well.

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    1. Thank you! Your words are welcomed from a talented bead weaver as yourself! Yes I agree as you described on you Etsy store that beads are like the colors of paint choices for my canvas!

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  7. Beautiful necklaces! nice soup! Love you bead crochet. Really looks excellent and so uniform.

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    1. Thank you! I want one of your wrap pins, no the hair pins from your revealing!

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  8. Great reveal! Love your bead work and designs.
    kathy

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    1. Thank you Kathy! Loved the challenge of trying something new! Back to focusing on writing and the Writers Conference coming up next week in Blue Ridge, GA at the Art Center!










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  9. Your creations are awe-inspiring. Very pretty!

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    1. Thank you Laura! Appreciate you comments, your work is magnificent!

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  10. wowwwww..... very creative and neat and lovely.....

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    1. Thank you Diah! I will look forward to your reveal date to see yours! Where in Indonesia are you located? I was born in Surubaja.

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  11. Wow I love your necklaces so much, they're stunning!

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    1. Thank you PiPa! I love how you have a reading goal for 2013!

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  12. Wow...gorgeous work!
    I love your necklaces!

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  13. Both pieces are sweet and oh-so-lovely. I am enchanted by what you did to the focal, so creative and perfect! I'm glad you took the time to explain your process. I enjoy learning about all the different ways creativity comes to people. Thanks for sharing.

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  14. Beautiful work, and beautiful colors!

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  15. I love that you colored the metals to fit the design! Beautiful pieces!!

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    1. Thank you WindDancer Studios my first attempt was a surprisingly happy experience!

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  16. Love your finished piece and the story behind how you altered the lovely end caps—I'll have to try that technique myself one of these days! *Ãœ*

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  17. its gorgeous peggy. i love what you came up with. i am in love with the enamel beads!!!

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    1. Thank you Paula I have yet to hop over and see all the postings... hop hop hop to yours now! I have to send you some more enamel beads!

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  18. Pretty necklaces. Coloring the components with colored pencils is an interesting technique. Thanks for sharing the link too.

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    1. Thank you Ann I love your bold adventurous style! You would love the technique I used it is different!

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  19. Beautiful work! Love the bead rope. Congratulations!

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  20. Your use of color on the metal is great. Love your necklace.

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  21. Really like the beadweaving on the first and the colors are gorgeous. Such a creative idea to color the metal.

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  22. Gorgeous seed bead work! The first piece with bead rope and the focal is great!

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  23. Wonderful work, I love the bead rope with this colored Focal and end caps. Great technique. Awesome!

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  24. Love your first necklace - the bead rope and the metal pendant work great together!

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  25. You got that beautiful purple color with colored pencils??? WoW! And love your beaded rope. Great work.

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    1. Thank you JuLee! A new fan following you... love your beads!

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  26. Stunning, the detail work was amazing.

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  27. Really like the choices you made to pull it all together and make it yours.

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  28. Really like the choices you made to pull it all together and make it yours.

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  29. Replies
    1. Thank you Elizabeth... read your last blog post, how awful about the theft of your beads, at the same time felt exhilarated reading your offer from a possible client. How interesting your life is... a Creative Mind for sure!

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  30. beautiful detailed work - I love the way you made the focal "yours". Congrats !!

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    1. Thank you Carolyn, it was a fun experiment! Challenging because of the shape of the pendant, I would of preferred to add more variant coloring, but was limited. I chose not to cover the inside of the pendant with beads, etc, weaving beads and fiber through the open work, it would of hidden all of my work done to alter it!

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  31. What a great mix of techniques and creativity, altering the components to truly make them your own, and then making them even more special with your beadwork. Lovely!

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  32. Thank you Bobbie! I love your Picasso Jasper Freeform Necklace!

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  33. Wow -- I need to go digging in my old art boxes and recover some colored pencils! These are fantastic pieces. Lovely work!

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  34. UMMMM WOW!!! That first necklace is a stunner!!! Amazing. The second necklace is very cool too!! Have a Blessed Day!!!

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  35. crochet beaded rope and rainbow fabric! im delighted!

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  36. Your bead work is breathtaking. Incredible craftsmanship.

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  37. Beautiful work! I love the colors!

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  38. I love your first necklace. The colored metal is great. I am just starting metalwork and coloring it is something I intend to play with. Thanx for the colored pencil tip.

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    1. Thank you Becky I saw your photos of your first PLAY time in metalwork... isn't it fun?

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  39. Love what you did with the pendant!

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    1. Thank you Peikkonen! I love your bead weaving myself!

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  40. Both pieces are beautiful and unique. I admire your craftsmanship and your colors are deep and rich.

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  41. How beautiful!
    Love the beadwork!

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  42. Both necklaces are stunning. Thanks for sharing a new technique for altering components.

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  43. Wow! you did a fantastic job...your pieces are beautiful and so creative. I love how you colored the metal. I have played around with colored pencils..fun! Very cool! Congrats!

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  44. Love your necklaces. The beaded rope and coloured focal is gorgeous. Learning a new technique is one of the fun parts of the BSBP for me.

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    1. Thank you Karen... this is my first BSBP, and totally agree the learning curve. Challenged me to try something completely new I have never done before!

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  45. Both of your pieces turned out so nice, but I'm more drawn to that first one. You used such a cool technique with the colored pencils (who knew!?) that it really gives it so much interest. Neat-o!!

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    1. Thank you Hope! Old techniques combined with new ideas becoming one... just got to love designing!

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Thanks for taking the time to comment! Inspiring Creative Minds!