Soups are simmering!!

Well, hello! There's soup simmering everywhere, can you smell it? It smells delicious and looks divine!!

I received my bead soup ingredients from my very lovely and EXTREMELY talented partner Kelly Hosford Patterson of The Traveling Sideshow. Man, I was bowled over and completely humbled! Kelly is so talented and so thoughtful. Sunflowers are very special to me and my family, they represent my son T.J. for us. Kelly knew that because she had very thoughtfully read through my blog. She went all out and I can't wait to sit down and begin creating with the beautiful components she's sent to me.

Here's a group shot of the components of my soup that she made herself. SHE MADE THEM ALL! Oh my gosh, such beauty and love! Here are individual shots of the main ingredients:

The focal and clasp - Kelly created the faux sunflower druzy by crushing gemstones and setting them in resin within a copper bezel pendent she had created. Love! The hammered copper clasp wire wrapped with coral seed beads and including a vintage bead.

How fabulous is this pendant?!

Hammered copper sunflower connectors.

Hammered copper chain.

 

Talisman trinket box: front, back and interior. How cool is this?!

Fiber wrapped wire, felted beads with swirled copper caps and golden pheasant feathers.

And now, the supporting cast:

  

Pretty amazing, right!! That's a little black bird by Beady Eyed Bunny in the mix. I am a very lucky and grateful girl. Kelly's written a lovely post about creating my soup here.

Next up, the soup I sent to Kelly. Do you know how sometimes you start with a thought in mind and as you start adding, that thought moves in another direction but you love both and there are parts that go with both? Well, that's what happened when I created Kelly's soup. 

I started with this lampworked focal by Sachiko Kawakita. I have several beads by this artist that I've been hoarding for quite some time. They're beautiful and detailed. 

Then I started pulling together the flavor enhancers. There are vintage metals, lucite, glass and MOP buttons, along with vintage brass earring filigree. There are some black vintage, cut glass (jet?) beads from a broken necklace my friend gave me that she'd picked up at a sale somewhere. They appear to be hand cut. I like 'em a lot.  I've added some pearls and stones - do you see those rainbow druzy beads? I fell in love with them when I saw them, I'd never seen druzy as beads before. I need to get some more!

Then I added some sari silk, and a vintage enameled flower stamping. While I was looking for something in my studio I happened to move a chain of leather color swatches that a friend had given me and a little piece of crochet lace that my husband's great-grandmother had made from another project. As I move them I thought, "I wonder what Kelly would do with something like this?" so I included them. 

I wanted to add a few drilled sea glass chips that I've picked up on my visits to the beach to the mix, to add a little bit of me to the soup. In the process I thought about making some connectors, so I ended up drilling a bunch of glass (Sorry I blew out the holes on the backs Kelly, so that there's a definite front/back. They drilled through before I could flip them over...). This is where things started moving in another direction... Then I remembered that I had some sea glass connectors set in brass bezels with resin, so I added those too.

Then I thought, all that sea glass doesn't REALLY go with the lampworked focal, so I decided to add some soldered pottery shards that I've collected. Then I needed a clasp that would go with that, so I made a couple of sea glass clasps that could hook onto a chain or jump ring into the mix. The green one would even work with the lampworked focal. So, one soup or two, or does it come full circle? I can't wait to see what Kelly makes with the goodies I've sent to her! Check back in May for the reveal!!

I've also sent a soup along to Lori Jean Poppe! I've included a tumbled glass ring, vintage lucite and chain, a slider bead that I made, lampworked beads and clasp by Kim Watanabe and a sterling toggle. I hope she has fun with it and can't wait to see what she makes!