7th Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal

I received the most wonderful soup from Susan of Libellula Jewelry. (She has a shop called Cicada Silver too.) She wrapped each ingredient individually in tissue paper and packaged it all in a handmade box. She labeled everything so beautifully, it was so hard for me to take it all apart. I just loved looking at it and going thru it again and again. Susan does really wonderful metal work. She etches and solders and makes her own jump rings and head pins.  Along with all the metal, came glass, ceramic and gemstone beads.

The first piece I made was this necklace using one of the focals she sent. This etched pendant is colored with a pretty shade of turquoise and bezeled beautifully.Inside the pendant is a little piece of paper that says 'seek peace'. I love that it says that. I also used one of the clasps that she sent. It is a hand formed copper hook. The beads are beads I made out of bright green, turquoise and ivory and then etched. I love this necklace and have worn it already many times.

The next piece is a bracelet using most of the pink beads she sent. The cherry quartz, the pink opal and the pink adventurine carved focal. I just had to add that pop of green with the flower bead. I like that it echos the flowers in the main focal.

 The next piece is a simple pair of earrings. Using the earwires, headpins, hammered rings and turquoise Susan sent. I love how well the balled ends of the ear wires, matched the color of the orange sea foam quartz.

Susan sent me so many wonderful pieces and I just couldn't get all of the pieces done that I want to make. The button clasp is one of my favorite things she sent. I just couldn't make up my mind how to use it. Over the next couple of days I am hoping to get two more pieces done. I will post pictures as soon as I can. Susan was lots of fun to work with. I wish we lived closer because I would love learn some of what she knows about metal. 

Here is how you can get to Susan's Blog to see what she made with the beads I sent her. Here is a link to the rest of the participates in the blog hop

Kate's Quilt

I am embarrassed to admit how long ago I started this quilt, but in the interest of complete disclosure I will...I started this quilt 10 years I ago. Actually, I have a hard time believe it was that long ago, but it was. I decided I was going to make the kids quilts to go in their new rooms. They picked out the colors, nice bright colors. Kate picked green and purple and Brian went with green and blue.  I got the quilt tops done right away, and then they just sat. It took me awhile to find the backing fabric and then someone to quilt them for me. But finally, in the past few months, I picked up these quilts and decided to finish them .So this is Kate's, I finished it last night! I am so thrilled that it is completed. I already have the binding attached on Brian's and hope to finish it up in the next week. I love the colors of both of them! Very cheerful. Now I am not exactly sure what I am going to do with them. As Brian is out of the house in his own apartment and Kate only has one more semester at school and then she will be hitting the real world. I don't think they will even want them.  I am thinking they will look really nice in an extra bedroom with two twin beds in it....hmmm....

Stacked Bracelets

A while back I ran across the blog of Tracy Statler Make Bracelets. She was hosting the blog challenge Wrapped, Stacked and Layered. Although I didn't participate in this challenge, it really got me thinking that I wanted to do this! I loved the idea of all the different bracelets all layered together.

So this is what I have come up with so far. All in copper. I hammered out the copper bangles first and connected them with a brass rivet. I had gone to a local shop that had a class on making the bangle with the coiled rose. The bracelet with the cream beads uses waxed linen and copper chain that I attached a bunch of cream flower beads to. The light turquoise wrap bracelet is made of larger seed beads and copper split rings. I found a tutorial to make this bracelet on The Gossiping Goddess blog. This bracelet is so easy and really has a nice feel to it. The last bracelet is the bracelet I made last month that has some of my lampwork beads and the names of my husband and both of my kids on it. I love how they all jangle on my wrist. I think I will keep making bracelets to add to this stack, maybe I can make it go up to my elbow!! The next stack I am going to make is going to be in black and silver....I can't wait to get started!