Bead Soup Party: The reveal!

Welcome!

My name is Rochelle. I live in southeastern Connecticut with my hubby and our two boys (of the feline variety). I have been making jewelry for almost 10 years, but have only started blogging in the last few months. I'm truly honored to be a part of something so unique and grand as this Bead Soup Blog Party. I hope you enjoy my reveal!

Click each image to enlarge

 Here are a few photos I took of my Bead Soup mix before getting to work. You can read more about what I received from my partner, Teri, here.

Bead Soup Project One

Aquamarine(?) gemstones

 These earrings are simple. But sometimes I really like that.
They have a nice romantic feel to them. The gemstones were from Teri, I had the metal components.

 Bead Soup Project Two

Amazonite, Bronzite and Carnelian gemstones

This necklace uses the toggle clasp and large Amazonite beads (as the focal) sent to me by Teri, and was probably the hardest project for me. See, I never use gold. That means I have no gold toned crimps, jump rings or wire. So construction on this one was a bit tough. I actually had to pull apart some old costume jewelry to get enough jump rings, and then I bought some spacers specifically for this project. I really wanted to show the clasp off, but with some of these beads being so large, I couldn't see how to put it in the exact front. I played around a bit, moving the beads around on my work surface, when it came to me. I slid them over to the side :)  I really, really like the colors in this piece. It's something totally different than I would normally make.

Bead Soup Project Three

Amazonite, Quartz and Freshwater pearls. Sterling silver

Now this necklace is much more me. Back to silver and my comfort zone! The large gemstone pendant and quartz beads came in my Bead Soup mix. I think this is just beautiful and have already found myself planning an outfit around it!

Bead Soup Project Four

Amazonite gemstones, Glass beads, and Sterling silver dolphin charm

I had one of those large rectangle beads left over. I was moving it around in my hand when I realized that if I turn it vertically, it looks like the ocean and sky! Oh, so cool! I kept the design simple, to show off the gemstone.

My Partner:

My wonderful partner is Teri from Born To Be Worn. The bead soup mix she sent to me was truly perfect and I have had so much fun creating these pieces. Be sure to stop by her blog and see what she made using the bead mix I sent her!

Thank you for such an amazing experience Teri!

See more participates of this party:

Lori had a lot of work on her hands with this party and I think she has done an amazing job! So, please visit her blog, as well as the other participates, to see what amazing creations they came up with!

An easy to follow list of all participants can be found here.

Part II:

Believe it or not, I still have some beads left over from my mix and two more projects that I haven't completed. I hope you come back and see Part II of this post!

Milo, helping me take photos

Bead Soup Party: The soup mix

Earlier this month I learned that Lori Anderson was hosting a Bead Soup Blog Party. I have always wanted to be apart of one of these, but have never had the guts to actually join.I knew there were so many reasons I had to this time. I thought, 'what a great opportunity to push myself through some of the anxiety and self-doubt; A way to be more social and make new friends'. So, before I could stop myself, I submitted my information. There was no turning back now!

I received an email from Lori revealing who my partner would be...
*drum roll* ...Teri from Born to be Worn by S & T Creations!

This is a little sneak peek of what I sent to Teri:

On Saturday, I got the package from Teri:

I opened it as fast as humanly possible and pulled out the bubble wrapped bundle. It felt a little heavy, but I couldn't get a good look through all that plastic! As soon as I peeled back those bubbles, I started to laugh out loud at the contents. Teri had sent me the most beautiful, large Amazonite beads. Some of the very same gemstone I had sent to her! Great minds think alike!

These beads are stunning! The toggle is gorgeous! Gold findings are something I never work with and these gemstones are much larger than I typically use. It's just the right amount of unfamiliarity to make me work outside my comfort zone. Exactly what I was hoping for.
Thank you, Teri, for the perfect bead soup!

Finished jewelry will be revealed on Sept 17th.