Beads! It's What's for Dinner .......

    Welcome to the 8th Bead Soup Blog Party reveal.

    Are you hungry? 

    I sure hope so. We've got one heck of a feast planned for you. 

    This is kind of like a progressive dinner. A party, where each course of a meal is prepared and partaken of, at a different residence. 

    Sometimes known as a "Safari Supper"' for more exotic fare that journeys across foreign lands.  I think this qualifies.

    We've got almost 500 courses planned for you. In locations all over the world. Most of them quite extensive. 

    But don't worry. The riches won't spoil. You have all the time you need to consume this feast. 

    Bon Appetit! 

    If you want a recap of the bead soup I received from my partner Lori Bowring Michaud of Artfully Ornamental...... otherwise,  I'm going to jump right in. Just like I did when I first opened my soup package from her. 

Cocktail, anyone?

Lavender Mint Julep

"Passionista!"

    I started off with a few of the extra items Lori tossed in, to mix things up a bit. The large black vintage enameled star-burst daisy, and the black leather scrap.
                   I can't resist a challenge.
    I cut a couple of star-burst shapes out of the black leather scrap, and then wired the little periwinkle colored vintage luster beads to the points.
    I didn't really have a plan when I began. I just picked a color combo and let it flow.
    I decided I wanted to stack and layer elements. I took a couple of large cage beads and split them in half. Used my dapping and doming tools to open them up a bit more. Then enameled them with a mix of white, lavender, and orchid, with a dusting of violet mica powder for shimmer.
    I used one of those fantastic titanium druzy rounds in the center of each enameled star-burst.
    At this point the black, white, purple layers reminded me of something and a recipe started to brew.

        These very brilliantly colored and exotic looking blooms are passion flowers. They grow on vines and bear fruit just as exotic and delicious.

    This necklace is made mostly from the beads Lori provided.
    I hammered some copper swirls to use as spacers. Added some purple sari silk, some rough Flourite nuggets, some wire core handspun art yarn, and some black eyelash yarn to the mix.
    Drilled some extra holes in the black enameled flower, so I could hang it differently.
    I used the dark sea glass soldered hook that Lori made for me, and used one of the copper swirls as the loop. Lori said that it's actually dark green , but it looks black to me so it works perfectly with the rest of the mix.
    I wired lots of gray fresh water pearls, lavender Swarovski crystals, vintage periwinkle luster beads, violet heishis, black hand cut Jet, and titanium druzy rounds for both the chain and lots of dangles.
    I wrapped the wire core handspun art yarn loosely around the chain to create the vines.
    Voila! The "Passionista!" is born. 

    I spent Easter Sunday at the Renaissance Faire. Then came home and worked on my bead soup for the next few weeks. So you'll see a lot of costume influence in this next set.

          "Princess Jasmine"

Princess Jasmine - 

Tendrily vines,
Swirling towards the heavens, 
Showering delicate pink blossoms, 
Sweet nectar, 
Wafting on the warm night breeze. 
In the distance, 
Primal drums beat in rhythmic seduction. 
Rich in texture, 
A melody dances on the fragrant night air.
The soft jingle of bells conjure images of erotic movement. 
As the gypsy caravan rolls past,
on it's way to the Bedouin Bazaar
The sweet temptress of night music,
Lures us off to exotic locations. 

A little mood music

    Named in honor of the Disney princess from the movie Aladdin, for her elegant Persian couture.

    I started with the exquisite Peridot green lampwork glass focal bead by Sachiko Kawakita. It has beautiful gold leafing foil on it, so I decided to work in brass.
    I fashioned free-form carnival style scrolls out of heavy brass wire and hammered them. No two are alike. Each has it's own unique shape.

    I alternated the bright green drilled sea glass pieces between the scrolls.
    Then loaded the brass scrolls up, with all sorts of jingly sparkly dangles.
    I used all of the vintage corrugated brass bell shapes, the vintage brass gypsy bells, and the three shades of itty bitty gold Swarovski crystals that Lori provided.
    I added some Czech glass blossoms and leaves to the mix, in both pink and green, with an iridescent blue luster finish. As well as a couple of brass bead caps that have been flattened to create a medallion that hang from the bottom of the lampwork glass pendant.
    I used the brass chain that Lori sent to give it a nice long silhouette.
    The lighter shade of green sari silk was split down the center and frayed a little to show off the blue fringed edge, and carry the blue from the flowers in the lampwork focal throughout the necklace. Then I wove the sari silk through the chain.

    A darling little green ceramic bird by Bo Hulley is perched on the center scroll with a sari silk nest, to add a little bit of whimsy.
    It has a wonderfully soft melodic gypsy jingle when it moves, reminiscent of harem girls and belly dancers.

    Then I used the vintage brass laurel leaf filigree pieces and the brass ear wires to make a matching pair of earrings.
    I happened to have this pair of pink and green lampwork glass lentil beads with gold mica shimmer that went beautifully with the lampwork focal.
    I strung a few of the mini gold Swarovski crystals, and a pink Czech glass blossom on each ear wire.
    Used my dapping and doming tools to reshape the filigree pieces a bit so the lentil rest nicely in the center.
    Then wired up a bunch of jingly sparkly dangles to match the necklace.
    I used little scarps of the sari silk to do my signature fiber wrap on the stem.
    I love how the finished shape resembles a genie bottle.

    So now that I have harem girls, gypsies and belly dancers on the brain..... well, kind of need a jingly belt to go with it, right?
    I made a lot more of those free-form carnival style scrolls of hammered brass wire.
    I used a few large light green scrolled ceramic art beads by Natalie Pappas, some Howlite coins and a Prehnite nugget from ZnetShows, a large green Turquoise rectangle, as well as some of the clear/white drilled sea glass pieces that Lori sent, as links.
    I attached a little Peridot green and white brocade purse pouch. (remember, Renissiance Faire). Added a long white tassel I happened to have on hand. I believe it was a curtain tie back.
    Then added all sorts of fun dangly bits.
    I used the rest of the clear/white drilled sea glass pieces, the brass bezels with green and amber sea glass bits set in resin, the mother of pearl buttons, and the green Aqua Terra Jasper from the soup Lori sent.
    I also used the white crocheted lace that she threw in to mix it up a bit. I cut the strip in to three separate rosettes. Enforced it with Fray Check, to ensure they didn't come unraveled and used them as dangling medallions.
    From my own collection I added some bright green and gold enamel coins and faceted drops, some small aqua blue ceramic art beads by Natalie Pappas, a couple of black white and blue striped lampwork glass rondelles, and a large smooth Turquoise drop.
    I used Prehnite nuggets, light green faux sea glass oval rings, aqua blue faux sea glass nuggets, and champagne color Tiaria glass crytsals all from my ZnetShows stash.
    I added a couple of brass gypsy bells that I just bought at Renissiance Faire. Then added jingle bells in all different sizes, each with a different tone, to give it a really fun sound.
    I added fairy ribbon streamers, and accented it with lots of little gold plated brass leaf charms.
    I took a little old brass vessel I've had forever, and decorated it with a snippet of the sari silk ribbon from Lori, and little charms, and fastened it to the end of the chain extension so it hangs right up front.
    It's filled with orange blossom oil. My favorite scent.
    Complete with it's own fairy totem, perched atop the tassel.

    I've had the porcelain fairy doll for a long time. She was pretty tattered and had definitely seen better days. She got a complete revamp for this project.
    I did actually try the belt on to make sure it fit before adding all the dangles to it. I must have fit it too loosely though because when I tried it on after it was done, it fell straight to the floor. Oops!
    The weight of the bobbles doesn't allow for quite such a loose fit. I'll have to go back and remove about six inches from it so I can actually wear it.
    I am really happy with how my gypsy belt turned out. It's gonna be a long wait to wear it to Renaissance Faire next spring.
    Did I mention that the color scheme happens to be a perfect color match to my costume. Coinkydink? I think not.
    I'll figure out somewhere else fun to wear it before then. Maybe for an arts and crafts show. That seems an appropriate place to get away with costume.

    Just a side note about this set.... I had absolutely no wire in gold or brass. Other than the 16 gauge I used to make the scrolls. No local bead shop, or any other way to acquire any on short notice. So this entire set is put together with headpins and jump rings. That's A LOT of headpins and jump rings.

    So while we're on the subject of gypsies, I want to take a minute to plug one of my favorite movies.
    It's a documentary, which I didn't realize when I rented it, or I might not have. I thought it was an indie art film. That's the kind of stuff I usually like. The big Hollywood blockbusters do nothing for me.
    It's called "When The Road Bends... Tales of a Gypsy Caravan".
    It was a film festival favorite, but I don't think it ever made it to the theater.
    I'm so glad I did rent it because it's one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen.
    The title comes from a Romani proverb about how to cope when life doesn't deal you a straight hand.
    It's about five gypsy bands from four different countries, speaking nine different languages, who had never met before, and they go on tour together.
    This is the story of their journey.
    A beautiful story of a beautiful people. I guarantee that you will absolutely fall in love with them.
    You can actually watch the movie online, but if you happen to find the DVD, the extra clips are amazing as well.
    If you love music, or even if you don't, I definitely recommend this as a must see.

"You cannot walk straight, when the road bends" - Romani proverb


    Now, back to the bead soup.....

           "Thar Be Mermaids!"
    I had originally intended for this to all be in one piece, but I had way too much stuff going on to make that happen. So, it got split in two, and there's another belt.
    The same color scheme in a little bit deeper shades. This one with a mermaid theme.

    I handmade the oval copper chain links. Normally I would use 16 gauge wire for heavy chain links, but I'm plum out. I used what I had, which was 20 gauge. A little light weight for a belt, so I doubled up the links for strength.
    I used the dark green soldered sea pottery pendant, and the green soldered sea glass hook that Lori made for me as the belt buckle.
    I had a handful of vintage green covered button that I rubbed with African bronze Guilder's Paste to give a faux finish. The metallic finish on the fabric kind of resembles chainmail.
    I used these covered buttons and the dark green drilled sea glass pieces from Lori as links.
    I took the remainder of the green sari silk from Lori and wove it through the chain.
    Then adorned it with all sorts of treasures from the watery deep.
    I used the rest of the Aqua Terra Jasper from Lori. I used some African bronze cage beads, Chinese Chrysoprase rondelles, Tiaria glass crystals from Znetshows, and lots of shimmery teal blue palettes.
    I did a faux enamel finish (green nail polish) on some brass cage beads. Antiqued some rustic black ceramic beads with Guilder's paste. I made felted wool pompoms in an ocean blue palette with Angelina fiber for sparkle.

      I had some brass mermaid and starfish stamping that a fixed up a while ago. The cavity on the back is filled with watery blue glitter and ransom style messages like "fun in the sun" and "just add water", set in lacquer.
    I guilded a faux carved bone mermaid pendant and a little brass pillbox with a sand dollar on the front.
    A pair of great big olive green onion shaped faux crystal drops are tied on twine.
    I draped some strands of sea shells from the belt in an archways, and hung a sea urchin on olive green silk ribbon

    I even made a magic wand from driftwood, embellished with shimmery blue/green/gold fabric and beads. Chinese Chrysoprase, African bronze and the rest of the gray fresh water pearls from Lori.
    It hangs from olive green silk ribbon, with an African bronze cage bead embellished peacock feather tassel.
    Last, but certainly not least, I made a mermaid totem. I happened to have the gold face sitting around. When I did the faux finish (green nail polish) on the brass beads, I decided to paint up this face at the same time. Added some watery ocean blue wool looks for hair and sparkly rhinestones. She's attached to an ivory and blue brocade purse pouch,
     This face was actually the inspiration for the mermaid theme belt.

    So each of my belts kind of crosses over different genres. The first could be fairy, belly dancer, gypsy, or princess. The second one could be belly dancer, gypsy, mermaid, or pirate.
    I had a lot of fun doing these fantasy pieces.


    But wait there's more.....

            "Day at the Beach"
    The last piece is a gift for my Dad for his 75th birthday. There's a birthday party planned on mother's day.
    Originally I had intended to make a wind chime, but I couldn't find my chimes, and the copper didn't sound good clanking together. So I changed it up and made a mobile instead.
    All the driftwood pieces were collected last month on our family outing to Ventura beach.
    After the enameled horse that I made for my "Free Spirits of the Wild West" challenge last month, I'm feeling all brave. I drew and cut out a bird and a fish from copper sheet.

    I used my electric engraver that I got for Christmas for the first time to draw scales, fins, and feathers on the copper. Then I flame painted them to resemble a sea gull and a rainbow trout. I'm quite pleased with how my metal work turned out.
    I used the brown soldered sea pottery pieces,  the drilled amber sea glasses pieces, and the yellow Jasper from my soup. As well as a few more of the white/clear drilled sea glass pieces.
    I hammered some copper scrolls. Added some African brass beads, sea shells and a sea urchin from my collection. I also used one of my repousse sea urchins.
    This is the first time I've made anything like this, and it was not easy to balance. Especially with how the bird is perched on top. Wish I had a scale to compare weights. It would have made this project a lot easier. I did this the old fashioned way. Trial and error.
    I'm thrilled with how it turned out. Hope dad loves it too.

I managed to use almost all of my soup. The only thing I have left is the small gold clasp, the Citrine nuggets, and the scrap of tan leather.

I hope you saved room for the next course.

    Next stop....please go by and visit my partner Lori Bowring Michaud. She managed to get her post up in spite of it being the ten year anniversary of her sons tragic death. Heck of a way to spend Mother's Day, right. She's a very strong woman, and an amazing artist. She made some really cool stuff with the handmade components I sent her. Check it out.

    A huge thank you to our amazing hostess Lori Anderson, who somehow manages to pull this off. Coordinating 500 people while battling major health issues. Also fulfilling the challenge herself, with not one, but two partners. You rock Lori!

    You'll find the complete list of participant links on her blog post.

    Happy Hopping!

My My How Time Does Fly............... Double the Fun...................... bogger/non-blogger challenge #9

   Welcome to the reveal of the blogger and non-blogger challenge round #9. A huge round of applause for our gracious hostess, Rita of  Toltec Jewels  is definitely in order. She really sweetened the pot this time and managed to entice with loads of goodies to give away, and making this a "Double the Fun" event with 2 inspiration photos. 

   When I first saw this  Frida Kahlo  photo titled "Time Flies", it really spoke to me. I could almost immediately see an image of what I wanted to make. A statement piece with a pocket watch as the pendant, a die cast toy prop plane wired into the side. Complete with all the textures in the picture, red silk rope, tassels, and white lace, included. 

  I immedietly started my blog post, complete with video of one of my favorite Enya songs called "My, My, Time Flies". I was all excited and ready to go. 

Well I looked, and looked, and looked for that toy plane, to no avail. They sure don't make toys like they used to. Even match box cars are made out of plastic these days. Cheap, breakable, disposable..... piling up in land fills. It's a shame really. What ever happened to Tonka trucks. "Tonka Means Tough". That was their slogan, and boy did they stand up to the claim.
                 Sigh.

     I finally gave up on the plane and moved on to plan B. 

   I participated in Tresori Trovati's  Challenge of Travel  last weekend. I did my post on my family vacation home in Lake Tahoe. I put a lot of work into that post, and I really waited until the last minute to start this. I wasn't sure that any of my ideas would work. I've only torch enameled beads and small pieces until now. So, I said a little prayer and dove in head first.

    I set out to try and replicate the "Teal Goddess" vase. I have a whole page of doodles trying to figure out HOW to shape it. I was first thinking it would have to be made in multiple pieces, and attached in the enameling process. 

    I started with small pieces of annealed copper sheet and hammered and folded and played. This is actually the second shape I came up with. The first was also very blossom like, but it wasn't quite right for this piece. It did however lean nicely toward another idea I have, so you will be seeing it eventually. 

As you can see, my experimenting was a success. Yippee!

    I started rolling the copper into a cone, so the seem runs right up the throat of the blossom. The seem sealed perfectly with the enamel. Unfortunately it's not quite water tight. There is a very small seam between the vase and the curly Q tail. A pinhole size, but it does drip  :(  It could, however, be used with fresh flowers and a damp cloth.

  I used many different colors of enamel. White, a fern green, Sea Foam and transparent Nile Green to encase it all. Then I rolled it in glass frit in array of colors; cobalt and aqua blues and emerald green. I got it really good and melty, so the colors started to bleed together and morphed into the perfect shade of teal. Little bits of sparkle peep from under the collar. On the back side the frit leaves a speckling pattern near the tail that makes it feel quite organic. 

    Thank you for everyone's comments on the photos, praising my talent and brilliance...
  
 Some days I am.

    In this case, I experimented and got lucky.

    Moral of the story is:

                 TRY NEW THINGS!

    Even if you don't think they will work.

    Even if you don't think you'll like them.

    Cause you just never know.........
                                        until you try.

          Some days you come up with.............

                                                                                             BRILLIANT!!!

       I had plans to string the vessel for the challenge as well. There is a ring in the center to attach and string of charms. My intent was to hang it sideways with the magic spilling out, with a string of crystals dangling. 

    While working all weekend, I couldn't find the time to finish it. I couldn't possibly improve upon the vessel itself anyway. I have decided to quit while I'm ahead and submit the component as is.

    ~The Tale of the Teal Goddess and the Fairy Goblet ~

    The Teal Goddess is the secret protector of the Fairy Goblet.
    A Cornucopia of Magic flows, eternally from the goblet's mouth.
    This sacred elixir is the life force of all the little elfin people.
    It nourishes,              heals,            creates,          all things.
    A very powerful magic.
    It could also be very dangerous in the wrong hangs.
    That's why the "Teal Goddess",  the goddess of white magic and sacred wisdom, has been entrusted to keep these divine secrets.
    The safety of the little magic people from the Dark Wizard, and all the evil in the world, depends upon it.
    So please, don't tell anyone where, if you have seen us out and about.
    It's for the greater good of the fairy world...... and all the world.

    Sprinkling some sparkling white light in your direction.
                                   Use it well.
                                  *~*

                      The End 

    I hope you have enjoyed our little jaunt through Fairyland. 

    Please head on over to the facebook photo album to see all the awesome submissions. It really is mind blowing to see how we each interpret the inspiration differently. Many, many talented artists in this bunch. The results are a must see. 

Please be sure to check back on October 27 for all sorts of yummy fall goodness. I'll be participating in Toltec Jewels' Octoberfest Blog hop as well.