Is it Soup Yet?

Yes, it's that time again-- 362 jewelry designers from all over the planet swapping hand-picked jewelry elements that will become fabulous swag--. Lori Anderson's largest-ever Bead Soup Blog Party!

This time I am paired with Cynthia Deis, owner of the eclectic and gloriously-stocked shop Ornamentea, where I've spent many hours perusing and marveling at the wares she's gathered. Of all the online shops I visit, I love Ornamentea the best for their inspiring and unique tutorials demonstrating ways to use the components that they sell.

The purpose of the Bead Soup Blog Party-- BSBP-- is to have fun designing with materials somebody else has chosen and to meet new jewelry enthusiasts but also to stretch our design abilities and use colors and materials we normally might not choose, to get outside our artistic comfort zone.

The stash I received from Cynthia will definitely do that. I love to work in a fairly large scale-- big, chunky beads, bold colors, multiple layers of vintage chain and substantial focals. My package from Ornamentea is all scaled-down and precious-- a glimmering handmade lampwork focal by Lisa Daly with a tree motif, miniature leaves, faceted Czech stones, tiny ceramic beads by Elaine Ray-- all woodsy-toned and neutral. An eclectic group of fibers is included-- deerskin, leather lace and golden maple silk ribbon. Cynthia's handmade steel clasp finishes the group.

 I puzzled a bit over what I would do with this. I went over to my pile of “works in progress”-- bits and pieces of experiments, earring parts and elements that are waiting for completion and/or inspiration. I found a little piece that I made a few months ago that reminds me of the wooden Indonesian screen that my sister has hanging in her living room. It's handcarved with very weathered paint.

 So my challenge is to incorporate Cynthia's supplies into my own style, using the “wooden” polymer shard as my jumping-off point. This is one of those instances where the total design just sprang into my head and my fingers had to move very fast to capture it on paper. The fibers will add in nicely and I might whip up some cord on my Diva cordmaker to pull it all together. I already have a name for my piece, which is unusual since I almost always name them after they're done. I'm calling this “Norwegian Wood”. Stop back for the big Reveal on September 17 for the blog hop.