Saturday, April 13, 2013

Belly up to the table, soup's on!

I just love this part.  All the gut-wrenching moments of self doubt go out the window, and the euphoria of a completed project settles in. Click here for my ingredients.

My generous partner is BeeTree by m.e. She makes polymer clay beads and toggles; her love of nature comes shining through in all of her pieces.  Check out her Etsy store!

We can submit our Bead Soup creations to be judged by an impartial panel.  *crunch* That's the sound of my brain grinding to a halt as a result of some self-imposed pressure.  Never a good thing; but I do it far, far too often.  So I stayed off the internet (ok, not Facebook).  I stayed away from Mary's site.  I stayed away from much of Pinterest.  I barely glanced at others' creations.  I did all this in hopes of coming up with some spectacular designs.  ...and nope.  Nada. Nothing.  Not a damn idea.  (Shocking, I know.)

After beating myself up for a couple of days, I noticed the card she sent me.  It has a beautiful picture of the sun's reflection in the shape of a heart.  Her note reads, "I chose this coral because it symbolizes joy and happiness, it enables the wearer to enjoy life. May you always bead happy." Well duh.  This one is mine.  No working outside my comfort zone, no "Hey, I've never tried this before." like I've done with my other soups.  This one is all for me, plain and simple.

I'm in a rather eclectic, bohemian mood lately.  I'm starting to fill my new (to me) house with bright colors, and I am developing a mismatched and relaxed atmosphere.  So I made jewelry in a style I would wear a lot.

I made a simple pendant out of the focal and some swingy earrings (That's right, swingy.  Not only do I make jewelry, I make new words.)



I'm a big fan of chunky, noisy bracelets.  So that's what I made.


I used the toggle, the coral beads, and the fabric strips in the bracelets. I also added a ceramic Peace bead from my friend Diane Hawkey, and added some copper bells for noise and shiny blue beads for a pop of color. I made 5 separate bracelets for those rare occasions I feel like wearing a simple strand or two, and not the whole kit-n-caboodle.



I believe we cannot move forward without remembering who we've been. We have to accept where we've gone and who we've been.  I rummaged through my keepsake box and I dangled an old key that used to open a porcelain bank from my childhood, and I turned one of my old stick pins into a charm.


Thanks for stopping by.  Please check out all of this round's bloggers on Lori's site.

41 comments:

Moobie Grace said...

I love the coordinating but not all matchy matchy bracelets! I always gravitate to the tattered/bohemian pieces...you nailed it!

m.e. said...

LOVE,LOVE,LOVE those bracelets !!!
Thanks for being my BSP (bead soup partner )Its been a souper experience!
m.e. :D

Regina said...

What a fun collection of bracelets, lovely!

one-eared pig said...

Thank you, m.e.! I'm glad you like them.

Kristin Oppold said...

How fun it that necklace!!!!!!! wonderful Kristin Oppold

PiPa said...

A lovely soup and I like how you used it - I'm also a bracelet maniac!

Unknown said...

Love the bracelets! Amazing work!

brandi said...

~eclectic and funky but truly beautiful is this bracelet...adoring from afar...much love light and blessings~

Liz said...

To me your post was a great combination of philosophy, beauty and quirky humor. Belly up indeed! Lovely pieces. I'm coming back for more exploration when time allows :-)

bailaora said...

very elegant projects!congrats!

one-eared pig said...

Thank you all for the compliments! i've been atva show all day, and can't wait to get home and see what everyone created!

Unknown said...

Im a fan of big, chunky bracelets too ! Well, big, chunky everything, honestly. :) So I love that bracelet so much, though the necklace is very gorgeous as well !

Unknown said...

I love the concept of adding as many bracelets as you're in the mood for. I love chunky too.
kathy

la mar de bonita said...

Great soup, Melissa! I love, love, love those bracelets - think I would wear them all together :0)) What an eye-catcher, if you do so - perfect outfit for a warm and breezy summer evening!

Unknown said...

Your bracelets are excellent, but I must say your post was also a great read. It's quite a rare combination. I'm so glad the BSBP brought me to your blog.

coffeeaddict said...

Gorgeous! Five bracelets that can be mixed into an infinite variety :-) I love the addition of the key, such a unique and meaningful charm.

Mags said...

Oh, these bracelets are lots of fun and awesomeness :-D

Chelle said...

Your bracelets are gorgeous. I am such a bracelet girl and these are right up my alley..

Empty nester at last said...

Great pieces. I love the second one, the more noise the better!!!!! Great job.

Unknown said...

LOVE it!!!

Shai Williams said...

Wow! What a great bracelet and I just love how you made it changeable to suit your mood.

Giorgia Rossini said...

I love your chunky bracelet :)
I'm on the 3rd reveal, I'm partecipating for the 3rd time on BSBP, I love this funny party!
ciao dall'Italia

Becky Pancake said...

Melissa making 5 separate bracelets that can be worn together is clever. Including pieces meaningful to you makes it special and kudos to you on using your soup.

Jean A. Wells said...

What fantastic bracelets. You took a very creative approach to this challenge. You did a great job!

Anonymous said...

Love layered bracelets, great look

Libellula Jewelry™ said...

I think it's great that you made your stack of bracelets really "you"!

Karin Slaton said...

Love your post!! And those bracelets? Love the soft texture of the top one, but I would wear them all together - what a fantastic statement that would be.

A Polymer Penchant said...

There is nothing like the texture of the boho style - I love it! I love that your approach set you free. I'm glad you shared that part of the story since clearly it brought you joy and I notice - doing the exact opposite (soup as an excuse to see what happens), brought me joy.

Kepi said...

Love it and how ingenious to make separate bracelets, super design.

Cheryl said...

I loved all the pieces. I' d wear them all. And love them in combo too.

ACBeads said...

I love your simple necklace and earrings and your chunky bracelet. Great work you've done. Have a nice weekend.

CraftyHope said...

You really created some pieces that have so much character and interest, I especially like that last piece that has such sentimental value. Well done!

Unknown said...

Great pieces! I really love the bracelets and how they are so versatile!

Bobbie said...

What a cool stack o' bracelets! I'll bet they are a blast to wear all at once. Nice work!

Unknown said...

I just love the noisy♥ bracelets, great work!

Unknown said...

This looks like comment spam (anonymous, no substantive connection between the text of the comment and the text of the post), but I can't for the life of me figure out what USE it would be to the spammer. Partywear saree

Unknown said...

Just Beautiful! Love that heart!!

fairiesmarket said...

Congratulations for being chosen a WINNER of the Bead Soup Blog Hop Contest. Lovely design.

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