Remember way back in September when I showed you this?
Today you get to see what I made with the bead soup provided by Heirloom Classics (located in Indianapolis, my personal favorite city and the place I would choose to live above any other if I could pick up and move…I’ve already lived there twice).
Here it is:
I admit I struggled with this soup. Here is the focal and clasp alone:
The focal was my biggest challenge. I don’t really work with stone. Also, when placed against the skin, the stone kind of goes blah looking. So the first thing I needed to do was back it with something. I decided on cutting a piece of 28g sterling silver sheet in a similar shape and size and giving it a bit of texture to add interest.
Then I decided to add a bit of color. Because I don’t really do neutral. I had a curl of copper sheet that I had cut something…I don’t remember what (don’t throw anything away!) that made this really cool shape. So I enameled it in a turquoise color
Then used some of the seed beads included in the soup, strung it onto fireline, and made a bail to assemble all the focal pieces together.
I wanted to use the blue again somewhere else so it didn’t look like it didn’t belong. Also, I knew I wanted to use some kind of fiber. So I enameled some of these filigree cones in the same blue, and braided some recycled sari silk yarn with some gunmetal ball chain and attached both ends to the filigree cones.
I wanted to use the black beads from the soup, but the scale seemed wrong. So I used some of my black enameled beads to finish things off.
The clasp was my absolute favorite thing in the soup from Heirloom Classics, so I wanted it to have a starring role:
Which gives the necklace a slight asymmetrical look, but I definitely didn’t go crazy or anything…
So out of the soup I was given, I used the focal, clasp and some of the seed beads. I would like to share the bounty of what I received. Leave a comment to be entered to win the remainder of the soup (minus the seed beads…they are all over the place!).
I look forward to seeing what others made. Kalmbach will be showing photos of bead soup party creations on their facebook page.
Brilliant! I love that you layered the focal. And how the shape mimicks that way cool clasp! Raising my spoon in salute to you! Enjoy the day. Erin
Awesome design! I love how you put together all of the seemingly unrelated components to create this ROCKIN necklace! I would love to win your extras, so pretty please count me in! Thanks!
PS – I am from Southern Indiana, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE Indianapolis! There is sooo much to do and see in Indy, so I hope everyone gets a chance to check it out!
That focal turned out wonderfully. I love the blue, and I also love the wire work connecting the black beads.
Very pretty. I like the way you layered the focal & added that pop of color. I just got my blog post up with my soup reveal today, too.
I love what you did with your soup! especially the enameled copper focal thingy, I do enameling too but never thought about using my scrap copper, what a great idea! I hope you don’t mind if I use it my self! it made me want to get out my torch and start playing!
I don’t mind at all, Norma! I’m sure I’m not the first one to think of it…have fun and play with those scraps!
Excellent! I’ve ended up with some focals that are great until I put them against my skin and then I have to figure out a backing or something. And scaled is really important — you did a fantastic job!
I think you did wonderfully with this soup and overcame your challenges stupendously… I love your solution for the focal and your use of fiber and enamel to bring it on home. This is a show stopper piece.
You may have struggled with the pendant, but honestly I never would have guessed it! I think you did INCREDIBLE things with that pendant and necklace; I REALLY love it!
Great job!
I love what you did, Jennifer! Your enamel work is wonderful and so is your focal, now that you’ve worked your magic with it!
The blue adds so much pop to this necklace I really like what you did with this soup Jennifer, you brought it up to a new temperature!
Really impressive! You took this soup in a whole new and different direction from what I’d expected.
Wow! Amazing work ~