Saturday, August 11, 2012

Dulcinea... Bead Soup Sweetness

This post is going to appear a little out of order.  You see, I decided a few months ago to participate in the 6th Bead Soup Blog Party, hosted by Lori Anderson.  I probably should have known better, but I always think I can do more, in less time, than I actually can (sometimes my Superwoman cape gets twisted around).  But there I was, signed up to participate, and then I started to panic a little that I wouldn't be able to complete anything with my "soup."

I did finish something, though -- not something elaborate, by any means, but it does meet the requirements of using the focal and the clasp I received in my soup from Penney Klaproth (more about the soup later).  Because I wound up waiting until the last possible minute to work on my piece, there's only one...  this sweet little necklace that I named Dulcinea.


I mentioned before that I was required to use the focal and the clasp (and you'll see later that there were LOTS of other beads, including a huge bag of seed beads and bugle beads that weren't even part of the soup!), but as soon as I saw the clasp I knew that it was going to wind up being part of the focal -- this little swirly copper loop is just too pretty to sit at the back of someone's neck.  So I chose to use it to suspend the little stone donut.  The necklace itself is an ndebele rope I made using beads from my own stash:  pretty bright copper lined seed beads that coordinate perfectly with the copper pieces Penney sent me.
 
Want to see the "soup" I received?  Here it is!  It has a great collection of metal and natural beads that will eventually be used in some project.  In fact, I have them sitting on my bead board now, while I ponder what I can do with them.  I'm particularly intrigued by the little glass plugs, the ones nearest the hand in the photo below.  Their colors are wonderful, and I'm thinking I might actually try something with wire...
 
 
Now I have some blog hopping to do...  And I'd like to invite you to hop along with me.  You can visit http://www.prettythingsblog.com/2012/08/6th-bead-soup-blog-party-2nd-reveal.html for a list of all the Reveal #2 participants.  Don't forget to visit my swap partner's blog, Faerie Acres!

46 comments:

m.e. said...

great way to use focal and clasp !
Lovely !
Delicious soup!
m.e. :)

bailaora said...

Smart idea and precision in realization! good job! Regards!

Shirley said...

You know how much I love your work, and I wasn't disappointed. You came up with a unique design, that focuses on the pendant, and shows it off beautifully. And now I can look forward to seeing what you do with the rest of your lovelies!

Amy's said...

Elegant beautiful necklace

Mary Harding said...

lovely. love the ndebele rope and the way you made the bail. So elegant and beautiful.

EB Bead and Metal Works, LLC said...

I love how you used the clasp and focal differently! Lovely necklace!!!

Francy said...

cool idea! I really like the simplicity of the design.

thecolorofdreams said...

Yes, I agree very "Sweet".

Leslie said...

Love the idea of using the S-hook for a bail on the focal.

Anonymous said...

Nice, streamlined and simple design :)

Pretty Things said...

I love the chain you made, and I hope you get inspired by the leftovers! Thanks for playing!

Penney said...

OMG!!!! Those are beads!!! The necklace looks so much like a perfect chain that I enlarged the photo and saw BEADS! Wow! I am blown away by your work and I love, love, love that you've used my hand forged clasp as a bail! Thank you for sharing this beautiful piece.........

Unknown said...

Simple elegance accomplished. You still have plenty of great beads to use. It looks like you have some yo-yo beads among them. I ordered some of them the other day myself.

A Polymer Penchant said...

Sometimes beads need to hang out with other beads a while before they decide what they want to be - at least that's what I tell myself. That rope is so pretty and subtle

Unknown said...

Such a beautiful work ^_^

Shai Williams said...

I wish that I could turn out something so perfect on short notice. Lovely necklace.

Sandra said...

Great design idea. Can't wait to see what else you create, those beads are lovely.

EWA gyöngyös világa! / EWA's World of Beads! said...

Very spectacular necklace!Congrats!

Tammie T Everly said...

BEAUTIFUL! Simple and elegant, I would wear that in a minute~ nice work

Andrea said...

More is not always better. You made a beautiful piece.

Unknown said...

The simple lines are sometimes the hardest to achieve.Well done.Love and Hugs Tanya

Anonymous said...

beautiful design! Love your work! :-)
Fun hopping! Kris

Sandi Volpe said...

Gorgeous design, the chain is fantastic and the focal is perfect suspended from the clasp!!

Lola said...

Beautiful necklace ... I love the green stone with the copper wire.

Lilyweeds at Augusta Kent Studio said...

your piece is very lovely. ~diana

Kepi said...

Very pretty.

Alice said...

It's beautiful, and I love the name you chose for this piece!

elisabeth said...

I love your necklace! I would wear it in a flash!

adlinah said...

Beautiful necklace! I love the look of the ndebele rope.

Linda Younkman said...

Beautiful use of the focal. Love the ndebele rope you used to go with it. Very ingeniuos using the clasp for your focal. I love that idea.

Therese's Treasures said...

Hi Mary Lou,
Sometimes simple is all you need to create beauty and that is just what you did. I love the beautiful necklace that you created.
Therese

april grinaway said...

Cool designing. Love !

Jean A. Wells said...

Beautiful bead soup with lots of possibilities. Beautiful blues - great job.

Courtney Breul said...

Very simple, very elegant!

CraftyHope said...

It is a very sweet necklace. Nicely done.

Kim said...

I love your necklace and the way you used the clasp with the donut was really creative.

Becky Pancake said...

Simple yet striknig. Great design job.

fireflymyst said...

What a sweet necklace! Love the copper!

DVArtist said...

Hey and hi! This piece turned out beautifully.
Nicole/Beadwright

Anonymous said...

I think your necklace is beautiful in its simplicity and it was a great idea to use the clasp to hang the focal!

BluMoon said...

A sweet and delicate necklace very pretty!
Jackie

BluMoon said...

A sweet and delicate necklace very pretty!
Jackie

Krafty Max Originals said...

Sorry I am so late, I have been having computer issues! Great creation. Can't wait to see what you make out of the rest of it!

baymoondesign said...

The chain is gorgeous. Well done!

Unknown said...

Love the chain...nice use of the clasp...very pretty

Giorgia Rossini said...

great way to use the focal and the clasp, so original! I love the chain too.
I'm still hopping, sorry I'm late :)
ciao dall'Italia