BSBP Bead Hoarders Edition - PARTY!

Here it is - the reveal of the Bead Soup Blog Party - Bead Hoarders Edition!!! Welcome!!!

First, I would like to remind you what have I received from my partner Palak Udeshi (motidana):

A very generous bead soup, as you can see, and I definitely didn't use all of the beads that Palak sent to me, just a bit of them.

First I put my eyes on the gorgeous glass pendant. I've tried several combinations, but at the end I prefered the most simple one - with several strands of green beads from my soup. All the embelishments seemed superfluous, because the pendant is so striking by itself. For the clasp I've used a copper button.

The pendant has a loop at the top of the back side and when you wear the necklace, it seats exactly in the valley between the collarbones, so it's very confortable to wear!

Next I tried to use the seed beads and make a wide finger band with a ramdom pattern from 3 different colours of beads.

Doing this I've discovered two things. First, my sight for the tiny parts it's getting worse. "My arms are getting too short", as we say in Slovenia ... and usually it happens when you pass your 40's ... khm, khm ... What can I say, being there ...

And second, my brain doesn't really like random, it's much more happier when I follow a pattern or a scheme. That's why the band is two sided: when you turn it on the finger, there's another, more geometrical pattern.

My last piece is a pair of earrings:

Well, I hope you enjoyed my reveal and please take a look at my partner's Palak Udeshi's blog to see, what has she created with the bead soup that I've sent her - here!

All the links to the creations of all the other participants are available on the blog post by our hostess Lori Anderson - at the end of her reveal post:

http://www.prettythingsblog.com/2017/03/welcome-to-bead-soup-blog-party-bead.html

Be well,

Alenka

BSBP Bead Hoarders Edition - Meet my Partner

Oh my God, it's been almost two years from my last blog post and I still have some debts I intend to fulfill very soon. Well, what can I say ... life happens ... and not always in a good direction. However, let's get to the present and the Bead Soup Blog Party Bead Hoarders Edition.

~~~~~~

After a few years break, Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party is back! This year with a little twist - a bead hoarders edition. That means you have to send to your partner a bead that you were hoarding for some time and is quite difficult for you to part with.

My partner this time is Palak Udeshi (motidana) from India and she sent me a very generous bead soup with a beautiful glass pendant.

She is a talented beadweaver, just take a look at the pictures on  her blog.
One of my favorites is this beautiful necklace:

And here's what I've sent to Palak:

My hoarded bead was a beautiful lampwork and metal bead, made by Carolyn Chenault that I've received in an Art Charm Exchange for Beads of Courage swap and auction, hosted by Jennifer Stout Cameron.
The green heart pendant, the pair of big hollow beads and the little swirl beads are made by me from polymer clay. I've added also some other beads, two chains and a key charm.

Can't wait to see what my partner will create with them!!
Come back Saturday, March 25th, 2017, to see Palak's and mine creations as well as the creations of the hostess Lori Anderson and all the other participant's!!!

Be well,
Alenka

BSBP8 Afterparty - Part 1

 Today I'm working on my unfinished projects ... and I've finally finished one more piece using the beads I've received in the bead soup from my partner Lori Anderson.

  Do you remember my bracelet with lampwork beads (for more pictures click on the link):

  Well, I had left two of the smaller lampwork beads that were perfect for a pair of earrings. I've made the herringbone rope a looong time ago, but had to make several attempts to stitch all the components together.

  The bracelet rope is tubular herringbone with 6 beads in a row, for the earrings I preferred to make a thinner rope and I used 4 beads in a row:

  As you can see, I'm still having fun with my bead soup :-)

Be happy,

Alenka 

Bead Soup Blog Party 8 - Reveal!

  Welcome to my blog - It's time for the reveal of the biggest blog party in the bead commuity!!!

  My partner this year was the hostess herself, Lori Anderson. Let's look at what she sent to me (you can see more details about hte bead soups we've sent to each other here and here):

 

  A beautiful, but very challenging bead soup for me - I've never worked with most of the beads I've received. I'm coming from the polymer clay world, so ...  

  I have changed my design many times and when started to work on one piece finished it in a totally different way as I thought first. It doesn't happen often to me, but it was happening all the time with this soup. Funny!!!

  My first piece is a bracelet. 

 I've wirewrapped the gold-tone pewter beads, put some rings between them and the coordinated pewter toggle clasp - all from the bead soup Lori sent to me. Then I've added some color - some "Renaissance" glass beads in three colors and two sizes.

  

 

    And also my second piece is a bracelet! 

   I've used the lampwork beads (made by www.nanettemarie.com) in different sizes, crystal and czech glass from Lori's soup and black and purple seed beads from my stash. I wanted to combine beadweaving with those beautidul lampwork beads from the first time I've seen them, but had no idea how. after several different attempts this idea of a beaded rope that winds between the beads came to my mind. I've used a herringbone rope, but maybe it would look even better with a CRAW or some other "flexible" stitch. 

 

This is how it looks on my wrist:

 

 
Today when I was taking the pictures another idea came to my mind - I was wondering how it would look as a necklace:

  I would say even better!!! Maybe I'll remake it as a necklace ... 

  That's it for me today. I was working on more pieces, but are still not finished or I'm not satisfied with. It's not a bad thing - that means I'll enjoy the bead soup Lori sent to me for some more time ...Thank you, Lori, for being my partner in this party!

  And now - let's go to see what my partner Lori created with the bead soup I've sent to her,

and HERE is the list of all the other participants.

Be happy,

Alenka

  

Bead Soup Blog Party Postponed

  Due to some health issues of our hostess and my partner Lori Andreson the reval of the Bead soup Blog Party is postponed for one week ... to May, 10.

Be happy,

Alenka

What have I sent to Lori ...

  When I found out that my partner in this year's Bead Soup Blog Party is Lori Anderson, I was absolutely happy and honoured. However, when I started to put together the bead soup for her I was stumped at first.  Lori is so versatile and experienced in jewelry making and I wanted to send her a challenging bead soup. That's the purpose of the party, right? To give our partner the possibility to work outside her comfort zone. Believe me, with Lori that was not easy at all to accomplish as she has already used almost any material/style/component.   
  Ko sem izvedela, da je moja partnerica v letošnjem Bead Soup Blog Partiju Lori Anderson, sem bila vesela in počaščena. Ko pa je bilo treba spraviti skupaj "župco" iz perl zadnjo, sem bila najprej popolnoma brez idej. Lori je tako vsestranska in izkušena, ko gre za izdelavo nakita, jaz pa sem ji hotela pripraviti izziv. Saj to je namen tega partija, kajne? Svojemu partneru dati možnost, da se sooči s takimi sestavnimi deli za nakit, ki jih običajno sam ne bi izbral. Lahko mi verjamete, da je pri Lori to vse prej kot lahko, saj je pri svojem ustvarjanju nakita uporabila že skoraj vse mogoče materiale/stile/sestavne dele.      


  Keeping in mind her usual style and colors I decided to go for a yellow-light green pallete and a more textured, matte finish. By the way, these are exactly the colors I see looking from my window right now. The second part of the soup is more orange-red. Here's the whole bed soup:
  Odločila sem se za rumene do svetlo zelene odtenke in bolj grobo, mat obdelavo. Mimogrede, to so ravno barve, ki jih trenutno vidim skozi okno. Drugi del komponent pa je bolj oranžno-rdeč. Tukaj je "župca" v celoti:   

  The yellow-light green part includes:
- light green polaris beads,
- yellow-orange polymer clay pendant,
- three polymer clay connectors (two circles and one weavy),
- polymer clay amphora-like clasp.
The polymer clay pieces are handmade by me, they are my own interpretation of a combination of techniques from Helen Breil's book Shapes and Iris Mishly and Hila Bushari Cosmic Ceramic Tutorial.
  Rumeno-zeleni del obsega:
- svetlo zelene polaris perle,
- rumeno-oranžen obesek iz polimerne gline,
- trije vezni členi iz polimerne gline (dva obroča in eden bolj valovit),
- amfori podobna zaponka iz polimerne gline.
Vse kose iz poligline sem izdelala sama po postopku, ki je moja lastna interpretacija kombinacije tehnik iz knjige Shapes Helen Breil in Cosmic Ceramic tutoriala od Iris Mishly in Hile Bushari.  
 

  The polymer clay heart pendant and coordinated beads were also handmade by me. You can recognize them from one of my latest posts.
I've included a key charm, it was just calling to be included.
  Srčast obesek iz polimerne gline in usklajeni perli so tudi moje delo. Obesek lahko prepoznate iz ene mojih zadnjih objav.
Dodala sem še obesek v obliki ključa, ki je kar klical po tem, da ga vključim. 

  And the last part:
- two spools of leather like cord - one in green and one in red - coordinated with the two bead soup color palletes,
- orange rainbow 4,5 mm beads,
- hollow glass beads in two sizes,
- red coral cube beads and 
- a pair of faux stone beads.
  Še zadnji del "župce":
- dva navitka usnju podobne vrvice - v zeleni in rdeči barvi, ki sta barvno usklajeni z ostalimi sestavinami,
- mavrične oranžne 4,5 mm perlice,
- votle steklene perle v dveh velikostih,
- rdeče koralne kocke in
- par perl iz umetnega kamna.

  That's it! I really hope Lori enjoys the soup and can't wait to see what she will create with these ingredients. 
  To je to! Iskreno upam, da bo Lori uživala pri kuhanju z mojimi sestavinami in res komaj čakam, da vidim, kakšni bodo njeni končni izdelki.

  Be happy,

Bodite veseli,

Alenka 

My Bead Soup is Here!!!

  Welcome to my second post about the 8th Bead Soup Blog Party! If you are not familiar with this event and want to know more, just visit the BSBP blog.
  Dobrodošli na moji drugi objavi o 8. Bead Soup Blog Party-ju! Če ne veste, za kaj gre in bi radi izvedeli več o tem dogodku, lahko obiščete uradni blog.

  My bead soup from my partner and our wonderful hostess Lori Anderson has arrived!!!
  Prispela je moja "župca" iz perl, ki mi jo je poslala moja partnerica v izmenjavi in hkrati naša gostiteljica Lori Anderson!!!   

  It was packed in this cute crocheted bag - made by Lori - with a vintage button. I'm sure I'll find another use for it! :-)
  Zapakirana je bila v luštno kvačkano torbico z vintage gumbom, ki jo je izdelala Lori. Prepričana sem, da bo torbica dobila še kakšno drugo vlogo! :-)

  When I've opened the bag I've found many small boxes with treasures hidden inside. Well, I was so impatient to open them that I've forgot to take the pictures ... :-$ 
  V torbici se je skrivalo kup majhnih škatlic s skrivnostno vsebino. Seveda sem bila tako neučakana, da nisem uspela poslikati škatlic in sem se kar zapodila v odpiranje ... :-$

  I'm pretty sure you are just as curious as me, so I'll show you what I've got from Lori:
  Ker ste verjetno tudi vi radovedni vsaj tako kot jaz, bom takoj pokazala, kaj sem dobila od Lori:

   - a gorgeous set of handmade lampwork beads (the bigger one could be a pendant),
   - cultured stick pearls,
   - jade and matching czech glass,
   - gold-tone pewter beads,
   - crystal and czeck glass for dessert.

   - čudovit set ročno izdelanih steklenih perl (največja lahko služi tudi kot obesek),
   - vzgajani palčkasti biseri, 
   - žad in ujemajoče se češko steklo,
   - zlato obarvane kositrne perle,
   - kristali in češko steklo za desert. 

   And more!!!
   In to še ni vse!!!

    - a beautiful recycled Lia Sophia pendant,
    - a gold-tone pewter clasp,
    - glass pearls,
    - a silver-tone pewter clasp,
    - gold-tone and silver-tone pewter and brass rings.

   - čudovit recikliran Lia Sophia obesek,
   - zlato obarvana kositrna zaponka,
   - stekleni biseri,
   - srebrno obarvana kositrna zaponka,
   - zlato in srebrno obarvani kositrni "vmesniki" in medeninasti obročki. 


  Woo-hoo, a lot of goodies to work with!!! And a really challenging soup for me!!! I've never worked with lampwork beads, cultured stick pearls or pewter beads (they are heavy!) ... I'm more polymer clay and seed beads, remember? So I loooove the soup Lori sent and I will absolutely enjoy this challenge!!! At the moment I'm just admiring the soup and trying to taste all the ingredients ... 
  Hura, veliko dobrot za ustvarjanje!!! Ta "župca" bo zame pravi izziv!!! Nikoli še nisem ustvarjala nakita iz ročno izelanih steklenih perl, niti iz biserov niti iz kositrnih perl (te so res težke!) ... Bolj izkušena sem s polimerno glino in malimi perlicami. Zato mi je zeloooo všeč župca, ki mi jo je poslala Lori, in sem prepričana, da bo ta izziv zame pravi užitek!!! Trenutno pa si samo ogledujem sestavine in jih okušam z očmi ...

  Come back soon to see what I've sent to Lori and come back on May 3rd to see what I will cook out of these tasty ingredients.  
   Če boste spremljali moj blog, boste kmalu videli, kaj sem jaz poslala Lori, vsekakor pa vas pričakujem 3. maja, ko boste lahko videli, kaj bom ustvarila iz teh sestavin.

Be happy,

Bodite veseli,

Alenka

  

8th Bead Soup Blog Party - My Partner and a Teaser

  I'm finally back blogging! It was a tough period at my day job, but hopefully it's over and I'll have more time to create and to blog.

  Let's go back to a much more pleasant theme - the Bead Soup Blog Party. I still haven't presented my partner. Can you guess who she is? Well, nobody else but the hostess herself!!! Yes, my partner this year is Lori Anderson!!! I was supposed to have another partner, but she had to step out at the last minute and Lori was so kind to step in. Thank you, Lori, it's a real honour to be your partner :-)

  I'm quite a newbie in this world of jewelry making and you probably know Lori more than I do. I just can say it's my third time participating in the Bead Soup Blog Party and Lori and her parties opened a whole new world to me and I'm so grateful to her for this. 

  I'm amazed by Lori's sense of combining colors, textures and materials and her generosity in the beading world. 
  Just look at these (the pictures are borrowed from Lori's blog), aren't they gorgeous??!!!

by Lori Anderson

by Lori Anderson

by Lori Anderson

 

by Lori Anderson

  

by Lori Anderson

  My soup for her is on its way over the Ocean and hopefully it will be soon in her hands. It is extremly difficult to challenge Lori with a bead soup, but I tried to make some beads that she usually don't use. I'm sooo curious to know what she thinks of my soup (hope she likes it) and what she will create with it!!!! 

  Do you want a teaser??? A sneak peek?? Hmmmm, here you have! Lori said she's a little tired of earth tones, so I've chosen some bright, summery ingredients.

 

  
   I wish Lori to feel better soon and to enjoy preparing and cooking this soup.

Be happy,

Alenka

8th Bead Soup Blog Party Sign Ups are Today!

  It's finally that time of year again - the sign ups for the best party of the year: the 8th Bead Soup Blog Party.  

  I've alredy signed up - have you? If you would like to know more about this event and sign up - just go here. The sign ups are today only (Eastern standard time), so hurry up!!!

  It will be my third time participating and I can't wait to know who my partner will be this year - the partners will be announced on February 28th, my birthday.

Be happy,

Alenka

 

Working on .../ Delam ...

  First, I would like to tell you the story of a bangle I've started making a year and a half ago, when I was making my very first steps of working with polymer clay, and finished today.
  Najprej bi vam rada predstavila zgodbico te zapestnice, ki sem jo začela delati pred letom in pol, ko sem se komaj začela spoznavati s polimerno glino, in jo končala danes.

  One of the first books about polymer clay I've bought was Julie Picarello's Patterns in Polymer. I was admiring her beautiful work and tried mokume gane technique by myself. Well, some of the veneers I've made were not very nice and finished in the scrap pile, but some of them I liked very much and I still do. And this was one of them. I've decided to make a bangle, but have never finished it ... until today.
  Edna od prvih knjig o delu s polimerno glino, ki sem si jo privoščila, je bila Patterns in Polymer avtorice Julie Picarello. Njene izdelke sem občudovala in se odločila, da se tudi sama spoprimem s tehniko "mokume gane". Nekateri prvi poskusi so končali na odpadnem kupu, nekateri pa so mi kar lepo uspeli in so mi še sedaj všeč. Eden od takih je ta, ki sem ga uporabila za nedokončano zapestnico ... ki je danes le dobila končno obliko.



  After sanding and buffing it I've foud some imperfections, so I can not sell it, but I'm sure I'll find somebody that will be happy to wear it. Along with my 182 cm (5' 12'') Mother Nature gave me also big hands and I can not put it on, even if it's a little flexible.
  Po brušenju in poliranju so se pokazale nekatere nepopolnosti, torej ni za prodajo, a sem prepričana, da se bo našla dušica, ki jo bo rada nosila. Pri mojih 182 cm so tudi roke/dlani XL formata, zato je zame preozka - drugače bi jo namreč kar sama obdržala.


~~~~~~~~~~~~


  I'm currently working on "different fronts", have several pieces in progress for several challenges and swaps, so I can not show you anything yet.
  Kar se tiče izdelkov, sem trenutno vpeta kar na več frontah, saj sodelujem na kar nekaj izzivih in izmenjavah, a tega vam še ne smem pokazati.

  As a reminder for me and an invite for you I want to list all the events here:
  Kot opomnik zase in tudi kot vabilo za vas bom sedaj naštela vse roke objave oz. oddaje:

April 20 -  7th Bead Soup Blog Party, Third Reveal

The third reveal of the BSBP was postponed for a week, so my partner Gite and I will have a little more time to make our pieces.

  Objava izdelkov za tretjo skupino BSBP je bila prestavljena na 20. april, kar bo Gite in meni dalo malo več časa za dokončanje izdelkov. 

~~~

April 20 -  2nd Annual Spring Fling Kit Challenge

The hostess of the challenge is my friend Amy and the dragonfly focals were made by me.

  Gostiteljica izziva je Amy, obeske s kačjim pastirjem za izziv pa sem izdelala jaz.

~~~

April 25 -  Kitty & Pepita Exchange Reveal 

Kitty and I exchanged a kind of bead soups as an (Slovenian) extension of the Bead Soup Blog Party we both participate in. We both work with polymer clay, but have so different styles that it will be a real challenge.

  S Kitty sva si izmenjali "župco" perl in koščkov iz polimerne gline, kot nekakšen slovenski podaljšek Bead Soup Blog Party-ja. Najina stila sta tako različna, da bo to res zanimiv izziv.

~~~

April 25 -  Pen and Twinchie International Polymer Clay Swap

 

It's time for another swap for the Facebook Polymer Clay Swaps group, pen and twinchies this time. The sign ups closed yesterday and we will know who our partner is Monday. The swap items have to be mailed out by April 25.

  Nova izmenjava Facebook skupine Polymer Clay Swaps je namenjena svinčnikom in twinchijem (kvadratne ploščice s stranico 5cm). Prijave so se zaključile včeraj, v ponedeljek izvemo, kdo so naši partnerji, rok za odpošiljanje izdelkov pa je 25. april.

~~~

May 15 -  A Time to Stitch 3

Therese and Christine postponed the reveal to May 15, to not be on the same day as the third reveal of the BSBP. I'm so glad they did, so I'll have more time to make my pieces for the reveal.

Therese and Christine sta prestavili objavo izdelkov na 15. maj, da se ne prekriva s tretjo skupino BSBP. Meni to popolnoma ustreza, ker bom imela tako več časa za dokončanje izdelkov. 

I think this is it for now. As you can see, I'm gonna be very busy for more weeks ...

Mislim, da nisem pozabila nobenega izziva in da so to zaenkrat vsi. Kot vidite, bom v nalsednjih tednih zelooo zaposlena ... 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

And if you didn't gave up and are still reading - I have a pleasure to announce
In če niste medtem obupali in še vedno berete, vam sporočam, da lahko pričakujete

 A  GIVEAWAY

NAGRADNO IGRO

on this blog

na tem blogu

TOMORROW (NIGHT)!

JUTRI (ZVEČER)!

(I owe you the one I've planned for my birthday in February, but got the flu)

(dolgujem vam jo še na račun mojega rojstnega dneva, ki jo je preprečila gripa)

Be happy,

Bodite veseli,

Alenka 

BSBP7 - Finally delivered!!! and 1st Reveal

  Oh, finally!!! My bead soup for Birgit Klughardt of GitesBeads was safely delivered to her!!! The second one really. I was getting really nervous as the first bead soup got lost and the second one was supposed to be delivered in two days, but it took five days to arrive. As she'd been living in Amazonia somewhere and not in the capital of Germany ... !!!

  Now I can finally share with you what I have sent to Gite.

  She is a beadweaver, so I made two focals that can be beadweaved and some other beads from polymer clay that are bigger than the ones she's used to. This is my challenge for her.

  The first bead soup I sent her and that got lost (more about its disappearance here):

    When I've realized that it would never be delivered I tried to recreate a similar one. This is the second bead soup I sent her that arrived safely at the destination:

    The picture is not the best one, but I took it hurrying to the post office ...
  Can't wait to see what will Gite create with it! Gite, enjoy your soup!!!

  To see what Gite and I will create with our soups come back for the third reveal on April 13.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  And now you can take a look at the first reval of the 7th Bead Soup Blog Party - and see what 161 out of 541 participants from all over the world have cooked and served!

  Be happy,
  Alenka

BSBP7 - Bead Soup for Me

  Monday it was Christmas in March for me!!! All was freezing outside and I received two long expected packages ... [*happydance*]
  The first was from my friend Amy with the kit for the 2nd Annual Spring fling Kit Challenge - with my focal (more about this at a later date).
 
  And the second was from my BSBP partner Birgit from GitesBeads (if you want to know more about BSBP you can have all the information here). The package from Gite was really heavy and I was wondering what kind of beads do weight so much ...

  But let's the pictures speak for me - here are the beauties Gite sent to me:

She said that the bead soup for me started with the clasp by Pajego Art House:

Then she started to beadweave using the beads in the colours of the clasp - light yellow crocheted Cellinis, Mini & Midi beaded beads, ruffled rings and beaded links:

The lampwork pieces were made by German lampworkers and Gite added also some other glass beads and faceted rondelles:

 
The pendant is an embroidery piece - she used tiny tiny beads to make it, they are so tiny I can barely see them and can't imagine to stitch them without a magnifier ... Isn't it gorgeous??!!!

And for the end some tibetan silver spacers, beads, links and a clasp:

However, this is only the bead soup part - she spoiled me with a lot of extras. Well, me and my boys, because she sent:

- two chocolate bunnies and a popping magic dust for the bath for my kids,

- Lindt pralines and bubble bath coins for me.

No need to tell that all the sweeties disappeared in less than 2 minutes ... so I can show you only an empty box ;-D 

 Gite, thank you very much!!! This will be a great challenge for me to make some nice pieces, it's all so different from my usual style, but I love it!!! Quite a lot of ideas are flowing in my mind right now, but I'll let them "cook" and mature a little bit.

Our reveal is on April 13 - so you'll be more than welcome to come back then and see the results of my "cooking strategies and recipes".

Be happy,

Alenka