Well here it is... my Lori Anderson's Bead Soup! 

Ema my partner sent two absolutely beautiful sets of beads. They were both so pretty and well made that I wanted to be careful not to overwhelm them. Let me start by showing you the two sets (the whole blog about Ema and my beads is just a few posts down) and then I'll show you what I created with them... 

I started by creating a long pendant necklace with the big focal bead she sent me. Ema is obviously super talented, being as she made all the lamp work beads she sent. I used antique copper chain and made a tassel for the pendant, then added some copper crystals to the ends. 

I also made a beautiful bracelet with more of the beads Ema sent and the rustic toggle clasp. I decided to weave some of the seed beads she sent, above and below the main bead strand, to add some more interest. 

I had a few beads left over, so I made  pair of earrings to match. Just because :-)

*Click here to check out ALL of this years Bead Soup Blog Party Participants, and their beautiful creations.

Coupon Codes:
MOMDESERVESSPARKLES: $25 OFF $100+
MAY12TH: $15 OFF $75+
ILUVMYMAMA: $10 OFF $50+
MOTHERSDAY: $5 OFF $25+

"Sweet Projects I Want to Try" is the name of one of my Pinterest boards, where I’ve been pinning fun creative ideas I would like to try my hand a someday. This is my version of one of those projects...

I have seen lots of people making these cute little paper note pads using paint chip samples you can get for free from the home improvement stores. Such a cute idea, and the perfect size to keep in your purse for when you need to jot a note down right? 

So I had this great idea why not use up all those ½ sheets of paper I’m amassing from printing shipping labels for my etsy shop and make the little notepads using my bus. cards.  My thinking is I get my bus. cards out there and maybe people will hold onto them a little longer with the note pad attached.  I’m planning to give them out at the local craft shows this summer. They would also make great party favors or a kids craft with some funky patterned heavy craft paper instead of business cards.

So here goes the instructions... really this is so easy!
 

What you'll need:

• Paint chips
  
• Copy Paper
  
• Staples
  
• Business cards or heavy weight craft paper
  
• X-acto Blade or Scissors
  

Instructions:

• Acquire some paint chip samples in colors you like that are at least ¼” bigger than your bus. cards.
  
• Get some white printer paper, I used scraps from printing my etsy shipping labels.

Soups on!

This is the 3rd time I have participated in Lori McDaniel Andersons Bead Soup Blog Hop Party. Good fortune was on my side when the bead gods chose to give me Ema Kilroy as a partner, Ema makes her own beautiful glass beads. When received my soup pkg. from Ema I was completely overwhelmed by the beauty of what Ema sent to me, 2 soups! She wrote me a note saying she couldn't decide which to send, so she sent both. I can't wait to get started cooking with my soup. 

Find out more about the extremely talented (and generous) Ema Kilroy:

Ema's Blog
Ema K. Designs Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest

I will show you how to make this charming flower brooch in 30 min. or less. 

But first, here is a short list of supplies you will need. If you don’t have these supplies, I will give you a resource list at the end of this tutorial.

• Antique brass Tussie Mussie jewelry finding (the cone shaped piece the flowers will sit in). You may be able to find something similar at your local craft store.
  
• 1 Swivel-back pin piece (the type with the flat side) to attach to the cone.
  
• Glass flowers with wires attached
  
• Glass leaves with wires attached, or glass leaf beads.
  
• E6000 glue
  
• 26- or 24-gauge antique brass wire. I use artistic brand wire.
  
• Jewelry wire snips

OK, you have all your supplies together. Let’s get started.

Take your tussie mussie and glue the pin piece to one side of the cone with the E6000. Be sure to glue it near the top of the cone and have the swivel where the pin opens on the top. Also be careful not to glue your pin shut! Put aside to dry. You can set up your tussie mussie and pin the night before and let it dry overnight. When I am making  several at a time, I often do this part the night before.

Okay, now it's time to choose the flowers and leaves you want to use.

If you don’t have leaves with wires already attached, take a 3” piece of your artistic wire and thread it through your bead hole. Center the bead on the wire, bend the wire in half, and twist the all wires together tightly. Now you have a nice stem on your leaf.

Cut a piece of 3” wire and set aside.

Now arrange your flower bouquet. When you are happy with your bouquet, hold it tightly in one hand, take the wire you just cut, and wrap it tightly around your bouquet starting near the top. Don’t worry if your flowers slip out of position a little; you will be able to rearrange them when you’re done. Twist the wire all the way down to the bottom of your stems. 

Take your bouquet and measure the length against your cone. You may need to clip a little of the wire off the bottom so it will fit nicely.

OK, almost done. All you have to do now is glue the bouquet into the cone and let it dry! 

Drum roll please...?

TA DA! Your done! A beautiful bouquet of flowers to adorn your jacket, dress, scarf, pin, or whatever for this spring and you did it all yourself!

Supplies

You can get Tussie Mussies and pin backs at B’Sue Boutiques: http://www.bsueboutiques.com

Glass Flowers and lead beads:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/WhoKnowsWhat

Instead of posting images of my heart jewelry, I'm going to share some of the art work my Wings class creates. In case you missed it somewhere along the way, when I'm not making jewelry I teach art to adults with developmental disabilities.  I love these guys they are fun and light hearted for the most part. Best of all they love the process of creating art and get great joy out of it, and that gives me joy. So I hope you enjoy there work.

Who knows what Etsy God's have been showing me favor and why. I'm also certain I am jinx-ing the whole thing by writing this... but I couldn't control myself. 

I keep getting into Etsy e-mails! First, the November Gift Guide and now one of the Fashion Guide's. Wooooohhhooooooo!

So yes, this post is about gloating, and excitement. Mostly excitement :-) (But a tiny bit of gloating too ;-)

I created these for the new "About" pages on Etsy, but thought they might be fun to post here as well. Each image shows examples of type of jewelry that exemplifies different techniques I use in my creations.

*Click on each image to get a better look.