Bead Soup Blog Part 7 Reveal!

Welcome to the Bead Soup Blog Party 7 Reveal! {If you're not sure what a Bead Soup Blog Party is; firstly - where have you been?! ;-) and secondly - click here.} My partner, lampworker extraordinaire Maryse Fritzsc-Thillens of Glass Bead Art, sent me the most gorgeous soups (yes, 2 soups!) which you can take a peek at here. Thank you Maryse, I feel extremely fortunate to have been paired with you this time around, and have no doubt that I will be visiting your shop SOON.

I created 2 bracelets with the lovely soup I was sent (and I've still more left to play with). First up, this bracelet,  which began with the stunning Kate McKinnon clasp which Maryse had sent me. She told me she'd had it for quite a while, but had never quite found the right 'special' project for it.....how lovely that Maryse sent it to me (and incredibly generous!) - I felt just a little bit of pressure though, as you can imagine! I have many beads that are in a similar position - those ones you love, but can never quite bring yourself to use, including some stunning 2-hole squares from Mary Harding. I've been hoarding these for quite some time, never quite able to find the right way to use them....but as my clasp was 2-hole also.....this happened:

I also used some blackened steel wire from Heather Powers, another component that I've been hoarding for a good while. It seemed to go well with the silver clasp, along with some czech glass from The Curious Bead Shop. Very pleased with how this turned out! Here's another Instagram of it, with a different filter....can't resist playing around with Instagram at the moment!

Next up, I used almost all the lampwork beads that Maryse had sent me, along with the cool glass button, to create this double-strand knotted bracelet. I included one of the beautiful focals she sent me too - I was keen not to use it simply to make a pretty pendant, so turned it into a bracelet tab here. I've knotted it using some leather lace, which The Bead Shop in Manchester where I teach, has recently began stocking. It's lovely to work with - very soft and supple. I snuck in a wee ceramic tab from Susie Q Beads {can't find her on etsy! But I'm sure she's there!} too.

Regular/frequent readers will know that I just love knotting....but my usual waxed linen cord wouldn't have held up to the weight of the lampwork glass. The leather lace is a great alternative! 

Now hopping over to see what Maryse has been up to. Please check out her blog here too!

And a huge thanks, as always, to the unstoppable and rather wonderful Lori Anderson. What a fantastic host/human being she is! THANK YOU Lori! Hop over to her blog for full details of other participants, and to see what she has created, of course.

Rebecca is a Scottish jewellery designer, currently living in Manchester, England. You can see more of her jewellery at songbead.etsy.com. She also has a supplies shop at thecuriousbeadshop.etsy.com, and is a contributing editor at Art Bead Scene.