I was lucky enough to be selected as one of the bloggers to participate in Lori Anderson‘s January 2012 edition of her BeadSoup Blog Party – essentially a jewellery exchange where beadmakers and jewellery designers from around the world exchange a kit of beads and must design a piece based on the kit they receive. I was partnered with Gaea Cannaday, a ceramic artist from California. We have no idea what we will receive so it’s all about working outside your comfort zone and having a bit of fun along the way.

This is what i received (forgot to take a pic before making the necklace) – a wonderful square heart focal in soft red with some coordinating accent beads which i have yet to figure out how to use – a bracelet or earrings maybe? The ceramic beads are all made my Gaea herself and I think the copper clasp as well. I’d never worked with ceramics before so at first i was perplexed.  I considered making some coordinating beads of my own to match and was testing various colours before finally deciding NO, they would compete and it was best to design a piece that really showcased the rich colours and textures in her beads on their own.

Soooo… i went digging through my gemstone stash to see what i could find.  At first i was leaning toward some aquamarine but in the end decided on these serpentine jade tubes with red coral and deep gold glass accents.  This necklace is so fresh and spring-like, i’m quite happy with the result!  The pale green jade really makes the coral and the glaze on the heart pop…  i love red, it’s like an instant pick me up during this long dreary winter.

Here’s what i sent in for the exchange – an earthy goddess, a couple matching accent beads, some agate and citrine nuggets, freshwater pearls and a clasp made from shells. Unfortunately, I had one shipping snafu after another so Gaea didn’t have much time to design her pieces but i think she did a pretty stellar job – you can check out her BeadSoup post HERE to see what she did with my beads.  Can’t wait to see how she finishes one of the oval tabs she’s bezeled in copper to create a pendant…

This is the fifth BeadSoup hosted by Lori and i can’t even imagine how much work it is to coordinate details for such a large group, so just wanted to say:  THANKS LORI!

You can check out the full list 200 participants below – grab some tea and a comfy seat, it takes a while.