Waiter, there's sand in my soup

Well, didn't that come around quickly! I'm really looking forward to having a swim around in all the other soups over the next few days, but in the meantime...

For those not 'in the know' - the bead soup party is a global affair organised by the fabulous Lori Anderson. Its organisation is no mean feat with almost 400 participants this time. Basically we are partnered up, swap beads, make our creations and reveal. It's a great social, a creative challenge and much more!

You may recall that the lovely Saskia sent me these beauties all the way from Germany:

They include a shaped shell pendant, rectangular shell beads, shells, a fancy silver toggle clasp, wooden beads, sodalite chips, a heart charm, a fish charm, the cutest little wire sea-horse, a wire fishy and more! And here's the here's what I cooked up:

I used the shell pendant and beads and the wooden beads and wire dangly that Saskia sent along with some shell and bronzite beads from my stash. I have used wire to join them. I also added a couple of silver tube beads and some chain and a few wee garnet danglies on the pendant.

I think this has a real sand-y beach-y feel.

I learned a lot doing this. I learned that I tend to prefer to work with a limited range of colours in each piece. Mixing the blue and pinks and brown seemed a step too far out of my comfort zone. Although I know others could have done a fab job with those colours. I'm happier mixing metals. I think this is my usual style, maybe a bit more elaborate. Also it is slightly assymetric because of the different wooden beads either side of the pendant. I am a bit of a control freak so ANY assymetry is a major deviation! I'm really pleased with that though, I think it adds character.

I had also intended to use the lovely blue lampwork beads and charms that Saskia sent (including that soooo cute little wire sea-horse) to make a blue sea-themed charm bracelet, but it just hasn't happened yet. I'll post a photo on the blog when it's done though.

I hope Saskia likes what I did with her soup ingredients. I hope you do too !

A few more pics:

Now, why not visit the other bead soup partiers and view their creations, it's truly inspiring - you can find the full list at: http://lorianderson-beadsoupblogparty.blogspot.com/