Friday, May 9, 2014

8th Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal!!

The long awaited reveal date is finally here!!  I have to admit I thought I had a lot of time but as it got closer to the reveal date, I started to panic as usual.  I was paired this year with a talented lamp work artist, Laurie Ament of Isinglass, who sent me her amazing beads, hand spun yarn and findings.  I just love the color scheme and loved everything she sent me!  I'm one lucky gal to get paired with another amazing artist and incredible person once again this year!

So many design ideas were swimming in my head.  I just purchased Cindy Whimmer's The Missing Link and been dying to try some of her links from the book so I decided to include them in the designs.  I highly recommend Cindy's book!  It's packed with so many links that can be incorporated into beautiful designs.  Click on the link to the right of this post to get your book!

First, I started working on the necklace with the gorgeous heart focal.  The focal has a hole going through horizontally and it took me several tries to come up with something that allowed movement but kept the focal from sliding side to side.  I used a 12g copper wire, hammered it flat and used one of the metal stamps and added texture.  I carefully bent the wire (talk about nerve wrecking!) and looped the ends.  To incorporate the beautiful hand spun yarn, I wrapped the yarn with 24g wire and made beads.  To keep the yarn theme, I made wire Yarn Balls from Cindy Wimmer's book as connecting links.  The other side of the necklace was made with wire wrapped lamp work beads with single Beehive links from the Missing Link.  The long necklace measures 33 inch in length.







Next I used the smaller heart beads to make earrings to compliment the necklace.  Again I wanted to have movement to the hearts so I threaded the wire and wrapped twisted wire in the mid section for added accents.  Topped off with the lamp work beads and made a loop to attach the ear wires.









I fell in love with one of the necklace that was featured in Cindy Wimmer's the Missing Link book and I just had to make my own version of it!  I soldered a copper wire into a ring, textured portion of it and attached the lightbulb links.  The waxed cords were accented with copper spacers and hearts and finished with the swirl clasp I got from Laurie.  The gorgeous headpin beads were hung on the ring and threaded glass seed beads for the stem.  I made the earrings using the light bulb links and kept the design simple to show off the beautiful lamp work beads.




The next earrings were made using Laurie's head pin beads.  Again added glass seed beads to the stems to bring out the gorgeous colors.  I wanted to create an outlining shape with copper wire to accentuate the shape of the head pin beads.  The wires were shaped and textured, then I hung the head pin and the wires into a jump ring so that the head pins can swing.  I definitely need to get more of these head pin beads from Laurie!!


My final project was the bracelet.  I wanted to make a bracelet that would compliment both of the necklaces and earrings so I incorporated Laurie's lamp work beads, the hand spun yarn beads and added Cindy Wimmer's Yarn Ball links.  I enameled the clasp and pulled the colors from Laurie's beads to tie it all together.  It was one of those a little bit of this and a little bit of that color combination and it took 4 layers of enamel to get the look I wanted.  When the piece cooled off and the color emerged, I was pretty pleased with how the colors complimented Laurie's beads.  Textured copper toggle was used to keep the theme of the design.


Thank you Lori Anderson for putting together another amazing experience for us!  I was so lucky to be paired with such a talented lamp work artist, Laurie Ament.  Please visit Laurie's Etsy Shop and be in awe with her amazing work!  Please hop over to Laurie's Blog and check out what she created with what I sent her!  I'm so honored to have a talented artist like Laurie as my new friend!

Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and hop on over to all the other participants and check out their amazing creations!  8th Annual Bead Soup Blog Party Participant List!

Mahalo for visiting!
Kumi ♥

100 comments:

  1. Ohhhh - they are ever so beautiful, Kumi!! I don't think I could pick a favorite. You are right about the colors of the beads and the copper - perfect. And your enameled clasp -- nailed it! Absolutely gorgeous! The textures and bits of fiber work so well together. Bravo! :D

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  2. Oh Kumi...your work is gorgeous! I just love every piece you created!! A talented jewellery designer...
    Nancy W.

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  3. Unbelievable! I love everything you made- even yarn beads! What????! I am just amazed - beautiful work!

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  4. Beautiful work Kumi. I love each piece but the heart necklace and earrings are super special. Love the fiber and wire in each piece. Fantastic job as usual.

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  5. Fabulous Kumi!!!!!!! The designs are great!!!! Have fun hoping.

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  6. Kumi, everything you made is awesome! I love how you incorporated the links and soldering to your pieces. Gorgeous soup mix and you created some wonderful pieces of jewelry. Go you!

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  7. These are all stunning! I love the first necklace and all the earrings are fabulous!

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  8. Gosh, I love your style. Every piece is lovely.

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  9. All your designs mix and match so well! The cooper really shows off the blue beads well. I especially like your leaf like headpin earrings! Tying the outter wire form to the glass shape just worked perfectly.

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  10. I can't pick a favorite, either! SO Beautiful! I LOVE the fiber links you created! EEK! SO gorgeous!

    - Linda http://fromTheBeadBoard.blogspot.com; http://cherryOnTopDesign.co

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  11. Everything is so pretty! Love that last pair of earrings the shape of the copper is so pretty and looks like would be very flattering to the wearer

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  12. Oh wow these are sooooo fabulous! I am drooling over every single piece. The third pair of earrings are my favorite!

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  13. Kumi, I really love your style! It's amazing that you just learned some of these links too, they look fantastic! Your last 2 designs are my favorite, I love how you used wire to outline the headpin shape and texture on the earrings. Your enamel and copper clasp created for the bracelet is a perfect compliment to Laurie's lampwork!

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  14. I'm barely even a 1/4 way through and this is just mind blowing... like full on explosion with pyrotechnics registering on the Richter scale mind blowing!

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  15. Kumi, these pieces are just stunning. I love it. The yarn bracelet is so clever and I love how you thought it out and executed the yarny theme. Brilliant!

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  16. Love how you used the yarn and complemented that theme by your choice of the similar links from Cindy Wimmer's book! the blue with copper is really inspiring me, too. I'm wondering what ply thread you used with your version of the "lightbulb" necklace; it looks so substantial and in proportion to your pendant. Lovely pieces!

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  17. Kumi, this is beautiful! I love your set. All of them are great and can't pick a favorite. Great job and thanks for swinging by my blog (bottlecorkandcrystal.blogspot.com) to leave me such a great comment.

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  18. WOW! I love blue and so was already enamored of the soup you received but I really love everything you did with it to show it off. Your wire ideas/use were perfect for those beads. I really like the idea of the yarn beads and may have to borrow it sometime.

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  19. very elegant and delicate projects! I love your wirework!congrats!

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  20. Incredibly beautiful pieces. I love them all!

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  21. I am crazy about your style! You did a magnificent job, inspired both by your soup and by Cindy's book, but these great results came from your abilities--which are wonderful. Thanks for sharing with us! jean

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  22. Wirework and textiles in jewelry are fascinating! You have combined them beautifully together to equal the beauty of the lampwork beads!

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  23. Oh I so love all your pieces! The wirework, the design, the colors everything is just amazing!

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  24. Kumi, I agree that Cindy's book is well worth the price. It is inspiring. All of your designs are very creative and absolutely outstanding.The blue swirled headpin earrings are my favorite. The clasp that you enameled is way cool. It matches the bracelet beads perfectly. Oh ya I really like the wavy beads you sent too.

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  25. Nothing short of spectacular here! I really like how you used the yarn to make your beads. I love each piece, your wire work is gorgeous and the enameled clasp is fabulous and rich looking. Very inspiring designs. Thanks for the tip on the book.

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  26. Kumi, everything is so beautiful and precious! I love how you incorporated Cindy's links within your designs (I love her book too!). Absolutely gorgeous designs - that enameled clasp is perfect (love how it's matching the light blue lamp bead perfectly).

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  27. Oh my! I really can't pick a favorite! Even though blue is not my favorite color I'm so in love with your new creations Kumi! Laurie's beads are to die-for and your wirework is exquisite—a beautiful partnership indeed!

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  28. Kumi your job is amazing...I love the wire work

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  29. you have such amazing wirework skills. your designs make me want to work with copper so much more. love all the pieces so no favourites!

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  30. Everything. Everything is totally awesome. The unique way you hung the focal heart... the lightbulb links... the echoing of the bead shapes in the earrings... LOVE.

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  31. Fabulous pieces, I love the wire work and as its my new muse you have inspired me to hammer it a bit more!!

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  32. Love love love your wire work skills. The colours and handmade elements make your pieces really stand out.

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  33. Those wrapped yarn beads are a wonderful idea. I also love the earrings you made with the head pins - the metal shape is perfect for them.

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  34. Love everything you made. Truly inspirational.

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  35. You continue to amaze me with your unique and complex designs. A great use of color and texture to create wearable art! I'm going to check out that book too.

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  36. Gorgeous pieces, love how you used the wire work to compliment the beads. I have Cindy's book too and really love it.

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  37. Simply Gorgeous! I love your style... awesome wire work, and I adore how you used the hand spun yarn!

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  38. Love how you wire wrapped the yarn. Definitely a great idea! Kudos on all your lovely designs!

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  39. Beautiful designs! You did a great job with Laurie's beads. I love the toggle you made too!

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  40. Lovely! I like the way you use wirework with all other elements, even yarn. These pieces of jewelry make a beautifully controlled set. Somehow your style is close to Scandinavian design.

    Thank you for leaving a nice comment in my blog!

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  41. Love the soup you received, the color palate is absolutely beautiful. My favorite color :) And your wirework is stunning. Love all the pieces. Very creative how you hung the heart focal :)

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  42. Love, love, love what you've done! Very cool and I especially love all of the hearts, the wire wrapped yarn & the lightbulb links!

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  43. Love the designs of the earrings, wonderful

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  44. I've been trying to pick ONE favorite off everyone's soup. I have several with your soup. The bracelet, and the heart necklace and earrings. I love those yarn balls. Will have to learn to do those!

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  45. First of all, thanks for visiting me. I don't know how you found me. My name was linked to another Andrea's web site. Secondly, your style is so strong and comes across in all your designs and your photos are beautiful as well. I wish I had visited Hawaii when I lived in California. Never did, then later in life I became an Earth Science teacher and was kicking myself for not visiting your beautiful islands.

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  46. Gorgeous work! Am in love with every single piece you made :-)

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  47. Your pieces exude warmth. I am so drawn to them. Thank you for sharing.

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  48. Such blissfully beautiful colors. Gorgeous work!

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  49. You were one of my favorites last year and I was really looking forward to seeing what you made this year. You're designs are beautiful, and I expected no less!

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  50. Such great work and beautiful colors. I love, love, love that last bracelet.

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  51. It's an awesome yummy soup, and I love what you did with it. Based on your jewelry, I've added The Missing Link book to my want to read list! Thanks for the inspiration.

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  52. Super soup! Fun to read and see your amazing creations

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  53. Love love love your style Kumi. Those earrings are so gorgeous & my favourites, but I ♥love all your work! Thanks for following me, I'll do the same :-)

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  54. Very intricate and beautiful designs, Kumi. I love the fiber beads that pulled much of your jewelry together. The head pin earrings are to die for. The way you echoed their shape was brilliant.

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  55. Kumi - and right back at you! Thanks for visiting my blog - your work is of a very high standard. I particularly like the design of the earrings you made with Laurie's head pins. Good flow and extremely wearable. Rose

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  56. Very nice work. I love all the wire work that you used in the assembly of everything. Seeing what you have done has inspired me to try some new things down the road. Thanks for sharing.

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  57. Hi Kumi,

    I love your work! Thank you so much for visiting my blog! Your soup is beautiful... your wirework is amazing and you honored the beautiful beads so perfectly! Soup Love!!! XO, Kris

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  58. Hi Kumi,

    I love your work! Thank you so much for visiting my blog! Your soup is beautiful... your wirework is amazing and you honored the beautiful beads so perfectly! Soup Love!!! XO, Kris

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  59. fantastic pieces, love the colors - I had seen reviews of the book (missing link) and yet its quite fascinating to see the links being used in your pieces

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  60. Oh, Kumi, I love every little piece of your soup. Evereything is so beautiful. I can't make a decision whats my favourite. You took my breath away once more.

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  61. Wonderful work Kumi! I love what your doing with wire. Your work is amazing, and YOU are so talented!
    xo Laura

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  62. Gorgeous work! I'm especially drooling over the soldered link set you made. Cleaning keyboard now.......LOL

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  63. Mahalo everyone for your sweet comments! It really means a lot to me!! xoxo

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  64. Those wire wrapped yarn beads in the first necklace are so cool! You really used your soup well. I love the sophisticated simplicity of the second necklace with the leather and the dangles. Nice job all around!

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  65. I don't know why I lose sight of your blog, Kumi.... I remember you've been paired with Donna last year, and made as beautiful creations as this year! I love the way you incorporate the lampworkbeads with your wire work (which is absolutely amazing btw....). I've to add your blog again (new blogger follow program) - it's so inspiring, to visit your blog!

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  66. Love the set with the blue hearts!
    Congrats ... you really done great works!

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  67. What beautiful beads and yo made master pieces, very gorgeous.

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  68. Beautiful work, Kumi! I love all your pieces, and your enamel work is such a perfect addition to Laurie's lampwork.

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  69. Kumi, I thoroughly enjoyed your blog post - you started with such a beautiful bead soup from Laurie. Wow, her lampwork hearts are gorgeous and I just love the deep blue colors. Your designs are stunning! I love how you carried out the theme throughout a complete set, not only a necklace but bracelet and earrings too. I would wear any one of these pieces - but I espeically love the charm necklace. Your photography is incredible, btw. What fun to see some of the links from my book made by your talented hands and with your own unique style. :-)

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  70. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your fabulous work and your beautiful pics AND your blog in general! Thanks for stopping by my blog and following too! I just followed you so I don't miss anything! It is so nice to meet you!
    Rachel

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  71. Oh Kumi, you make me want to develop my skills and get working more with metal. I have looked at Cindy Wimmer's book and thought I need to get it. Your pieces are so inspired and unique. I love the necklace with the leather and the last pair of earrings.

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  72. I fell in love with your pieces on Pinterest, I love how you mixed up wire elements with lampwork, absolutely gorgeous. Also the "wire caged" yarn in the bracelet, but basically each piece is my fav here! A beautiful collection

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  73. Love your creations! Your work with metal is very, very impressive. The second necklace is my fave necklace. You really made Lori's beautiful beads shine. Great work!

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  74. Beautiful creations!!! Love every sigle piece you've made!!! Your wirework is excellent, those earrings with headpins and wire mimicking their shape ... gorgeous!!
    I also have the book Missing link, but still haven't tried my hand at ...
    Alenka

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  75. Love love the way you play with fabric =)

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  76. What gorgeous colors your soup has! I love the pieces you designed --I'm so impressed with the wire-wrapped yarn. What a fabulous idea, it looks fantastic!

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  77. Such beautiful, incredible designs! I love the colors and creativity - you have used your soup so well! Hard to pick a favorite but maybe either the heart focal necklace or the last bracelet. :) Such fun!

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  78. I love how you set off that heart focal! All of your work is stunning, as usual! :)

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  79. Love the colours in your BS and how each piece complements the others. Your wire work is impressive - I especially like the fibre wrapped cage beads. I have the same book - you've inspired me to get out my pliers and wire.

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  80. Kumi I have to tell you that I think Cindy's book is one of my wisest purchases. The hand made links make any piece outstanding. It's like my Bible! You did a great job of choosing the perfect links to make your pieces even more beautiful.

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  81. Spectacularly gorgeous designs! The work you did to give movement and flow to the beads and the overall pieces if perfect. And the colors in that clasp? Amazing. Also -thanks for pointing me to another techniques book I must add to my collection.

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  82. Fabulous pieces - I'd wear them all of the time!!

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  83. Those are some pretty sweet designs you have there! I especially like the second necklace. Nice work!

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  84. I love the variety of creations that you were able to create from you beautiful soup.

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  85. Wow, you received wondrous components and you created such beauty with them, Kumi :)

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  86. I am very, very fond of your design aesthetic. It is simple yet so finely detailed. Your assembly is impeccable, and your wirework highlights the beads themselves while showing off the metal at the same time. They are art, not just adornment! I'm inspired by the balance of each piece and set of earrings. Sorry if this sounds weirdly technical - it's just that everything you made seems so....perfect. As though I can't think of another way anyone could have used these beads to make a more perfect design. So lovely.

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  87. I love all of your designs! I also have Cindy Wimmer's book and have been a bit chicken to try things, so this encourages me because your links look beautiful. I love how you used the lightbulb links for earrings! I also love how you used the yarn. I really enjoy every piece.

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  88. Kumi, these designs are awesome. Love them all, especially the hearts.

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  89. Amazing pieces! Love love love your earrings.

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  90. By far my favorite stop on the hop so far! Well done ~~T

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  91. Oh my goodness...I adore your designs. There is a definite style to you work...maybe some day I'll find mine. I'm off to check out your ETSY shop. Really Soup-perb!

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  92. Your wirework for these design is outstanding! I have that book too, but nothing I've made looks quite as professional as your creations.Each and every piece is exceptional, but I do love that necklace with the ring and simple dangles. Awesome, awesome, awesome!!

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  93. Wow! Just wow! Everything you've made is simply gorgeous--and the way you incorporated the yarn is absolutely ingenious! Everything looks so lovely and professional... I am blown away. Wonderful work! :D

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  94. Amazing! Everything is so beautiful and wearable.

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  95. Oh my! I can't say that I have a favorite piece because they are all absolutely wonderful! I love how they all have a similar feel so they can so easily be worn together. Incredible collection!

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  96. Everything you created is awesome, and I would wear each piece! You have a great sense of style, and I love the asymmetry with balance! Thank you again for commenting on my blog.. peace

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  97. Very simple and elegant designs, with lovely detail and use of colour. Love them.

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