lo and behold

I’m getting very excited to see all the creations that will be revealed on February 10th at the Bead Soup Virtual Party.  Eighty-four bloggers are playing along; it will probably take me days see them all – and I do want to see them ALL. 

My bead soup came from Mary Harding.  I let the ingredients simmer for a few days and then began to make components -like the way a soup is better if you sauté the onion, carrots, and celery first instead of just throwing it all into the liquid to boil.  I wanted to work Mary’s beads into my style.  I really admire designers like Lori Anderson whose jewelry can range from Goth to romantic to bright and whimsical to organic and subtle.  I am not a designer who is adept at many different looks; rather I am one with a signature style (if I can be so bold as to say that about myself at this point) and I want all of my pieces to be somewhat recognizable within a style.  Right now, I would say that bead crochet is one of my signature components.  So I went at it:

The one in the back is not bead crochet but that piece of rope will be used in a similar way.  That’s all for now!!

I also decided that in honor of my many new blog friends, I am going to do a giveaway – my first ever.  Since I consider this stage of my artistic life to be more about learning and developing skills than about selling, I love to GIVE my jewelry as gifts and surprises.  One gift is the bead crochet bracelet below, and a second winner will get a surprise.  Here’s how you can enter:

1.  Sign up for my RSS feed so we can stay connected after the party ends.

2.  Leave me a comment telling me that you’ve done it. (There must be a way I can see who has subscribed, but I don’t have that piece of technology/knowledge in place yet – so we’re on the honor system!)

3.  I will collect names from the comments and choose one randomly on Monday, February 15 at 12 noon EST.  I will contact the winners and announce it on the blog Monday afternoon or evening. 

4.  Want a second entry?  Blog about my giveaway, leave me a comment with the link to your post, and I’ll put your name into the pot again! 

Good luck everyone!  See you again soon!