All the way to France

I thought I would show you the bead soup I sent my BSBP partner, Marina Dobrynina. She has received her package now, so I can show pictures of what I sent. Here’s her post on the soup. It’s the third time she has participated in the BSBP.

Just to remind you, Marina makes delicious felt beads, and is a seed beader. Oh, and she makes soap too. You can see what she sent me in my last post.

I thought I would send her some components that she might not be quite so familiar with. And I wanted to infuse a little Australian flavour into her bead soup too. I hunted around on Etsy and the web, and found exactly what I was looking for from an Australian Etsy seller—beads made from Australian timbers. They are a mix of jarrah, Australian sandalwood and pixie bush. Now, what to go with them. In my stash I had a sweet little pendant made of walnut wood. It’s supposed to be a celtic knot but I think it looks a bit like an owl.

Next I needed a clasp. In keeping with the developing theme, I added a brass clasp in the shape of a vine leaf. And to go with the brass clasp I added a blooming tulip bead cap (I think it’s from Trinity Brass, it’s in an antique gold/brass finish) and some little flower-stamped beads in a brassy golden colour.

Hmm. Still needed some coordinating beads. How about a string of Czech glass leaves in pretty shades of green and yellow with a splash of orange and blue, and some other Czech beads in a stripy blend of greens, browns, reds, blues and yellows? Done!

Inspired by the bead soup packages I have seen in past blog hops, I wrapped each set of beads in green tissue paper and put them into a kraft box, which I tied with a piece of green sari silk ribbon with a Vintaj brass filigree butterfly hanging from it. And I decorated the box with some cute woodland stickers.