The Waterlily Maiden necklace — The History Hop

I couldn’t resist joining in Leah Curtis’s History Hop, which reveals today! Leah picked 14 periods from history to inspire jewellery design, and I have to say, it was hard to choose! In the end, I went with Art Nouveau, the artistic and architectural movement that flourished as the 19th century passed into the 20th.

Art Nouveau got its start in France in the last couple of decades of the 19th century, during a period of growth and prosperity later named “La Belle Époque” by the French. It was both a philosophy and a movement of art, architecture, and decorative arts that was characterised by the use of flowing organic forms drawing inspiration from nature, fantasy and the female form. Artists associated with Art Nouveau include the Czech artist Alphonse Maria Mucha, whose poster of opera singer Sarah Bernhardt epitomises the graphic design of the period;

photo credit: grumlinas via photopin cc

architect Hector Guimard who designed the Paris Metro entrances;

photo credit: stevecadman via photopin cc

and Emile Gallé, who created carved and etched glass from his factory in the French town of Nancy. Other artists and architects strongly influenced by Art Nouveau include Gustav Klimt, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, René Lalique, Antoni Gaudí and Louis Comfort Tiffany (source: Wikipedia).

Typically, Art Nouveau jewellery used motifs from nature such as dragonflies and waterlilies. There was a strong Japanese influence, especially in Lalique’s work.The stones tended to be more natural, semi-precious gems including opals as well as organically shaped pearls, rather than precious gems like diamonds and rubies. Silver and gold were popular metals, which surprised me a bit as many of theArt Nouveau stampings available these days from companies such as Vintaj and Trinity are brass. Brooches were very popular, such as the eponymous Lalique dragonfly, and many necklaces were relatively simple — a decorative pendant on a fine chain.

Dragonfly Woman Corsage Ornament
by Rene Laliquephoto credit: sprklg via photopin cc 

One of the characteristics of Art Nouveau jewellery was the use of enamel. Several different enamel techniques were popular including cloisonné, champlevé and plique à jour. In my design I have paid tribute to these techniques by highlighting some of the details with Vintaj patina inks on the brass stamping I used as my focal pendant.

The necklace I made is called The Waterlily Maiden, for the brass stamping focal pendant. I used Vintaj patinas in Ruby and Opalite mixed with a bit of the glaze extender to thin it to give the waterlilies some colour, and a blend of Jade and Moss patinas for the leaves. The maiden was left uncoloured and a wash of diluted cobalt across the background hints at water. A coat of glaze over the top has given it a subtle sheen. I’m quite pleased with how it turned out — the flowers could be a little neater but it’s a pretty good first attempt. The stamping itself came from the Vintaj Salvage Etsy shop, which is a destash shop for the Vintaj company, and is full of fabulous treasures.

Rather than just stringing the pendant on a plain chain, I attached it to another stamping, and then linked it to brass peanut chain interspersed with faceted nuggets of very pale, almost colourless, translucent amethyst, green fluorite and rose quartz, with a small Art Nouveau-style connector between two of the green fluorite stones.

Please take some time to visit the other participants of the History Hop!

Ahowin – Art Nouveau www.blog.ahowinjewelry.com

Alicia Marinache – Victorian http://www.allprettythings.ca/

Becca’s Place – Renaissance www.godsartistinresidence.blogspot.com

Beti Horvath – Ancient Egypt and Art Deco www.stringingfool.blogspot.com

Cherry Obsidia – Ancient Mecynae Greece www.cherryobsidia.blogspot.com

Cooky – Renaissance www.shepherdessbeads.com/Blog.html

Jamie Shipp – Middle Ages www.celebratinglifewithdamamashipp.blogspot.com/

Jennifer Davies-Reazor – Medieval www.jdaviesreazor.com/blog

Kathleen Douglas – Indus Valley www.washoekat.blogspot.com

Kashmira Patel – Etruscan www.sadafulee.blogspot.com

Lady Grey – Victorian www.beadsteaandsweets.blogspot.com

Laney Mead – Pre-Columbian www.laney-izzybeads.blogspot.co.uk

Leah Curtis – Ancient Roman www.beadyeyedbunny.blogspot.co.uk

LiliKrist – Persia www.lilikrist.com

Melissa – Mesopotamian www.design.kcjewelbox.com

>>Melissa Trudinger – Art Nouveau www.beadrecipes.wordpress.com ME!!!!<<

Micheladas Musings – Ancient Romans www.micheladasmusings.blogspot.com

Paula Hisel – Victorian www.simplybeadiful.weebly.com/simply-stated.html

Sandra Wollberg – Art Nouveau www.city-of-brass-stories.blogspot.com

Sharyl McMillian-Nelson – Art Deco www.sharylsjewelry.blogspot.com

Tracy Stillman – Victorian www.tracystillmandesigns.com

And make sure you come back on Tuesday for the Mismatched Art Bead Earring Swap!

Poppies—Art Bead Scene September challenge

Flora by Arcimboldo

When I saw the inspiration painting for Art Bead Scene’s September challenge—Flora, by Giuseppe Arcimboldo—I was blown away!  The painting is stunning, a portrait composed entirely of flowers. Although it was painted more than 400 years ago, it looks like something from a 20th century Surrealist artist.

From Art Bead Scene, some information about the painting:

About the Art

Flora is one of Arcimboldo’s most famous paintings, painted at the same time as Vertumnus, when he was at the height of his career. Although his work was forgotten after his death, over the last 100 years it has grown in popularity to be included in many contemporary forms. This particular painting was used as the 2009 cover for the album “Bonfires on the Heath” by the English pop band The Clientele.

About the Artist

Giuseppe Arcimboldo was an Italian Renaissance painter known for his intricate paintings, which combined inanimate or found objects into a portrait that would resemble the portrait subject. At the age of 22, Arcimboldo received a commission to paint stained glass windows, and later received other commissions to paint frescoes and design tapestries for Cathedrals in Spain. In 1562, he became the court painter to Ferdinand I of Vienna, and later for Maximilien II and his son Rudolph II of Prague. At this time, he was also employed as the court decorator and costume designer.

Serendipitously, I had just purchased a polymer clay pendant from Rebekah Payne of Tree Wings Studio that was perfect! I paired Rebekah’s Poppies in Bloom pendant with a Czech glass blend from Etsy’s Beads by C, antique brass chain and clasp, and some sari silk ribbon to make my Poppies necklace.

And here is a closeup of the focal pendant. Lovely isn’t it!

Double earring swap

Another swap I have done recently through BeadSwap-USA is an earring swap of two pairs of earrings. The first pair uses embossed copper rectangles from Melinda Orr, paired with a pretty Czech flower bead in yellowy-orange.

With a couple more pairs of these copper rectangles to use up, I have some fun organically-shaped freshwater pearls that might go well. What do you think?

For the second pair I used a pair of round red beads I got from a sampler pack from Dreamgirlbeads, one of my favourite Etsy shops. I think it’s coral, and it’s such a rich red colour. I paired it with some tiny sterling silver spacer beads and a dark dark blue, almost black Czech glass round.

If you come back on 16 October, I am taking part in Diana Ptaszynski’s Mismatched Art Bead Earring Swap. My partner is another Aussie, Karen Mitchell, from Over the Moon Design.

Gumbo ya ya

It’s Spring in Australia and already I can feel more warmth in the sun’s rays and we’ve been getting some lovely sunshine. In Melbourne we get a long grey drizzly winter, so it’s very welcome. But it’s still not quite there yet, and on a cooler day like today, a warm spicy stew is the way to end the day (and a good way to start the week too).

I noticed a couple of weeks ago that okra is in season right now. It’s not a particularly common vegetable here, and most supermarkets and greengrocers don’t carry it. But it’s a useful vegetable to have around if you want to cook gumbo, the Cajun stew from Louisiana in the USA’s Deep South. When it is sliced up, it exudes a sticky sap-like substance which is cooked away, and it thickens up the gumbo nicely.

I originally found this recipe in Bon Appétit magazine, which I subscribed to for years when I lived in California. It’s not on the Epicurious website, though, so I’m glad I kept this issue.

Gumbo is a dish that takes a while to set up, but then it happily simmers away for a couple of hours while you do other things, like bake cupcakes for your daughter to take to school. It’s a little spicy, so maybe not the most kid-friendly, but it sure is tasty! Serve it over rice.

Chicken and Chorizo Gumbo

Adapted from a recipe in Bon Appetit, November 1992.

Serves 8

12 cups water

1 chicken cut into 4-6 pieces

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp vegetable oil

500g okra, sliced

1/2 cup plain flour

500g chorizo sausage, cut into 2cm thick slices

2 400g cans diced tomatoes and their juices

1 green capsicum (pepper), chopped

2 celery stalks, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 bay leaf, fresh or dried

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp cayenne pepper

large pinch of sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp filé powder

Combine water and chicken in a stock pot or large saucepan and simmer for an hour or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken pieces to a bowl and cool. Once cool, discard skin and remove meat from bones. Reserve 4 cups of the chicken stock.

Heat 2 Tbsp oil over medium heat and cook okra, stirring frequently, until it’s no longer sticky, about 15-20 minutes.

Make a roux by heating the flour and remaining oil in heavy Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring frequently until the roux is a deep golden colour. It should take about 10 minutes.

Add the reserved chicken stock, okra, sausage, tomatoes, capsicum, celery, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer, partially covered for 1.5 hours until thickened, stirring occasionally.

Spoon off fat from the surface and then add chicken and filé powder, and simmer for another 15 minutes. Serve over rice.

Notes:

1. I’ve used chorizo sausage as andouille sausage is not available in Australia. Kielbasa or another spicy smoked sausage could also be used.

2. Making the roux is an important step, so don’t rush it. Keep it moving as it starts to colour so that it doesn’t burn.

3. Filé powder is made from ground sassafrass leaves and can be found at some specialty spice shops. It’s not essential, but it helps thicken the gumbo and adds a delicate flavour.

Another bracelet swap

I’m really enjoying doing swaps and challenges—it gets me moving and stretching my creative muscles! And that can only be a good thing, right?

The bracelet swap I did a few weeks ago led me to another bracelet swap with another jewellery designer I met through BeadSwap-USA, Lindsay Starr. I played around with Lesley Watt’s tutorial again—I’ve got lots of ideas for using this technique! This time I used a central focal ring in copper, and beaded off both sides of it with some unusual Czech glass beads. I think it worked out really well.

Stay tuned for my post on the Double-Trouble Earring Swap! I’m just waiting to hear that my earrings have arrived in Canada—it can take so long for packages to get from one side of the world to the other! The next few swaps I’m doing are all bead-related—a flowers and leaves swap, a pendants and charms swap (both of these through BeadSwap-USA) and a Pantone colours swap through Lori Anderson’s Bead Soup Cafe Facebook group.

I’m also planning to take part in a side-shoot of Diana Ptaszynski’s Mismatched Art Bead Earring Swap, and I’m tossing up whether to do a historical challenge/blog hop. Then there’s the Beading Forum‘s Designer Quest, which is due in November. I’m sure some more fun will be heading this way too, especially with Christmas looming on the horizon.

Pay it Forward—Handmade

If you’re looking for my Bead Soup Blog Party reveal, click here.

And if you’re looking for my Challenge of Travel post, click here.

There’s a new game doing the rounds for bloggers. It’s called Pay it Forward—Handmade. I’ve seen a similar thing on Facebook, now blogs are joining in the fun! I came across it on Karen Mitchell’s blog Over the Moon Design, and since then I’ve seen a few more bloggers playing too.

Here’s How It Works
I’ll send a surprise gift to the first three commenters on this blog post. The gift will be a handmade surprise by me and will be sent to you some time in the next 365 days (yep, mystery gift at a mystery time).

Here’s what you need to do, leave me a comment and make sure you include your email address (if your profile doesn’t include it). I’ll email you for your snail mail address and ask a few questions (likes/dislikes, favourite colours, sizes, general stuff like that). And I’m happy to send gifts overseas!

To complete signing up you MUST play along too. To do this you must blog a similar post and pledge to make a surprise gift for the first three people who comment on it.

So, do you want to play? Comment below and I’ll sent a thoughtful handmade gift to the first three people who do.

Let the fun and games begin!

¡Hola! Mexico! The Challenge of Travel

From one blog hop, straight into another … if you are looking for my Bead Soup Blog Hop post it’s here.

I’ve done a bit of travelling in my time. Family relocations from Australia to the USA and back again when I was a child, camping trips, road trips across Australia to visit relatives and then my own relocation to the US in 1990 and back to Australia 11 years later, but not before a three month road trip around the States! I’ve been to a fair few countries in Europe, a couple of tropical paradises in SE Asia and I’ve seen quite a bit of my own country too.

So when Erin Prais-Hintz announced the Challenge of Travel, I signed up very quickly!

In Erin’s words …

… travel with us around the world from the comfort of your own home. In this challenge you will be tasked with creating an accessory that captures the spirit of the nation that you are assigned.
Whatever your inspiration… the climate, the landscape, the colors on a topographical map, the way the people dress or what they eat, the architecture of the cities or the natural landmarks… I challenge you to be inspired by travel this month!

The first part of the challenge was to choose the country. The rules were to choose a geographical region (not your own) and a country, or have one assigned to you. I chose Mexico, the southernmost of the three countries of North America.

I’ve always been fascinated by Mexico, its culture and its cuisine. I remember a few things from my first trip to Mexico, at the tender age of 5 … the powerful smells of Mexico City, one of the most densely populated cities in the world, my Mum getting a dose of Montezuma’s revenge, flashes of climbing pyramid-shaped Aztec temple ruins and going to the Floating Markets … that may or may not come from photographs in my parents’ photo albums. But sadly, despite 11 years of living in the US as an adult, I managed to visit Mexico exactly once, to go scuba diving in Cozumel, an island off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. While there we managed to visit Tulum, a fascinating Mayan ruin in a picturesque location on the Yucatán coast.

The seaside view of El Castillo at Tulum

photo credit: CasaDeQueso via photo pin cc

Mexico has some fascinating traditions that draw on both its ancient Mayan, Olmec and Aztec civilisations and the more recent Spanish-Catholic influence. One of my favourites is Día de las Muertos—the Day of the Dead—which is celebrated on November 1st and 2nd, the same time as the Catholic Church’s All Saints and All Souls Days. Derived from an Aztec festival, it’s a time to celebrate and pray for friends and family members who have died, with visits to their graves to be with the departed souls. Traditions include building altars to the deceased that are decorated with sugar skulls and marigolds as well as the favourite foods and drinks of the dear departed.

photo credit: uteart_traveling via photo pin cc

A common symbol of the holiday is the calavera, or skull, and the calaca, or skeleton, which are often used as decorations for the Day of the Dead festival, as masks or costumes, small figures and sweet treats, or sugar skulls.

photo credit: digiyesica via photo pin cc

I have a couple of sugar skull pendants made by Australian ceramic artist, Natalie Fletcher. And recently she came up with some fantastic beads in bright colours that matched the colours used to decorate her sugar skull pendants.

I used black waxed linen cord to create some pretty czech glass dangles below the pendant and then knotted the bright ceramic beads above the pendant, along with a couple of silver-plated pewter spacer beads and some little birds. Above the knotted section I created a chain out of silver-plated pewter bone-shaped links and jump rings and finished the necklace off with a sun-shaped toggle. The silver plated components all come from TierraCast’s Viva Mexicana range.

And because this blog is called Beadrecipes, after two of the things I like to do in my spare time, I thought I would finish off with a recipe! So here are some Mexican-inspired fish tacos and skillet potatoes. Now I say inspired by, because tacos are not usually served in flour tortillas, however I could not get soft corn tortillas at our supermarket the day I made these. But the flavours are there!

Fish Tacos with skillet potatoes

Adapted from Masterchef Magazine, issue 24, June 2012

1/2 c plain flour

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp salt

500g flathead tails

olive oil to shallow fry

guacamole (see recipe below)

shredded lettuce

salsa

sour cream

shredded cheese

Flour or corn tortillas

 

3-4 potatoes

1-2 tsp mexican spice blend

3 Tbsp vegetable oil 

For tacos:

Combine spices and salt with flour on a large plate. Dredge fish in the flour mixture and shake off excess.

Heat 1cm of oil in a frypan over med-high heat.

Cook fish on each side for 1-2 minutes until cooked through. Drain on paper towel.

Heat tortillas in oven or microwave according to package directions.

Assemble tacos: place tortilla on plates, spread some guacamole down centre, flake fish into large pieces and place on top of guacamole. Top with shredded lettuce, salsa, cheese and sour cream as preferred. Fold in half or roll up. Serve with skillet potatoes (recipe follows).

For potatoes:

Cut potatoes into 1.5 cm dice.

Toss with mexican spice blend.

Heat 2 Tbsp oil over med-high heat in frypan with lid. Add potatoes and cook stirring continuously for 5 minutes.

Add remaining oil and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring continuously.

Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for another 5 minutes or until tender.

Guacamole

2 avocados

1 lge tomato or a handful of cherry tomatoes

2 spring onions, finely chopped

1-2 cloves garlic, crushed

handful of chopped coriander

juice of 1-2 limes

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

jalapeno chili, chopped (optional) 

 

Mash avocado flesh roughly with a fork

Finely chop tomatoes and add to avocado along with spring onions, coriander, garlic and chili if using.

Add lime juice, salt and pepper to taste.

Notes:

1. Substitute flathead tails with any firm white fish, such as snapper.

2. Instead of mexican spice blend, use a combination of 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp of chili powder and 1 tsp salt.

3. This is really quite a loose recipe, adjust to suit the ingredients on hand. Tomatoes are optional in the guacamole, as is the chili, depending on your tastes.

Now sit back with a margarita and enjoy the blog hop!

Monique Urquhart	http://ahalfbakednotion.blogspot.ca/	Africa	Burkina Faso
Niky Sayers	http://silverniknats.blogspot.co.uk/	Africa	Egypt
Therese Frank	http://www.theresestreasures59.blogspot.com	Africa	Kenya
Raychelle Heath	http://abeadloveaffair.blogspot.com/	Africa	Lesotho
Joan Williams	www.lilrubyjewelry.wordpress.com	Africa	Mauritania
Sherri Stokey	http://www.KnotJustMacrame.com	Africa	Senegal
Regina Santerre	http://reginaswritings.blogspot.com	Africa	Seychelles
Raida Disbrow	http://havanabeads.blogspot.com	Africa	Tanzania
Kristi Wodek	http://livedinlife.blogspot.com	Africa	Zimbabwe
Sally Russick	http://www.thestudiosublime.com	Americas	Brazil
Melissa Trudinger ME!	https://beadrecipes.wordpress.com	Americas	Mexico
Tracy Stillman	http://www.tracystillmandesigns.com	Americas	USA
Sandra Wolberg	http://city-of-brass-stories.blogspot.de	Asia	India
Tanya Goodwin	http://pixiloo.blogspot.com	Asia	Japan
Susan Kennedy	http://suebeads.blogspot.com	Asia	Japan
Beth Emery	http://storiesbyindigoheart.blogspot.com	Asia	Japan
Lisa Cone	http://inspiredadornments.blogspot.com/	Asia	Japan
Tanya Boden	http://fusionmusebangkok.blogspot.com/	Asia	Japan
Inge von Roos	http://ingetraud.wordpress.com	Asia	Laos
Erin Prais-Hintz	http://treasures-found.blogspot.com	Asia	Nepal
Dee Elgie	http://cherryobsidia.blogspot.com	Asia	Phillipines
Carolyn Lawson	http://carolynscreationswa.blogspot.com	Asia	South Korea
Lisa Stukel	http://carefreejewelrybylisa.blogspot.com	Asia	Sri Lanka
Elly Snare	http://themagicsquarefoundation.wordpress.com	Asia	Thailand
Shelley Graham Turner	http://www.shelleygrahamturner.blogspot.com	Europe	Austria
Mallory Hoffman	http://rosebud101-fortheloveofbeads.blogspot.com/	Europe	Bosnia Herzegovina
Paige Maxim	http://www.pmaximdesigns.blogspot.com	Europe	France
Jenny Davies-Reazor	http://www.jdaviesreazor.com/blog	Europe	Germany
Sharyl McMillian-Nelson	http://sharylsjewelry.blogspot.com	Europe	Greece
Evelyn Shelby	http://raindropcreationsbyevelyn.blogspot.com/	Europe	Iceland
Holly Westfall	http://silverrosedesigns.blogspot.com/	Europe	Ireland
Rebecca Siervaag	http://www.godsartistinresidence.blogspot.com	Europe	Ireland
Toltec Jewels	http://toltecjewels.blogspot.com	Europe	Ireland
Lee Koopman	http://StregaJewellry.wordpress.com	Europe	Ireland
Laren Dee Barton	http://larendeedesigns.blogspot.com	Europe	Italy
Cindy Wilson	http://www.mommysdreamcreations.blogspot.com	Europe	Norway
Kathleen Lange Klik	http://ModernNatureStudio.blogspot.com	Europe	Poland
Shaiha Williams	http://shaihasramblings.blogspot.com/	Europe	Portugal
Jennifer Justman	http://soulsfiredesigns.blogspot.com/	Europe	Romania
Elsie Deliz-Fonseca	http://ladelizchica.blogspot.com	Europe	Spain
Lola Surwillo	http://www.beadlolabead.blogspot.com	Europe	Sweden
Kim Hora	http://www.kimmykats.com	Europe	Switzerland
Leanne Loftus	http://firstimpressiondesign.blogspot.com	Europe	The Netherlands
Patti Vanderbloemen	http://myaddictionshandcrafted.blogspot.com	Europe	The Netherlands
Marcie Carroll	http://labellajoya.blogspot.com	Europe	Turkey
Marlene Cupo	http://amazingdesigns-marlene.blogspot.com	Oceania	Federated States of Micronesia
Ine Vande Cappelle	http://jewelsbyine.blogspot.com	Oceania	Fiji
Tammie Everly	http://ttedesigns.blogspot.com/	Oceania	Guam
Alice Peterson	http://www.alice-dreaming.blogspot.com	Oceania	Kiribati
Elisabeth Auld	http://www.beadsforbusygals.com	Oceania	Nauru
Susan McClelland	http://mistheword12.wordpress.com/	Oceania	New Zealand
D Lynne Bowland	http://islandgirlsinsights.blogspot.com	Oceania	New Zealand
Denielle Hagerman	http://somebeadsandotherthings.com	Oceania	New Zeland
Rebecca Anderson	http://songbeads.blogspot.com	Oceania	Papua New Guinea
Mischelle Fanucchi	http://micheladasmusings.blogspot.com/	Oceania	Samoa
Kari Asbury	http://hippiechickdesign.blogspot.com	Oceania	Solomon Islands
Cece Cormier	http://www.thebeadingyogini.com/	Oceania	Tonga
Emma Todd	http://www.apolymerpenchant.com	Oceania	Tuvalu
Debbie Price	http://greenshoot.blogspot.com	Oceania	Vanuatu

Felt fancies—the big Bead Soup Blog Party reveal!

It’s finally time for the third reveal day for the 6th Bead Soup Blog Party! This is my first BSBP and I have to say thank you to Lori Anderson, whose brainchild this fabulous event is, for such a great idea.

Now the premise of the BSBP is that Lori matches us all up with a partner, with whom we exchange bead soup—a mixture of beads and components including a focal bead and a nice clasp, plus some coordinating beads. You can make as many pieces as you are inspired to make, but must use the focal bead and the clasp, and as much of the rest of the bead soup as you like, adding in extras from your own stash as required.

My partner for this BSBP is Marina Dobrynina, a Russian beader living near Paris. Marina makes beautiful felt beads, embroidered works of art really! She sent me the following bead soup, which included a selection of her felted beads in soft greens and pinks with a splash of vibrant orange, some coordinating crystal beads of various sizes and shapes in deep purple, bright green, pink and peach, some white seed beads, a brass dragonfly clasp and two  brass cord ends, and some brass findings. I used almost everything she sent me, except the white beads and the brass end caps, adding only a few findings as I needed them.

The big challenge for me was putting the hole through the felt beads. After asking Marina’s advice, I went to work with a darning needle—a bit  anxiously, I must say! First you poke the needle through the bead, trying to line it up so it goes through the middle. Then when you pull it out, the hole disappears! I eventually figured it out, and went to work. And without further ado, here it is.

First I made a pair of earrings to get used to working with the felt beads. I used a pair of soft pink felt balls, green crystal and a lacy beadcap on each bead to make a blossom with some sparkly crystals dangling below. They are very light!

Then a necklace, showcasing the biggest green felt bead, embroidered with stars, and surrounded by more pink and green felt beads, as well as a pop of orange, and interspersed with links of crystals. I added a simple lobster clasp and an extension chain with one of the pink teardrop crystals dangling from it, as well as some lacy brass beadcaps (Vintaj of course!).

Here’s a closeup of the focal beads showing Marina’s beautiful embellishments.

Finally a bracelet using the remaining felt beads, one embroidered and the rest plain, with crystals linked in a similar pattern to the necklace. And the gorgeous dragonfly clasp of course!

That left me with the brass endcaps. These endcaps stumped me for a while as they are closed—you can’t thread a pin through the ends—and they are also quite wide, about 7mm diameter. Marina is a seedbeader as well as a felter, and these are the kinds of endcaps used for seedbeaded ropes and kumihimo braids, neither of which I know how to do. But flicking through Lorelei Eurto and Erin Siegel’s book Bohemian Inspired Jewelry, I saw the Japanese Kimono cord, also known as crepe cord, and thought that would be perfect, if I could find some. Well, it’s not something easily found here in Australia, but in the end I located a supplier, and I ordered some! Unfortunately, it arrived yesterday … so I’ll have to show you what I make with them another time.

Now I’m off to visit Marina’s blog to see what she did with the bead soup I sent her, and to have a look at the other 130 blogs involved in Reveal 3. Please join me in a round of applause for Lori, who surely deserves it for the hard work she has put in! As well as a stiff drink, a large slice of her favourite pie, and I think a holiday might just be in order too!

For the rest of the participants in this round, check out the links below:

Hostess Lori Anderson, Pretty Things

Agi Kiss, Moonsafari Beads
Alice Peterson, Alice Dreaming
Alison Sachs, Beads by Earthtones
Amanda Dittloff, Passion Smashin’
Andra Marasteanu, Bijoux de Monanage
Angie Szlovak, SweetBeads
Anitra Gordy, Leelu Creations
Ann Sherwood, Ann’s Blog
Arlene Dean, A Glass Bash
Audrey Belanger, Dreams of an Absolution
Barb Solem, Vivi Magoo Presents

Barbara Blaszczyk, laboratorim Flory
Becky Pancake, Becky Pancake Bead Designs
Beth Emery, Stories by Indigo Heart
Bianca Odenthal, Zydies Glasperlen
Birgit Klughardt, GitesBeads
Bobbie Rafferty, Beadsong Jewelry
Bonnie Coursolle,  Jasper Gems
Cece Cormier, The Beading Yogini
Charlene Jacka, Clay Space
Cherrie Fick, En La Lumie’re
Cheryl Foiles, Get Your Bead On
Christie Murrow, Charis Designs Jewelry

Christina Miles, Wings n Scales
Christina Stofmeel, Feng Beads
Christine Stonefield, Sweet Girl Design
Cindy Cima Edwards, Live to Design
CJ Bauschka, 4 His Glory Creations
Claire Smith, Embergrass Jewelry
Cynthia Riggs, Cynth’s Blog
Dana Fowler, Trunk Full of Treasure
Dawn Pierro, Turtle Moon Designs
Dee Elgie, Cherry Obsidia
Donetta Farrington, Simply Gorgeous

Dot Lewallwn, Speedie Beadie
Eileen Snyder, Dorset Hill Beads
Elizabeth Bunn, Elizabeth Beads
Eva Kovacs, Ewa gyongyos vilaga!
Evelyn Duberry, Sheba Makeda
Fay Wolfenden, Torch Fairy
Fen Li, Bead Flora Jewels
Gail Zwang, Angel Moose Enterprises
Geneva Collins, Torque Story
Grace Dorsey, Fan of the Flame
Gretchen Nation,  Art Food Lodging

Hannah Annear, Squintessential
Hajer Waheed, My Beaded World
Heather Goldsmith, As I Bead It
Heather Otto, The Craft Hopper
Heidi Kingman, My Bead Therapy
Hope Smitherman, Crafty Hope
Isolina Perez, Isolina Perez
Jacqueline Keller, CreARTelier
Jane Haag, Did You Make Something Today?
Janeen Sorensen, Wild Vanilla Designs
Jean Peter, Jean P. Designs

Jennifer Judd, Jen Judd Rocks
Jennifer L Justman, Soul’s Fire Designs
Joanna Matuszczyk, Bizuteria z filcu
Joanne Brown, Jo’s Jewels
Joanne Lockwood, Jo Bunkum
Joyce Becker, Joyce’s Joyful Gems
Judy Riley, Three Red Beads
Karen Mitchell, Over the Moon Design
Karen Williams, Baublicious
Karin von Hoeren, Creative Ideen

Karla Morgan, Texas Pepper Jams
Kashmira Patel, Sadafule .. always in bloom!
Kate Richbourg, We Can Make That at Home
Katrin Lembke, AllesPerle
Kathy Combs, Torched in Texas
Kathy Lindemer, Bay Moon Design
Kay Thomerson, Kayz Kreationz
Kelley Fogle, My Life, One Bead at at Time
Kelly Hosford Patterson, Traveling Side Show

Klaudette Koon, Only Road
Lara Lutrick, Lampwork Beads by Lara
Laura Guenther, Blue Antiquities
Laurie Lalonde, Simply Mod Jewelry
Lilik Kristiani, Soul of My Embodiment
Linda Younkman, Lindy’s Designs
Lisa Chapman, Beach Cat Beads
Lisa Lodge, Pine Ridge Treasures
Loretta Carstensen, Designs by Loretta
Lori Bergmann, Lori Bergmann Design
Lori Dorrington, Lori’s Adventures in Etsy Land
Lupe Meter, Gem’s PC Corner
Lynn Davis, LLYYNN

Malin de Koning, Beading by Malin
Mandi Effron, Craft-o-licious
Mandy Williamson, Mimi’s Beading
Margot Potter, The Impatient Crafter
Maria Rosa Sharrow, Willow Street Shops
Marianne Baxter, Simply Seablime Jewelry
Marina Dobrynina, Savon Feutre
Marjolein Trewavas, Room for Change
Marelene Cupo, Amazing Designs
Marsha Neal, Marsha Neal Studio

Marta Kaczerowska, uhuhu
Mary Govaars, MLH Jewelry Designs
Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes YOU ARE HERE!
Menka Gupta, Menka’s Jewelry Blog
Michelle Burnett, Reverie and Revival
Michelle Escano-Caballero, The Cabby Crafter
Miko Wiropati, Uniquely Yunikua
Milla Hope,  LB Creative Arts and Crafts
Mimi Gardner, Other Curiosities
Miranda Ackerley, MirandackArts
Natalie McKenna, grubbi

Noemi Baena, fuego, metal, y color
Pam Ferrari, Ferrari Originals
Pam Sears, Crazy Creative Corner
Penny Neville, Copper Penny
Rachel Baron, R. Baron Designs
Rachel Myers, Rockabead Jewelry
Rana Wilson, Definitive Designs by R. Wilson
Rebecca Anderson, Song Beads
Rebecca Sirevaag, Becca’s Place
Riki Schumacher, Riki Jewelry

Rose Binoya, Ahtee’s Blog
Rossana De Gaspari, Rdegas Blog
Sally Anderson, Wild Sally Road
Sandi James, Do Be Do Bead Do
Sandi Volpe, Sandi Volpe
Sandra Wollberg, City of Brass Stories
Sarah Goode, Pookledo
Sarah Small, blog by salla
Shai Williams, Shaiha’s Ramblings
Shawn Mills, Shawn Marie Designs with Bent Wire
Sheila Davis, Stone Designs by Sheila

Sheryl Stephens, Babble Bead
Shiraz Biggie, Secret Song Designs
Solange Collin,  Ahowin Handcrafted Jewelry
Sonya Stille, Dreamin’ of Beads
Stephanie Dixon, The Dixon Chick
Susan Kennedy, Sue Beads
Susan Sheehan, Strands of Thought
Suzann Sladcik Wilson, Beadphoria
Sweet Freedom, Sweet Freedom Designs
Tabatha Dinger, Modernly Created
Tania Hagen, Pelima Jewellery Design

Tanya Boden, Fusion Muse
Terri Gauthier, Blooming Ideas
Terry Carter, Tapping Flamingo
Tracy Stillman, Tracy Stillman Designs

Quick bracelet swap

Not long ago I signed up to a forum called BeadSwap-USA. It’s a great little forum of beaders interested in swapping beads and jewelry with each other.

At its heart are the travelling bead boxes, which sadly only travel around the US at the moment due to the difficulties of shipping bigger packages internationally. I have hopes of getting an Australian travelling bead box established though, if I can persuade any other Aussies to sign up!

The site also hosts a series of person to person swaps of both finished handmade jewellery and beads/components, usually involving a specific type of jewellery or bead/component. I have signed up to take part in a few of those over the next month or two. The first was a Quick Bracelet Swap, in which assigned partners make each other a bracelet (taking into account their partner’s tastes!) and send it off. My assigned parter for this swap is Laura Singley, a beader living in Montana. And lucky Laura gets not one, but two bracelets from me!

I’ve recently seen a couple of fun tutorials for bracelets that I thought I would try out. The first bracelet is a quick and versatile little number from British beader Lesley Watt, which simply alternates beads on two strands of waxed linen cord, with jumprings separating each bead. It’s certainly been a popular design, as I’ve seen it popping up everywhere. I made my version using Czech cathedral beads in a teal green with gunmetal jumprings and a blossom button for the closure.

I’ll definitely be making more of these bracelets—they’re quick and easy, and look great. And they’d work with all sorts of different beads or as part of a larger design.

The second tutorial I was inspired to try comes from Tracy Statler, whose blog Make Bracelets has a number of fantastic tutorials and videos. Her most recent design of clusters of beads was perfect for a strand of glass pearls in rich colours that I picked up recently.

And I’m pleased to report that my partner loved both bracelets!

Make sure you check back in on the weekend when I reveal my Bead Soup Blog Party creations!

Lotsa lemons

A friend came over for lunch last week bearing an enormous bag of lemons. Not just ordinary lemons, either, but lovely juicy ripe Meyer lemons she’d rescued from a tree about to be cut down.

Meyer lemons, for those who’ve never heard of them, are a somewhat thin-skinned sweet lemon, that apparently comes from a cross between a lemon and an orange, or perhaps mandarine. The skin and the flesh are almost orange and they taste divine! I first encountered Meyer lemons when I lived in Berkeley 20-odd years ago, where almost every house had a prolifically fruiting Meyer lemon tree in the back garden. But they are not quite as common here in Australia.

Rather than just freeze juice, I decided to put the lemons to good use. I’ve been wanting to try making my own preserved lemons for a while, using Stephanie Alexander’s recipe. And I thought the sweetness of the lemons would lend themselves well to lemon curd. Again Stephanie Alexander came to the rescue with a simple recipe.

It’s going to be a month or more before I can use the preserved lemons, but the lemon curd is absolutely delish! Now I need to make some scones, or some pastry cases to go with it …

Stephanie Alexander’s Preserved Lemons

From The Cook’s Companion, by Stephanie Alexander

500g coarse kitchen salt

20 lemons

6 bay leaves

9 cloves

2 sticks cinnamon

extra lemon juice as needed

Sterilise two 1L jars or equivalent. Add a heaped dessertspoonful of salt to each jar.

Scrub lemons and quarter lengthways. Place in a large non-reactive bowl with remaining salt and mix with hand, squeezing to release some of the juice.

Pack lemons into jars, with bay leaves, cloves and splinters of cinnamon layered into the jars along with the fruit. Press down to release as much juice as possible.

Spoon leftover salt and juice into jars, adding extra juice if required to cover the lemons.

Wipe down the mouths and necks of the jars with a clean cloth dipped in boiling water to remove salt and seal lid tightly.

Allow to mature for a month or so in a cool place before using. Refrigerate after opening.

Notes:

1. Any kind of lemon can be used.

2. I doubled the quantities from the original recipe.

3. I sterilised jars by washing in very hot soapy water and then drying jars and lids for 30 minutes in an oven at 150C.

4. According to Stephanie Alexander, preserved lemons should last at least a year without refrigeration.

Stephanie Alexander’s Lemon Curd

From The Cook’s Companion, by Stephanie Alexander

4 large lemons

200g unsalted butter

350g sugar

6 eggs, lightly beaten and strained through a sieve

Sterilise enough jars for about 4 cups of curd.

Zest and juice lemons. Combine with butter and sugar in a heavy-based saucepan.

Stir over medium heat until butter melts and sugar has dissolved.

Remove from heat and add eggs, whisking to mix well.

Stir constantly over low heat until the mixture thickens. Do not boil as it will curdle.

Pour straight into hot sterilised jars and seal.

Keep refrigerated.

Notes:

1. Any kind of lemon can be used.

2. I sterilised jars by washing in very hot soapy water and then drying jars and lids for 30 minutes in an oven at 150C.

3. It should keep for several weeks in the refrigerator.