Saturday, May 10, 2014

Bead Soup Blog Hop 8 " REVEAL DAY"

Today is the day we have all been waiting for, the Bead Soup Blog Hop 8 Reveal Day.  It is with
great thanks that we recognize our " Hostess with the Mostest ", Lori Anderson who has worked tirelessly over the years in creating, organizing and hostessing these wonderful events.  She has even published a wonderful book on the creative process of Bead Soup and all it's trimings.  This year she put together this Blog Hop with the help of her husband and son as she has been wrestling with illness.  A great big Thank you too them both for helping Lori.

Due to the size of the Bead Soup 8, the list is " quite lengthly ", so the first link will be to Lori Anderson's blog for you to have access to all the blog participants.  Lori had a great idea for visiting so many blogs during this hop.  Paste the links to a word document and as you visit each blog, delete it off your list.  



Lori Anderson, Hostess www.PrettyThingsBlog.com
Please leave a comment to Lori and tell her how much you enjoyed viewing each participants treasures.

Now, let me introduce you to my Bead Soup Partner:  Chris Eisenberg


Chris and I have become Facebook friends and I have enjoyed sharing her adventures as she traveled to the Carribean to become certified as a PADI Dive Instructor.  The warmth and love of her family has been wonderful to watch over the months and her incredible talent is so endearing, Hey, another Bead Embroiderer, what more could a person ask for?  We have so many things in common, The Bead Journal Project, Blog Hops with Lisa Lodge, a true compadre.    As she and her family live in the Pacific Northwest, she is close to my son stationed in Oak Harbor, WA and when I visit Mike this year I will make sure we get the opportunity to meet in person.

Here is my soup that I sent to Chris:

And here is the soup that I recieved from Chris.........
Imagine my surprise when my eyes saw the center focal from Zizzyzaza Bead and Embellishment by the artist Carol Risher of  Kokopelli.  I have a long and winding history with Kokopelli for sure.  Being Tribal, during pow-wow season I always wore Bear for Bear Clan but my best friend of thirty years always wore Kokopelli.  She passed away three years ago from Breast Cancer and my tribute to her is in my blog.  From the moment I laid eyes on the focal, inspiration flowed.  Leah had always been my strongest supporter as an artist.  Thank you Chris.  How perfect your selections were.  Of course there is Embroidery, organically so.  And girl, that chocolate from Seattle...... Goodness, I'll have to mail order more.  

And here is what I designed from Chris Soup..... and boy did it cook.

First piece is the Kokopelli focal piece which also incorporates the clasp she sent.

Another view:
And of course I just couldn't stop there.  All of the wonderful soup items were just calling to be used so I came up with another necklace with another lovely focal piece.

And playfully, it was the wrap bracelet time with some lovely organic colored leather I had just recieved.  A good testament to how one can play with leather cording at a moments notice.
That lovely leather button was in a goody bag from another Bead Soup participant, Deborah Apodaca. And then of course, how can one not have a lovely set of earrings to go with their wonderful necklaces.  I came across these love chandelier components in my stash that matched the heart focal and used the faceted 4mm crystals to make earrings to match.
There are two other " Ladies of the Evening "( yes, that is the name of our Bead Group and it is a long story ) participants in this Bead Soup so if you have a moment please visit:
Deborah Apodaca and Genny Smith

Chris it has been a pleasure to be your Soup partner and I hope I did your Soup justice. I cannot wait to see what your cooked up with mine.  

Leave all the participants comments, we love hearing your thoughts and critiques.

40 comments:

  1. Beautiful pieces, Catherine, but the first one is my favorite!!!

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  2. OMG Catherine!!! I saw that you posted exactly at 12 midnight!!! You are one totally amazing person and I am crazy about your Kokapelli necklace. You have gone so far beyond doing these beads and pieces justice . . . standing ovation!!! It is almost 2:30am ~ my pieces are finished but I am just too tired to post. So off to get a little shut eye (yawn) and I will present the "Amazing Catherine Soup" to the world in just a few short hours. Thank you for all your kind words and inspiration!!!

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  3. Fabulous designs, especially that Kokopelli necklace. You really did that focal justice and then some.

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  4. Truly stunning pieces! Great work!

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  5. Wow totally love your Kokopelli necklace, and each of you other works look stunning.

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  6. Beautiful! You make me want to get out my needles and start embroidering!

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  7. Catherine, your pieces just get more beautiful!!! It is just amazing that you have only been beading for a short time and put everyone else to shame!!!! The Kokapelli piece is just breathtaking. I can't wait to see it in person! Love, a fellow "Ladies of the Evening" :)

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  8. Very nice! Love the bead embroidery. And it looks like the rest of the soup came out well too.

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  9. I just love the story about your best friend and you. And the creation you made....unbelievable!! Amazing job on them all!! ~KM

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  10. The Kokopeli is great - it's so nice to see seed beads used (and used so beautifully) in the BSBP!

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  11. Your story...your work...the pieces...how utterly wonderful! I also see you are a participant with Lisa Lodge...me too...working on my Ocean pieces now! Thanks for joining and posting!

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  12. The heart necklace is absolutely beautiful! The bead work is mind blowing!

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  13. Your bead embroidery leaves me breathless. And the story of your friend lend the piece such poignancy. Beautiful. And before I could draw breath BAM! Another perfect necklace

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  14. amazing beaded necklace with spiral rope! I'm impressed!

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  15. Lovely necklace designs and beautiful work. Love all your pieces but would say your necklace with the Kokopelli focal piece is a stunner!

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  16. You are an amazing beadweaver, your necklace is just awesome, especially the focal! Also love the other pieces but I can't help but loving beadweaving most :D

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  17. The bead weaving in your necklace is so intricate and stunning! And I Iove the clasp.

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  18. I'm envious of your beadweaving talent!! Your creations are gorgeous!

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  19. The bead woven necklace is stunning and I thoroughly enjoyed your blog post.

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  20. What a lovely focal you got and such a beautiful design!

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  21. The beaded necklace is a queen! The heart necklace highlights the focal with the color and arrangement of the bead "cord". Good job on choosing and centering that vintage leather button (I have yet to master the making of a button clasp) :)

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  22. You seed beaders blow my mind. All your designs are lovely but that first necklace is a true work of art.

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  23. The beaded necklace is amazing, it's a beauty. I love the button in the bracelet too, so funny.

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  24. Catherine, your work is exquisite! It is wonderful that you felt such an emotional attraction to the lovely focal and that it brought memories of your dear friend.

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  25. Your soup creations are wonderful! I love that the focal of the first necklace was a wonderful reminder of your friend. Meant to be. I think my favorite piece is the wrap bracelet just because I'm loving that leather button! Great post.

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  26. Everything is lovely; it's wonderful that you were able to connect with the focal and use it as the centrepiece of something so beautiful.

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  27. All beautiful pieces but the Kokopelli focal and what you made with it is so beautiful! I love the colors and the design.

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  28. Wow wow wow! I can't get past that beautiful kokopelli necklace.I always admire the patience and skill it takes to do that type of work but that is just stunning. Your friend guided you for sure. Superb!

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  29. Beautiful soup, Catherine! the Kokopelli focal necklace is so charming. And the header of your blog too!

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  30. Love the Kokopelli focal piece and the necklace is so gorgeous. All the pieces you made are so beautiful. Great designs.

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  31. BEautiful pieces and how wonderful that you had such a connection to Kokopelli. The earrings are my fav pieces - just so classic and timeless!

    Linda A.
    http://fromTheBeadBoard.blogspot.com
    http://cherryOnTopDesign.co

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  32. How serendipitous that she sent you that particular focal. I'm sure you spent plenty an hour on your bead weaving thinking about your friend. Your care and concern shows. Beautiful work.

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  33. The first necklace is stunning! I love your description of your partner too. It looks like you had a blast. Nice job!

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  34. Love it all! Each piece has something special♥ beautiful or sweet, yes the soup did cook as you write!... Thank you for your touching story as well.

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  35. Beautiful bead work!!!!! I love it! You had a great soup to work with & you did a fabulous job with it! :)

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  36. Love your Kokopelli necklace! That is has special meaning to you as well makes it doubly good! Well done! Oh and the heart necklace is really sweet too :)

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  37. Like all the pieces you made with your soup. You are a very good beader! My favorite is the simple necklace with the heart. Great job on all your pieces.

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