To celebrate a very successful Bead Soup Party, Lori is having a giveaway on her blog of a beautiful pendant she made with a  Jennifer Cameron lampwork bead. Check it out. And stay tuned for more Bead Soup coming up in January. Yeah, it's along time to wait but we have to get through the holiday shows and such.

It's Souuuuuuuup!

So, are you sick of soup yet? I didn't think so. This is my first time participating in a Bead Soup Party and I'm having a blast!!! I love being among such talented people. It's inspirational. And speaking of inspirational, my Bead Party Partner is Jen Judd Velasquez. She's already had her reveal with the beads I sent her. If you haven't seen it, you really should. I was blown away by what she did with my humble ceramic pendant and the rest of her soup! So here is what she sent me.

That large spiral focal is recycled green glass. She added some other cool earthy things like wood, turquoise colored round beads, her own copper wire beads, more glass beads, a copper clasp and some coppery silk ribbon. She did her research and new the colors I love. But I don't think I've every designed without ceramics. So the challenge was on.

As soon as I opened the package, that spiral screamed out, "I want to be a clasp, I want to be a clasp". So I made it both. A focal and a clasp. I used mostly the beads Jen sent, adding just some light green glass beads, the same ones I sent to her, I think, a large copper ring to complete the clasp and some copper wire at the ends of the silk ribbon. And ta-daaaa!

It's simple but the clasp/focal really makes a statement I think. I love the ribbon at the back of the neck. It's very comfortable to wear, which I've done and have gotten lots of compliments. And I can wear this with practically anything.  I had some beads of Jen's left so I made a bracelet adding a few of my ceramic beads. (Well, I had to get them in there somewhere)  I used the clasp Jen sent me on the bracelet. Kind of Wilma Flintstone but again, it goes with everything.

Okay, keep going!!! The party's not over yet!! Hop back to Lori's blog for today's schedule. Thanks Lori for putting this party together. It's been a blast!!

You're Early

You've had enough Soup for today. Come back tomorrow for my reveal. Here's a teaser.

Okay, I know this Bead Soup Party thing is getting some of us beady people a little riled up, but really, have you seen the giveaway that Denise Yezbak Moore is doing on her blog? It's a little nuts if you ask me. But hey, I don't mind gaining from someone else's temporary insanity, as long as no one gets hurt. It's a huge chunk of beads and things and WE get to decide if it's all given to one person or split six ways. So go check it out and weigh in. Somebody is going to be VERY happy at the end of this.

It's Bead Soup Party Time

Today is the start of a week long bead soup party!! I'm not scheduled to reveal until the 25th. But go check out everybody else's Soup!! This Party is off to a great start. Check out Lori Anderson's blog for links to each days schedule. Be sure to check out Jen's blog to see what she created with MY ceramic focal pendant! It's beautiful.

Welcome Home a Marine Raffle

I'm raffling off this necklace and earrings set to help send my sister and her family of 5 to North Carolina to welcome home their Marine when he arrives home from Afghanistan in August. After spending 8 months overseas I can't think of anything better than seeing your family waiting for you when you step foot on American soil for the first time.

The necklace features a handmade ceramic pendant by me stamped with a sea turtle design on luscious terra cotta clay and glazed in ocean greens and blues. The necklace is beaded with coordinating blue green glass beads and some green glass chip beads. I connected silk cording at the back of the necklace for a comfortable fit and added a gold colored metal clasp on the side. The earrings feature the same coordinating beads.

Raffle tickets are $1.00. If you e-mail me at cndula@elp.rr.com and let me know how many tickets you want, I can invoice you through paypal and you can either pay with a credit card or with a debit. I'd like to make it a minimum of 5 tickets if you are paying with a credit or debit card to offset the paypal charge. If you'd like to send a check, email me and I will send you my address. I will announce the drawing time at a later date depending on the response we get. I will ship this anywhere in the U.S. to the winner.

SALE AND GIVEAWAY!

Artisan Clay is having a 25% off sale for the length of Bead and Button. Through Sunday, I think. She's also doing a giveaway, so check out her blog, and her etsy store for the sale and giveaway. She does thrown pendants with colorful glass in her designs. Great starting point for any project. SALE AND GIVEAWAY!

Congratulations

The winner of my first ever Birthday Blog Giveaway is... LOIS MOON. Congratulations, Lois. I think we must be related somehow. My middle name is Lois and my grandmother's maiden name was Moon. Send me an e-mail with your address and I'll get your goodies in the mail to you right away.

Special thanks to The Hunter for aiding me in my very technical approach to choosing a random winner. I printed all the names of everyone who left a comment on my Birthday Blog Giveaway post and he pulled one out of the bowl. (The Hunter is none other than my adoring husband). I used to follow a blog where the blogger referred to her husband as The Composer. I loved that, but it didn't quite fit my husband. The Hunter definitely does.

Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes and for the comments. I started out celebrating my birthday and having 20 followers and by the end of the giveaway, I have 41!!!! Wow.

Statement Necklace

I'm a Carnival Blogger over at Art Bead Scene Blog. We post each month about a specific topic and then Cindy does a post incorporating everybody's blog on the Art Bead Scene Blog. This month so many talented bead people are at Bead and Button so Cindy is doing it a little differently. Some of us who aren't busy with Bead and Button have chosen to create a Statement Necklace in honor of Bead and Button and post about that. What is a Statement Necklace? Well, think about how many kinds of statements one could make. That's how many different kinds of Statement Necklaces one could make.

I've used lots of things I love in this necklace. My first love is ceramic beads. The focal pendant, the round bead and the little discs are my handmade ceramic beads. I've incorporated some glass beads, some metalic edged silk ribbon, copper chain, copper wire in different gauges, and then my next love, my hand made copper clasp. I'm so into copper and so into clasps.

Check out the rest of the Statements!!

Cindy
Jeannie
Jen V
Kate
Mary
Nicki
Island Girl
Sharon
Janel
Marcie
Christine
Lyn