Reveal Day!- Water Lilies Necklace

Welcome to my blog! I am so excited to be part of Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party! In Lori's words, a concise explanation of the Bead Soup Blog Party: The premise of the blog hop is for two people to swap beads and then make something from those beads. The requirements are to send a focal, a special clasp, and some coordinating beads. The purpose is to stretch imaginations, incorporate beads from your current stash, and, in getting someone else's beads, work with things you may never have thought to use before.

My partner was the lovely and talented Sharon Driscoll. Look at the amazing bead soup she sent me! My favorite color combination is green and purple, and I was delighted to receive such a beautiful art bead. Her glass work is luminous. I loved the saturated colors in both the focal piece and in the accompanying round beads. She sent me such a fabulous bounty of beads- stones, and glass, and chain! It was a challenge to select just a few to work with for this piece. I have so many ideas for other pieces.

One of my favorite painters is Monet. I love the way he used light and color, and I find his work both exciting and peaceful. I saw the colors and textures of Monet's Water Lilies paintings in Sharon's focal piece, and found the bead truly beautiful. I wanted to focus in on the luminescent flowers and the surrounding green foliage.

I added flowers, some Swarovski crystals, two silver circles and a large Magnesite briolette. I laid out the necklace and then started constructing it from the art bead outwards. I wanted to focus in on the glass bead. However, I needed something heavy enough to make sure the necklace wouldn't slide around. It needed to compliment her bead while at the same time not competing with the central focus. I hope the briolette achieves those goals.

I wire-wrapped three flowers around the silver hoop to bring out the purple in the water-lily bead. And then wrapped a wire around another one Sharon's art beads.My last action was to string the crystals & stones and braid them lightly. When I was done, I had a much longer necklace than I normally construct; however, I think the length of the necklace balances the longer art bead.

At the end, I fought with the briolette a little- It didn't want to hang the way I wanted it to. It wanted desperately to hang sideways, but alas and sorrow to the briolette, I was victorious! And now it hangs quite nice and flat.

Thank you, Lori! I love your parties!!!

Here's the list of partners so you can continue on your blog hop.