Soup of the Day!

At around this time last year, my Mum gave me an old piece of jewellery: something very 70s-ish and very, very orange! She wanted me to remodel it for her and give it to her for her birthday.
It's actually pretty cool and it was probably very hip back in the 70s but it's way out of style now and needs some updating.

But when you look closely at it, you can see it has interesting components: bead caps which are made of plastic, beads which are coated in tinted lacquer, and feature flower beads with a flower on each of its three sides. The more I looked at this necklace, the more there was to like about it. Mum figured that I'd probably pull it apart and keep what I thought was worth keeping and discard the rest. She was right. I pulled it apart!So here I am, faced with a selection of cool beads that I wouldn't have normally selected for myself and the challenge is to use the clasp and the focal and any of the other beads provided. Oh, wait, that's the Bead Soup challenge!

But I've got to say, this is feeling very soupy. Maybe..... pumpkin soup!

I figured the best way to deal with this was to add components to break up all that orange. I had a nice strand of chocolate brown acrylic beads, some smokey coloured faceted glass beads and a couple of different brass filigrees. I went with simple construction techniques for this piece: the beaded sections are strung on beading wire and the filigrees are connected with jump rings. The filigrees are my favourite part of the necklace: the long thin ones add length without fussiness and the flower in the front adds a great focal point, tying the old in with the new.

I like the way this has turned out: it still has that retro feel about it but with a bit of a modern twist. I think my Mum will love it!

And I finished it just in time for her birthday - just one year late, that's all!

Happy Birthday Mum
XOX

If you can't get enough of My Tutorials and you want even more inspiration, click here to find my books and printable pdfs