If you remember this photo from my first post about the 8th Bead Soup Blog Party, you know it’s a pixelated teaser of what I sent to my partner, Sue.

Sue has received the Bead Soup ingredients so now I can share an unscrambled photo of what I sent. Recall that for this bead swap blog hop Party each participant sends a clasp, a focal or pendant, and some accent beads. We each then dig into our own stash of beads and wire and whathaveyou to incorporate at least the clasp and the focal into a completed design or two.

When we first “met” via email, Sue noted her favorite color is blue. One of the possible Bead Soups I had made up before I knew who my partner would be had a lot of blue beads. Because I also seem fond of blue beads and have apparently bought more of them than any other color. However, as part of the point of this bead swap is to try to work outside our own comfort zones, I decided to send Sue the not-blue Bead Soup.

The Bead Soup I sent has green and pink semi-precious gemstone components, with mixed metal accents. I call this recipe ‘Twitterpated.’ That’s a word I learned from the Disney movie Bambi. It describes the giddy goofy way birds and other animals were acting in the spring when romantic feelings overtook them upon seeing the object of their affections.

I was inspired by the green tree buds and promise of pink flower blossoms as meteorological spring has recently sprung in my area. And by the lyrics from an old Dean Martin Song, The Birds and The Bees.

Let me tell ya ’bout the birds and the bees
And the flowers and trees
And the moon up above
And a thing called ‘Love’

Twitterpated Bead Soup Ingredients.

The clasp I chose to send Sue is a toggle style carved from pink rhodonite. I don’t know if she’s used this type of clasp before, so it may be a fun challenge.

The focal I included for Sue is this antiqued silver tone leaf pendant. I went mixed-metal crazy this past fall and stocked up on leafy shaped focals too.

I included a green ceramic puffy heart-shaped bead, some silver tone birds and bees, a couple of gunmetal finish leaf drops, and an antiqued brass branch connector with a bird charm.

I threw in a handful of green aventurine chips and nuggets, a heaping spoonful of pink rhodonite carved flowers, a pair of light jade carved flowers, and a pinch of green serpentine carved flowers.

8th Bead Soup Blog Party mix sent to my partner.

I am looking forward to seeing what Sue creates with these ingredients. Stay tuned here, and on my Facebook page, to see what Sue sent me. And be sure to check back on the Bead Soup Blog Party’s big reveal day, May 3, 2014, to see what I make from my ingredients.

The “bonus” focal I sent to my partner.

P.S. This is the “dessert” I mentioned including with Sue’s soup. It’s a mixed media (mostly polymer clay) pendant I made using tutorials from Diva Designs Inc., and The Blue Bottle Tree. The pendant is faux purple turquoise and the center is faux dichroic glass. You can read more here about my adventures with these tutorials.  I plan to use them many more times. They are both fun and full of possibilities. Which is what I hope Sue thinks about her soup mix and dessert.