Mojo Challenge Week 2: Bead Soup

Welcome to Week 2 of  the Jewelry Making Mojo Challenge.  This week is going to be fun and easy.

Your Assignment:
Find a little stash of bead soup and make something with it. 

Now, I would keep it simple and let the beads do the talking - remember the challenge is to get you making something - so don't think too hard about this.

There aren't any hard and fast rules for the challenge this week - just use what is in your bead stash.

(This has nothing to do with the popular blog hop that we all know and love. Bead soup is a random mix of beads that are either leftovers from other projects or a little mix you gather together.) 
 

Bead Soup Tips: 

You could make a stack of bangles, a crazy long necklace knotted on linen, simple loops to create a beaded chain like the one I did, etc.  Keep your techniques simple and your beads limited.

If you don't have a 'soup' mix started, I suggest getting a little bowl and pulling out some beads and use only those in the bowl.  Limiting your choices can be very freeing and help get you producing new jewelry! Sometimes our bead stash can be overwhelming. 

Find a unifying element for your soup - it could be a spacer bead, a color or a bead shape, this will help you soup from becoming a hot mess!

I used three repeating elements in my design, tiny gold spacers, the small disk bead shape and the elongated oval of the owl and white beads.

More Bead Soup Inspiration:
 Check out Lori Anderson's book Bead Soup for lots of great design tips.  I have a project in there along with many of my beady friends, it's super inspiring.  

Why not host a bead soup get-together with your creative friends and have a little bead party in real life?  You can read all about hosting one of your own right here.  I've done this several times over the years and it's always fun!

Check out the Spring issue of Jewelry Stringing Magazine for a section on bead soup creations.

I bought this tutorial a few years ago and love it - it's such a fun way to dig into a mix of bead soup! The Tribal Gypsy Bangle Stacks Tutorial is from Fanciful Devices.

Share your progress!
If you write a blog post about your Week 2 Challenge share the link by clicking on the blue button below.  If you don't have a blog leave a comment here to let me know you participated in the Facebook group this week.

What is the Jewelry Mojo Challenge? Click here to read all about it.