My German Bead Soup

 I did not get into the current bead soup party over at Lori Anderson's Pretty Things blog. So, I threw it out there that I would love to exchange beads with someone, unofficially. That is how I met my new friend Doris. She is a lampworker who lives in Germany. Check out her blog, she makes great beads. I definitely got the best part of this deal. She blogged about our exchange in German and in English. Impressive!


I received a selection of beads from her. She had asked me what my fav colors are and I declined to tell, because I wanted her not to have limitations. Even so, she sent me my favorite colors! 

 I made two bracelets from the beads she sent. I used the fabulous donut bead as a focal piece for the first bracelet. I used an asymmetrical design.

 Here is the donut focal and the cute charm Doris sent.

 On one side, I used her big hole beads (that remind me of Cheerios, I love them), as sliders. They move back and forth over a section of seed beads.

 And on the other side, I used the cheerios in a different way. I also added a bead dangle at the clasp to balance out the weight of the focal when worn.

 

For the second bracelet, I braided three strands of crystal beads, adding in three spacer beads from Doris. 

 It is very sparkly! 

Three of her beads became a focal piece. I like that it is a totally different kind of focal than in the first bracelet.

And, a bonus! Doris sent me this cute birdie charm!


What a cool bead exchange we had. Interesting that we sent the same color palette and a bird to each other. Guess we were thinking spring. On her blog, you can see what I sent her and the beautiful piece she made from them.


Thank you Doris!


Put yourself out there and use your Vitamin C, you never know what great people and things will come your way.