Michi's soup

The bead soup I sent Michi arrived in Austria the same day the soup she sent me arrived here, and she's blogged about it here. I thought I'd show you a few pictures of it too. I'm so pleased that she likes it, but considering how much she sent me I wish I'd sent her more now!

When we emailed Michi said that she usually worked in silver and that copper would therefore be a challenge for her - so of course I had to send her some copper! The heart shaped focal is piece of carved variscite, a phosphate based stone that you can find more about here. I bought it a couple of years ago from my friend Brenda who sells her stones on etsy. I loved it, and had it sat on my desk where I could see it. I tried it out in several designs, but they never did seem quite right, so I thought that I'd send it to Michi and see what she could come up with. Added to the mix are freshwater pearls, smoky quartz, copper beads, silk ribbon - and of course a handmade clasp.

I'm really please with my sweet little owl! She (and she's definitely a she) was made copper sheet that I textured with various hammers and punches. She's got a hook and a loop on the back, and I've used Liver of Sulphur to give her a warm patina. I will probably make a couple of these for my etsy shop in the next couple of weeks, but they'll be in the limited edition section as each one will turn out slightly different.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what Michi makes with her soup - not long to wait now, less than a month to go!