Recipe for Bead Soup
The process of designing jewelry from bead soup is similar to making a stew from ingredients you have on hand. With both, you have to consider what ingredients will work and then let your ideas sit (let the soup simmer), wait for the flavors to blend (a cohesive design to emerge in your mind), make what adjustments you need (check the seasoning) and serve it forth.
Here is the recipe I am working on now.
One package of bead soup donated by Your Beading Heart bead store
Consider various stringing materials to see what works best.
Black crochet cotton will provide a neutral background that won’t compete with the flavors of the soup.
Assorted seed beads from my stash picked to hi light the colors of the chips
A method for combining the bead soup ingredients into a tasty creation. Crocheting the chips together with the seed beads will really bring out their flavor. Since I changed the thread from white to black, I had to re string everything and start over. This is slow cooking bead soup style. You don’t know how it will turn out until it’s done.
What other ingredients can I add to the bead soup to make it hearty but not overwhelming? Here I audition some of my lampworked beads next to the bead soup mixture.
And here is most of the bead soup crocheted with seed beads and some extra chips from my stash. I don’t cook with work with gemstone chips that often and have never crocheted with them. The construction of the rest of the piece will be a challenge but I think I am up to it. I still have the great looking metal beads I want to incorporate into the blend.
At the right point, I will correct the seasonings and serve the result. But for now, the ingredients are simmering. Stay tuned!
Ornamento 
