Introducing...Molly's Reach!

My very first blog hop, and I have to say, what a blast it has been!  Lisa Lodge's Sand and Sea Bead Table Blog Hop is my first trip into the blog hop world, and I enjoyed every minute of it!  I received my soup from Lisa, and it was sand colours, ok, I thought.  I can deal with this.  I received this package right after Christmas, and its all I thought about for days...lol.  Then I decided what I was going to do.

I added some beads from my stash (of course!) and it just so happens, this is what I had on my bead table at the time :)

I had my daughter draw out the starfish shape, and the ideas kept coming.  I loved the focal bead she included, made by Marsha Neal.  So I incorporated it into the body of the starfish and then embroidered soutache and beads around it and filled the rest of the body in with bead embroidery.

I made the rope of the necklace using a modified St. Petersburg stitch and added random beads to it as well.  There were so many beads in this soup, that I had lots left over and made some earrings to match.  I even made the earring wires!  Woohoo, another new thing...lol.

Bonus Time:

So, when I was a kid, we lived in British Columbia, and we spent almost every summer on the west coast staying in cabins or camping, and we always had easy access to the beach.  One special summer, when I was about 10 or 11, we got to meet the cast of one of my favourite television shows.  What a great summer we had!  This piece reminds me of that television show.  And the fifth person to comment below with exactly where I got the name for this piece will receive a fabulous bead soup from my own stash, complete with focal, accent beads, and findings.

Here is the list of participating blogs...enjoy!:

Eleanor Burian-Mohr, The Charmed Life

Mary Govaars, MLH Jewelry Designs

Tanya Goodwin, A Work in Progress

Kathy Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Toltec Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Sharyl McMillian-Nelson, Sharyl's Jewelry

Marla Gibson, Spice Box Designs

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes

Dot Lewallen, Speedie Beadie

Ema Kilroy, Ema K Designs

Kim Booth, The Pink Martini Boutique

Jami Shipp, Celebrating Life

Leah Tees, My Beady Littleeyes

Christie Murrow, Charis Designs Jewelry

Monique Urquhart, A Half Baked Notion

Gloria Allen, Gloria Allen Designs

Cindy Anderson Wilson, It's My Sea of Dreams

Shaiha Williams, Shaiha's Ramblings

Annette Rivers, MamaOwl's Mess

So, enjoy all of the bog posts in this hop, and put your thinking cap on.  How did I come up with the name of this piece?

P.S.  I have joined another one of Lisa Lodge's blog hops:  Seasons.  I am looking forward to it and I can't wait to receive my bead mix from her!  And don't forget Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party is coming soon!!!! And I will post a better picture when my photographer has finished with them! :)