Bead Soup for My Partner Christine.

Now that I know that my partner Christine has recieved her Bead Soup, I can reveal what I sent to her!! I had such fun putting this mix together for Christine and I do hope that she finds some things to kick her creativity up a notch!!! At first I thought that I should not send Christine a glass focal bead but then I read about her "likes" in the database and the first thing that she mentioned was her love of glass. She does make beautiful glass lamp work beads but no two beader's styles are exactly the same. When I came across this wonderful focal created by a local VA artist named Linda Campbell, I knew it had to be the main stone in this Stone Soup!! ( Do you Remember reading that book as a child- It is still one of my favorite books about faith and believing in oneself, that I know of!!)

So with the focal bead chosen I added some of my own fabric/paper beads, some wonderful big cream colored and smaller blue, fresh water pearls, some glass drops in both matte and ab finishes in various blues and greens, some wonderful glass rounds made by TB patients in Tanzania that come with an extra splash of good karma ( my brother brings me a bunch of these wonderful beauties almost every year when he comes for a home visit), and some found critter drilled Quahog shell fragments that have been tumbled in the cold Atlantic ocean.

From what I have heard, Christine is very excited and inspired by her soup. Hurrah!!! that makes me so very happy!!

Bead Soup Party!!!!

Any excuse for a party and I can't think of a better one than BEADS ,at the moment !! this year I am so excited to a be a part of the Bead Soup Blog Party that is the brain child of the amazing Lori Anderson. the sign up took place in early August and there are over 300 of us form all parts of the globe participating!! We each have blogs and Lori has assigned each of us a partner who we will be mailing Bead Soups to . Then we are each to create a piece of jewelry form our soup and post the pictures and story on our blogs.

I have been paired with the lovely and talented Bead artist Christine Brandel. I have an extra bonus as Christine lives in Richmond , VA about an hour away from me!!! So the potential exists for us to meet in person at some point in our futures!!! How COOL is THAT??!!!???

Christine has a wonderful Blog and I hope that you will all take a moment to pop by and see some of her bead work that she combines with metal work and and her glorious lamp work beads!! It is amazing that I have been paired with another artist who has a metal smithing background!! I have not gone back to my metal smithing skills in along time, but I do work with wire much more often of late.

I have been rummaging thru my stash and seeking treasures to send off to Christine and plan to get her special soup in the mail tomorrow!! Our task is to send off Soups that will stretch each other out of our Comfort zones! I just hope that she is pleased with what a have chosen for her! I am trying not to fret about it too much!!!!

hen we all have till September 17 to create a work from our soups and blog about our creations and REVEAL those Creations on our blogs!!!

Bring on the BEAD PARTY!!!!!