Bead Soup Ingredients Simmering

Wow, been a couple weeks since my last blog post!  Life is such a whirlwind for all of us, isn't it?  Our past two weeks have included parent-teacher conferences, working at several jobs, prom dress shopping, a blizzard that dumped a foot of snow on us (but that wasn't all bad, we got to be home snowed in a bit), making a tiny beaded couch for a juried art exhibit at Graham Gallery (which contains more than 1000 3mm Czech glass beads), submitting applications for new art shows, and most of all prepping for Marble Crazy at Moon Marble Company in Bonner Springs, KS this weekend.  It is our first show of the "season" (which runs from now until the early part of December...can we say exhausting?).  Chris has around 100 marbles made and I have been furiously putting lampwork designs together for the show.  We will leave Thursday and the show is Friday and Saturday.  Thursday night we will get to visit with my brother, Mark, who lives in Gardner, KS which is south of Bonner Springs.  I had a phone call a bit ago from him, and apparently during a bout of mental insanity, he was out sledding (which I am sure involved 4 wheelers) and hit a tree and now has a spiral break in his leg.  He will have surgery on it tomorrow morning.  Fun times ahead for him! 

Any whoo, I am lucky enough to participate once again in the Bead Soup Blog Hop coming up at the end of March and into April.  I am partnered up with Tari Kahrs, her blog is Pearl and Pebble, and this is what we sent to her:

Chris made the gorgeous spring lampwork beads for her focals, and I put together the rest of the ingredients from my bead horde (yes it has been upgraded from a stash to a horde).  A cute porcelain owl, silver plate chain and flower toggle (my favorite style ever), Chinese and Swarovski crystals, fresh water and Swarovski pearls, Czech glass (beads, flowers, and leaves), a silver branch, plus a variety of other goodies.

This is what I received from Tari yesterday and I AM THRILLED!!!

Sari silk ribbon, a honey bee ceramic focal with matching spacers, lampwork irregular nuggets, ceramic rounds, bronze clay toggle, matte finish Czech glass beads, and gorgeous stamped tile beads.  I am a lucky beader!  Gotta love a bead swap partner who loves Art Beads!  Our reveal date is in the second round of the three reveals.  We are just two of the FIVE HUNDRED people signed up to participate!  I love the Bead Soup Blog Hop parties (invented and hosted by the fabulous Lori Anderson), they are a whole bunch of fun!  You meet other bloggers and beaders from all over the world and are often presented with beads you have never worked with before!  I can't wait to play with them!