Bead Soup is Here! Bead Soup is Here!

I am so excited!  My Bead Soup from my partner, Marian Hertzog is here!

She sent me TONS of goodies.  Look at this cute little airplane.

Her beautiful handmade polymer beads are in soothing blues,with hints of gold leaf.  So comforting, and one of my favorite palettes. There are beads in black, purple, stones of blue, and hearts in brass, copper and silver.  I can't stop smiling and running my fingers through all of them.

I love this leaf clasp.It just adds to the whimsy of the collection.

More beads.  Many, many more beads.  I am just beside myself.  I love all of them, and I am sure I am going to drive myself nuts (ok, nuttier) designing and redesigning.  SO many ideas.

Zzzzzzzzzz

No inspiration today, just an intense desire to sleep. Out late at the Volbeat concert last night. So here's some cuteness - Kaylee upside down and folded in half, completely zonked out.

Today's Inspiration

Books.  Since I was little, it has always amazed me how people can express so many things so wonderfully in words.  While I love to talk (Seriously, just try and get me to shut up about the magic of glass, or how stinking cute my dogs are, or...), I am not usually very eloquent.  I can get my point across.  I can certainly hold my own in an argument.  But stories?  I have grand stories in my head, but have never been able to put them into words.

I love fiction, but not fiction that involves real situations with made up characters.  I read to escape, so I want to escape all the way.  Nearly everything I read involves vampires, werewolves, faeries, zombies, demons, and alternate worlds.

There certainly isn't enough time to bore you to share all my favorite authors/books, but I just have to plug one author who makes me twitchy just waiting for her next book to arrive.  I am in love with Mira Grant/Seanan McGuire.  Under Mira Grant, she writes the Newsfeed series.  It is basically about the zombie apocalypse, but so, so much more. I first found her October Daye books about a faery halfling. She writes beautifully and I can instantly connect and care about the characters. Her endings make me shout out loud and leave me wanting more (in a totally addicted way).

"I guess in the end, it doesn't matter what we wanted.  What matters is what we chose to do with the things we had."  - Georgia Mason, Deadline (Mira Grant)

PSA: My dad was a voracious reader, and when I cleaned out his bookshelves after he died, he had over 3,000 of them.  I kept a select few (I have my own hoard collection to maintain) and I took the rest to the local VA hospital.  By the time I wheeled in the third dolly-load, I'm pretty sure half the residents were there.  They were ecstatic to see all the new books coming in.  My dad was a Viet Nam vet, and I know he would be very happy to see his books go for such a good cause. If you are ever looking to get rid of books, magazines, VHS tapes, or CDs, please consider your local VA.  Give a little back to those who have served.

5 days of Finding Inspiration

Apparently I am having some difficulty keeping up with my blog. I decided to post things that inspire me for 5 days in a row. Today I am posting some of my favorite artists, of the painter variety.

Silvia Ji

John William Waterhouse

Goya

Woohoo! It's the Next Bead Soup Blog Party!

The awesome Lori Anderson is taking her next trip on the Crazy Train.

My partner this time is Marian Hertzog of M's Place. She creates beautiful polymer clay in nice, juicy colors. I can't wait to play!

Goodbye, IE9. Hello, Google Chrome!

It's been a while, bloggerverse. Between growing increasingly frustrated with Blogger vs IE9 issues and just being very busy trying to have a life in the summer, I took a break from blogging. I've been making beads, creating jewelry, reading a LOT, and hanging out with my husband and dogs.

I finally downloaded Google Chrome as an alternate search engine. So far, it is working out well. To be blunt, Internet Explorer 9 sucks. We are on DSL, and with IE9, everything moved even slower. Plus, IE9 doesn't play well with java scripts, so I couldn't print coupons from most websites. And Blogger hates IE9. I would have to create a post and save it, but in order to actually post it, I would have to use my smartphone to post it live.

I've listed a few new items in my Etsy store. With all of my lucky bits crossed, here is a new blog post. :)

A new necklace, created with my friend Sandra's focal bead. I love the deep burgundy and shiny silver of this piece.
This cute little necklace was created with an owl from my first Bead Soup partner, Spirited Earth.

This bead was another steeping stone in my love/hate relationship with Raku/Chalcedony. This one falls in the 'love' category. Just look at the blues, pinks, fuschias, and warm beige colors, all from one glass. YUM!