Bead Soup Blog Hop 2014 ~"What I Received"

Hello Friends~

Yesterday was one of those special days where you think to yourself 

"My luck is so good today~ I need to go buy a lottery ticket" Haha  

1. I had my pieces published in the Znetshows Creative Spark magazine [see yesterday's blog post]

2. My Bead Soup Arrived

3. A 'mystery box' arrived from my BSBH partner

I Received my "8th Bead Soup Blog Hop" goodies from Susan Robson Tobin and what a beautiful box of possibilities it is:

Focal- handmade lamp work focal bead clear with earthy colors and gold stone

Clasp- Bali vermeil with black onyx

Beads- Pyrite [gold] onion briolettes

Flashy gray tourmilated quartz

Gold Rutilated quartz

Black and clear rutilated quartz

Black spinel spacers

Labrodorite briolettes

Black labrodorite connector in vermeil

Black and gold faceted glass 

AB clear quartz faceted

Vermeil 'button' spacer

These items are exquisite, I'm sorry my pictures don't do it justice. 

It's a cold ugly gray day here and I had a tough time getting a good shot.   

I just ordered some nice gold filled wire to coordinate and I already have a few ideas swirling about.... Other than working in such nice materials [remember I am the thrift store/Thrifting Thursday/flea market shopper]  I will have the challenge of working up some more dainty designs.  I tend to be big, bold and 'out-there', these materials are delicate and refined and need to be coaxed into a lovely finished masterpiece. 

After all that's what Bead Soup is all about, introducing you to a new friend and helping you to expand your skill set.

So... not only was it  Creative Spark day and BSBH 8 day~ the mystery box was amazing all by it's self!

Susan had done some homework on me, reading on my TTE Designs FaceBook page and TTE blog where she saw that I support a charity called 'Food for the Poor'.  So she went through her stash and sent me a HUGE cache of beads, bangles, sari silk, chain and so many fantastic metal stampings for my assemblage work.  She wanted to contribute to my cause and although I generally make rosaries and polymer crosses, I donate my own beads, $ and time, so indirectly me selling something made with these gives me the liquidity to buy more beads for rosaries and PC for crosses.  

It was extremely generous and truly brought me to tears.  

I spent the better part of the afternoon, opening, ogling, drooling and fantasizing what I could do with all these. It covers almost 1/2 of my big dining room table [the box weighed almost 6#].  

So in the flurry of blog postings, emails, FB looks, etc. I saw that Susan had commented on my Creative Spark cover piece "Blue Skies and Daffodils".  Now I know from talking with her, that she generally sticks to black and neutrals in her wardrobe, so when she  made many glowing compliments on that piece I knew it was the perfect springtime thank you gift.  This will be jetting off to DC today, where they are still digging out from yet another foot of snow, bringing along many thanks & best wishes for beautiful spring to arrive soon.

Thanks for sifting through this  rather long post today.

The Bead Soup Blog Hop will take place May 3, 2014

Warm Regards,

Tammie