Thank You....

I just wanted to thank everyone for helping support the auctions I held for Bead Soup Blog Party. Whether you bid on the auctions, helped by spreading the word, and just left me words of encouragement, I am truly grateful.

Thanks to the generosity of two very special people, I was able to donate $50 to Beads of Courage! Your jewelry is in the mail!




According to the Beads of Courage website, that is enough to provide two children with their amazing program. The Program is a resilience-based intervention designed to support and strengthen the protective resources in children coping with serious illness. Through the program children tell their story using colorful beads as meaningful symbols of courage that commemorate milestones they have achieved along their unique treatment path. To read more about this program visit this page. I have been so moved by the unique approach to supporting the psychosocial health of children battling serious illness and believe the work they are doing is so very vital to children's emotional and mental health during their unique critical fight.

I received several encouraging emails from the folks at Beads of Courage and I hope to continue to raise money for them in the future. Stay tuned for more info about that!

Bead Soup Update!

be-loved by pleasebestill on Etsy


I just wanted to say THANK YOU for all of the most wonderful comments on my bead soup. It really warms my heart to read all of the nice comments! I'm still hopping and leaving comments as I'm able but I'm far from being finished. I wanted to make sure to spend quality time reading everyone's posts and making an informed comment, so if I haven't visited you yet, I will be!

Lori was such a wonderful hostess and did such a great job and did you see she's already planning the fall hop? She's an amazing lady.


I also wanted to thank everyone who was able to bid on the eBay auctions for Beads of Courage. There is still time to bid and the prices are still pretty low!

Small Disclaimer: This is my personal eBay account and I also sell used stuff there, I didn't have any up over the weekend because I didn't want to give people the impression that I was driving traffic to my auctions. But now that the party is winding down, if you go there, you may see a few things that aren't related to the bead soup/BOC auctions. In no way do I remotely want to plug my auctions :)

Preface to BEAD SOUP! Beads of Courage

I wanted to spell this out in a bit of detail beforehand TO GET YOU ALL EXCITED....

Tomorrow is the Bead Soup Blog Party and I'm doing a giveaway...but not just any giveaway....it will be for a good cause.

You'll see my gluttony tomorrow.... but I got DOUBLE SOUP from my partner Diana of Suburban Girl Studios and I want to pass along the love and good karma....

So I will be giving away 2 or more pieces, but to win these pieces, there is a caveat...

I will be listing many more bead soup pieces that I've made on eBay. To win the pieces I'm giving away, you must bid on the Ebay auctions. The auctions will be uploaded on Saturday to coincide with Bead Soup Blog Party.

All proceed from the eBay auctions will benefit Beads of Courage. To read more about what Beads of Courage does, go here.

SO that is the footnote. You will get 2 (or more) for 1 and you will help out a good cause....

You don't have to be a follower.

But here is the fine print:

1)You must comment on TOMORROW'S post AND bid on at least ONE AUCTION. There should be a away to contact you via your comment i.e. I can contact you via blogger or leave your email.

2) You must state in your comment your eBay auction ID...so I know that you actually bid.

3)If you blog, tweet, FB this giveaway, you get an extra vote, but only if you bid on the eBay auction. PLEASE LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT AND A LINK IF YOU DO THIS to be considered.

All of the auctions will start at 99 cents! International bids are welcome!

Soup Ingredients!

Lawd have mercy, I've been neglectful in my Bead Soup Blog Party posts....


Sooooo, if your not my friend on facebook, then you don't know that my partner is Diana of Suburban Girl Studios! Diana makes gorgeous porcelain components and jewelry!

Being a woman of extreme means, I don't often get to buy art beads from other artists so participating in BSBP is really special for me because I get to trade beads with other awesome artists.

*side note: if/when I win the lottery, look out art bead makers everywheres cause i'll be on the loose with copious cash and suppressed ogling....

So Diana makes porcelain beads and we exchanged some brief emails discussing favorite colors etc. What I LOVE about BSBP is that you get to exchange a bit of discussion and then a little package arrives and it may or may not be what you expect! Sort of like Christmas....

So, Diana and I talked about colors, we were both into blues & greens etc. I told the "yeah, I like those colors but whatever, I'm completely flexible and I don't mind a challenge" (or at least that was what I was thinking)

SOOOO...I was completely tickled when I got this:




Because these are the colors that are way outside my comfort zone.

I got:

gorgeous lapis lazuli, AB czech glass, & to die for sari silk....



deep teal focal (and is it just my ignorance or is this so completely awesome that the back is glazed and the front is half-glazed, thereby making what is usually the ugly back of a ceramic into the totally awesome front?) because i know it is a complete pain to glaze both sides and the front is usually the one that gets glazed....





periwinkle toggle (super excited about this)....



periwinkle & teal beads and gorgeous green lampwork made by her husband (can we just uttter a collective jealous sigh that her husband makes lampwork beads?)



....and raku! gorgeous raku....Can I marry you raku? Oh wait, I swore off marriage after the first one went bad....okay, can we have a long, arduous, tempetuous affair? okay, good....



I'm so excited because this is a more cool blue/green palette than I normally visit. There are smatterings of purple (which I usually avoid) and deep royal blues and true teal/pthalo greens. I'm normally an aqua/robin egg blue girl so this is going to completely shatter my paradigm here people!

Diana's work is so lovely. I'm just bubbling with ideas! I think I change my mind daily when I gaze at the beads! That raku is just KILLING me literally. Those little raku charms (the ones that look like beads but are actually charms? Those knock my socks off...seriously.)

blog soup giveaway delay

Hi friends! I had it in my head that I was doing my giveaway this morning and I'm a little behind. When I checked the post I realized I was supposed to do it YESTERDAY morning so I'm even more behind than I thought. Don't worry though, I'll be back later on today to do the reveal of the winner! And I may even have a little something else to give away with it!

Stay Tuned!

Bead Soup Party Days 6

Morning Friends! Don't forget it's not too late to enter to win one of the necklaces I made for Bead Soup Party! And don't forget if youo FB'ed it, or Blogged it to let me know in a separate comment here so you can be entered twice! (If you mention it on Twitter, just @2ndsurf.)

Without further adieu, on to Day 6!
60. Carol, Carol Bradley Designs
61. Wanda, A Frayed of Fibers
62. Diana, Vintage Blue Studio
63. Marieke, Marieke's Blog
64. KJ, Silver Parrot
65. Maire, Maire Dodd
66. Shannon, Miss Fickle Media
67. Dana, Dana's Jewelry Designs
68. Charlene, The Bead Dreamer
69. Elisabeth, Beads for Busy Gals
70. Cathryn, Chile Cats
71. Missy,Melissa Rappaport

It's Finally MY Turn to serve SOUP!

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My day has finally arrived. MY turn FINALLY to unveil my blog soup! I hope you all aren't too full from all of the beautiful soup that's already been unveiled!!!

As a recap, My partner was Diane Hawkey, and we were quite suited to each other, I think. There is a similar vein to our work. We both make beads, and the beads, while different, share a similar vision, I feel.

Diane has already unveiled her piece. It's so amazing, because while we both chose different roads and the outcomes are different, there was a singular mindset taking place. Diane described her thought process as making a piece that wanted to be touched like a talisman. I also felt the same way about the pieces she sent me, but rather than make a long piece, which doesn't flatter my frame, I chose to make shorter pieces that can be held close to the heart.

Inspiration from the first piece:

Handmade ceramic beads, made by Diane, made up the majority of the beads she sent me. These pieces are so weighty, begging to be close to you. The aqua focal, Grow, just spoke to me. I wanted to make a substantial piece, that I could feel next to my skin, and reminded me of just that sentiment. I added the small tibetan chimes to the bottom, so I could actually HEAR it, reminding me that growth takes movement. Going confidently in the direction of your dreams, even when it is uncomfortable.

Inspiration from the second piece:

The second piece has a peachy pink sunrise, which also reminds me of a lotus. I added one of my small stamped charms, reading HOPE. It reminds me, just as the sun dawns, and the lotus in Buddhism, that although the world is sometimes rooted in ugliness, each day dawns anew and the lotus blooms, and the opportunity is there to make beauty everyday. The lotus flower both blooms and simultaneously sheds it old blossoms.


And, while I plan on being completely selfish and keeping these two amazing pieces for myself to wear, I took the remainder of Diane's faceted nuggets (which I totally wanted to keep ;) that she sent me, combined them with a bead of my own and made a wonderful piece to share for one lucky blog reader.

So, to enter to win the green branch piece, please do the following:

A) you must comment on this post.
B) you must answer in your comment, "What makes your world beautiful?"
C) You can enter more than once by tweeting, facebooking on a fan page (not on your personal page), or blogging about my giveaway, AND and telling me so here, in a separate comment. If you tweet it, there is no need to mention a specific URL, just make sure you @mention @2ndsurf in your tweet.

D) I will draw a winner on Sunday morning, June 27, after the finish of Bead Soup Party.

p.s. you don't have to be a blog soup party member to join, just enjoying the ride!

Here are the rest of day five soupers!

48. Nan,Spirit Rattles
49. Amy, Copper Diem
50. Malin, Beading by Malin de Koning
51. Anne, Gardanne Glass Lampwork
52. Alice, Alice's Beads and Baubles
53. Barbara, Second Surf
54. Amanda, Articulations
55. Heather, Humble Beads
56. Melissa, Melissa Meman, Art, Life, Love
57. Kate, Organic Odysseys
58. Patti, PJ Clark Designs
59. Stefanie, Stefanie's Sammelsurium




Thank you to Lori Anderson for organizing such a wonderful blog party! I'm so grateful for all the friends I've made and the amazing inspiration I've witnessed! ♥

Bead Soup Party Days 3 & 4!

Hello There! I wanted to stop in and share all of bead soupers for day three and four! TOMORROW IS MY BIG DAY! So pop on back here tomorrow and see what I've made and see what might belong to you, if you're a lucky ducky! That's a little sneak peak up there....if you squint real hard like.....

Day Three


27. Lisa, Alterity

28. Dale, Dales' Flights of Fancy

29. Melanie, Kookie Designs

30. Christine, A Hot Piece of Glass

31. Nancy, Beading From the Heart

32. Laurel, Rue's Daftique

33. Sandi, Do Be Do Bead Do

34. Nicki, Nicki's Reef

35. Virginie, ViviBijoux

36. Janeen, Wild Vanilla

Day Four


37. Filomena, Pink Velvet Bird

38. Lyn, Lyn Foley

39. Tari, Pearl and Pebble

40. Rebecca, Song Beads

41. Regina, Regina's Writings

42. Nancy, The Rabbit Muse

43. Whitney, Whitney Lassini

44. Maria, Garden Path Beads

45. Michelle, Life in the Bead Lane

46. Ann, My Critical Eye

47. Lisa, Lucid Moon Studio

Blog Soup Links and Preview

Okay, I'm a couple days behind on posting, especially about Bead Soup Party! Bead Soup Party started yesterday, so get on out there and see what everyone is making, dammit! My part in the party doesn't take place until Wednesday so you'll definitely have to check back then to see what I've created.

My partner is Diane Hawkey, and her post is up today!!! Woohoo! Wait until you see the big gorgeous piece she made with the beads I sent her!

Above is a little preview of what's been going on over here with the beads that Diane sent me. So make sure you come back on Wednesday! The big reveal will take place and there will also be a special giveaway. >> wink,wink; nudge,nudge <<

Until then, please visit these awesome blogs to see what everyone has made so far in the first two days of Bead Soup Party! And don't forget to leave a comment about their piece(s)!

1. Lori, Pretty Things

2. Lorelei, Lorelei1141

3. Norma, Moonlit Fantaseas

4. Beth, EB Bead and Metalworks

5. Katie, KatieBead

6. Kimberly, Bahama Dawn

7. Debbie, Prairie Emporium

8. Lisa, Joolz by Lisa

9. Kate, Tropical Blonde

10. Janet, Singing Woods

11. Julianna, Juls Beads

12. Erin, Treasures Found

14. Jen, Jen Judd Rocks

15. Kella, Me But a Little More In Depth

16. Emanda, Artemisia Studio

17. Marie, Skye Jewels

18. Loretta, Designs By Loretta

19. Stacy, Sissy and Jack's

20. Joanna, Filcowe

21. Diane, Diane Hawkey

22. Marianna, Pretty Shiny Things

23. Anna, The Laughing Raven

24. Marcie, La Bella Joya

25. Lois, Que Onda Q'town?

26. Jayne, Mama's Got To Doodle



The full list of participants can be found by clicking here.

Bead Soup Party is coming!

the array of awesome beads that Diane sent me
gorgeous focals. love them both. the pink one reminds me of both a sunrise and lotus, simultaneously
These faceted beads are my fave. These are one of the things I've salivated over for a long time. They are cotton candy colors!
I'm participating in the Bead Soup Party, which is a bead swap hosted by the amazing Lori Anderson whom I met after she purchased some of my beads. The Bead Soup Party is comprised of dozens of talented bead and jewelry designers and I couldn't help but joining in. If you look over <-----there to the left margin up at the top, you will find a link.

Lori, who coordinates the enormous task of hosting and pairing everyone up, assigned as my partner, Diane Hawkey, and I couldn't be more thrilled. If you want to see what I sent Diane, go here. THIS, is what Diane sent to me. Diane makes ALL KINDS OF STUFF, but is probably best well known for her lovely ceramic beads and pendants.

I can't wait to make something from all the amazing stuff she sent me. I'm relatively new to the beading and jewelry world, and I use mostly my own beads when I make jewelry, so it is a real treat to get to experience making jewelry with other artist's beads. I can tell already that I'm going to be buying more artist beads and designing more pieces that feature not only my own artisan beads, but also others.