Ingredients for Soup

Yesterday, I received the ingredients for the Lori Anderson Bead Soup Blog Hop Party!  
Agnes Shapiro, my Bead Soup partner, sent me an eclectic mix of beads that did not gently nudge me out of my comfort zone. Not at all. Not even nudge me. Instead, Agnes did a really good thing and SHOVED me out of my comfort zone! 

Yes, she did shove me. And yes, that is a good thing! Seriously! I was getting rather complacent and some may even call me jade or cynical--well may be not cynical but definitely jaded--in my beading. In fact, I was starting to feel downright bead-cocky. You know what I mean. When the Bead Addict starts thinking "There's nothing I can't work with because I'm *pauses to breathe on curled fingers before polishing them on the lapel* THAT good!" I needed someone to knock back down to reality. Because in reality, I may be THAT good, but that's only because I'm THAT comfortable with my materials. And it's possible that I'm THAT comfortable because I'm in a zone, a groove, a habit, a...A Rut!  
Yep! That's what it's all about--being stuck in a rut!

 Hello. My name is Cathryn and I'm a stuck-in-a-humdrum-rut bead addict. 

The group says, "Hello Cathryn. Welcome to Beaders Ruts Anonymous." 

Because there's no cure for bead addiction...I know because I've been researching for one on the Internet. And I'm digressing and it's only Tuesday. Digression is reserved for Thursdays. 

Thank you Agnes!  Thank you for sending me materials that have KICKED my out of my self-imposed rut! 
  
So you wanna see what she sent me? I'm warning you now I'm not sure my photography skills are up to the task of capturing the colors, the textures, the vividness of these lovely beads....

Told you, didn't I??? Can you see them well? 

May be this will help you out a bit...

Third time's a charm!  

Can you see all those lovely colors ranging from peachy gold to slatey blues and flecks of sage?

I'm not sure what those stones are...I'm thinking feldspar but I'm not exactly sure. However, they rich in color--Taupe is the background but there's streaks, striations, tiny blotches of colors interspersed! This IS exciting! I recognize the shell and the mosaic turquoise and the porcelain beads...But those stones...they are alive and vibrant in a subtle way. If that makes any sense.

So now that I have the bead soup--I need to get back into the kitchen and begin making my soup. Thank you again Agnes for kicking me right out of my comfort zone and giving me a unique beading challenge!  

As for the soup tasting, stop by starting on February 26th for the biggest Bead Soup Party! 
  

  

 

A Friendly Visitor

The other day, I looked out my window while I was on the phone with a student and saw a wonderful sight. As soon as I could, I rushed outside with my camera. We had a visitor and I wanted pictures!

 That's my Fire Witch that I planted earlier. The butterfly couldn't leave it alone.  

           
 This little one intrigued me since I haven't seen that many butterflies in a long time. Beauty on the wing...

  Apparently, it really liked the Fire Witch--which smells spicy sweet. No pun intended.

The first day of the Bead Soup Party was yesterday. Lori Anderson, our coordinator has broken the party up into easy sections so this party is going to last all week long! How exciting is that?!?!? My partner, Dana and I don't get to do our unveiling until Thursday and I can hardly wait! So if you have nothing to do for the moment, head over to Lori's place and check out some amazing talent in today's world of beaders, jewelry designers, and artistic craftswomen!

Finally, Natalie of Tins and Treasures is having a stupendous giveaway to celebrate her blog's upcoming two year anniversary! And no--it's not beads so those of you who don't follow the craft can take a peek at her blog and see some of the wonderful items that are up for grabs on this giveaway! Just leave a comment on her blog by Tuesday, June 22nd and you're entered in the drawing! It's as simple as that! 

Hope your Sunday is easy and peaceful!