My Bead Soup !!

My Bead Soup Blog Party partner, Christine Hansen, sent me the most wonderful soup! Chris is a lampwork glass artist who creates beautiful pendants and beads!

                                                 The pendant and spacer beads she created are awe-inspiring!!

                                          I love both sides of the pendant! You can find more of her lovely work here.

To go along with her lovely lampwork pendant and spacer beads, Chris also sent me an amazing collection of beads! They include beautiful green and blue sari silk ribbons, a thrifted base metal chain (love that she's a thrifty gal, too!), pewter spacers that fit over the chain, base metal spacers, Hematite rondelles, grey with blue Chinese crystal rondelles, deep plum Czech faceted beads, a Tierra Cast toggle clasp and blue Czeh faceted beads.

                     I love my soup and am so grateful that I was able to meet Chris and get to know her through this party!

                               Please check back on Saturday, April 27th for the 3rd Reveal of the Bead Soup Blog Party!

Let Me Introduce You to Christine Hansen

My Bead Soup Blog Party #7 partner is the amazing, talented and funny, Christine Hansen!! Chris is a lampwork glass artist, maker of mixed-media art charms and author.

She makes the most incredible calla lily and glass focal beads - you should really check out her etsy shop, ChristineHansenGlass, and see all of the loveliness that she's creating now!

Chris has a wonderful blog, Intuitive Sparks, where she's been sharing her lampwork beads, jewelry and life since 2006.

I've learned a lot about Chris since meeting her through this hop and I'm happy to call her a friend!
Here's what she told me:

I've had a lifelong fascination with glass, especially molten glass. I love the concept of making a tiny piece of art that one can carry, or wear, and that can (with a little luck) last for thousands of years. As a child, I drew, colored, painted, and made books. When I got older, I took every art class offered by my high school, as well as metal shop and wood shop. I've continued my learning adventure by taking many classes including photography, chain maille, precious metal clay (PMC), metal-smithing for jewelers, beaded embroidery, and lampwork bead-making. I've also taken advantage of the many wonderful books and videos available to further my education. Jewelry-making has been just one part on my life-long artistic journey. About 20 years ago, I made earrings and sold them to friends at work. A few years later, when I had my two children, I found myself making more mixed-media art and less jewelry. About 8 years ago, the mixed media art jewelry came together, and I began making jewelry again.

Besides writing Making Mixed-Media Art Charms & Jewelry with her good friend, Peggy Krzyzewski, Chris has also written close to 400 non-fiction articles for a wide variety of print and online publications, including the Flow and Glassline magazines. Her Field of Tulips beads were featured in the April 2012 issue of Stringing magazine.

Bead Soup Blog Party ......

Hello wonderful Bead Soup Blog Party Blog hoppers!!!

My lovely bead soup partner, Christine Hansen, and I have decided to move our reveal date to the 3rd Reveal, April 20.

Please continue to check out all of the fabulous jewelry designs and designers!!

Bead Soup Blog Party 2nd Reveal

Helen Keller

Fusion Bead 30 Day Challenge Wrap-Up

Last month was National Craft month and Fusion Beads hosted a 30 day challenge to "give your beading skills a workout by challenging yourself to as many of our daily beading activities as you can!"

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all of the lovely pieces of jewelry posted daily on their Facebook page from so many incredible jewelry designers!!

I kept up, for the most part, (I left seed beading to the experts!) and made 21 pieces throughout the month. Here is a sample of what I made .....

Fusion Beads will continue its Weekly Bead Challenge - why don't you join in???  :)

'Harold and Maude' quote

"A lot of people enjoy being dead. But they are not dead, really. They're just backing away from life. Reach out. Take a chance. Get hurt even. But play as well as you can. Go team, go! Give me an L. Give me an I. Give me a V. Give me an E. L-I-V-E. LIVE! Otherwise, you got nothing to talk about in the locker room."
--Ruth Gordon as Maude 

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This recipe is one of our favorites!! I have adapted it a little for our family and for ease of use. This is a little spicy, but oh so delicious!

2  boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 small red onion, chopped
1 4 oz.can green chilis
1 14.5 oz. can sliced stewed tomatoes
2 Tbsp minced garlic
pepper, to taste
1/2 medium bunch cilantro


Toppings:
Monterrey Jack cheese
tortilla chips
lime
cilantro

 
Saute chicken breasts in 1 Tbsp butter or olive oil and 1 Tbsp garlic - remove chicken and saute onions for five minutes.  First, add the sliced stewed tomatoes to your pan, use a potato masher to squeeze out the juice - it almost doubles the liquid. Add chicken, onion,green chilis, garlic and pepper. Cook over medium heat - stirring frequently for about 30 minutes. Add cilantro and simmer another 30 minutes. Serve, using your favorite toppings.

* I recently bought the Perfect Tortilla Pan Set at Bed Bath and Beyond (under $10 with coupon) and served this soup in crispy tortilla bowls - delicious!! I cooked the bowls a little longer than suggested, so it wouldn't fall apart with the soup in it. This is an inexpensive alternative to buying the tortilla bowls already made at the grocery store (about $6 for a 4 pack, here in OH!) and so easy!