The Ingredients for Bead Soup

Have ingredients, time to start working on the recipe

I absolutely adore receiving packages in the mail!  And yesterday's package from my Bead Soup partner Judy Riley was one of the best! 

I loved the way she packaged it - all done up in a bright summery party bag.  It even matched my summer table cloth!  And inside what did I find but over a half dozen individually wrapped packages.  The little kid in my scrambled forward and began tearing into the little guys.  It was a feeding frenzy at my house.  Luckily no one was there to see me as paper went flying and I chortled and crowed with each package I unwrapped.

So pretty!  You absolutely rock Judy!  Thank you!  Isn't that stone focal gorgeous?  I love the deep blues, and how they're offset by the cream and red/browns.

This is going to be so much fun!  Now I have a little over a month to come up with something (and to finish out several extant projects as well).

Lori Anderson is giving this Bead Soup mix away to one lucky person

In the meantime, Lori Anderson, our amazing Bead Soup hostess, has posted a giveaway to her blog.  The thing is, the giveaway is actually FIVE separate give-aways rolled into one.  First there's this lovely Bead Soup mix, with items from her stash and donated by several other amazing artists.

Four more give-aways from Lori Anderson

Then she's giving away copies of her two books - her upcoming book on Bead Soup published by Kalmbach Books, and her ebook on the art and craft of blogging, Follow the Path.  Lori's is one of my favorite blogs, with it's mix of humor, beads, and peaks into her life, mind and heart.  I know that there's a lot I could learn from her to improve my own blog and will definitely be picking up a copy of her ebook if I don't happen to win it on Friday. She's also giving away a Bead Soup tote bag and a Mystery Soup of her own creation. 

The drawing's this Friday, July 13th.  Hop on over to her blog if you'd like a chance to win.