Hey Americans, or other swapers!

Just letting you guys know that Heather at humblebeads is hosting a bead swap that looks really cool. Sorry fellow canadians, or even fellow people here in south korea, this swap is for people in the states for shipping reasons. Still.... there is an international giveaway.

You only have till march 26th! Hurry and check it out!

http://humblebeads.blogspot.com/2010/03/sisterhood-of-traveling-beads-giveaway_15.html

I myself just love swapping and trading things internationally for one on one trades. I live in Seoul, and so have access to many asian things (JADE), and other interesting things you can only find here in Korea. Anyone want to do a one on one swap instead, let me know :).

Bead Soup

After simmering for almost a month, the Bead Soup Party has begun! As I was a bit of a late signer-upper, I was partnered with the lovely Lori Anderson, the host of the swap. I mailed off a lovely package of mixed beads that worked together well, with a hand-forged metal pendant and clasp. In return, i received such a lovely box of beauties! This is what arrived at my doorstep a couple weeks ago.

In this box were so many little lovelies! I received lovely two tone 'artistic stone', a pendant and lovely beads of adventurine, a sterling silver clasp, and some great silver beads from Bali. I was so overwhelmed with all the pretty little rocks here! I have to admit, when buying beads for myself I am usually buying fairly cheap ones, so I was awed at the chance to work with so many special beauties!

After much deliberation and hard work, here's the final product! I had not too long ago visited a history museum with an impressively inspiring collection of ancient Peruvian relics, including a lot of gold jewelry. I picked up the middle gold piece there, knowing I'd find a use for it and it's many, many holes. I used all the different varieties of lovely beads Lori sent me and am so excited to still have leftovers of some for later use!!!

Here's some more detailed shots to finish the post off. I would highly recommend joining in on our blog party day today, and checking out what all the other bloggers have to offer! Just check out Lori's post here to see all of our many, many participants in this great swap, and what they created.