It wasn’t that long ago that I didn’t know what a blog hop was. Do you know what one is?  Good, I feel better.

It also wasn’t that long ago, that I was reunited with seed beads — making flute wraps for my Native American style flutes led me to remember that I loved these tiny little beads as a kid.  I built some seed bead looms and started making flute wraps, and a few other things with seed beads.  And that interest in seed beads led me to stumble on Lori Anderson’s Bead Soup blog hop.  There was even a category for seed beaders.

Here’s how it works:

1. You sign up on Lori’s blog on a specific date (now passed).
2. You’re matched up with another person.
3. You send the other person beads (there are a few specific requirements).
4. He/she takes pictures and posts them on their blog.
5. The other person sends you beads.
6. You take pictures and post them on your blog.
7. You each make something with the beads.
8. You post on your blog what you made.
9. By a specific date — May 3 for this current blog hop —  everyone has posted her/his handiwork, and everyone then hops from blog to blog to admire and be inspired.

It’s a wonderful way to meet new people who are interested in a similar craft or art form. You also can see what creative minds do that is so different than what you would do with the same materials.  Ultimately, it is a very interesting creative exercise.  It also gets people who are doing art and craft to realize that blogging can be a very powerful platform.

I’ve only ever participated in the 7th Bead Soup Blog Hop, and my partner, Andra, taught me much for a first time  in this kind of event.  Andra also made an incredible necklace with wood cabochons I’d turned for her.  You can read more of the blog hops Andra’s been in on her blog.

Mandi is my partner this time.  I sent Mandi a woodturned bowl — what’s more appropriate for bead soup?  For beads: a  dichroic cabochon, gold stone rondelles, copper, blue SL and pink seed beads plus required clasps etc.

My bead soup will be photographed when it arrives; unfortunately, it got caught in the mail system.

Now imagine — what would happen if there were a pyrography blog hop, a weaving blog hop, a flute song blog hop or a woodturning blog hop?   Think of the creativity born …