My friend, Christine...

Makes the most amazing beads!  I love beads...  I love lampwork beads... I especially love Christine's little treasures.  They are incredible!  Each bead is a work of art, so when she asked me if I would like to play with some of her beads... well, what could I say but YES!!!  (with many exclamation points, of course, because I am that kind of girl ;) )  She sent me three absolutely beautiful beads, seriously, beautiful.

How pretty is the ribbon on the box?  I love pretty packaging :D.  And those beads!  Oh my goodness, if I tried a million years I would never quite capture how stunning they are in person.  Seriously.  Amazing.  I sort of sat there and stared at these beauties for a few minutes, then started pulling out my favorite findings to play... (Fallen Angel Brass Co. brass, of course... I am a addict, I admit it freely).  Sometimes things leap into my mind fully formed, but most often I like to sift through my stash and lay out many different possibilities and... play :).  The first piece that came together was one with the amazing center bead above, it has shades of blue, a hint of green, and then the gorgeous white calla lilies on top, here it is:

I chose two lovely leaf connectors, some chain, lapis rounds (I love lapis!), some lovely sari silk, and created a handmade hook clasp to finish it off.  I am calling it "Lilies of the Night" (I have a bit of a night obsession, it's the deep blues though... I love the sky at night).

The next piece I created was with the pretty pink tulips on the gorgeous green, seriously, these beads make me swoon-y.

I wanted to do something different, so I took this awesome FAB chandelier floral finding and clipped off two of the rings, filed them, and used it to make a lariat.  I cannot decide which necklace I like better... both make me very happy.  Christine's beads are covetable... ;)  So, you ask, where is the adorable heart bead?  I couldn't give you everything at once, now could I?  I have a plan for that one, I just haven't been able to sit and create it yet lol.  Soon though, hopefully this weekend :D  I promise to post the pics as soon as I finish it (and the weather gives me light enough to take pictures lol).

Now... I know you must be asking, where can I get some amazing beads like this for myself??  Lucky for you Christine sells her gorgeous beads on Etsy, so you can pop right on over and get yourself some of your own!!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChristineHansenGlass

And her totally wicked blog, which you really want to check out, because we are cross posting :)

http://www.intuitivesparks.blogspot.com/

Christine is funny, clever, and just flat out awesome.  Her blog is always full of interesting insights, pretty beads (of course...), and even recipes!  I am so glad Christine and I have become friends, we have a lot in common (including our favorite colors, eclectic tastes in music, and overuse of exclamation points!!).  Love you, Chris, you rock!

Hope you are having a fantastic week, sweet friends!

~Jenn