Creative Flavor Combination in a Chocolate Bar

Anyone else looking for a unique way to usher in the New Year? I know most think of champagne, but what about the age old chocolate bar? Except, this one isn't too old in its ingredients.

This Christopher Michael chocolate bar contains 41% Venezuelan milk chocolate, bacon, sea salt and popping candy (pop rocks), so it's bound to contain unique flavors.

I just think it sounds like it has potential in an off kilter type of way. Bacon, sea salt and chocolate sound great. I'm wondering what the pop rocks add to it?

And I know it has won awards at the San Francisco Chocolate Salon.

What I like about this combination is that is creative and has flavors I really enjoy. My hat is always off to folks who seek new twists to a traditional subject. I'd say this exemplifies it.

Anyone brave enough to try it? Here is where you can find it. It retails for $7.

See you tomorrow...http://www.studiomarcy.blogspot.com

I'm Being Featured on "Bacon Today"

I was tickled to receive an email from Corey James, Chief Baconographer of www.BaconToday.com. He told me that he has written an article about my bacon beads that is being featured today.

I first found his website, when I happened across a recipe for "bacon cookies". Being a lover of both bacon and cookies I wanted to explore this novel concept more.

I found a totally delightful and amusing website. I particularly like some of the products offered on it. Last year, my daughter had requested "bacon band-aids", and seeing some of their items, I might need to do a little more shopping. There's a T-shirt with a picture of a piece of bacon that says, "Strip". I think that's funny for one of my adult kids.

But you can also find recipes and other important bacon information and products. So check out their website. It's an honor that not many other beadmakers can say has been bestowed on them.

Lost In Translation? Alien Drinking Coffee

You might have read that I'm in an online glass creativity workshop that I love by Sylvie Lansdowne. This past week's assignment was to choose a picture from those offered and translate it into a bead.

I chose the one on the left, which is angular and complex. It was a very tough choice. I was amused by her coffee with the swirling steam, the bacon and eggs on her left, the clouds in her coffee, (think of the song, "You're So Vain"), the Starbucks logo and most of all, the angular lines and the off kilter shape and size of the face.

You can see two of my beady attempts of the art.
The top one was my first and the bottom two are the front and back side of my second bead.

As I want to teach you what NOT to do, as well as what TO do, here are some of my findings.

1. Don't worry if it doesn't turn out beautifully. If you don't stretch yourself and try, you'll never know. I think these are two of the funkiest looking beads I've made, but I'm so happy to have tried them.

2. Simplify as much as possible- patterns, designs and colors. If you have something that needs to be the focal of your focal bead, you need to give it a background so it shows up well. See my second bead to exemplify that.

3. What are the medium's traits?- glass likes to be round, so it's a great exercise in patience and heat control to get the angular lines.

4 .On my second attempt at the bead, I took some of the details and placed them on the backside of the bead to make it interesting and to carry out the interpretation of the original artwork .

5. Don't give up. Try it again to see whether your analysis improves your interpretation a second time around. I much prefer my second bead which is pictured in the bottom two photos.

6. Most importantly, learn from what you did. I know now what I would do differently in that kind of interpretive situation. But these concepts work more than on just Modern Art. If you are making a bead that will remind you of a favorite family photo, or a landscape or whatever you choose. Distill the important parts out and focus on them. Choose your colors wisely and because of size and glass characteristics simplify all of it.

Now I'm going to put both beads up in my Etsy shop. Because one other thing that I've learned over the years is that a bead might not be my favorite, but often times, it appeals to someone else. This will be one more experiment that I'm trying.
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A Bead Lover's Breakfast

I am honored to announce that some of my bacon lampwork beads have been featured on "The Royal Bacon Society's" blog.

This blog, which totally cracks me up, includes bacon Halloween costumes, bacon recipes, quotes about bacon and even bacon porn.

I am a bacon fan too, and so is my family. One year, my daughter requested bacon band aids for Christmas. If you have similar tastes, you can find them here.

When my son was home on vacation from college, and sleeping really late, I knew that the odor of cooking bacon would wake him up. I admit to frying a little up on more than one occasion.

And here's one of his cooking tips... for pepper bacon, just grind some pepper onto regular bacon before or during cooking. It tastes great!

If you like this bead, check out my Etsy shop for additional delicious breakfast items to go with it. I currently have a fried egg and a little later this morning, will be adding a short stack of pancakes with maple syrup.

Now if they would just come up with a realistic room scent of bacon. I'm sure sales would be huge.
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Bringing Home the Bacon

What are some of your favorite foods?

I've been translating food into glass beads for awhile now and in a very unscientific survey, I've noticed that bacon, well... brings home the bacon.

It's one of my best sellers in that category. I know that pies and cupcakes and even fried eggs do well too. Some veggies seem to be popular as well as snack foods. And just for the record, no one has requested a custom order for stew. Go figure.

What are your favorite foods that you feel should be interpreted in glass and why? Do you have childhood memories of it, or perhaps it's something that reminds you of one of your kids?
Maybe it's just a food that you think would look cute on a necklace. Let me know.