Big Color!

I often get asked where I find all my beads and supplies...my answer, truthfully, is all over the place! I travel quite a bit, and I'm a sucker for a pretty, sparkly thing when I'm out shopping, but I have several on-line retailers that I rely on for various items. When I've found something I love, I want to find the place that has good quality, an easy to maneuver site, great customer support, and, of course, good prices!

This month I broadened my e-horizon over to Auntie's Beads to see what they had in store...I was drawn to the BIG COLORS!! They have a great selection of goodies, but I kept coming back to the big pink rocks! haaaaaaa I made a sweet little casual necklace with one of my simple silver swirlies and some pink leather. I love this bubble gum style!

And, speaking of leather, that's one of my favorite things to work with. I love that it is such a casual feel that can be combined with just about anything. I got this vibrant purple leather as well as some of my favorite findings--crimp ends--from Auntie's! The beads on these came from my stash (uh, my purple drawer is slightly stuffed) to work with this awesome leather tone. A couple of those crimp ends and it's a nice secure dangling pretty--perfect for a set of earrings!

So, Auntie's met my requirements...good site, good prices, and a nice quick shipment! One of the most important things is to get it quickly--I want that instant gratification!! haaaaaaa For your on-line shopping adventures...check them out! You can clink on the link above to go to the site!

Cover Girls!!

800 miles doesn't seem all that far, but I'm moving 800 miles away and that means that I have to sort out everything in this house that I've lived in for almost four whole years! Yes, I know, that seems like it's not really all that long for a girl who spent her whole childhood in one house, but this is the longest I've lived in one house since I joined the Air Force 17 years ago!

So, I've been feeling a little anxious and spending hours in my workshop sorting out my bead kingdom. In the midst of all this plastic-containering and label-making, I had a seriously joyful moment...

I picked up my Stringing magazine from the mailbox and one of my designs IS ON THE COVER!!! haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa (If you don't know me, that's a super loud laugh that you can hear down the halls of the Pentagon even through several closed doors!!! haaaaaaaaaaaaa)

See those big red tomato looking beads? Those are some trade beads that I just loved (probably because they look like food) that I combined with the amazing glass beads from my two favorite lampwork artists: Lisa New & Heather Boardman. So, many thanks to those two ladies for their amazing talent!!!

And, thanks to my friends at Interweave Press for giving me all this great motivation to keep designing awesome goods!!

If you want to see some more work by Lisa, her shop on Etsy has a TON of cool beads and a few finished pieces. I feel like I discovered some sort of magic bead girl when I saw her beads on Ebay years ago..so I just have to share the love!!!

Heather started out as my favorite glass disc girl and now I'm a follower in all her glass bead adventures--including some very cool recycled glass!! Check out her work at HMB Studios. So, share some love with her, too!!!

Oh, and let me shout out to my friends at the Art Bead Scene who keep the new ideas flowing!!! Thanks!!