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!!

Dreaming in Green...

I'm finally back in the creative saddle!! Well, it's actually just my crummy old cat-hair-covered office chair down in the basement, but still...

I spent the weekend up in Philly at WireFest a few days back and in addition to learning some wonderful wire ring basics from Michael David Sturlin (which I'll post more about later), I got in some good shopping at the bead market. I kept myself relatively controlled this time and only came home with about a TON of quartz! haaaaaaaaaa I picked up these mosaic-looking round beads that feature reconstituted turquoise. I just love them! Plus, these "petals" of lemony-limey quartz are just wonderfully smooth and just cried out for me to touch and use them.

And I had to use them more than once...you can see these pieces for sale on my Etsy site. Look at the right side of this post on my blog site and you'll see the Etsy gallery!

All Work and No Play!

I promised myself I'd focus on business, so no creating for the last two weeks. It's terrible!! I feel like I'm going through withdrawal! But, another great show in Ballston this weekend, lots of new display ideas, and finally some progress with the accountant. I guess that's part of the deal when you accidentally turn a hobby into a business. haaaaaaaaSpeaking of business, Here's my partner in big, fun jewels, Susi D., and I looking all fresh at the start of the day on Saturday at Ballston. Many thanks to my sweet Ma who was here for Mother's Day weekend and her help with the tent. It's like a giant puzzle that two people cannot do themselves--especially two people who have had too much coffee and are more excited about pretty beads than boring white tents!!

See those cool display cards? There was some serious delivery deadline drama last week! Between Vistaprint, UPS, and whatever neighbor thought they might be interesting to look at before bringing them back to my house, I was running around (with much help from my Ma) on Friday night frantically punching holes and setting up pendants. All that craziness was worth it because when the wind blew the table over and everything still looked good laying on the ground! haaaaaaaaaaaaa

And, I can't post without thanking all my super friends who came out to support us on Saturday!! I can't tell you how much your support means to me!!!! When I have shows in Alabama, are you going to come visit??? haaaaaaaaaaaa

Viva Fiesta!

I'm posting today from deep in the heart of Texas! Saturday's show at the King William Fair was wonderfully fun! Just the energy and color was amazing!! I ended the day with sore feet and my face hurt from laughing so much. It was such a great day! Oh...and one of the highlights was when I got to meet Heather of Humblebeads! She came up to my table where I was shaking my best bellsy bracelets (because they make great fiesta noise that way) and we shared a big bead-loving hug! I pulled out those great cherry blossom necklaces to show off her great beads.
How cool is that?!

But now, with the weekend in the past, and after my tenth meal featuring chips and salsa, it's almost time to head north and get ready for a few more shows. It's odd to realize that I have to focus on business instead of beading...how depressing! haaaaaaaa But, Susi and I had a blast and we're ready to move on to the show in Ballston in just two short weeks. If you're in the Northern Virginia area, come on out to the Ballston Metro stop on May 9th and say hi!!

I'm going to have that Etsy shop stocked up, too, so be on the lookout for just the pieces you need!!!

"You're really funny!"

I had my first teaching gig a couple of Saturdays ago and it was so fun! Many thanks to Denise over at Off the Beading Path in Occoquan for being such a great supporter and setting up the Wild Wire Weekend.

The morning started off with a big cup of coffee and lots of headpins. I taught four lovely women how to make a clustered necklace. That means a nice group of beads, each strung on a headpin, gathered into a fun, textured, chunky cluster. I loved seeing how each of the ladies worked with their color choices and tried a little bit new with their bead selections. Each of them left with something wonderful to wear--a couple casual with leather and a couple fancier with great ceramic and glass beads.

My designer friend, Kelly, led the lunchtime class on some gorgeous wrapped rings. I was jealous, but took some time to go wander around Occoquan, which is such a cute little waterfront town.

My second class of the day was on the Squiggle. That's, of course, my favorite thing because just about any way you curl, twirl, or bend the wire, you end up with something interesting. And, to make it even better, you get to hammer it! My two students enjoyed the hammering the most--no surprise--and came up with some really great, unique pieces for themselves! You can see below that we worked with some silver and some copper. Then, they both fell in love with the great colors of the Kazuri beads--these are ceramic beads handmade by women in Kenya. (If you click the link you can read the story at a Kazuri supplier's website.)

If you're interested in learning something like this, let me know! I'll be teaching again at Off the Beading Path in May plus, I'm always willing to open up my bead workshop slash dining room table to help you create something wonderful. :)

When I asked the gals if they learned anything in the two plus hours we were together they both responded with, "You're really funny!" So, my teaching technique may be left wanting, but they still want to come back so there must be some entertainment value! haaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Two-Stepping!!

I'm not much of a dancer, but I'm soooo excited to head to San Antonio I think I could actually two-step! I'll be dancing my way through the airport deep into the heart of Texas!!

It has been years since I've been there, so I'm thrilled to report that I'll be pairing up with my friend, Susi, in a booth at The King William Fair on April 25th. This lovely historic district will be hosting a one-day fair complete with yummy festival food and awesome hand-crafted jewelry! It's an official Fiesta San Antonio event, so if you're in the area, I hope you'll come out to visit and shop!

I'm going to have a big selection of goodies from the variety of techniques I've been trying. Here are a couple of the sets that I came up with featuring great mixes of stones and featuring more wonderful discs from Heather Boardman.

So, I'm going to keep the creative juices flowing...and might even include some margaritas!! Hope to see you!