We're still here!

Kimmie here:

Joan and I have both had a lot going on the past month; I am moving in a couple of weeks to Mammoth Lakes, California to work on the slopes for ski season! I won't be able to bring my torch to make beads, but I will be updating my website with beads and jewelry from my stash, and I hope to be felting up a storm :-). A snowstorm, that is!

Our friend Andrew Thornton, a wonderful artist, has some big medical bills coming at him, so I decided to offer up my magpie wearing a monocle and sterling top hat in a silent auction to raise some funds. If you want to place a bid, you can email me through my website, not the blog: kim at cuteglassbeads dot com. You can also bid via facebook message to the Kim Van Antwerp http://www.cuteglassbeads.com/ page or to me. You can check out Andrew's work and see some other great things to bid on at his blog: http://www.andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/

The high bidder as of Friday evening (central time, I will be in Houston) wins the bird. In a slight departure from usual procedure, if you are high bidder and get outbid, I will let you know!

Good Morning

I have a few pictures of new beads to share; after Bead and Button, my head is full of new ideas and things I want to do, but I've only had a couple of days at the torch to try some of them out.

Inspired by the few but precious treasures I brought home from the show, I am experimenting with new motifs and jewelry designs. I bought a button from Anne Choi, some koi from Bob Burkett, and a neat crab from Greg Ogden, of Green Girl Studios (some of Bob's things can be found at Green Girl too). As always, I lament my lack of shutterbuggery when I visit the blogs of friends who were at the show. Not only do they seem to have found all of the very latest and neatest things, they photograph them and everyone who crosses their paths! What a nice way to recap and share memories. I have vowed to do better in the past, and here I go again ;-).

Anyway, here's a picture of my first piece with the Anne Choi button:

It wears nicely, and I love how it hides the wire and jumpring. I like this idea so much, in fact, that I dove into my stash and dug out some of the cool buttons I have collected over the years to use in jewelry designs. More to come!
I also can't resist sharing this guy, ordered at the show and shipped out yesterday:

I was a little daunted at the thought of doing a Shar Pei when I started studying all those wrinkles, but it turned out great. From the side he looks like he ran into a brick wall, just like he's supposed to.

Whoooo's ready for the weekend!

Kimmie here-


I really can't complain, this week just flew by. The creativity has really been flowing; I am so excited about these little (10mm) lentil animals, I have about ten different ones already! I'm going to make myself a bracelet with one of each...might have to make it two strands the way things are going.

These owls will be posted on my site tomorrow, keep visiting the blog to see the rest of my tiny menagerie!

**and if you have a request or suggestion, please let me know! Post it in a comment here in the blog :-).

I have been asked recently how I my pictures turn out so well, and I must say it is pure luck. The workshop where I'm set up has a big skylight so all I have to do is plop the beads down and snap a photo. My camera is so old that it will only hold a charge for 10 minutes or so, so it's a good thing I don't have to do a lot of fidgeting! I do have one good tip though: instead of a spendy gradient sheet or tricky backdrop, I use parchment paper from the baking section of the grocery store. Just unroll it -drape it over something if you need a background- and roll it back up when you're done. Great stuff, and it keeps cookies from sticking to the sheet... ;-)