Dreaming of Beads

Big news!  I have had two submissions accepted to "Bead Dreams 2013"  in the handmade bead and button category.  Beads will be on display during the Bead & Button show.  Winners will be announce during the show.  This is my third Bead Dreams.  My "Mermaids and Sea Creatures" beads took first place category in 2007 and my "Bountiful Harvest" buttons were second place category in 2010.  Winning ribbons is nice but the real honor is sharing those awesome glass cases with such inspirational bead artists.  I will be exhibiting at the Bead Marketplace at Bead and Button Show , June 6-9, 2013 booth#1017.  I will again be sharing with Patti Cahill  .  Hope to see you in Milwaukee!

"Robot Party" 2013 Bead Dreams submission

"Dragonflies" 2013 Bead Dreams submission

"Mermaid and Sea Creatures" 1st Place category Bead Dreams 2007

"Bountiful Harvest" 2nd Place category Bead Dreams 2010

Wish me luck for this year!

First Friday Art Walk

At the urging of Marsha Neal , clay artist and marketer extraordinaire, I have joined the "1st Friday Art Walk"  Etsy team.  Just getting the hang of this so bear with.  To celebrate my first Art Walk I am offering a 15% discount in my Etsy Shop  during Art Walk( April 5-7) Use Coupon Code FFAWAPRIL13.  Enjoy all the treasures this team has to offer.  

Every month the AWETeam (Art Walk Etsy Team) hosts

First Friday Art Walk on Etsy.com

This is a blog hop type event where shops selling items on Etsy.com can show off their new work.

There are three hops on First Friday, all with their own blog post so you can cruise your interest in the order that you want. 

1.  AWEeam Memebers (You are here!)

2. Theme Based Teams

3. Location Based Teams 

This post focuses on the work of individual shop members from our Art Walk Etsy Team.

Click HERE to see our April 5-7, 2013 First Friday Art Walk thread where you can scroll and see lots of new work from our shops!

Not Much Time For Blogging Lately

As usual I have kind of dropped the ball on blogging.  Sorry Kimmie!  I had a successful trip back up North to PA to do the Berks Bead Bazaar where I also wear my promoter/floor manager hat.  Had a great time seeing family and friends and had a very profitable weekend.  Other than the 20 hour drive each way, can't beat that! If you'd like to know a little about the history of the BBB please visit "Love My Art Jewelry" and look for the March 16 post( I guest authored.)  I never did get to making jewelry with my Winter Kit and now that Spring is almost here I am totally uninspired to work with snowflakes and icicles even thought they're gorgeous. Oh well, I'll have it for next year. Beads don't go bad or in this case MELT.  I still have lots on my plate.  Entries for 1000 Bead Lark Book and Interweave's Beads 2013 issue are in. Wish me luck.  I have my Bead Dreams submission due March 26.  I know what beads I want to make I just have to buckle down and get them done for the deadline.  Planning on two sets but if I get one set done I will be happy.  Orders stacked up a bit while I was at shows( Berks was preceded by Ft. Myers Show and followed quickly by Tampa Show for Down the Street Bead Shows.) Among my orders is 70 face beads for Diane Fitzgerald's "Fingers in My Pocket Doll Pendant" class at Bead & Button. Class is sold out! Congrats Diane :)  My Etsy shop hasn't quite fallen by the wayside yet.  Still some new offerings including my new robot pendants and my re-visited bug pins(these were a favorite in my older jewelry line.)  Oh, and I crossed that line into seed beading at the Tampa show.  Jenny Shibona was my neighbor and she taught me to make the seed bead collars for my dolls.  I know super simple but now I look at bead weaving and I am tempted instead of running away screaming. I can't promise that I'll be a better blogger but I will promise that the excuses will be worthwhile. 

It's Snowing! Winter Blog Kit is Here!

Winter Blog Kit is here!  This is my kind of snow.  Kimmie is the winter sports enthusiast but I am perfectly happy with this version of snow here in sunny Florida.   We really wanted to top the Halloween Kit and I wanted lots of little sparkly bits.  I guess whether we topped the Halloween kit is a matter of opinion but you can't deny we nailed it on "lots of little sparkly bits."  This is our second blog kit and this is how we are doing it so far.  We each contribute at least $75 worth of beads, charms, components, whatever so long as it can be used to make jewelry :)  We make 10 kits and keep one each for ourselves to work with.  The remaining 8 are offered for sale on a first come first serve basis.  Cost of kit is $100 + $3.50 S&H. That's $150+ worth of beads for $100.   If you would like a kit just comment on this blog and one of us will get back to you.

Each kit contains:     4 Hand formed soldered and hammered sterling silver snowflakes,

                               matching pair included.

                               10 micro Swarovski Crystals in pale blue

                               10 6mm  clear Swarovski roundelles

                               1 Raised slip porcelain snowflake lentil shaped focal bead

                               6 Porcelain icicle charms

                               12 Luster ice cube porcelain beads

                               15 Tiny porcelain luster stars

I have 4 of the kits here with me ready to ship.  If you are kit customer 5 through 8 please be patient.  Kim is in the middle of a move and as soon as we can coordinate we will ship those kits.

If we haven't enticed you by the sheer awesomeness of our kits,  our next job is to try them out ourselves and see what we can make with them.  Stay tuned for the finished product post.  We also love to see your results if you buy a kit.

I Won A Hooter Contest!

Winner of the Artisan Whimsy "Hooters Owl Challenge."  I'm so proud of my little guy.  I told him to look at folks with those big owl eyes and he'd win.  Thanks to all that voted and be sure to check out Artisan Whimsy if you haven't already.  Great source for bead and jewelry info and tutorials and just general merriment.  

Owls Owls Owls

Artisan Whimsy is having an Owl Challenge, aptly named "Show Us Your Hooters."  Now as a 51 year old woman its been a long time since anyone has asked to see my hooters so how could I refuse?  Please vote for my hooters.  You'll have to become a member of Artisan Whimsy but its a good thing.  Artisan Whimsy is a new site that grew out of Creative Bead Chat on Facebook and is already proving to be an invaluable resource and fun place to hang out for us beady types.

My Owl Beads

Custom Orders.....Blessing or Curse? (Part 1)

Custom orders are mostly a blessing for me but there is an element of curse.  I'm pretty much a brat and some days I just want to make what I want to make.  That's not always possible when orders need to go out.  Most of my customers are very patient.  I try and sit down and get orders out of the way but often my muse is pulling me the other way.  There are the orders that are REALLY a challenge.  Things that I know I can do; I just don't know exactly how.   Usually those sit on the back burner for a while until one day it comes to me.  Those are the ones with the "Eureka!" moments.  More about that in the blessing discussion.  There are things that I DON'T want to do but have agreed to do.  Not many of these.  I have actually learned to use the word "NO" but it does happen.  Usually this means I really like you but that may not be apparent when you wait two years for your order   The "Don't Want To" back burner takes even longer to simmer than the "Don't Know How To" back burner.   But all of these actually don't qualify as curses, just minor annoyances.  The only real curse of taking custom orders is the person who really doesn't get my work  but wants to order for reasons of their own.  There are some pretty benign members of this group.  The collector: just wants a hippo.  Doesn't matter who's hippo or what hippo as long as its a hippo they don't already have.  Its pretty easy to make them happy so collectors probably don't belong in the curse category.  So who does belong in the curse category?  Sadly its the Wannabe Artist.  They have worked out every tiny design detail to the point that I wonder why they need me.  Then I realize its my damn skill.  There is something about "Art by Proxy" that just kills my soul and make me want to scream "I am NOT your bead monkey!"  Just to put your mind at rest if you are one of my customers and wondering "Is this me?"  If I did a custom piece for you and you got it and you love it, then "NO" because I have learned to say "NO" to this person.  It never works out anyway.  Seems I have rambled on for quite a while on the con side of custom orders.  I will save pro for another day.

Monkeys are based on a custom order request. The "Monkey Love Bead" was inspired by the monkey pattern I came up with for the dress of the monkey girl.  I often like results so much that part or all of custom winds up in my non-custom work.  Mean Girl and Mean Boy at the top of the post are a brand new custom order based on my Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.  They haven't even shipped yet.  Love these but they are extremely difficult to do, so I will probably do variations but not many.