Bead and Button Show

All I can say is I am already starting to save $$ for next year's show. I was inspired, entertained, creatively challenged, productive, and worn out by the end. I met some great people and saw some amazing beadwork. If you are a bead addict like me, do plan on attending this show and taking classes, if you can afford them.

Off to The Bead and Button Show

I am so jazzed. Last week I bit the bullet and booked a flight to Milwaukee for the Bead and Button Show this month. I used to go to this event back when it was called Embellishment, and was usually held in Texas or Oregon. I haven't been since the 1990s and am very excited to go again. It is sponsored by the Bead and Button Magazine, hence the name of the show.

My goal in attending this show is to be inspired. Not that I'm not already, what with all the talent and creativity on the internet, but to be awed by what I see in person. I also want to make new friends who share my passion. New Bead Buddies...

There will be an exhibit, Bead Dreams, of a juried competition of bead artistry from around the world. They have categories of Seed Bead Jewelry (my favorite), Crystal Jewelry, Finished Jewelry, Wirework, Handmade Buttons and Beads, Metal Clay, Polymer Clay, Non-Jewelry Objects or Accessories, and Lampwork items.

There will be a Marketplace with hundreds of booths, selling everything from beads and buttons to tools and books and anything related to making jewelry. I don't really need a darn thing (thanks to Tucson) but will just browse for anything that strikes my fancy and gives me an idea.

If anyone who happens to read this post also happens to be going to the show, please, please drop me a line. I would love to meet more beaders from anywhere.

Another Bead Buddy

A week ago I went to another Beadwork Meetup and saw fellow seed-beader Doreen. She does exquisite work and inspires me. (She has beaded miniature teapots and wedding cakes, among other things!)

I scooped up the items she had brought to show that day and took a quick picture. Here they are.

She made the bracelet that you see in the magazine picture (green, center), and several others using seed beads. You can also see a little vessel she made (above the bangle), and there were two 3-dimensional pendants, too. I was in awe.

Here she is.

Doreen

Instant Fashion

I did something this weekend that I used to do all the time but have not been in the habit for a while. I bought a new shirt and came home and made jewelry to match, the same day. That used to be the norm for me. Shop. Bead. Wear proudly. But not lately. So, maybe this is the beginning of a new trend for me. (I hope.)

It is a sunwashed tee, with a graphic and little copper studs on the front. I was showing my hubby a different necklace I had made last week and he suggested I make one to match this shirt. So here it is! Yellow jade nugget, copper chain, assorted glass beads dangling from the lower chains, and a springy pair of earrings to match. I think I'll wear them tomorrow. :-)

Snakeskin jasper

I got out the snakeskin jasper beads from the Tucson trip this weekend and got inspired. I ended up with a pretty multi-strand necklace, a bracelet and a pair of earrings.

The jasper is deep teal with brownish, creamy mottled patterns. I bought only one strand of oval beads and one strand of rectangle beads, so was limited to whatever they would make. I filled out the necklace with coordinating colors of crystal rondelles (teal, gold and clear) and for spacers between the jasper I used irregular-shaped bronzy-brown seed beads.

Then I decided to add a removeable piece consisting of four strands of those same seed beads. I like the idea of being able to wear the necklace as just two strands of the jasper, or adding the 4-strand seed bead component to it.

Let me know what you think! Comments welcome.

Bead Buddies

I still have a little trouble with the layouts and uploads and other details about this blog thing, so yesterday when I was writing about the Beadwork Meetup, I actually had more photos to include. I uploaded them multiple times but must have been doing something wrong because they didn't stick. Hmph. Never give up. Here they are today: my beading buddies!

This is Theresa, the organizer of the San Diego Beadwork Meetups. She is a busy mom, but makes time to get together with the many other beadaholics in the group to have fun. She never seems to run out of energy.

This is Michelle. I have watched her skills progress over the past year or two, and am impressed at the projects she tackles. I think I rubbed off on her a little, too, as she has been working in seed beads lately.

This is Debbie. She is a transplant from Chicago. We understand each other because we know what wind chill factors are, and never ever want to experience them again!

The lady on the left is a newer member, so I don't know her too well, but she is picking up skills very fast.

That's Kristene on the right -- the Swarovsky Queen. She is a fast seed beader, and has a little Yorkie named Harley. She also knows exactly which drawer I keep my Swaro crystals in and peeks at them each time she is here to see if I have any new colors.

And finally, this is Linda. She is taking on beadwork like a storm and even brought her tools and beads with her when she went back to India on holiday last fall. She wore traditional Indian clothing for me on Sunday because I am a fan of that fashion.

So there are a few of my Bead Buddies. I have lots more and will introduce them over time. :-)

Beadwork Meetup Feb 28, 2010

I hostessed another Beadwork Meetup at my house this past Sunday. We crammed seven of us into my studio and had a wonderful afternoon of beading and chatting.

Everyone brought food and it was a sunny day so there was good light too.

Teresa worked on a necklace that featured a pendant made by our friend Kimberly. Michelle used seed beads to make a circular medallion. She wasn't sure if it would become part of a bracelet, or half of a pair of earrings.

I finished up another cube and delica seed bead bracelet. Kristene worked on a necklace using Swarovsky crystals and seed beads. I think we all made progress on our projects, but can't be sure because there sure was a lot of yakking going on at the same time.

I really enjoy hosting these events at my house. There is a severe lack of bead buddies in Escondido and I truly appreciate these gals driving all the way up here to visit.

The Cube and Delica bracelet

I mentioned previously that I would try to upload a photo of the bracelet I made using the cube beads and Delicas that I got in Tucson. Well, here it is. The cubes are about 3mm and irridescent with a matte finish. The Delicas are irridescent and shiny, and shimmer with purple, blue, green and gold hues. I have edged the bracelet with the delicas plus some gold 3-cut charlottes that I got from Donna Palmer's Beads & Magic Wishes. Turned out pretty nice, I think!

Tucson, Arizona -- February 2010

On Thursday, 2-4-10, I picked up my friend, Diana, and her friend, Kay, and we set off for Tucson. We took my SUV and I did all the driving. The seven-hour road-trip went fast, as we never shut up the whole time! We had great weather, plenty of food and beverages, and great spirits.

Once there, we found the hotel, checked in, and went out to dinner. I reserved us two suites at the Marriott Residence Inn near the airport, and got a great deal (AAA rate). We loved the hotel as the rooms were spacious, had little kitchens and living rooms, were comfy (but had slightly noisy air conditioners), and the hotel served a free hot breakfast every morning.

Friday morning we set off for downtown Tucson, and parked a couple blocks away from the Convention Center. We made our way to the first show, and while looking at the registration requirements, realized this show was for the very SERIOUS jewelry designers, i.e. the ones who used diamonds, gold and other very pricey materials. So... off we go across the street to another show at a huuuuge tent. Inside the entrance, I went to register and whoa, it was another show for buyers of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, etc. Too high end for us, we went back to the parking lot and begged for our $5 bucks back (and got it!).

So off to the next stop. To Bead True Blue. Aaaaah, this one was just right. We split up and searched the rows and rows of vendors, finding wonderful things. They had several ballrooms filled with goods, and a large tent out in the parking lot as well.

My first purchase of the day was a mass (12 strands) of cream colored 'nibblets' (flat rectangles, about 4mm) with irridescent round spots on them. Hard to describe, but really different and cool.

We shopped at that show for maybe four hours, and then headed over to the Kino Sports Center where the Best Bead Show was located. That place was packed with glass bead artists, Soft Flex Wire company, vendors selling pearls, glass beads, ceramic beads, findings, books, you name it. I visited two of my favorite shops, Out on a Whim (WhimBeads) and Beyond Beadery. I made massive donations at each shop and my shopping bag got very full.

I also saw my friends at San Francisco Arts and Crafts, and found fun seed bead mixes at their booth. I spent maybe a half an hour chatting with them, as I had not seen them in a couple years. They are really nice people so I enjoyed catching up.

That evening, back at the hotel after dinner, we spread out our purchases for a little 'show and tell.' It was interesting to see who bought what, and what new things were discovered.

On Saturday, we went to the wholesale shows at the Gem Mall and the Holiday Inn Holidome. These are massive tents, football-field sized, and packed to the gills with bead vendors, finished jewelry, crystals, pearls, glass, silver, semi-precious stones, findings, tools, books, gifts, and oh, did I mention, BEADS...

Again, we split up and spent the entire day at the two shows. I got pearls, glass beads, ribbon necklaces, Chinese silver beads, ceramic beads, some funky bracelets to give as gifts, some cool snakeskin jasper (turquoise and beige), some picture jasper, a few other types of stone beads, some Vintage German glass buttons, a little more Chinese crystal, and LOTS of Czech crystals and glass beads.

In the evening we shared our goodies with each other again, and decided that we had to go back to two of the shows tomorrow before heading back home, to pick up a few more things. I had the perfect picture jasper beads that would go with the cabachons that Diana had gotten, so she needed to stop at the Gem Mall and get a strand for herself. I also wanted a funny button that Kay had (You did WHAT? With WHO? For HOW many BEADS?) so that meant a stop back at the Best Bead Show.

Sunday morning when we got up, it was raining cats and dogs. After breakfast we checked out and headed over to the shows for our last-minute dash. I spent some time chatting with Jeanette Cook of Beady Eyed Women, and she graciously allowed me to photograph her in her booth.

I have known Jeanette since the early 1990s when we were both early members of the San Diego Bead Society. She is a lovely gal, and talented as heck. Her booth was filled with colorful beaded jewelry, and she was selling her kits to make necklaces, earrings, bracelets and brooches. I love her sense of style and color combinations. She is a really cool lady.

We drove in the pouring rain for a couple hours, and finally drove out of it. The weather got much nicer as we made our way into CA, and we even saw sunshine and puffy clouds. We stopped in a teeny town called Dateland where I tried a date shake (yes, real dates in a milkshake) and it was GOOD!

I dropped the two gals off at Diana's place (Kay was visiting from the Bay area) and drove another 45 minutes to Escondido.

When I got home, the girls were over watching the Superbowl with Harvey. We had food and watched football, and afterwards played Wii games.

A fun-filled weekend, now I am exhausted!

Pasadena Bead and Design Show - January 2010

It's been over a month since I went to the Pasadena Bead and Design show, but I wanted to blog about it briefly. I wasn't planning on going to it because I intended to visit Tucson in February, but I ended up going anyway at the spur of the moment, and packed a bag in case I decided to stay overnight.

It was a nice day on Saturday and the drive up the 15 freeway was pretty. I got to the show around noon and when I registered, one of the show organizers was there and I asked her why I had not been sent a postcard for free admission this time. Long story short, I got in for free (instead of $10)!

Having been to this show several times in the past couple years, I recognized many vendors and took note of the new ones. One importer had incredibly inexpensive Chinese crystal beads, where I made my first purchase of the day. I also visited my friend Donna Palmer's booth, and made my usual 'donation' at her shop. She always has a nice variety of seed beads and interesting kits. She loves bright colors and Swarovsky crystals, and has a playful style of work.

Since I was planning a major shopping trip to Tucson in February, I kept the buying in check and finished the show in about four hours. I decided to stay overnight in Arcadia (close to Pasadena) and the next day I tracked down a new bead store, San Gabriel Beads. And oh, mama! They had seed beads galore! I spent maybe two hours looking at everything and brought home a large bag stuffed with more seed beads, clasps, and other goodies. That store made the weekend complete! (So much for saving my $$ for Tucson!)

I did not take any pictures of the stash this time, but will do so after Tucson.