Is it really close to 100 degrees in Tucson?

I'm heading out of town today to work The Fall Best Bead Show in Tucson. I always look at the weather report for the city I'm about to travel to and it's going to be 98, 99, and 100 degrees every day I'm in Tucson. That's insanity! Colorado has been blessed with an amazingly mellow summer - we've only had a few days of temperatures in the 90s. I hope I don't melt in the hot Tucson sun...

If you're in the area, come by the Best Bead Show. It's at the Kino Center this year - the same location as the February show - and the Soft Flex booth is in the back, along the wall, as always. I'll be doing demos in the booth and free make-it-take-its in an adjacent booth.

I look forward to seeing my bead friends and am keeping my fingers crossed that we'll make it to Cafe Poca Cosa for an amazing meal. Yum!

A package from Andrew! Also, Friday Communique.

Earlier this year, I was one of the first to sign up for Andrew's charm club. I received my charms the other day and was blown away by the wonderful variety of the charms and beads, and by just how much I adore the pieces. Thank you Andrew!


As if the charms and beads weren't cool enough, the package also included this incredible painting, which I absolutely LOVE. I can't decide where to hang it, so I keep taking it from room to room in my place. The colors in the painting are perfect for any room in my house, so now I just need to find the perfect place. Andrew is an amazing artist and friend, and if he decides to do his Charm Club again you better believe I'll sign up.


Lorelei (a very inspiring jewelry designer) signed up for the Charm Club as well. See her painting and charms here. And check out what some of my crew were up to this week too:

Sara Hardin (aka SoftFlexGirl) shared some designs from the Flex Your Creativity Beading Contest.

Kristen Fagan created new free art and computer wallpaper designs for September.

Enjoy the long holiday weekend. I'll be hanging out by the grill and the pool! xoxo

Guest blogging and a lecture...

Beginning today and continuing every Tuesday, I'm guest blogging for SoftFlexGirl. Check it out here: Victorian Lei in Beadwork Magazine. Actually, several of my co-workers are going to take turns guest blogging for Sara on occasion. Brian Clark, the Soft Flex Company Photographer talked about the BeadFest show in Philadephia yesterday, so be sure to check him out too.

Last night I had the privilege of joining my friend Katie for a lecture at Colorado State University (my alma mater and Katie's current employer). The featured speaker was Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea and co-founder of Central Asia Institute. I haven't read his book yet, but after last night, you better believe I'm going to. Greg's story is amazing. He's definitely inspired me.

I am a fly fishing master...

Well, not really, but it was fun. My dad took me fly fishing for the very first time yesterday. We drove a couple hours up into the mountains and enjoyed a calm, quiet, beautiful day. We didn't catch any fish, or even get a nibble for that matter (Dad said it was just too cold for them), but we enjoyed some road sodas and had a great time. It turns out I can cause my fishing line to knot up just as easily as I can beading thread. Sigh. All the same, I'm a definite fan of fly fishing and I hope Dad and I can go again soon.

Playing with Wire

It wasn't my intention for so many weeks to go by since the last time I blogged. Really, it wasn't. I went to CHA in Orlando and things have just been crazy since then. Starting this week though, I'm going to do my best to get back on track.

One of the projects that kept me busy over the last few weeks is pictured above. I received an assignment to make twenty necklaces based on the design for the Tranquility Necklace in the Free Projects section on the Soft Flex website. This necklace is always super popular at bead shows and it's a fun design to make, so this assignment was exactly the kind of thing that I like. I used a random assortment of Czech pressed-glass beads and Trios sets in four color combinations: Mystical, Renewal, Serenity, and Tranquility. So pretty.

I encourage you to check out the free project instructions for this design and make your very own. Or, make one for a new teacher when your little one(s) head back to school. At CHA, an elementary school teacher stopped by the booth and picked this necklace up, saying her students would love it if she wore something like this. It doesn't have a clasp and can be made in any length as the wire is flexible enough to stretch over your head. It's a great design for just about anyone and can have entirely different looks based on the colors of wire and the types of beads used. Check it out and have fun beading!

Flex Your Creativity Beading Contest

Only a few more days to enter the Soft Flex Company Flex Your Creativity Beading Contest. Use any of our Trios sets to make a design and send us a picture and you're entered to win. Well, there are a few more rules than that, but it is quite simple (and fun!) to enter. Learn more here. We can't wait to see what you make!

One more month!

Friday Communique

Jane Austen wrote:

To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the
most perfect refreshment.

Oh, boy, was she right. We've had so much rain this summer in Colorado that everything is gorgeous and green and lush - it's wonderful. So, I plan to spend a good portion of this weekend, as I have the past few weekends, on a deck in a gorgeous tree-filled yard with these two, Sophie and Cognac. They're as sweet as can be and don't mind at all if we supplement nature's refreshment with one that is brewed here in Fort Fun.

Check out what some of my crew were up to this week:

Sara Hardin (AKA SoftFlexGirl) is busy tweeting! Tweet-a-lot of Trios to win!

Kristen Fagan designed free gift tags for you to print and pretty up your handmade gifts with. Enjoy!

Have a lovely weekend! xoxo

Playing with Wire

Remember these beads? Well, they've been sitting on my "new bead shelf" since they arrived, patiently waiting for inspiration to strike so that I can make something grand. Well, it just so happens that I had all of my spools of colored Soft Flex wire sitting near them and I was struck. Look at how amazingly well these colors match up with the beads? Citrine, red jasper, purple amethyst, peridot, and garnet, I heart you. Now, off to create!

Playing with Wire

When I'm at a bead show demoing in the booth, I often have a few minutes here and there of free time. It's time when I can take some wire and beads and just create - I love that time. At Bead and Button I had some gorgeous bronze pearls and a spool of Soft Flex Wire in peridot, so decided to play around with them. All but a few of the pearls fit well onto the .019 diameter wire and I tried my luck with the Knitting Spool. It would have taken one more strand of pearls to knit a length of wire long enough for a complete bracelet, but I didn't know that when I started knitting, so I ended up with a knitted cord just short of bracelet length.

After playing around with it for a few weeks, I finally made a finished piece using the knitted section as a focal point. It's hard to tell from the picture, but the Lucite beads that comprise the chain are a marbled blend of the bronze of the pearls and the green of the beading wire, and I love how it turned out. I'd like to oxidize the metal a little bit and then I think I'll like this new piece even more.

Korto's Fabulous Jewelry

Remember Korto Momolu from Project Runway? Remember the amazing jewelry she created for her runway show? Well, according to Tom and Lorenzo (I love these guys!), Korto has a brand new line of jewelry available for sale. Her pieces are bright and bold and extremely inspiring. Check out TLo's post about it here and then go Korto's site to shop. Way to go Korto - you look amazing and so does your jewelry!

"Inconceivable!"

Laura and I went up to Red Rocks the other night - isn't is gorgeous?! We went to attend the Flim on the Rocks showing of The Princess Bride. Film on the Rocks is an awesome summer program put on by the Denver Film Society. It was the perfect night for Red Rocks, warm with a slight breeze and no rain.

The Princess Bride is a great movie and it's even more fun with an audience of 8000 people who cheer the good guys and boo the bad guys. Plus, there's beer, which makes it even better...

Playing with Wire

Well, to be exact, Kitting with Wire. This, my friends, is about 40 feet of Champagne Soft Flex Extreme Wire cut into 2 inch pieces. It's about one-fifth of all the wire I'll be cutting, counting, and bagging into one hundred class kits. When I make it through all six 50 foot spools, I'll have a total of 1800 two inch pieces of wire. Then I'll divide up and bag 600 jump rings and attach 200 ear wires to jump rings. Whew. So, if you're going to CHA at the end of the month and plan to attend the Champagne Dreams Earrings class, this kit is for you! Now, back to measuring and cutting...

Julie!

My lovely cousin Julie at yesterday's lunch to see her and celebrate her 24th birthday!

Julie is my only female first cousin on my mom's side of the family. She's the youngest of the six of us and the only one who doesn't live in Colorado. We only get to see each other a few times a year and I miss this girl!

Julie's here this week to be maid of honor in a wedding. She has a lot of duties while she's here and not a lot of free time. Since I won't see her again until December, you better believe I took a long break yesterday to drive down to Longmont and have lunch with her and most of the rest of the family. Grandma even brought a tasty carrot cake from Schmidt's. It was lovely to be able to spend an afternoon with my family and to catch up with Julie for awhile.

Friday Communique

Finally, pictures of the beads and goodies that I was lucky enough to bring home from Bead and Button:

These incredible earrings from Stephanie Sersich were my one major purchase at the show.
I heart them.

I've been waiting for a heart from Zoa Art for a long time and instead of one
was treated to two. They're the perfect shade of orange.

Super cool "Power J" ring from my girls at Fusion Beads
and a gorgeous new bead from Jones Art Glass.

Amazing Steampunk components from Earthenwood Studios.
It's impossible to pick a favorite among them...

"Pearls of Wisdon" from Diane Hawkey. Love and magic are my current favorites.

Even more treasures from Diane Hawkey.

A Hedgie and other treats from Heather Powers. Adorable!

A huge THANK YOU to Tony and Lisa, Katie, Lindsay, Rashan, Melanie, Diane, and Heather for coming by the booth to see me and treat me to such lovely goods! You're all as sweet as can be and I'm so glad I was able to see you for at least a little bit. And thank you to Steph's friend Denise for bringing by delicious chocolaty treats and the bird pendant.

All of these great new beads are causing my head to fill up with new ideas of what to make with them. I can hardly wait!

While I fondle these beads for the billionth time, check out what some of my crew were up to this week:

Sara Hardin (AKA SoftFlexGirl) posted a video about knitting Soft Flex beading wire on a knitting spool.

Kristen Fagan created free wallpaper, bookmarks, recipe cards and gift tags for June.

Have a lovely weekend! xoxo

Playing with Wire

The Summer issue of Stringing is out. It's bright and sunny with lots of fun projects. I'm proud to say I have two necklaces in the issue:

High Tide is a sparkly piece featuring a focal piece and clasp from my friends at Green Girl Studios. It's difficult to tell in the magazine, but I braided two strands of Soft Flex Extreme Silver wire around the center portion of the necklace. It makes me think of seaweed.

Coralline was made on request from Danielle Fox, editor of Stringing. The polka-dotted lampworked glass beads caught her eye when I used them in the Come to My Party necklace in Create Jewelry: Glass, so she asked that I used them in a necklace. I had them with me at a bead show and asked Mike Sherman to pick out gemstones to go with them. Obviously, I loved his choices!

Friday Communique

The weather in Colorado is crazy as ever, which means I still haven't managed to get decent photos of the goodies I brought home from Bead and Button. However, I did get this shot:

My dear friend Andrew Thornton posted about a set of postcards he received awhile back and I commented that I thought this was the coolest of the bunch. Sweet Andrew remembered that and gave this to me in Milwaukee. I have a few fabulous postcards in my collection now due to Andrew's generosity and they're some of my favorites. Thank you Andrew - you're the best!

Andrew is one of the people that I didn't get to spend much time with at B&B. I spoke to him and his sister Cynthia (who just tagged me - I'll post those questions and answers next week) for just a few minutes prior to the preview night of the show. Even though we were in the same building for the rest of the weekend, I only saw Andrew again once and never had the chance to chat any more with him. I'm still sad that we didn't get to spend time together. The good thing is, there is always another bead show around the corner, so I hope Andrew and I can hang out very soon!

Check out what some of my crew have going on:

Sara Hardin (AKA SoftFlexGirl) talks about choosing the correct diameter of beading wire.

Kristen Fagan has got a lot of inquiries from friends and family about her Jamaican bus ride so, here is her review.

Have a lovely weekend! xoxo

Downtime at Bead and Button

Bead and Button was a great time this year! Here are some of the fun people I had the pleasure of hanging out with in Milwaukee when I wasn't in the Soft Flex booth at the show. Pictures of the goods that came home with me will come later (if the sun finally comes out enough to get decent pictures...)!

JoAnn and Paula (fellow Soft Flexers) at the Safe House:
Lindsay (Fusion Beads) and Barb Switzer at Water Buffalo:
Katie (Fusion Beads) and I at Water Buffalo:
Lewis Wilson and his Cousin Paula at the Miller Time Pub (where we indulged in cheese curds!):
Sara and Christopher (who is now the official "new kid" on the Soft Flex team. As the previous new kid, I'm happy to hand him the title!):
Sara and I at the Miller Time Pub:
Bead and Button is a great opportunity to catch up with some of the people that I only see a couple times a year. It was great to see so many of my beady friends and I wish I had pictures of all of them. Actually, due to the huge size of the show, there were lots of friends I never even got to see, so I'm thrilled that I got to spend a little bit of time with the people I did manage to run into. Plus I was blessed to meet a lot of new beady friends too!

Summer camp!

In just a few short hours, I'll be on a plane headed to Milwaukee for the Bead & Button Show! Hooray! I'm excited to see all my friends and drool over all the beads. I'm not sure what the free wifi situation is, but I'll do my very best to keep you all updated during the week. If you're going to B & B, please come and see me at the Soft Flex Company booth. I'll be at the demo table, demoing away! I look forward to seeing you all in Wisconsin!

Jewel Box

While poking through boxes of my stuff in Mom's basement last weekend, I came across a hat box full of beaded jewelry. Ridiculous, right? This is no way to treat all these fabulous beads.

Most of these pieces are from the very first few issues of Stringing magazine and from Stringing Style. Back then, it was mostly just Jean, Dustin, Danielle and I designing for the magazine because we didn't have a budget to pay anyone else. This meant making dozens and dozens of new pieces. We would spend Fridays making jewelry, often all congregating at one of our houses and watching movies as we created. Those were fun days!

So, back to the box o'beads. There are many forgotten treasures in here, along with pieces that never made it to print for a reason. Some need to be reworked. Some are great designs that I'd like to make again with different components. There are a few ideas brewing in my head about what to do with all these beads. As usual, with beads the possibilites are endless and the inspiration is beginning to overflow...