skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Last weekend was the Soft Flex Company Glass Art and Bead Festival in New York City. The show was busy and super fun! I got to meet several members of The Bead Society of Greater New York. They're a fabulous, feisty group and they did an amazing job organizing the make-it-take-its. I saw several show attendees proudly wearing their new creations!
It was fun to get to know my co-workers a little bit better at the show. They playfully dubbed me "new girl" and teased me a lot when things went wrong in the booth. Lucky for me, nothing really went wrong! The Soft Flex booth was actually the Soft Flex room, right across the hall from the main ballroom. Below is the display of some really lovely gemstones that we had to offer. I was good to my budget and didn't buy anything, but there were many strands of beads that were terribly hard to resist.
I think the only reason I was able to keep money in my pocket is I was so busy at the demo table, thank goodness. We had a table full of tools and wire and I was there to teach people about the tools and show them what they can create. The Twist n Curls were a huge hit, as were WigJigs, Knitting Spools, and Crimping Pliers. I especially enjoyed teaching new beaders about crimping. Their faces lit up when they realized how easily they could make jewelry. There were a lot of first-timers who just happened to walk in off the street and I know there are now a lot more beaders in the world.
When I wasn't demoing a specific technique, I was working on this flower pendant:
It is a bit of a different shape than the piece I was working on last week (I forgot to take that piece with me on the trip, so I'll finish it up for another post), but the concept is the same. I found a pattern in the Wonderful, Wearable Wire Book (which is a book I need to add to my library right away!) and wrapped it with 20-gauge Artistic Wire in Amethyst. Then I picked out 4mm CZ rondelles in Clear, Lavender and Garnet as well as 5x7mm CZ briolettes in Clear, and used 29-gauge Non-Tarnish Silver wire to wrap the beads around the wire base.
I'm really pleased with how it came out. It is about 2.5" by 2.5" and would make a stunning pendant or a glittery holiday ornament. I have an idea in mind of how I'm going to turn the piece into a finished project. I'll keep you posted!
As promised, here is my first experiment with the WigJig. This isn't my design. I'm not ashamed to admit that instructions for this design are included in the literature that comes with the tool, but hey, I had to start somewhere right? 
Making this little piece was quick and fun. I used 20 gauge Artistic Wire in Amethyst. This color is very subtly purple and just might be my new favorite wire tone. I liked the wire flower as is, but thought it needed a bit more, so I'm wrapping the petals with 28 gauge Artistic Wire in Non-Tarnish Silver and a combination of Crystal Moonlight, Crystal Copper, and Light Amethyst 2mm crystal rounds. I've only wrapped two of the four petals so far, but I'm going to finish the other two and add another layer of embellishment. 
I'll show you the finished piece next week. Right now I'm on my way to NYC for the Soft Flex Company Glass Art and Bead Festival. If you're in the area, please stop by and say hello!
One of the many things I love about my dear friend Rebecca is her ability to throw a fabulous party. Last year she shared her birthday party with her fellow Libras and the term Luscious Libra was born.
Rebecca (looking lovely below during her first trip to Las Vegas) is the ultimate Luscious Libra. Her birthday is October 4th, but she'll never tell it like that. To Rebecca, and all who know her, her birthday is "ten-four good buddy!" See, she makes everything more fun!
Rebecca and I got together for birthday sushi last week and I gave her this bracelet. I wrapped aquamarine rondelles, a crystal bicone and a vintage Czech glass bead onto a natural brass filigree piece and topped off the two strands with a Bakelite button that I bought years ago in Seattle. Bracelets are always a little tricky unless you know the exact size of the recipient's wrist and I totally lucked out. It was such a treat to spend time with Rebecca, as always!
Two days later, I got to celebrate some more with Aslynn, another October 4th baby. Aslynn is my brother's girlfriend and I'm so enjoying getting to know her. She's smart and beautiful and, when she said she wanted a pedicure for her birthday, I was more than willing to tag along. There is nothing better than a Signature Pedi from Two Pairs! After the pampering, we met my mom for lunch at Bisetti's in Old Town. For desert, Aslynn got their homemade cheesecake...
... and, as usual, I got a cannoli. So yummy!
It's finally starting to feel like fall. The outside thermometer reads 43 degrees and the trees are all shades of brilliant. The weekend might bring our first snow of the season, so I'm enjoying the colors while I can - it's beautiful here in Colorado.
Oh, the plastic tub? That's the official lottery collection cup! As you can see, the lottery is green - the entry forms are strips cut from pages of my Get Fuzzy calendar (my sweet dad gifts me one every year) and the plastic tub is recycled from cotton candy eaten at my friend's carnival-themed birthday party.
Thank you all for participating. There are already over fifty entries! Impressive. Keep on commenting - let's make that cup overflow.
Also, please check out what some of my crew are talking about this week:
Sara Hardin (AKA SoftFlexGirl) is all about pink for breast cancer awareness: pink soft flex, pink cz's, pink bead stoppers & pink projects!
Kristen Fagan finds inspiration from one of Soft Flex Company's free online beading projects. Check out how she took the design idea and made it her own!
Have a lovely weekend. xoxo
The UPS man is fast becoming my friend for two reasons: one, he smells really good (I don't know what cologne he wears, but it's nice) and two, he delivered this box of tools and wire from Soft Flex.
Included in the box:
Wow! I don't know where to start, but I've come up with a plan. In order to keep myself on track with learning how to use all the fun tools, I'm going to post results of my experiments every Wednesday. Starting next week, look for a new-to-me technique, a fun wire design, or even instructions for a finished project.
Have you made projects with any (or all) of these tools? Do you have any tips to offer on how to use the tools or any favorite projects that you've made using them? If so, please feel free to share!
Just received the cover for Create Jewelry: Glass - isn't it pretty? I love the design. To the women of the Interweave Press book department: nice work!
The Glass book is the fourth and final book in the Create Jewelry series. It will be available in March of 2009 and information will be up soon on Amazone and Interweave's site. Though I enjoyed making the projects for all four books, the Glass book was by far my favorite. I started this book not long after finishing the Stone book, so I was worried about being burned out. Luckily, I had so many different shapes, styles, and colors of glass beads to play with that my imagination went wild. And making over twenty projects was great therapy.
I'd also like to announce that I'm a DOY. What's that? A Designer of the Year for Beadwork magazine. DOY is a new feature for 2009 and I'm thrilled to be a part of it. I'll have a project in every issue of Beadwork in 2009 and my work will be featured with that of some amazing women: Jean Campbell, Lisa Kan, Marcia DeCoster, and Scarlett Lanson. In all honesty, I can't believe that I was asked, so I'm incredibly flattered. Here's a little preview of my project for the February/March issue - love that circular square stitch:
What did I discover during lunch today?
SEPHORA! I'm super excited. It will be five minutes from my house. FIVE MINUTES. Oh, it's going to be dangerous...
Also thrilling is the number of entries already in my lottery. A warm and fuzzy thanks to you all - you rock! Remember that every comment you leave equals one entry. Please be sure to post enough information so that I'll be able to contact you when you win.
Have a lovely weekend. xoxo
Have you read The Lottery by Shirley Jackson?
Back in high school my peers and I were divided into groups so that we could do class presentations covering the frightening tale. One group decided to hold their own version of the story's lottery, only the "winner" was to be pelted with water balloons instead of stones. Our teacher put a stop to it after the first balloon was tossed. Luckily, the classmate was a poor shot and only my pant leg got wet. Yes, I drew the black dot. Thankfully, my luck has improved since then.
Now I want to hold a lottery of my own. One with a happy ending. One where the winner gets a personalized copy of Create Jewelry: Stones:
AND a spool of Soft Flex Metallics Copper Color wire. How lucky is that?!
Want to win? All you have to do is leave your name in a comment on my blog sometime (or many times) between now and noon (mountain time) October 31st. I'll collect all the names and draw a winner and someone will get a Halloween treat!Do you feel lucky?
With the calendar change this morning, I was treated to the Rockstar Kitty you see above. Hello Kitty's monthly costume change adds colorful inspiration to my studio wall and, because she rocks, HK has prompted me to think about a few other things that rock:
Project Runway. Everyone I know has watched Project Runway at least once. Even my brother, though he will never admit it. Tonight the designers compete for the final three. My predictions are Jerell, Korto, and Leann. I don't know who tonight's guest judge will be, but last week's was LL Cool J. He definitely rocks. Mmm.
October 1st. No doubt there are many reasons why the first day of October is special. For me, it has to do with a tradition passed along to me from my friend Rebecca. According to R, on October 1st you switch to your fall/winter set of linens. (You switch back to your spring/summer set on April 1st.) It's a small guilty pleasure and a good way to welcome the fall season. Apparently Ginger prefers the spring/summer set...
Beads. Of course beads are on this list. I love beads. I work with beads everyday in some form or another. Therefore, I even dream about beads. And, I write about beads. Amazingly enough, there are four (soon to be five) beading books with my name on them. I still pinch myself when I see my books in the bookstore! I'm grateful that I've had so many opportunities to build my career around beads. I'd like to share that gratitude with you, so check in tomorrow to see how you can win your own personalized copy of Create Jewelry: Stones.
I think the only reason I was able to keep money in my pocket is I was so busy at the demo table, thank goodness. We had a table full of tools and wire and I was there to teach people about the tools and show them what they can create. The Twist n Curls were a huge hit, as were WigJigs, Knitting Spools, and Crimping Pliers. I especially enjoyed teaching new beaders about crimping. Their faces lit up when they realized how easily they could make jewelry. There were a lot of first-timers who just happened to walk in off the street and I know there are now a lot more beaders in the world.
It is a bit of a different shape than the piece I was working on last week (I forgot to take that piece with me on the trip, so I'll finish it up for another post), but the concept is the same. I found a pattern in the Wonderful, Wearable Wire Book (which is a book I need to add to my library right away!) and wrapped it with 20-gauge Artistic Wire in Amethyst. Then I picked out 4mm CZ rondelles in Clear, Lavender and Garnet as well as 5x7mm CZ briolettes in Clear, and used 29-gauge Non-Tarnish Silver wire to wrap the beads around the wire base.
