Beading Frenzy!

Whew!  Heading out of town tomorrow for a wee bit of a break (yeah, right)!  As you may (or may not) know, I'm a proud member of the illustrious Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated and we have a workshop going on this week--my 1st truth to tell.  Because it will be business like meetings, what better to wear than pearls to compliment my chosen outfit.

So right now, I'm on a mad dash to make some incredible pearl jewelry--not only for myself, but also for my sister...call me crazy for waiting until the last minute.

Happy Beading!

San Antonio Bead Bazaar

Today's blog is going to mainly be a pictorial. Yesterday, the Jolly Jems (majority of whom are also members of the Austin Bead Society), took a road trip to the Schertz Civic Center to support the San Antonio Bead Society's  Annual Bazaar...truth be told, be just wanted the opportunity to see the shinies and in some cases increase our personal inventory.

 

 Not including the two members of ABS who were vendors there were at least nine members who made the trip to San Antonio.  Out little crew consisted of  +Suzanne Ortiz +Linda Burkette, +Betsy Glen and +Connie white +Lapis Lane Beads.  We arrived at opening time (11:00am) and left about 4:00pm.  This is us at the end of the day...still smiling...dontcha know! 


Betsy, applauding her stuck snack of choice

Despite the shopping we had to grab something to eat.  Unfortunately, we had to be satisfied with the Vending machines.  Betsy got into it with the vending machine and as you can see, IT won!



Linda and Connie digging through the mounds
and mounds of beads



Lauri Gist of +Mica Beads

There were lots of shiny baubles and beads and boy did we ever dig into each and every bundle.  Some  more successful that others at finding lost treasures.



Suzy, shuffling through all the pearls...
Lots to be had at even greater prices



Connie, our designated driver of the day, always mindful
and thoughful, picking up special pieces
for the missing Jem, Jane-Michael.

The trick is to walk the complete space
upon arrival, scouting out who has what
and at the better price

I don't know how she does it, but she finds
the most amazing things in the humungous piles
of beads

 

Linda

Suzy

Betsy

Connie

Me

 Happy Beading!

Working on improving my skills

As you know two of my weakest siklls on my jewelry making quest are wire work and resin (to date)..both of which I would love to improve upon.  So tonight I set out to work on them. 

 

I worked on both of them so tell me what you think.  I used 21g copper square and 1/2 round wire for the pendant piece.   I took a class last month and couldn't find the tutorial so pretty much did it from memory. I must say,I was pretty happy with it. There are some "mistakes" but for the most part I'm really excited about it.  I think the wire work complimented the stone and accentuated the "Wisdom".

 

 

 

As for the resin work, I'll elaborate a little more in my Resination post.  But, I'm trying to get ready for the +AustinBeadSociety's President's Challenge for the April meeting which was to design our own name tag.  I of course had this brilliant idea to incorporate several mediums...one of which was using resin.  So I did a first pour before leaving for work and this is what I came home to at the end of the day.  So far so good...saying a prayer.

 

Follow my progress in my resination post to see the finished product.

 

 

Happy Beading!

What's on my mat?

Because I work a day job and have to get up very early in the morning, I tend to try to avoid beadwork during the week.  This of couse leads to major bead withdrawal...(Yes, my name is Caron and I'm an addict!) Last night, I just couldn't fight it any longer and had to pull out something to work on...something quick and fairly "mindless" that should I happen to doze off, it would not result in endless ripping out the next day.

I have an unfinished Cellini Spiral on one of my other project boards, plus some other things but as you know, a Cellini Spiral requires some concentration and thought.  Instead, I settled for a simple Ndebele (Herringbone stitch) bracelet.  Pardon the bad picture!  I should be able to finish this piece tonight!

Happy Beading!

Getting my bead on

What a day!  Main objective today was to get my taxes done...well, it's almost 9pm and haven't even started...but let me show you what I did accomplish today.  I'm gearing up for a craft show on April 19th so I'm making some quick pick things...earrings and pendants and quick necklaces to add to the more detailed pieces.  I've also been making earring cards that can also serve as packaging. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But the most awesome thing that I finished today was a cubic Right Angle Weave...aka CRAW...pendant.

 

 

So now that I've written this quick blog,  it's really time to get my taxes done

 

 

Happy Beading!

Snow day activities

Here in Austin, we had bad weather resulting in snow and black ice so just about everything shut down...(check out Maxie exploring the snow)...of course it was my day off, so I didn't really gain anything...anyway, even though I didn't get to meet up with my beady friends I had a productive day.

First thing I did was to finish a project I started during the Jems meeting...an Ndebele stitch bracelet sun Rullas beads...of course I like sets so I had to make some earrings to match...

Next I finished  a 3 in 1 piece...the focal being a 7 1/4" Russian Spiral piece.  This piece is connected with magnetic clasps so you can wear it as 1 long necklace, a shorter necklace,  bracelet or a double wrapped bracelet (just thought of that one)...what do you think? 

Then I got a little creative and made these cute little drop earrings...

After these I felt like working with Tila beads...grabbing my book "Great Designs for Shaped Beads" and came up with this piece...love the color and feel of the piece...and of course, I have to have matching earrings...

Thus ended my beading day!  Can't wait to see what y'all think...

 

Happy Beading!

OMG!!! No size 15's?

Picture this...You are surfing through the library of beading tutorials and come across the one that you are going to devote the next couple of hours to.  You've cleaned off your beading space (Mise en place); you read the tutorial and know you can do it and now you check the materials list against your inventory and wait...OMG...you have no 4mm crystal bicones in the color scheme...you've expended your bead budget, plus the Local Bead Shops (LBSs) are closed...Holy Cow!  Now what do I do?

Well you know I just have to finish that project, so pull out my trusty Google and I searched bead substitutions and this is what I came up with...(thanks to the folks from Beading Daily)...While using the materials specified in the tutorial is ideal, there are substitutions that can enhance the original design and even make it look like a totally new piece.  Trick is to stay in the same "general" shape and size required in the original pattern and there sky's the limit...

Have Fun and Happy Beading!