I am one lucky lady....

When I think about how lucky I am, it's quite amazing:

I signed up to take a class from Marcia DeCoster several years back and end up helping her at the Bead & Button show in Milwaukee every year. When instructors come to the Great Lakes guild, we assign a classroom assistant to help with little things - tally sales, keep watchful eyes on the samples, etc. When the original classroom assistant couldn't do it, I was asked to fill in. The rest is history. This little thing has really escalated nicely.

Through my association with Marcia, I have been in contact with some of the most talented men and women in the beading community. It's been awesome and I can't begin to tell you (Marcia) how grateful I am to have you as one of my friends (my real friend). Also through this, I am doing my first gig as co-teacher in a B&B class in June. Seeing my name and bio on the B&B web page was completely mind-blowing. And Marcia will tell you that I was stunned into silence when she told me. This is a wild ride, my friends.


A couple of other beaders around the country recommend me to the editors of Kalmbach's new book "Beading Across America" and the next thing that I know, I am representing Michigan in the book. Me. Me? I still am amazed that I am going to be in this publication with many of what I call the Rock Star Bead Artists.

I started volunteering for the Great Lakes Guild and now I am the "web-mistress" (you have to put that cracking a whip sound in your head when you say web-mistress - it just sounds more exciting) for the guild. I get to work with and hang out with some amazing talent in the guild.

Through my association with the GLBG, I have gotten to know the owner of Stony Creek Bead and Gallery in Ypsilanti, MI. I have been teaching there for most of this year and it's been great fun. Having to come up with ideas and transferring these ideas from my head and hand written scribbles to professional looking patterns have been very educational. I especially enjoy it when Jenn or Sue challenge me by handing me something and telling me to go for it!

I am also lucky to have a very understanding and supportive (and cute) husband who doesn't mind beads all over the house, doesn't mind the crazy bead ladies who invade once a month or so, and has learned that Bead Cruises aren't just for the women!!

Finally, I am lucky to have met many of my computer, yahoo group and facebook friends in real life through all of the above and able to have a wonderful, strong and sensible group of friends who aren't afraid to tell me what's what.

Thank you all. I am really lucky.

Rivoli teaser....

...Back to my typical silver madness, I have been working on this.....

Just a little sparkly, eh? Just enough to peak your interest? Again this is part Marcia DeCoster and part me....and all sparkle.

And just to show you that I still have color in my life, here is my version of "Rings of Saturn" (designed by Marcia DeCoster).

Sadly, I have still been looking for inspiration in all sorts of places. I was looking at coronation jewels from around the world and saw this - wouldn't it be stunning??

Creating Glamorous Jewelry with Swarovski Elements

As many of you know, I don't often purchase many beading books. Much of my inspiration comes from watching Turner Classic Movies and seeing old films that produce new ideas in my head.

I ordered Jean Campbell's book "Creating Glamorous Jewelry with Swarovski Elements" with some hesitation in my mind. What if she saw the same movie that I did and she came up with something better? What if I liked hers better than what I was working on? What if, what if, what it?

What if I just throughly enjoyed reading the bios, looking at the pictures and saying "wow, I never thought of doing it like that." Which is what happened. I just leafed through the book, getting more ideas than I thought of before, "what if I mix that with this idea?"

Jean, I enjoyed it completely, I will continue to read and study what you have done and see what I can do to make an idea "ours" - I like this book.

(And happily, she's teaching for the Great Lakes Guild in the spring and I can learn more!! And on the Bead Cruise in March - Hollywood necklace swap anyone??)

New Idea!

I love watching old movies and having a new idea...and I love that every time I play with the graphics program, things look a little better.

Off to bead.

Am I in a rut??

I just noticed/realized that the last three projects that I have written about all have the same size and colour of seed bead. Almost looks like I don't have any other seed bead in my stash/collection. This can't be correct. Am I in a rut? This can't be true. Oh wait! Dalal's dream which I will be teaching at Stony Creek Bead and Gallery on October 24th has colour and delicas. Whew.

All Sparkle teaser

It's part Marcia, it's part Liz

and it's all sparkle.....

here's a teaser of what I have been working on lately.

My wildly exciting news....

It started with an idea in really late July. I was toying with the idea of dressing up Marcia's "Under the Mast" (which really didn't need dressing up because it is wonderfully elegant, but I don't follow direction well). I was playing with little 8mm rivolis that I purchased a year ago...hmmm.

Through a series of conversations, Marcia and I decided IF we could do this fast enough, we would propose it to the Bead and Button show and let's see if it's gets accepted. With last minute design changes and ideas with a flurry of emails between San Diego and Detroit (what did we do without the internet and cheap cell phone rates??), my Over the Mast was mailed to B&B with fingers crossed.

And what do you know? They liked it. I was still in a little shock - somewhat in a little denial. Me? Teaching at Bead and Button with Marcia. Of course, I have helped her in class for a number of years (telling her what to do, etc), helped out when I can, and shared a cocktail or two (not many, this is business...) I've taught in the metro Detroit area for a number of years - Henry Ford Community College Enrichment education classes, Bohemian Beads (now closed) in Dearborn and currently at Stony Creek Beads and Gallery in Ypsilanti, MI.

So when I received an email from Marcia yesterday telling me that I had to read the email from the B&B show today - I was floored. It was featured in the 9/24/10 upcoming classes. WHAT?? I squealed with delight (that's the only word that is appropriate - squealed). My co-workers thought that I saw a ...palmetto bug - but I quickly assured them that it was better than that - look!! My necklace and name on an email.

Thank you Marcia for an awesome opportunity! I know that we will have a blast working together as we have over the last years.

Four words: Thank you very much or Lobster Mac and Cheese!!

Friday - clean the studio day.

My desk is a mess. A big old messy mess. And I was confusing myself. What did I need to do? Supposed to do? What was I working on? Should I have finished that piece (what piece? Where did I put it?) before starting another piece?


STOP! Liz, you are driving me crazy! And although it's not a long trip, it's time that I cleaned it up. It's insanity to have a counter that's 5 feet long and bead in a 8x10inch square.


Thursday, I emptied two boxes from work and schlepped them home. On Friday, I have a day off work. No appointments, nothing to do until the late afternoon. I'll get up as if I was going to work, dressed and make coffee....and get started. Three categories:

• Keep


• Donate


• Toss

Questions for myself:

• Do I need to keep those patterns that I had bought when I first started beading? Will I ever do any of those again?


• The ultra suede petal/tulip bag? Will I ever make another? Will I ever wear the ones that I do have?


• Patterns printed on the internet from the mid-late 90's and never made? Will I ever make it if I haven't by now? Toss?


• Interesting beads that some of the doctors have brought me from overseas during the last 10 years and I have never done anything with? Will I ever? Do I want to keep them even though my space is limited?


• Dorky patterns that I did myself and never did anything with. Save because one day they might be worth money? Toss because even I never beaded them?

Stay tuned to before and after pictures...

Indiscreet

There is a great movie (at least in my eyes) out there called "Indiscreet" starring Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant - both not young lovers, but still very much in love. She believes that he is married and he lets her believe this and both are very happy....until...

I'm not going to be a plot wrecker in case you decide to rent this movie - it's just a wonderful love story. In this movie, Deborah Kerr wears a necklace very similar to my version here. This necklace is made with 18mm vintage Swarovski aquamarine rivolis - a full dozen of them. I bezeled them (is bezeled a word?) using RAW the way that I learned from my friend, Marcia Decoster taught me.

I give to you - "Indiscreet"

Aquamarine Crystals

Back in April 2010, I posted "Another Teaser" about a necklace that I was attempting. It's based on a movie that I was watching and so pretty. This is how it started:
My previous version picture was posted, and I was liking what it was doing to a degree. But by the time I had 8 crystals put together - I didn't care for it. I wanted it to curve, and it wasn't curving enough. I took apart at B&B and started putting it back together again. Now I have a piece that is curving better and should lay the way that I want it to. Whew - that was a PITA (pain in the ...er, abdomen)!

When I look at the piece, I didn't notice that the thread shows through on the front of the rivoli. I might have to add another bead to the last row on the top. Yes, of course, it's still RAW (you knew the answer to that...)
I now have the crystals put together and I am working on the back of the necklace. I knew that I shouldn't have sold some of these crystals until I had a clear idea of what I was going to do. But, it still will be wonderful!

Look who's famous now?

Casie, my oldest Rat Terrier(ist) is famous now. She made Marcia DeCoster's blog post today!!

Bead and Button Show Report 2010

Better late than never, here is my thoughts on the B&B Show this year (last years report is here and 2008 is here). I love coming to this show. This year, I drove with my friend Joanne, and two new friends Tricia and Rana (sp?) through Chicago (that took 2 hours!! Two hours?! Why didn't I take the train? Oh, yes, fun with the girls - that's why. But seriously - two hours? Don't you people in Chicago work? Or take the subway, etc??).

But that's negative thoughts and I don't want to be negative! Once I got to Milwaukee, and unloaded my wares into the hotel room, I started my search for my buddies: Marcia, Janice, Tracy and found them right where I knew that they wouldn't disappoint me! It was a fun evening with laughs, giggles and almost musical chairs as we were joined by Dallas Lovett and his trusty side-kick, Sam Mayo. What a wonderful welcome to Milwaukee!

My duties in Milwaukee are so easy: I do my best to make Marcia shine as she teaches for 4 full days. Her classes are full of so many nice, interesting and fun students that it's something that I really love to help with. It also helps me with my teaching skills and learning how to help students better. How can I miss with the great projects that she has to help with?

I thought that the show floor wasn't as crowded as in some years past, but it was far from empty. Just look at all these vendors! Many booths had lines around them with happy customers parting with their cash...that's a good thing.

My stash this year is different than it has been in some years. A couple of kits - Marcia's (of course) and Jill Wiseman's "Night at the Opera" bracelet, along with a few crystals. Just a few mind you. The hat was in the B&B bag (and I will never wear it), a Toho mug, some samples that I was lucky enough to get handed as I walked through the show floor. What am I going to do with all these crystals? I don't exactly know, but I know that Lafaye from Virginia was happy to see me (multiple times)...

How's this for a find? The long crystals were $7.00 a piece and I splurged on them. The rest of the crystals in this picture cost me ....$5.00! They were in a grab bag at the John Allen booth (and I bought 5 grab bags) and they are stunning. There are a few scratch and dents, but for the most part are pieces that I can use in bead embroidery or capturing with a bezel.

To close out this story, here is a picture of my good friends during out last dinner in Milwaukee (liberated the picture from Marcia's blog, thank you very much): Tracy Stanley, Marcia DeCoster, Jeannette Cook, Janice Berkebile, and me! Even better is that I will be on a bead cruise with Tracy and Marcia next March (see my previous post about this). I have even signed up for Tracy class so that I can play with hammers - does that mean that I am going to the dark side?And I am looking forward to next year's show already!!

Beading Across America

During the 2009 Bead and Button show, I met with Amy Katz and briefly with Paulette Baron and was invited to join them in a book that they were editing with Sherry Serafini called "Beading Across America." I had a project that they were interested in the book, that I blogged about last April called Spring.

During this Bead and Button show, I saw a poster of the cover of the book - and it suddenly became real to me! It's really going to happen, and I am in the book. OMG.
Preorders for the book are available on the Kalmbach Bookstore!

Less than 300 days from now...

Bead Cruise 2011!

This is be my 5th bead themed cruise and my third with Heather Powers, Bev Herman and Bead Cruise. I really enjoy cruising (which I never thought that I enjoy). This next March will be extra special since we will be cruising with my favorite instructors: Dallas Lovett, Tracy Stanley and Marcia DeCoster!

But while I still have quite a wait for this Bead Cruise - another great bead thing is happening next week, it's time for the Bead and Button Show! I leave on Tuesday, driving to Milwaukee with a few bead friends from the Great Lakes Guild. I will be assisting Marcia DeCoster for four days in class, reconnecting with friends from past years, shopping and just generally having fun.

I wonder what kind of great things I will find this year?

A little embarrassed...

I'm posting my little heart off over the last month or so, and can't understand why I am not getting any comments. NONE!! I thought for certain that the tattoo would have prompted some comments - even if it was that people thought that I was insane (not too far from the truth). Nothing.

Then, I was posting this mornings post when I noticed something in settings. It was set so that I had to approve all the comments. Hell? When did I turn that setting on? I don't remember doing that. Was I drinking? Was I smoking crack?

I had a lot. LOT. of comments to approve. And only one to be deleted (I can't read Chinese).

My bad....

Fanfare

Finally finished with this bracelet. Having a chubby wrist means that I needed to make more components than the directions called for, but I finally had enough over the weekend. I strung them together and took photos in the early morning light.
The sparkle on mine is very, very nice, but not as sparkly as the original. Marcia's has BLING, while mine has bling. I didn't have access to double AB jet bicones, but I had a lot of plain AB jet bicones, which is what I used. I still love it.
Is there anyone else out there that hears "Fanfare" and automatically puts in "for the common man" which was on an Emerson, Lake and Palmer recording?

I did it...

After years and years of thinking about and threatening to get a tattoo, I finally did it. I have thought about moose (of course), teddy bears, Korean script and more - but I never did commit to anything over the years. That was until last year when I saw Ben Houstie's print of a flock of hummingbirds. I just love the stylized hummingbirds that he has drawn.

Well, I committed Friday night and had my lower leg tattoed. I love it. Learning how to take care of it was interesting - none of the web pages tells you exactly what to do and for how long - just bits and pieces and lots of conflicting information. So, I'll do what Mark from Liquid Chaos suggested. This picture was from this morning - about 12 hours after the tattoo was done. The colours will even out as it heals.

I love it. Yes, it hurt - but not as much as a root canal. It was more of an annoyance for about an hour, if the pain scale was a 10 total, I might have hit 5 a couple of times. It's almost completely impossible to describe.

Am I glad that I did it? Yup? And would I get another tattoo? Most likely - but I won't just jump into one - it's got to speak to me as this hummingbird did.

OMG!! Found it!

A zillion years ago, I posted that I had to remake Marica DeCoster's business card case because I lost it and couldn't find it anywhere? Guess what I found today?

I put on a jacket that I don't wear very often (over the head, no zipper, but does block the wind well and I bought it in Korea in 1999 so I am sentimental over it), and there it was in the pocket. Go figure!!

What am I doing?

• Beading another necklace piece
• Earrings from an Ann Benson kit (I don't like peyote bezels around a large crystal so I modified it to RAW)
• Spring gardening (if this rain would stop)
• Zentangles
• Saving for a tattoo and checking out shops and different artists work.
• Work

Another teaser

Working on another movie inspired necklace - just the beginnings to make certain that my "ah-ha" moment from last weekend really does work. So far there has been several take out and put back together moments to see that the spacing between these wonderful crystals (a find from Bead and Button show last year) really does work and the curvature (I just googled this word to ensure that it is a word and I did spell it correctly, but the definition is making my brain bleed) lays correctly.

More on the movie lately, but it does star two well known actors, but I don't believe that the movie is widely known....If I continue finding jewelry from old movies to emulate, will I become rich and famous? I doubt it....

African Record

Recently I won some really cool sequins from Judith at BeadLine - I love them. I started this record the other day and it's progressed really nicely. There are some cupped sequins that were pretty dirty in this bunch, but a little water and a q-tip - viola! Clean.

I won't have enough to fill the entire space, which is fine as I have a plan (you know, one of those things that comes to you with the lightbulb over the head? Yes, it was one of those moments). I am going to finish the rest of the record with size 11 seed beads in black, alternating rows of matte black and shiny black; like the grooves of a record. Brilliant if I must say so myself.

Judith - was this what you pictured when you selected me?