How to Bead Away the Winter Blahs!

The exciting holidays are behind us; the Super Bowl is history; the novelty of the new snow blower has worn off; and worst of all, the Ground Hog has seen his shadow.  How do you face this long stretch of indoor winter living?  The first thing you do is get out your favorite summer clothes and lay them out on the bed, then get out your bead stash and start matching colors.  Ask yourself, when I am wearing this outfit in my new tan, ten pounds lighter after February and March at the gym, what bead accessory do I want to be wearing to make this outfit pop?  Perhaps you already have a favorite pattern, or you may decide to let the creative juices flow.  Either way, as you sit by the sunny window working on the "summery" project, you"ll find your winter mood softening, and your thoughts migrating to a beach somewhere.  The bracelet in the photo, entitled Brazilian Bangle, was inspired by a Carmen Miranda hat.  What could make you feel like a warm June day more than working with these colors?  The bangle band is done with cylinder and seed beads in a Crossover Ndebele pattern and it is embellished with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS.

Crystal Jewelry Inspiration

Simply Toggles Bracelet

                                                                        Trapeze Ring

This blog will introduce my contribution to Crystal Jewelry Inspiration from the CREATE YOUR STYLE Ambassadors, 2013, Karin Van Voorhees, Editor, Kalbach Book, Waukesha, WI.  This is a beautiful compilation of inspirational crystal projects submitted by thirty of the CREATE YOUR STYLE with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS Ambassadors. The book also includes an international gallery of photographs.  My particular project, “Simply Toggles,” is the final project in the Ambassador section of the book; as the most recent addition to the Ambassador Team, I am thrilled to have been a part of this publication.  The diversity and scope of the projects are quite impressive.

My project was originally taught at the CREATE YOUR STYLE IN TUCSON, A SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS EVENT 2011, under the name “Beads & Buttons Bracelet.”

The large Checkerboard Crystals were purchased at Beadin’ Path in Freeport Maine, and I studied these for quite a while before coming upon the inspiration of a series of toggles.  The complete directions for this project can be found with my bio in the book on page 130.  If you give this project a try and you have any questions, you can find my contact information through my website, and I would enjoy hearing from you.

Thank you for looking in on my blog; if you leave a message with your name, I will be pulling one name at random and sending that lucky person a kit to make my “Trapeze Ring.”  This project was taught at the same venue in 2012.  See picture above.  You can learn more about the Ambassadors at their links below.

All names will be forwarded to Kalmbach Books for an additional drawing to receive a free copy of the book.  

Their online store can be found at: http://www.kalmbachstore.com/67019.html

January 14^th                        

                                    June Beach www.beachhausdesigns.blogspot.com

                                    Lilian Chen www.liliangoldgatsby.blogspot.com

                                    Fernando deSilva www.modern-expressions.blogspot.com

                                    Marcia DeCoster www.maddesignsbeads.blogspot.com

Stephanie Dixon www.thedixonchick.blogspot.com

January 15^th                        

                                    Katie Hacker www.katiehacker.blogspot.com

                                    Monica Han www.cysdreambeads.blogspot.com

January 16^th                        

                                    Val Hirata www.cbysparkle.com/blog

                                    Jamie Hogsett www.jamiehogsett.blogspot.com

                                    Tamara Honoman www.thonaman.com/Tams blog dir/blogs/index.php

January 17th                        

                                    Lisa Pavelka www.lisapavelka.typepad.com

                                    Margot Potter www.margotpottertheimpatientcrafter.blogspot.com

                                    Pat Riesenburger www.urbanstitchstudio.blogspot.com

                                    Leslie Rogalski www.sleeplessbeader.blogspot.com

                                    Nadia Sanchez Ramos www.foufouchat.blogspot.com

                                    Renata Sanchez Ramos www.foufouchat.blogspot.com

                                    Debra Saucier www.debrasaucier.blogspot.com

January 18^th                        

                                    Brenda Schweder www.BrendaSchweder.com

                                    Debbi Simon www.debbisimon.blogspot.com

                                    Kim St. Jean www.kimstjean.blogspot.com

                                    Laura Timmons www.therabeading.blogspot.com

                                    Kristal Wick www.kristalwick.wordpress.com

                                    Diane Whiting www.sparklesandsmiles.blogspot.com

           

                                   

How to Bead in a Boat

 It's a beautiful day and you want to bead outside, and the lake looks sooooo inviting, and your husband wants you to keep him company while he goes fishing, so what do you do?  You pack up your supplies and bead in the boat.  Please note, this blog is specific to a "boat," and not the more generic "watercraft" which would include kayaks and jet skis. All watercraft are not suitable for beading.  It is helpful to have a wide and deep hull to position yourself away from wave action, spray and flying lures. (please see photo) Having a pet in the boat adds yet another dimension to the experience.  A portable, closable bead tray that holds a beading surface and all of your materials is indispensable, and these can be found in Staples or Office Max, albiet they are not sold as "portable beading trays."
Beading in a boat gets interesting when other boats come by to see what you are doing.  One noteworthy experience occurred on Segabo Lake a year or two ago when we were drifting with the wind; my husband was fishing and the dog was watching every cast.  I was sitting on a lawn chair beading when a Fish Commission boat came along side and the conversation went something like this:
“Please confine your dog, we want to inspect your boat; I am Officer Heft, and this is Officer Miller, and…what are you doing?”
“I’m beading.”
“Beating what?”
“No, beading.”
“What’s that?”
“Well, I’m sewing beads together to make a piece of jewelry.”
Looking confused, “uh huh…, what’s the shiny stuff in the little vials?”
“That’s my stash of beads and SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS."
Looking really interested now, “is that some kinda euphemism?”
“No, here take a look,” handing over a bottle of crystals.
“Would ya look at that?  And you can actually see these?”
“I’m fortunate to have good close vision”
"What do you make with these things?"
Showing a current project, "bracelets, ornaments, all kinds of sparkly things. I also teach lessons; maybe your wife would like to learn how to bead?'
"Does she have to do it in the boat?"
"Oh no; usually I'm in the house, or on the deck when I'm beading."
"How much does all that stuff cost?"
Husband - "you don't want to know, but not much more than my fishing gear. And she can sell her products."
Diane - "Here is my card, have her give me a call and we can get together to discuss beading."
"Thanks and you folks have a safe day on the water."

Watch for future blogs - How to Bead in the Truck, How To Bead in A Canoe, and How to Bead on An All-Terrain Vehicle.
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Bead Fest Philadelphia

Bead Fest Philadelphia has been over for a while, but I was recently going over my notes and photos from there and I came across a picture of me demonstrating one of my bracelet designs for Dreamtime Creations.  Here I demonstrated my Chevron Chain Tennis Bracelet using SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS. This was a wonderful experience as I made new friends and contacts from Dreamtime Creations and I met a host of beaders who stopped to learn the Chevron Chain technique.

I also had the opportunity to demonstrate for CREATE YOUR STYLE with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS at their booth on the floor.  As a new CREATE YOUR STYLE Ambassador, this was a very exciting chance to not only show netting technique in another one of my designs, but to represent CREATE YOUR STYLE and the use of products from the SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS assortment. One of the most rewarding aspects of designing or teaching is watching the excitement in the eyes of students, or in this case, the visitors to the booths.