New book

Received this book in the mail yesterday but due to a last minute project that I took on I have not had time to do much more than flip through a few pages. Looking forward to our drive to Utah starting in the morning when I will have lots of hours to enjoy it. I took a class from her some time back and am really excited to start reading it.

Vanessa, The next generation of beader

What a wonderful time we had in Saturday's class! Several beaders were hard at work on projects and the youngest of the group was Vanessa, a delightful, talented young lady from Rancho Cucamonga. She had come out to the desert to join her Mother and Grandmother in a beading session at Monica's Quilt and Bead Creations. Lucky for us she was willing to help in a project called 'Beading to Beat Autism'... Vanessa just kept on beading and before long she had made not one, not two, but ten stretchy bracelets for the cause! It was marvelous to observe the diligence she had in class and to note that she represents the young girls of the next generation of beading..she already had a great sense of color theory and excitement for the craft...I think we're in good hands for the future.

So, speaking of the future, the Autism project is spearheaded by a another young lady, Michela Riggles..she's been on the Ellen Show and others promoting her goal of raising monies for a research and educational facility in Kentucky. Read about her journey on her website; www.beadingtobeatautism.org it's an amazing undertaking for one so young.

As I said, our future is in good hands.

My own personal Bead Hop

Bracelet found at one of the vintage shops on 4th St.

Spent a few days at the beach last week and was able to visit not one, not two, but three bead shops. The first, Beadology is a long time favorite in Huntington Beach. My husband then found two online in Long Beach. He drove (of course, I get to bead while travelling) Our first stop at Ruby Tuesday found that they did not open until 11, so onto Pudgy's, whoops, they sleep late too. What to do? Oh well, we were forced to go and eat pie at Polly's. Just down the street from Pudgys, so if you go, you must stop! Back to Pudgys where I met the owners and found that they stock a very large selection of Vintage beads. A bit over an hour later we were on the road back to Ruby Tuesdays, with a side trip to a block long area of vintage shops, where we found a great vintage starfish bracelet. Starfish were the theme of the day as I was looking for items to incorporate into designs for my daughter, Dawn Marie, who designs reversible swimsuits under the label "Deuce Swimwear."

It turned out the shops, all on 4th St. Long Beach were just half a block from the house John had lived in from about age 4 to 10 years old. We found the house and got some photos, tempted to ring the bell to ask for a look around but passed. Back to Ruby Tuesday which is a newer shop with a very enthusiastic owner and a very nice selection to choose from. She spent a lot of time with me helping to choose and showing me examples of her work.

Uniquely designed for Deuce Swimwear

A starfish bracelet commisioned by Dawn Marie for her custom swimsuit line, Deuce Swimwear. A new logo prompted the search for Starfish and of course, once the hunt was on there was no stopping us! The idea for this piece was shared by the owner of Ruby Tuesday in Long Beach (more about her shop in the next post). A clever use of seashell chain...that's hundred's of fragile little seashell charms I didn't have to link together...and Swarovski crystals in Pacific Opal AB rondelle shapes along with Freshwater Pearls and findings from TierraCast. A beautiful bracelet that went together quickly and thrilled the designer!

Look closely at the Starfish, since all of the swimsuits are reversible, the placement of the charms reflect the logo's design of two startfish side by side with one reversed. Many more styles to come in the near future...look for them online at the DeuceSwim site on Facebook.

Dakota Turquoise Earrings

How's this for a feathery look without the feathers?!?!? Brick stitch a few colors together and then dangle loads of beads from the baseline. Here, I used all Delica cylinder beads in Matte Black #310, Red 723, Blue 166 and Nickel 035. Notice at the end of the dangles the lovely semi-precious stones in turquoise, the weight of these stones help to keep the dangles looking straight.

The earrings are comfortable to wear and the length of the dangles could be as long as you desired. Of course, there is nothing stopping you from adding an extra feather or two if you want more for effect. Simply attach the stem of the feather to a fold over crimp end and attach it at the same time you are adding the beadwork to th earring finding.

Beading to Beat Autism...a Beading Girl's Night Out

What a fun night we had last night! To kick off the 2011 Bead Shop Hop, we introduced all attendees to the schedule of events upcoming in September. Wow, two weekends in a row seeking out all the great Bead Shops in SoCal...a beader's dream come true!
Tied into this evening was a worthy event as well, we all gathered around the beading table to create little stretchy bracelets that will in turn help a young girl's dream come to fruition! Check out www.beadingtobeatautism.com and read about Michala's story...she's only fourteen years old and has aspirations of building a center for education and research into the silent world of Autism. At age ten she raised over 250Thousand $$$ for her family and the treatment of her young brother, now four years later she desires funding for a Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Find out how to help her further this dream...
For some great pics of the night I'm sure we'll have some good photos on Monica's Quilt and Bead Creations web site, www.monicasquiltandbead.com. I bet we hold this event again so Monica herself can take part in the fun and others who were unable to attend can have another opportunity for fun , creativity and community service.
Above is my creation with Turquoise looking Magnasite and a Red Coral bead for contrast, remember your color theory?!? Lots of Silver spacers, nice chunks add a bit of panache! And then there is the puzzle Charm ( a symbol for autism)...given to me awhile ago by Deb, one of my Bead Chick friends. This Charm has some great words on the back as well...family, tradition, love, friends, charity...to remind us of what's important in our daily lives.
It was amazing to hear the stories of how many in attendance last night knew someone close to them who had Autism affecting a close personal friend or relative.

Granada Blossom

What a fun process this Blossom has been! Following a fabulous pattern by Sabine Lippert of Trytobead.com (Germany) this creation just looks better and better each time I work it in different color schemes. Since we're playing at the beach this week, I've been insipied by all sorts of colors, the base starts with the Coral Swarovski Pearl and then gets embellished with beautiful turquoise, lime and lavender Swarovski 4mm crystals. Some 3.4mm mini drops were also used in part of the accented parts. A delight in color theory, each placement of a new color changes the look of the piece. I created this piece in just about an hour...with ideas forming for a necklace of a different sort and perhaps a bracelet with a similar picot treatment.

Visit her website for an amazing look at a very talented artist. I think she is scheduled to teach at the Bead Fest Philly Show. Pattern and or kits are very reasonable, her detailed instructions are availiable in English and quite understandable.

Look for my Black and Silver version coming later this week!!!