Take Aways from BeadFest 2009

I normally stick to the local bead shows that come through Atlanta, although I did hit many bead shows in Tucson in February 2008. I never would have gone to BeadFest 2009 in Philadelphia had Lorelei not invited me a month ago. She has been one of my loyal customers since near the time I opened my Etsy shop in early 2008 and has always given me credit for my beads in her designs, which is so outstanding of her.

This year we have become friends. I enjoy chatting with her every day, which is awesome at helping the day go by soooo much faster. She often makes me laugh so hard that I cry. When she invited me up to Philly, there was no hesitation in my mind that I would go. I absolutely wanted to meet her to see if she was as cool in person as on the phone or in emails or instant messages. Before we had even made it out of the parking garage at the Philadelphia airport, I knew she was all that AND a bag of chips. Or beads. :)

My buying goals for BeadFest were to find some small, delicate chain and a few cool clasps. I had no intentions of buying much at all.

Seriously.

These are the cool donut beads I bought from Kristie. I would love to see Kristie in action while she's burning wood and Lord knows what else as she makes these smoky donuts. When I play with fire at my torch, it is totally controlled with a stationary flame because the torch is screwed to the table. When Kristie talked about her process for making fires and smoking out these cool beads, I had the evil scientist laugh going on in the back of my head. Because that's how I would be laughing if I was making big fires. But that's just me.
Or Marsha's pendants that completely captivate me with their scrollwork designs. I bought these with the intention of putting one at my torch table for added inspiration and sending the other as a gift. But I might need to hang on to both. At least for awhile.


Lorelei did squat to help rein me in and not buy beads. In fact she unknowingly encouraged me to spend a ton of $$$ by introducing me to all of these wonderful artists that she already knew through buying their beads. At one point, there may have been a little clapping combined with jumping up and down as she said "I'm so excited you are buying ART BEADS!"

Here is some very cool Rhyolite that has wonderful colors coming out in different patterns on every bead (thanks Lorelei for splitting this strand with me!).
Cool magnetic clasps and toggles. Lorelei also bought some of Sara's beads...can't wait to see what she does with them!

I bought these two silver rings that I thought were really neat. I have been wanting rings for my thumbs for a long time, although not with the intention of wearing both at the same time.

Lorelei also introduced me to the Bello Modo shop that had tons of cool Vintaj Brass beads and toggles, although I fought hard against the impulse to buy any since all of the metal I use is sterling and I really don't need to get into another metal. Really. I'm sure my husband would agree. But it was sooo hard. They had turtles. Turtles! Reminded me of my Aunt Judy's turtle collection from when I was a child.

And humblebeads made out of polymer clay by Heather Powers. Such great color combinations! The set on the left perfectly matches Van Gogh's Starry Night painting, which I have hanging in my daughter's room.

LOTS of silver bead caps and cones (the cones are wonderful for finishing the ends of multi-strand necklaces!) that I loved for their carved designs and geometric shapes.

Beads and charms from Green Girl Studios and two copper bezels that Andrew threw in as an added bonus if I promised to slump some of my broken beads inside them to make super cool pendants. I promised I would try. Please Lord, let me be hit with beginner's luck for glass slumping in my kiln and make him proud!

And the flip side of all these lovelies. I really like the inspirational words or quotes on each one of these!

And the last of my loot are a few cabs that I purchased from Gary. He was a knowledgeable guy and most friendly. If only all vendors were so congenial. although these are not for me, but for my friend Cas. Happy early birthday and merry Christmas, Cas!

Cas, I'll be getting these in the mail to you this week. :) Cas makes the coolest rings ever....I can't wait to see what she does with these! Check out her Etsy shop and click on the Rings section over to the right.

Besides going to BeadFest on Saturday (ALL DAY LONG and boy were my feet sore!) and Sunday morning, we made it out to dinner on Friday night and saw Julie & Julia on Saturday night. Beth joined us for our evening activities, as well as returning to the hotel with us for wine, Mississippi Mud Cake that I made the day before I left and bead/jewelry talk.

I don't remember the last time I had a Girls Weekend, but I was long over due and this weekend could not have been any better. Aside from sitting on the tarmac for over an hour before taking off in Philly or the hour and a half on I-75 coming home because a really bad accident closed all four lanes. But at that point, I didn't even feel the smallest amount of frustration with either delay. I had had a simply fantastic weekend and nothing was going to take that away from me.

Nothing.

I feel rejuvenated from the weekend. I am filled with inspiration to make new beads. I'm excited about making jewelry again after taking a year off from making ANY jewelry. My store of patience, which had felt rather low before the weekend, seems to be overflowing now. I feel more at peace with my life, my husband, my kids, my work and my torch.

Amazing what girlfriends can do for the soul without even knowing it.

Take Aways

1 hotel room
+
a flight to Philadelphia
+
weekend with Lorelei
+
new friends
+
TONS of beads
=
PRICELESS!

BeadFest 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This is the hotel/convention center where the BeadFest was held just outside of Philadelphia in the King of Prussia/Valley Forge area. The convention center was over to the left, but still attached to the hotel. Very large maze of hallways to walk through, which made me feel a little bit like I was in the hotel in The Shining.


Lorelei drove down from Upstate New York and picked me up at the Philadelphia airport. We chilled at the hotel for awhile before Beth Anderson picked us up and we went out to dinner together. Beth is a very kind and caring woman, I'm so glad I got to meet her. Check out her blog and etsy shop. Beth gave the best 'good-bye' hugs and I felt like we were family.

Check out Lorelei holding up the new ChainStyle book. She has NINE designs included in this book and her work is on the COVER of the book. How exciting to see it in print (finally!), but it will be another month or so before the publisher starts sending out copies to everyone who pre-ordered. btw, that's my ivory lentil bead on the right side :)

This is just one of many rows of vendor booths on the main floor of BeadFest. It was really overwhelming walking in and seeing so many shops set up with beads, Beads, BEADS everywhere!

There was a humblebeads section designated front and center at the Bello Modo booth. Very cool seeing Heather's beads in person. I bought two little sets to watch over me at my torch for inspiration. I love the colors and rings of color echoing each other all over the beads.

These bright enamel beads were made by Sara Lukkonen of C-Koop Beads. I bought several of her magnetic clasps which are the rounds in the foreground and also some of her toggles. The magnets are very strong inside the clasps, but easy to work. I'm excited to use them!

These were some Buddhist monk beads at Hands of the Hills, Inc. I bought two really cool silver rings from them.

Look at all the colors of Marsha Neal's ceramic beads. Delicious! Marsha was so full of upbeat energy and humor...I LOVED spending time in her booth. If she was my neighbor, I would probably be sneaking into her kitchen at night after the kids go to bed to talk over coffee. And I don't even drink coffee! Her beads were so cool with wonderful glazes and mesmerizing patterns.
Here are some very cool shards that had holes in the middle for use as toggles or at the end for focals.

I got many pics of Marsha and Lorelei laughing and having a great time, but I like this one the best. It makes me smile and wish I was back in Marsha's booth. You can check out more of Marsha's beads in her Etsy shop.

These donut beads were made by Kristie Roeder (pronounced raider, like Raiders of the Lost Ark) of Artisan Clay. I would like to sit in Kristie's studio and watch her work because the process sounded absolutely fascinating. She binds her donuts in string or twine and then sets fire to whatever wood or other combustibles she can find to smoke out her works of clay. They turn these beautiful shades of greys, browns, blacks and grey and look like they were dug up from the ground from thousands of years ago. I bought some of these, too. :)

Here is Kristie with Lorelei. I didn't think she was going to stand still because she was just jumping-up-and-down excited to be at BeadFest, and perhaps just to be alive. If I had one tenth of Kristie's energy, I KNOW I could get everything done in one day that I want/need to accomplish. She is another whom I wish I lived closer to so I could walk into her studio.

It wasn't too long ago that I became Facebook friends with Julie Nordine of Credit River Art Glass. She is an incredible lampworker (in spite of occasional 3rd degree burns on her thumbs) and it was a complete shocker to come upon her booth at BeadFest. I had no idea she was going to be there, but I'm so glad I got to see her work in person and just get to stop and chat. Julie was very cool and I might have to crash her studio next summer when we drive back up to Minnesota! I wanted to buy one of her acorn or birdhouse beads, but I was out of money. Something new on my Wish List. :)

Here is the Green Girl Studios booth with so many ultra-cool charms, beads and clasps. I enjoyed getting to sit down and talk to Andrew Thornton and Will while they ran the booth. Andrew traded me a few beads for some of my lampwork beads, which I thought was awesome! Will and I traded thoughts on iPhone apps and now I am addicted to Flood-It.

We got Will to take our picture and Lorelei ducked down so I wouldn't look like so much of a midget. Can you tell she was amused by playing the shorty?

So this little weekend getaway started a month ago when Lorelei asked if I wanted to fly to Philadelphia to go to BeadFest. I had no idea what BeadFest was, but I jumped at the chance to get to meet her in person and spend the weekend hanging out together. I booked the plane ticket and hotel room almost right away and then added the weekend to my countdown app on my iPhone. I am so thankful for this opportunity to meet so many extremely talented artists, make new friends and get away from the normal routine at home/work for a couple of days.

I'm glad to be home. Sleeping in my own bed (fyi - those sleep number beds or overpriced crocks of air mattresses!) and snuggling my kids.

I'm glad to be home. My levels of patience were restored with this little break. I'm filled with a new level of calmness and a feeling of being at peace with my life.

I am inspired.

p.s. Check out Lorelei's account of the weekend here.

Bead Model

Chloe came into my office this morning before school & saw these beads sitting on my desk. She thought they were shaped like a bracelet & quickly scooped them up & stuck them around her little wrist.


I explained Lorelei would be sad if I didn't have them in my bag for her when I arrive in Philadelphia tomorrow for the BeadFest. Chloe looked at them for awhile longer and then very gently put them back on my desk.

I love it when she decides to be sweet and good :)

I can't wait to get to Philadelphia tomorrow.

I'M SOOOOO EXCITED!

Making a Glass Bead

Wendy filmed this for me in March 2008 when my studio was still out in the garage. Hence the cramped and messy space, but it was functional. I did not have a special filter on my camera (like the didymium glasses I wear to block out the dangerous rays from the flame), so the bead gets a little lost in the flame. If you had the same view as a lampworker wearing the glasses, you would be able to clearly see the glass melting in the flame. I hope you enjoy watching!



This is what I LOVE to do when my kids are sleeping or when I find free, alone time!!!

For the Romantics Out There

Take a look at THIS blog post. It is a husband's thoughts about his wife on her birthday and the meaning of the day.

It's right up there with Jerry Maguire and the "You complete me" scene.

New Atlantis Blues

I have made a couple of worry stones with similar designs. I love how the clear looks dotted over the blue swirls. Especially where there is a thin line of black running through the middle.




What do you think? Better on the wood or with the white background?

Sir Paul

It has been a loooong two weeks of sitting on my hands and biting my tongue to keep from telling my Mom that I bought tickets to the McCartney concert for us. I told her she was on a Need-To-Know-Basis and she just didn't need to know details, other than what to wear and when to show up at my house yesterday.

Our good friend Martin was in on it and helped maintain the charade we were going to the High Museum of Art (conveniently at the same MARTA exit) and that they were having an outdoor event, which is why we brought a blanket. The secret was maintained until after we got off the MARTA train at the Arts Center and I confirmed for a concert volunteer we were headed to the concert so we could get street directions on which way to walk. Mom was totally shocked and then so excited.




Seating was unassigned, but we got a decent spot near the top of a hill where we squeezed into maybe three square feet of real estate between other peoples' blankets. An Irish band opened before Paul came on stage close to 8:45pm (lots of waiting and sore/numb backsides from sitting on the ground since 5pm when we were told the concert would start). But oh, was it worth it!




Yes, Paul is older. But his facial expressions and his eyes were still those of the boy from Liverpool, delighting in the response of the crowd and sometimes full of mischief. And that was sexy. Seeing him onstage live (THANK GOD they had two big screens on each side of the stage to show him in clear detail for those of us half a mile from the stage!) and in person was incredible. I was surrounded by so many people who LOVED the Beatles when they were in their teenage years and many of us who were raised on the Beatles by those same teenagers of the 60s. What an awesome energy in the crowd (and no, it had nothing to do with all the joints that were being lit up all over. wow!). It seemed everyone was full of awe and appreciation for this man. His talent. His voice. And his charisma.

Cameras weren't allowed, so I was limited to the camera on my cell phone which is great for up-close, but not for far-away details. Here you can see the two looooong screens hanging on either side of the stage and these are where live video of Paul on the stage was magnified up for all to see.




And here it looks like a blur of lights in the pic, but in person I could very clearly see every detail of Paul. Oh Paul, you still rock!



I haven't been to a music concert in over fifteen years (I know, that's a long time but I just really don't like being in crowds. At all), but this was well worth coming out to see. Walking two miles, sitting on the ground for three hours waiting for Paul and feeling my butt go numb, getting soaked to the bone during a 45 minute cats n dogs rainstorm, standing for two and a half hours while my feet went numb, long port-a-potty lines, walking two miles back soaking wet....none of that mattered.



I got to see McCartney!

And for the second time in her life, so did my Mom :D



p.s. BIG THANKS go out to my husband for staying home with our kids and Martin's son to feed them, entertain them and get them to bed. It was a surprise for all of us that the concert would not be ending until after 11pm and we wouldn't be home till midnight.

Surprise Tickets to McCartney!

I secretly bought tickets for this concert as soon as I found out Paul was coming to town. It's grass seating and I'm packing a blanket. No chairs allowed, which kinda stinks. But does it really matter? I'm going to be hearing Paul sing LIVE! Mom raised me on the Beatles growing up and she saw them in person in 1963. I'm so excited!!!




I think Mom will be stoked when she finds out where we're going. Hoping that realization won't hit her until we're walking up to Piedmont Park and handing over our tickets :)



How could anyone not love this man? Or his music?



They aren't allowing cameras and have promised to search all purses/backpacks.....so my iphone will have to suffice. I sure don't want my NEW camera confiscated!

Concert pics to be uploaded upon my return to the homefront

Are You Ready For the Weekend?!

I have been pumping the 80s tunes this week and thought I'd switch up my playlist so you can enjoy, too. If you don't, then the playlist has been conveniently moved to the top of the page so you can stop listening to the music I love (seriously, how could you not love 80s?).

Oooh, the excitement of peeking into a cooled kiln in the morning!


Hello my lovelies :) (I haven't gotten this welcoming phrase out of my head since I read one of Allison Turner's tutorials yesterday with a photojournal to show each step....I love it and it makes me smile!)

Here is the vast majority of the beads that I made...lotsa bright, summery colors. All on a 1/16th mandrel. I normally work with the 3/32nd mandrels, but trying out the smaller variety to see if that helps stimulate any extra sales.



I also made a new Pink Ribbon bead, this time using the Gelly Pink that I've had in my cabinet but haven't tried yet. I like this pink alot. Reminds me of the Big League Chew that I used to savor as a kid.



My pumpkin just turned orange from dark green this past week and is now bigger than a softball! The kids are excited :)



I am looking forward to this weekend. Tomorrow morning, the kids and I will be going for a long walk through the woods to go exploring. In the afternoon, my Mom is coming over and then we are leaving the husband/kids behind for a fun day out together. I have something planned, but it's a surprise.

What Came Out of the Kiln This Morning?

I'm having a hard time turning this calendar page....I'm a sucker for flags and really anything patriotic. This little ferret with his hard hat has been watching me melt glass for the last month and I'm going to miss him. But it is probably time to move on to August.



Here is my torch all fired up from last night. A trusty little Mega Minor burner with a torch-mounted graphite marver for helping shape my beads. Lots of clear rods on the torch table. I try to have them all cleaned before I start melting glass because it seems I'm always using clear on whatever I make these past few months.



Here is everything that went into the kiln last night and I'm pleased with how most of it came out. The butterfly is the second one I have made and it was easier than the first. I have shied away from butterflies in the past because in the Beads of Courage program, they are given to the parents who have lost their children to cancer. But a customer asked that I make a butterfly for her and it made me realize I shouldn't let my emotions prevent me from making something that could mean so much to others who have lost their children. I'll keep tissues close by if I start thinking too much about the purpose of the bead.



I like this worry stone that I made last night. It has a combination of Gaia and Cezanne under a thin layer of clear. While my fingers like the bumpy side better, my eyes like the smooth side the best. There are lines of silver wrapping around the bead that I love.




I was playing around with Double Helix's newest color named Ekho last night and combining it with clear. The purple is the best reaction, but I'm still learning how to control it.




The clouds started moving on me over my lunch hour and blocked out the sunlight just as I was finishing taking pics. I thought I'd aim my camera at the sky for a couple of shots. I may start including these with my Etsy listings just as a fun way of showing what kind of lighting I had when taking the pics. :) I thought it would be cool and isn't anything I've seen other Etsy sellers do (although, I do enjoy seeing pics of their feline Quality Control Inspectors). Think that's a stupid idea? If you do, then tell me why. Just soften the blow with a compliment on my kids. Or you can tell me you like my hair.




Owen lost his last wiggly tooth yesterday. This is the fourth tooth that has come out. He is proud to show off his toothless grin, so it is easier now to get pictures of him. Wondering how long this will last.

Pics from the New Camera

I am having fun playing with my new camera, but it is becoming painfully obvious to me that I have much to learn about how to use it. Thankfully, until I learn how to use all the features and the difference between ISO and f-stops and white balance, it has an auto-focus mode :) It was a rather spendy camera, so I figure I owe it to myself (and the camera) to learn how to use every button and dial (omigosh, there are more dials than I know what to do with on it!) before the year is out. A photography class is likely in store for me.

The girl child and I took a walk this morning before our guys woke up. The sun was shining, but it was hidden from us during our walk on our nature trail because of all the tall trees. While we walked, we enjoyed hearing the crickets sing to us.



My Beanarina at the top of the steps leading down to the nature trail at the bottom of our street.



Cool lichen growing on one side of a little tree stump.



Here is Chloe walking up to the footbridge. It is just at the edge of our little forest of trees after we walked about half a mile under their cover.




This pic better captured the floating water bug than it did my reflection as I leaned over the footbridge where we turned around to come home.



I thought this was a neat leaf with cool spots. Pretty spider on the underside, although I kept a safe distance. I do better with vertebrates than arachnids or some of the unpredictably jumpy insects.





Some quick fancy footwork helped us jump over this guy on our way back home. He was almost as big as my index finger!



Newest beads using Ekho from Double Helix



Here is the same glass encased in clear. Love the purple that comes out! Need to play with this glass a little more :)



My Owen boy is feeling 100% again after being on antibiotics for over 24 hours. He tested positive for strep throat Saturday morning when I took him into the pediatrician's office. They looked at me like I had three heads when I told them my Wendy treated six cases of it on Thursday (strep season starts as soon as school is back in session). But the quick strep test that normally takes 5-10 minutes to show the results turned Owen's little throat culture back in less than two minutes. Poor guy...he just had strep in February. Although, I'd rather it be strep and get antibiotics to feel better in less than a day, than it be a cold virus and treat the symptoms for a week or more.



And the other good news is that the union for the Southeast did not walk out on strike when their contract expired at 11:59pm Saturday night. Which keeps me at home with my family and not climbing phone poles in Northwest Georgia or Oklahoma. Soooo thankful!

Now if I could just kick this sore throat that I picked up on Friday!

Random

I don't have any new bead pics, so I'll just share a few random thoughts. Or maybe more than a few. We're about to find out how chatty I am.....

1.) I cleaned out 36 beads today from two different torch sessions. A good half were beads made to order that will likely be shipped to Germany and Puerto Rico. When on the torch, I was using Italian, American, German and Chinese glass. I considered it an international, multi-cultural night of sorts and blasted the Beatles from my iPod to bring in a little of Mother England.

2.) My Grandpa was in Germany when he served during WWII. He stood in the Eagle's Nest at one point and said the windows were all blown out, but the view was incredible. He snagged a piece of parchment that granted an honorary Chancellorship to AH. Grandpa talked about various German families taking him and some of the other soldiers in and their unexpected friendliness. One family gave him a dagger that had belonged to their son in the German army. That was in the back of my mind when I decided to take German in high school. It makes me sad that I am nowhere close to fluent in the language anymore, but not having anyone to speak it with hasn't helped over the past fifteen years.

3.) I loaned my camera to a friend so he could use the movie feature on it to record the reaction of his 3 year old upon seeing his new Up and Down bed (3 yr old speak for a bunk bed). I helped Martin put the bed together last weekend while my kids either watched on and provided helpful directions like "What have you guys been doing? It doesn't look like you've put anything together yet." We figured it out on our own without the useless instructions and diagrams that came in one of the many boxes.

4.) For months I have been wanting an SLR camera to 1.) take better pics of my beads and jewelry and 2.) to get focused pics of the kids, even when they are bouncing off the walls as some 4 and 6 year olds are known to do. Specifically my 4 and 6 year old.

5.) Yesterday, I broke down and bought a really cool camera on ebay from a camera store in New York. It is a refurb that was a Nikon factory demo and it was an absolute steal. Todd pushed me to splurge on shipping and pay for Next Day air. I called them and they said I missed their 1pm deadline for same day shipping, so I just ho-hummed and paid for ground. Their billing department called me two hours later and said my credit card wouldn't verify, but the information they had was correct and it ran through when we were on the phone. I asked about Saturday delivery, which was rejected but she got approval from the shipping department for a guaranteed delivery of today. The new camera arrived shortly after 3pm and I'm stoked!

6.) The boy child was sent home from After School today with a sore throat and a temperature of barely 100. He's had allergies this week and is over-tired from getting up super early every day (6am is not my friend, either). I think he's just exhausted. I hope.

7.) We have plans to go out for Mexican tonight and I'm looking forward to their delicious shrimp salad with avocados and pico de gallo, as well as the chips n salsa and the absolutely mandatory frozen margarita on a Friday night. Hold the salt, please.

8.) I'm so thankful the weekend is almost here. It has been a long week and I'm looking forward to the downtime. I'm also looking forward to teaching myself how to use my new camera. I may break down and for the first time ever, buy a Dummies book so I can learn how to use my new camera a little bit faster. However, I will not admit to this activity or purchase.

9.) The contract for the 'old' BellSouth union expires tomorrow. If they walk out on strike, I will have to report for strike duty on Sunday. I'm not thrilled with the prospect of climbing phone poles or descending into manholes (manholes and the gases within them terrify the ever-living snot out of me. Six seconds in an environment where other gases have eliminated oxygen causes a body to lose muscular control and deteriorated brain functions, which prohibit one from saving their own ass and climbing back up the ladder and out of the manhole). It has been five months since I learned how to use the test sets for detecting other gases or manhole safety and four months since I went to class on climbing poles and securing ladders to the phone lines in between.

10.) If you feel so inclined to include me (and my family for having to make it without me) in your prayers or positive thoughts, I would be appreciative.

11.) If I don't have to go on strike duty, at this time in 14 days, I will be landing in Philadelphia and staying for the weekend to go to the BeadFest. A few weeks ago, Lorelei asked if I'd be interested in going and I jumped at the chance. I'm more excited about getting to meet her face-to-face than going to the bead show. I have really slowed down on making jewelry since last September (ok, a screeching halt would be more accurate) and so I don't really need to buy any supplies. I'll be on the look out for cool clasps and I'm also looking forward to meeting Andrew Thornton as he'll be working the Green Girl Studios booth.

12.) Plans are in place to make a Mississippi Mud Cake before I leave on the 14th so I can bring pieces with me to share. :) If I can figure out my new camera, there will be an upcoming post with pics of the cake in the making and consumption stages, as well as the recipe. It is my favorite and the cake I always ask my Mom to make for my birthday.

13.) My Dad is driving up on Sunday afternoon to visit and I'm excited to see him. It has been about a month and a half and I miss him. I hope I won't be called to strike duty and then have it be even longer before I see his face. At least he will get to see the kids.

14.) I cleaned up my studio this week and bought new drawers for storing my Etsy beads in so they don't bang each other up. The whole counter space looks much more inviting and I'm hoping to find quality torch time this weekend. New mandrels and a new Double Helix color were delivered this week. I'm inspired with many new ideas of beads I want to make!

15.) I'm excited about the new bead sets I made after I finished with orders this week. Hoping to get them photographed & listed this weekend.

16.) Maggie got her stitches removed today and her mouth checked out for perfect healing since having three teeth removed two weeks ago. Yay Mags!

17.) I had more going on in my head than I expected. I'll stop now. It's almost five o'clock and I hit 45 working hours this week at around 9am today. I'm done.

Peace out!