BEAD & BUTTON & BEYOND....

Well.... The Bead & Button Show was a great success.... always a great time, I love to interact w/ customers & I especially love catching up w/ friends.

I really went crazy getting inventory ready for the show, so I came home w/ plenty of product to stock my Etsy shop w/... so that's what I've been doing since I've been home.
Plenty of acorns....

some fabulous large hole beads....

some gorgeous heart beads....

heart bead keys....

....& several kaleidoscoopes....

I have more to list over the next several days.... so much work!

Next on the agenda.... cleaning out my studio & adding a 2nd torch for teaching!! I bought a new torch @ the show, so excited about hooking it up!

Till next time....

THE BEAD & BUTTON SHOW...

...it's coming up quickly!! I'm ready, are you?

Heart beads, heart beads & more heart beads....

European-Style Charm Beads & bigger beads, perfect for necklaces 

& my new Duel-Length Stacking Charm-Bead Necklaces (bracelets, too!)

Plenty of cute earrings & jewelry

Glass & Copper Acorns (& acorns & more acorns!!)

Even a new size....MICRO...so cute!

Etched & enameled copper oak leaves & my sterling silver twig changeable bead holders, too! So much more!

Hope you'll stop by to check everything out.... booth 1136!

Here's a coupon for you, too... for 20% off one item at my booth....

& Click here for coupon for $2 off admission &/or Sunday's 2 for $10 special   

I WISH...

I wish I had enough to say daily to keep you guys entertained, but I'm so busy keeping all of my balls up in the air that I'm not even coming up w/ things to say on FACEBOOK! How crazy is that?? :o)

Things are going GREAT... I'm enjoying keeping my Etsy shop stocked... although it's ALOT of work & life tends to keep me from listing as often as I would like to, but it's really satisfying to have my work on the internet instead of just @ shows, where only a small amount of people have access to my pieces. I'm focusing on acorns these days, I just can't make enough... can't complain, but they're the most labor intensive of any of the work I do, so I have to do them in batches, which makes each step, including photo taking & listing, a process. I do enjoy it, though. I've just listed 30 new acorns in my Etsy shop, they're already being plucked up, which makes me very happy... but there you go, I have to get busy making more!! :o)

Anyway... here's a few more acorns that I listed.....
(clicking images will bring you to their listings)

& a FABULOUS skeleton key heart that I just love!

Off to make some more acorns!!

~ Julie

SO EXCITED!!....

I'm so thriled w/ the beads I made today... especially the 2 skeleton key beads. They're FABULOUS!! I'll post pictures of them in the morning when they emerge from the kiln. These are #4 & #5 skeleton keys... I should show you my other ones!! :o) I have yet to be able to get any of them to move freely, although the 2nd & 3rd ones had bead release. I figure that I didn't have enough, so I have a few keys ready to go that have an obnoxious amount of release on them, so we'll see! The two I did tonight were done w/out release, so they're on there for good. So pretty.

I also made a heart that I think will be fabulous. Not absolutely sure, but it looked great going into the kiln. (colors always change from when it's hot to when it's room temp.) I started out w/ Moretti Purple Red Special (my only red!) & ended up adding some powders to it... not what I planned (not a surprise!) ....& then I added some Andrea details to it & it looked fantastic (& big!) Just not sure how it's all going to look w/ the red base. Probably wonderful. I put the powders on pretty thick in most places... but that was before I pulled it into a heart shape, so I have no clue what it's going to look like w/ the powders thinned out like that. We'll see in the morning, won't we?? :o)

Having a great time... feeling really good. I need a shower like nobody's business, though. Think I'm heading there now... who needs to sleep? ;o)

Later...

BUSY BUSY GIRL...

Hey you! (yeah, YOU!)
I've been a busy busy girl the past several days trying to put together a RESOURCE page on my website for lampworkers. It started out as a simple list of my go-to glass & supplies sources that my first lampworking teacher asked me to put together for her for her students. (she knows I get around) But, being the A.D.D. perfectionist that I am, I couldn't leave it w/ SIMPLE. No way. It needs to be a COMPLETE source list... starting out w/

GLASS . TOOLS . SUPPLIES

...then adding subcategories for SPECIALTY suppliers, like:

Frit & Murrini

Glassworking & Shaping Tools

Glassfinishing Tools

....then Studio Equipment...

then books & magazines & tutorials & teaching studios, jewelry making supplies & on & on & on.

LOL... it never ends.

I'm getting some wonderful suggestions... can't use them all... but it's nice for others to check it out for me & fill in some blanks.

BUT... I have to stop for a few days, at least..... the BEAD SOUP PARTY is coming to an end on Wednesday & I have got to finish up my piece!! (no, I'm NOT a procrastinator... no way. LOL. I've been a little stuck w/ this piece... fighting to keep myself from taking this fabulous pendant that I've made from Jen's polymer piece & put it on a gorgeous silk ribbon. LOL. I like simpler pieces where the focal stands out...but we've challenged eachother to do something outside of the norm & Jen's done a fantastic job w/ my piece & is learning new techniques & is working w/ new materials in the process!! So time to get busy & do the same thing!!!

While I'm here :o) ...here's a little show & tell... a new heart necklace...I love it!

(click for larger image)

What do you think??? You love it, too... don't you?? :o) Need to get it listed in my Etsy store... will be after I get this Bead Soup piece finished up & posted, though!!

Till then...

Have a great week!

~ Julie

OCEAN HEART BEAD...

This is my favorite bead...
















favorite one to wear around my neck...
something that gets NOTICED, as it's really good sized & beautiful. I'm wearing it in my main blog photo.

I'm bummed that summer is over... I need to find a new favorite bead that I can wear for the winter. Of course, I should be wearing various beads, shouldn't I? LOL!