So in one of my last blog posts of 2012 I mentioned that one of my resolutions for 2013 was to cleanup my workspace after I completed a piece...when it comes to my bead embroidery pieces I tend to start a work and continue on that same piece until it is completed. I will venture off on other tangents if I need to make a sample for a class I am teaching or fooling around with a color combo that pops into my head but for the most part what is on my desk in the Vellux lined cookie sheet is my main project that I am pretty much continuously working on from start to finish. So this resolution seemed pretty benign, easy to keep, in short doable....and that is when I think the bead gods said HA!!!!

You see one of the other things I do at the end of a year into the beginning of the new year is to go through my stash and supplies and weed out what is not working for me anymore and to assess what I need to have to be able to create the pieces that are in my head or my sketch journal. This action in and of itself gets the creative juices flowing and is, for me, the perfect start to the year. This year I realized that my Swarovski palette was a bit lacking in some colors, shapes and sizes. Time to brew a cup of tea and drag out the Fire Mountain Gems and Beads Jewelry Maker's Comprehensive Catalog and make my needs and wants list! Now to my non beading readers let me explain a little about this catalog.....

.....it pretty much is to beaders what the Sears Catalog was to children in the early 1900s....inside I can find pretty much every beady thing I need to make whatever my mind's eye can create...I do shop for my supplies at my local bead store, estate and garage sales and on ebay but most of the shiny, sparkly bits come from Fire Mountain Gems! They are a wonderful company with the best customer service I could ask for...and being a former quilt shop owner, customer service is paramount to me!!! But I digress......So I took my cup of tea, pad, pencil and catalog in hand and a few hours later had my order ready to be uploaded to the FMG website with a promise that I would have my goodies withing 5-7 business days. Then it was back to the worktable to finish up the piece I was working on with the full intention of totally cleaning up said worktable when the last bead was stitched into place....but those oh so efficient FMG workers had other things in mind....2 days later this is what arrived on my doorstep

...what was a woman to do???? Of course I had to go through and check in the order (remember I used to own a quilt shop and checking in orders is part of my DNA!) and of course those sparkly bits of wonderfulness cried out to me and before I knew it all my good intentions of cleaning up before starting a new piece went out the New Years Resolution window...I had to start pulling components to start a new piece which would of course incorporate the newest colors of Swarovski that FMG came up with that I had to have....alas and alack not all New Year's resolutions are able to be kept....and maybe, just maybe they shouldn't be.......

Starting over

So it's been over a year since I made a blog entry but I am ready to put 2012 behind me and forge ahead into 2013....I have been working on a new series of beaded Ladies and I have gotten so many "how did you come up with that" comments at various shows and when I wear one of them that I want to share my process from the initial choosing of the beads and components on through the placement and decisions on fringe, chain/strap and closure. For the first time ever I took pictures of every phase....it amazes me that I remembered to do this! This is the genesis of my latest piece....it all started with the vintage snowflake pin...I knew I wanted to make The Lady of the Winter Solstice ever since I picked up this brooch at an estate sale this past summer

The face is one I purchased from a vendor at the Philly Bead Fest this past August...unfortunately I misplaced the business card that was tucked in the bag and do not know who the artist is who created it is...it is made out of the most glorious cranberry/blue/purple/turquoise raku and just seemed to glow from within. After those two elements came together it is time to dig through the shelves and shelves of hand dyed fabrics that I use as the base of my bead embroidery pieces. This particular fabric was hand dyed many years by my friend Helene Davis.Then it's time to dive into the bead stash and just start pulling together beads and other components that seemed to want to dance with what I already have....as you will see, some made the final cut and some did not but at this stage of the game I allow myself to be a glutton and just out as much as I think I want to use. Well that's how it all begins....be back soon to play some more...enjoy the last weekend of 2012

New treasures!

This past week has been a whirlwind of fun and family and obligation. Last Friday I went (for the first time!!) to the largest bead show on the East Coast....Bead Fest....which was more like a feast than a fest!!!!! It was advertised as the Philadelphia Bead Fest but was in Oaks PA...that's kinda like saying that Fords NJ is NYC.......but other than that is was wondrous!!! I walked in and at first was overwhelmed by the size....which I probably shouldn't have been having gone to numerous Quilt Markets but this was my first major bead market!!! There were so many beautiful displays and works of art done by unbelievably talented bead artists...and there was also a fair share of schlocky imported beads...but there was sparkle everywhere!!! My plan was to walk the entire Fest and then do my shopping on the second round...that plan quickly flew away on the crystal wings of a beaded butterfly....my first purchase was at the booth of Lisa Kang Designs... www.LisaKan.com Lisa creates some of the loveliest botanical themed beads I have ever seen. I purchased two of her "plum blossom" lampwork glass beads and will probably be visiting her website in the not to distant future in order to acquire more!! I then went around and found some stone and ceramic beads that called my name.....a new raku face cab that needed to be mine and various other bits and pieces that spoke to me. I then came upon a booth that just reached out and grabbed me and pulled me right in.... Vintage Meadow Artworks.... www.vintagemeadowartworks.com They specialize in Acrylic Floral art beads and their color palette and aesthetic were all I could ask for!!! I have already incorporated several layers of their beads into the LadyOfInfiniteSparkle that I am currently working on. All in all it was a great experience....but it's a good thing it only comes around once a year...I now know that I must start to save my pennies, nickles and dimes for next August....or maybe the lottery fairy will sprinkle a little of her dust on me!!!