"WORKSHOP IN THE BARN" ~ Kirkland, WA

Beverly Ash Gilbert is one of those extraordinarily talented spirits that lights up the room before she even enters - she shared some of her many talents with a handful of us "hungry" beaders during a weeklong workshop that she held in her barn in Kirkland, Washington. After my own year of challenges with 4 hand reconstruction surgeries and a mountain of physical therapy, I was so ready to indulge myself with the pleasure of spending a week with other "like enthusiasts" who spoke the same "Bead Language" that I did. It was far more than I ever anticipated and the memories continue to linger on, and on,...already thinking and planning next year's reunion.

Beverly travels and teaches as well ~ if you ever get the chance to fit one of her classes into your life, I encourage you to make it a priority. See her traveling schedule at: http://www.beverlygilbert.blogspot.com. She is the creator and author of "Eye for Color"; a unique collection of interchangeable templates and color wheel system and a "must-have" for any beader.

She is the creator of "Bead Soup", (with the assistance from one of her sons) a unique, broad blend of colors, textures, and sizes of beads and gems neatly packaged in a see-through plastic box. It is a feast for the eyes and they are inspirations for the soul. You can find them on her website: .http://www.gilbertdesigns.net/beadmixes.html. I invite you to take a look and drool!

Tomorrow I will introduce you to the eclectic group of beaders who I spent the workshop week with; talent from all corners of the world: literally. See you tomorrow.

USE THE MUSE III CONTEST

This is a photo of the colors and items in the next Use the Muse III contest.

The only item that is missing is "the Muse" itself. Be sure to stay tuned to see

what Beadazzled does with the items above. Deadline: Oct. 19, 2009.

The fabulous Use the Muse beading design contest is back for another exciting round of competition.

Scarlett Lanson has selected another mystery muse component from Artbeads' artisan designer collection that will provide inspiration to hundreds of jewelry designers from around the world, all sworn to secrecy until the "Big Reveal."To compliment the muse component, Scarlett has selected an assortment of TOHO seed beads, Swarovski crystal beads, Swarovski pearls, Swarovski crystal yarn and a number of copper-plated pewter components from our co-sponsor TierraCast.

Everything is elegantly assembled in the Use the Muse contest kit available from Scarlett for only $30 plus shipping ($5 U.S. / $10 international). The Use the Muse contest is the brainchild of Scarlett Lanson who has a regular column in Beadwork magazine and has won some prestigious contests herself. She placed first in the 2009 KGI Wordwide Design Contest and fourth place in the 2007 Swarovski "Create Your Style" competition. Scarlett's goal was to create a competition with a shortened timeline that would offer a big payoff for beaders, stringers, bead weavers and embroiderers.

http://www.Artbeads.com is once again proud to sponsor this wonderful beading competition which provides inspiration for so many jewelry designers. The popularity of this contest continues to grow with this round of contest kits selling at a record pace. If you're up for the challenge, we encourage you to order your contest kit today before they sell out. Take a look at the past "BIG REVEAL" to see the designs that won the Grand Prize, 2nd Place, 3rd Place and each of the 10 Category Prizes. You can also see the entire gallery of designs from all the contest participants along with the comments from each designer regarding their creation and how the muse component inspired them.

Join me ~ it's such fun!

A Necklace for Michelle

"First Ladies of Style"

Length: 28.0"

Pendant: An exquisitly beadwoven geometric pendant made of delica beads compliments the design of the entire necklace. This necklace is made for Michelle Obama - and if there ever was a "Lady of Style" (the theme for our August challenge) it is truly this First Lady.

I have spent some time studying the colors and styles this first lady wears and enjoys. It started out as a bit of a dare and ended up a reality! This is truly a one-of-a-kind; exclusively for our First Lady. It will be sent to her after our challenge is over.This is my current entry in the Etsy Beadweaver's August monthly Beadweaving Challenge. The subject of the challenge is: "FIRST LADIES OF STYLE". Beadazzled is a proud member of this creative, beadweaving group.

Vote at: http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/

Voting Dates: August 9-15th

AND ALWAYS SEARCH: for the tags EBW TEAM (for unique beautiful beaded creations) and EBWC (for our monthly challenge entries) in your Etsy searches. See you there!

HAND PAINTED RUSSIAN ARTIST PENDANTS

These hand-painted Russian pendants are absolutely top-quality; really divine! A great deal of craftmanship goes into each unique and intricate design. Made in limited qualtities, these little gems are sure to become a highly sought-after product. Worth every penny, these hand-painted Russian pendants are real treasures. Get them at ArtBeads.

I used this scrumptous Deco-Art piece (which I absolutely adore) in this freeform beadweaving. It is a 30X40mm rectangle black onyx ; the painting is extremely detailed with a high polish finish.Find this product (AB-CHL1) at: http://www.artbeads.com/russian-artist-pendants.html. They have many more exclusive pieces to choose from. See all products at http://www.artbeads.com/. Don't miss them!

"HERE COMES THE BRIDE"; EBW Challenge

The VOTING has begun at the Etsy BeadWeavers team, the challenge theme is "Here Comes the Bride" These friendly & fun challenges are beneficial to our market for several reasons. They are a great way to increase our beadweaving skills, inspire us in a new and unexpected ways, and give us the opportunity to showcase our works. I ask that you please take the time to review the challenge pieces and vote for your favorite at: http://www.etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com.

The voting polls will be open from July 9th through July 15th, 2009.

"NEW HORIZONS" Challenge

The VOTING has begun at the Beadweaving Emporium Market, for our first challenge themed "New Horizons" These friendly & fun challenges are beneficial to our market for several reasons. They are a great way to increase our beadweaving skills, inspire us in a new and unexpected ways, and give us the opportunity to showcase our works. We ask that you please take the time to review the challenge pieces and then go to our offsite Beadweaving Emporium Blog at http://www.thebeadweavingemporium.blogspot.com to vote for your favorite.

The voting polls will be open from July 9th through July 15th, 2009.

The participants are as follows:

1. Sandfibers with You are my sunshine
2. Njema with New Horizons Bowl
3. Slavetobeads with Green Earth the New Horizon
4. Beadazzled of Oregon with A New Horizon; Sunrise
5. Three Fates Design with Rising Sun-New Horizon Necklace
6. Rachele's Originals with A New Horizon Barrette
7. Enchanted Beads with New Horizons Wedding Necklace
8. Beadsforever with Night Vision Necklace

Thanks again for your support!!

RED, WHITE and BEADWEAVING SALE-e-BRATION!

A 4th Firecracker SALE!

BLOG ANNOUNCEMENT:

Many of the shops that are members of The Beadweaving Emporium (BEM) market at 1000 Markets - Beadazzled of Oregon is one of those - have teamed together and are planning a fantastic 4th of July SHOPPER-TUNITY SALE in their shops. Items on sale will be designated by their SALE-A-BRATION badge; some shops will have selected items and others may have every item in their shop on sale.

Participating beadweaving shops will be:

1. Cigarboxbeads..................Marilyn

2. Beadsforever........................Linda

3. Nossubgallery.........................Ana

4. Mytreasures.........................Tanya

5. Enchantedbeads.................Ileana

6. Pvener...............................Patricia

7. Conlinscreations.............Amanda

8. BeadazzledofOregon.............Dini

9. RachelesOriginals...........Rachele

10. Littlestonedesign..............Cheryl

111. Hannahrachel..................Hannah

Be sure to check out each and every designated shop for outstanding handmade items and generous sale prices! Look for the SALE-e-BRATION badge in the participating shops for their SALE ITEMS.

Below is your own invitation to join us at BEM anytime the first week of July in our own Independence Celebration. Use scissors to cut out this reminder ~ Shop right here at home!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RED, WHITE and BEADWEAVING SALE-e-BRATION!

DATES: July 1 through July 8th, 2009

WHERE: http://www.1000markets.com/groups/bem

WHAT: unique and creative beadwoven art

HINT: shop early for the holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, and more!

EBW JUNE CHALLENGE: "HUMOR"

Etsy BeadWeavers' June Challenge: "Humor"

Length: 27" Pendant: 4.5" wide

This is my current entry in the Etsy Beadweaver's June Monthly Beadweaving Challenge. The subject of the challenge is: "HUMOR". Beadazzled is a proud member of this international creative, beadweaving group.

While recovering from recent hand surgeries, when I wasn't able to actually bead, I made the wire mesh chicken pen and attached this fabulous hand-blown glass lampwork chicken pendant. I tossed it into my "unfinished" basket. When this challenge subject was presented, my mind went right to that piece ~ and I decided this unique beadwoven necklace just had to be Mexican! Pizazzy in all the primary colors, this necklace is a OOAK (one-of-a-kind) piece that will encircle your neck comfortably and turn all heads with a wonderful chuckle. And we can all use more laughs, can't we?

The entries for the challenge are in and you are in for a real treat! Twenty Etsy Beadweavers have the talent and took the time to create these exciting and humorous challenge pieces! Please take the time to visit each entry and read their story about how their piece relates to the theme "Humor.

Using tiny little beads with a needle and thread and incredible patience, EBW bring these selections to you to vote and choose your favourite.You can click on the item in the text list below the mosaic which links to the Etsy Shop listing of each entrant where you will see more detail of each piece! Cast your vote, June 9th thru the 15th!

1. Adios Pollo - BeadazzledofOregon

2. HOUSE for RENT with Garden View - enchantedbeads

3. Jolly Jester - ArtfulAr

4. WEED Necklace - HauteIceBeadwork

5. Riot of Color Sparkly Rope Necklace - roseworksjewelry

6. Curly Black Rock Bacelet - SpringColors

7. inside jokes - thebeadedlily

8. Clown Fish Join the Carnival - beadsandblooms

9. Where's Waldo - Oops... I Mean Where's Lizard - fashionsfrome

10. Tartan Scottie Dog beaded cuff - Crownrosegems

11. Gone Fishing---Cat and fish bracelet - vanishingpearl

12. HERE'S LOOKIN' AT YOU Blown Glass Eye Pendant Set - caraway

13. Curiosity killed the Toilet Paper - LiciaBeads

14. Where Is My UFO - binkaminka

15. NOT My Mother - PfordCustomJewelry

16. Money doesn't grow on trees Necklace - CieloDesign

17. Harlequin - Free Form Beaded Cuff - ThreeFatesDesign

18. Punch-Line Bracelet - FrancescasFancy

19. Pond Frog Bracelet - savoystudio

20. Harlequin - jmackgems

Voting begins on Tuesday June 9th and ends midnight June 15th. You can show your appreciation for the efforts of these EBW artists by taking on the difficult task of voting for your favorite. Again, the individual pieces are listed below the mosaic on our EBW blog site below where you can visit each entry for more information by following the link. Thank you, enjoy and be sure to vote! Many thanks to Ann of Francesca's Fancy for creating a beautiful mosaic of the Challenge pieces.

VOTE @: http://www.http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/

NOTE: Double click on photo for close-up view.

WHAT IS: USE THE MUSE?

Sponsored by: Artbeads and Rainbows of Light.

A Creative Contest

for the playful artist, the inspired stringer and the patient beadweaver.

Produced by fellow beader, Scarlett Lanson (Use the Muse)

In Scarlett's own words: "The USE THE MUSE Beading Contest is a design competition that I created for people who have a love for beads and jewelry making. I have garnered a certain level of recognition in the beading world for my participation in several major beading contests and Beadwork magazines' "The Challenge". Entering these competitions has pushed me to grow further as an artist and experiment with materials that I would not usually work with. I would not be where I am today if it weren't for these events challenging me to participate and develop my skills as a beader.

Through my communications with beaders of all skill levels, from novice to advanced, I have learned that many of you would like to enter a contest, but are discouraged or intimidated by the grand scale of some of the other entries, or the expansive timelines. I wanted to provide a fun and creative outlet for those beaders! I wanted to create a sort of competition that I would want to enter.... that fills the voids that are so apparent in all the other contests. I wanted to create a competition for all types of beaders... stringers, beadweavers, and embroiderers - that had a shortened timeline - and a BIG PAYOFF!

My contest only runs ten weeks, and winners are announced just two weeks after entries are submitted. And the

PRIZES are big! They are tangible, visible, and very desirable! I selected each prize package with my sponsors Rainbows of Light and Artbeads.com and designed it with the winners in mind. Every part of this contest was carefully thought out to create the most exciting and inspiring event possible.

SO WHAT IS THE MUSE ANYWAY? The MUSE is the central component in my contest! Each participant will purchase a contest kit, with an assortment of stunning beads, from crystals, to pearls, to silk, to seed beads, and more. From this kit, they will create their own design entry. They are allowed to use as much or as little of the kit as they choose, and are encouraged to incorporate their own beads and elements to create the most unique piece possible. The main rule however, is that they must USE THE MUSE. The MUSE is a mystery component that participants do not get to see until their kit package arrives in the mail! It is a design element that is carefully chosen to be interesting and usable by both stringers and beadweavers. The element complements the rest of the contest kit and may be a focal, pendant, art bead, or unique design component.

Details of the MUSE component are not to be revealed or discussed publicly until the "BIG REVEAL" at the end of the contest, when the winners and entries will be posted on this site. This is to preserve the mystery and the fun of having a SURPRISE design element, for both participants and onlookers. What I can tell you, is that the MUSE is a beautiful and versatile mystery component from drumrolll please.... Lillypilly! Please help keep the secret! Keeping the MUSE a mystery is essential to the fun!

I invite you to participate in the first International USE THE MUSE Contest and share it with your friends! To learn more, judging criteria, deadlines, and prizes will be blogged about right here at Beadazzled of Oregon in a few days!"

Scarlett's Blog: http://www.thebeadersmuse.com/

I'm taking the challenge ~ sounds exciting and fun to me! How about you?

THE EXCITEMENT HEIGHTHENS....

My good friend, LOUISA MEECE (Beaded Extravagance) has recently entered one of her fabulous beadweaving neck creations in the Fire Mountain Gems and Beads annual conpetition and just this week she was notified that her "gem" has been accepted into the second judging.

"I finally heard from FMG! Martian Queen's Necklace has been accepted into the second round of judging. Now I have to pack her up and ship her out your way. I'm a little nervous about that seeing as it is my most expensive piece but I'll be sure to insure it. It's just that it's not replaceable and I'd hate to lose it! It was one of those necklaces that I didn't like in the beginning but I went with my gut and finished her off and fell in love! I've decided that I'm going to make a cuff and a pair of earrings to match and sell them as a set- if I can. I've found that when I make a set with a very expensive necklace customers are willing to buy the less expensive parts of the set... I guess to have a part of it or something.

P.S. Well, I'm off to research Locks of Love. I made a drastic change yesterday and had 16 inches of my hair cut off! My husband isn't too happy with my decision, but I just had to get rid of all that hair! My daughter says I look like a 'young mom' now! LOL! It feels so much cooler and healthier!"

You GO GIRL! We are all so behind you ~ wish we could all vote for that fabulous piece!

See Louisa's crreations at: http://www.beadedextravagance.etsy.com.




NOTE: Double click on photo for close-up view.

Included In: MY SHOPPING CONNECTION

BEADAZZLED Featured on MY SHOPPING CONNECTION!

Etsy BeadWeavers AND Beadazzled of Oregon

Featured on "My Shopping Connection"

The Etsy BeadWeavers is a group of extraordinarily talented artisans who create intricate and detailed pieces of one-of-a-kind jewelry and art. The BeadWeavers take hundreds or even thousands of tiny beads and transform them into a woven work of art. Each piece can take hours, weeks or months to complete.

The Etsy BeadWeavers blog is incredibly active, and each month many of the members participate in a challenge to create a new piece based on a given theme. If you spend time browsing the blog and the members' shops, you'll be amazed by the incredible detail and artistry that goes into bead weaving!

From left to right: Smadar's Treasure, Haute Ice Beadwork, Triz Designs, Cielo Design, Jodi Horgan, Beadazzled of Oregon, Savoy Studio, The Beaded Bear and BeadCatcher.

A huge thank you goes out to My Shopping Connection for the great article featuring the EBW team and spotlighting several members' work. We were lucky enough to be one of them! Click the photo above to check it out!

See them at: http://www.myshoppingconnection.com/

NOTE: Double click on photo for close-up view.

OTIS FIRST BLOG!

Follow the fascinating adventures of Otis, my Cleveland cousin's (http://www.LIHDesigns.com) sock dog, and his real life adventures of traveling with Leslie and her family to Italy. It's too cute! Please leave your comments on Otis' blog, address below:

GO TO: http://www.otis-sockdog.blogspot.com.

ARTBEADS REVIEW CORNER: Russian Pendants

HAND PAINTED RUSSIAN ARTIST PENDANTS


These hand-painted Russian pendants are absolutely top-quality; really divine! A great deal of craftmanship goes into each unique and intricate design. Made in limited qualtities, these little gems are sure to become a highly sought-after product. Worth every penny, these hand-painted Russian pendants are real treasures.

I used this Macaw piece (which I absolutely adore) in a cuff bracelet demonstration recently that I did for Step-by-Step Beads magazine. It is a 20X31mm rectangle black onyx Scarlet Macaw; the painting is extremely detailed with a high pilosh finish.

Find this product (AB-1 PAT1) at: http://www.artbeads.com/russian-artist-pendants.html. They have many more exclusive pieces to choose from. See all products at http://www.artbeads.com. Don't miss them!

Here are a few more photos of my Step by Step "Free-Form for Beginners" demonstration.

NOTE: Double click on photo for close-up view.

"A Mexican Sunrise on the Horizon"

Whew! I l-o-v-e-d these colors! Pizazzy challenges:

The Beadweaving Emporium, that Beadazzled is a member of, will have it's first beading challenge due July 1st.

The challenge is: "A New Horizon" and there is a second challenge to use the color green in some way. This is what I came up with ~ it also met the requirements of the Step by Step Colorworks Contest (http://www.sbsbeads@interweave.com) due the middle of May! With 4 custom orders to start and complete, I was feeling a real need to kill 2 contests with one piece, if you know what I mean? The Colorworks Contest requirements was to use the "tiertiary triad colors" of green, orange and purple. I loved working on this piece! Judges will be Margie Deeb, Colorworks author, and the staff of the magazine and finalists will be previewed in Step by Step's fall issue. You can find Margie at: http://margiedeeb.com/index.php.

NOTE: Double click on photo for close-up view.

Celebrate Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you Mom's out there and for those of you who aren't, share that time with your own mother in whatever way you can.

They are a special breed!

FROM MY BEADING BOARD:

Aghhh, challenges, challenges! It seems like it has taken me eons to complete this scrumptous lion.

Try beading without the use of your thumb ~ what I found was that there was no way I could create a tension in my work.

Sometimes, during one's advanced years, there is a certain stubborness that surfaces....

See below....

MR. "BAD HAIR DAY"

from our

"ZOO COLLECTION"

I've been working on this old fella for a little while now. The wonderful lion head comes from Amee of "Amee Runs With Scissors".

(www.ameerunswithscissors.com)

Leo has been on my beadboard recently - I worked on him while my arm and hand was still in a cast (after 4 reconstruciton surgeries) and when the cast came off and the pins out, I worked on it with a traction hand brace. He helped me keep my sanity through my rehabilitation!

We've become good friends ~ this guy will live in my private collection.

But, I do have 2 more unspoken for lions (green and coral) and they are asking for a good home; I will make them up as custom orders in your special colors and length - just contact the Zoo Manager: di42ni@msn.com.

BEADWEAVING EMPORIUM NOW LIVE...

...AND OPEN FOR BUSINESS AND NEW MEMBERSHIP

Well, we're pretty excited!! The Beadweaving Emporium beadweaver's market at 1000 Markets) is now LIVE and open to the public for business and for new member requests. We currently have 13 beadweaving shops open with more joining every day.

If you are a beadweaver and already have a shop at 1000 Markets and are interested in joining our market, come and see us at:

http://www.1000markets.com/groups/bem. See you there!!

THE SISTERHOOD AWARD!

(: SISTERHOOD AWARD :)

I have been nominated for an award called the "Sisterhood Award." Given to me by
Jan Geisen http://www.jangeisen.blogspot.com/.

It was given because she thinks my blog is creative and inspirational, and in return, I get to nominate women whose blogs inspire and encourage me.

I have chosen:


1. Rachele Dagney @ http://rachelesoriginals.blogspot.com/.
2. Linda Roberts @ http://beadsforever2.blogspot.com/
3. Louisa Meece @ http://beadedextravagance.blogspot.com/
4. Sarah Kelley @ http://thebeadedlily.blogspot.com/
5. Karen Gill @ http://insidethehidingplace.blogspot.com
6. Marilyn Goodman @ http://cigarboxbeads.blogspot.com
7. Amanda Conlin @ http://conlinscreations.blogspot.com

So go check out their blogs and thank you, Jan!

Beadweaver's April Challenge Entry: VOTING TIME!

"SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW"

LENGTH: 45" inches - a lariat style

COLORS: Every color in the rainbow

DOUBLE-CLICK: Always double click on all the thumbnail photos for a close-up, detailed view.

This necklace has been created specifically for entry in the Etsy Beadweaver's (EBW) April Beadweaving Challenge. The subject of the challenge is: "Time Machine".

"Time Machine:" Close your eyes and wander back in your mind....Have you ever gazed at that gorgeous clear rainbow just after the rain and when the sun comes out? As a child, I used to wonder oh so much if there really was a pot of gold at the end ~ it was a temptation to start walking towards one end of that rainbow to see what I could find yet I was scared if I found nothing, I'd be so disappointed.

Well, if you look closely at this "tempting" necklace, you will see for yourself......This necklace is a OOAK (one-of-a-kind) piece that you can wear in a myriad of ways and is sure to start a conversation at any gathering.

EBW BLOG SITE: I encourage you to visit our team blog at http://www.etsy.beadweavers.blogspot.com. to see all the member's entries.

VOTE: Between April 9 and 15th, you will be able to vote for your favorite entry at the above web site. YOU CAN ALSO do a search for the tags "EBWC" to see the entries the members have listed so far.

NOTE: Double click on photo for close-up view.

BEADAZZLED DONATES 50% APRIL SALES TO...

Meet my granddaughter, Kendra.
aka: "Jelly Bean"

Beadazzled of Oregon Actively Supports Autism Awareness Month

B of O will donate 50% of all proceeds from the sales of any items in any of my shops to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) group (for the month of April) in honor of my "Jelly Bean" granddaughter, Kendra Seanor and in honor of her sister, Kayla, and her parents: Keith and Kristi. Autism, as with all chronic health issues, not only affect the child but obviously changes the lives of everyone surrounding them. As always I donate 10% to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in memory of my mother, Helen.

If you have an Etsy shop and are interested in joining our group you can find us at: http://team.etsy.com/profilest/autism.shtml or if you are interested in supporting autism, you can do an Etsy search for: "Etsy for Autism" to find the fine products of group members. Learn more about this affliction ~ it's the only way we can help those who need us the most. Thank you!

NOTE: Double click on photo for close-up view.

PROPOSAL: ACCEPTED!!!

The BEADWEAVING EMPORIUM @

1000 MARKETS:

OPEN FOR BUSINESS!!

Our proposal for THE BEADWEAVING EMPORIUM has been stamped: APPROVED as a new market at 1000 Markets!! We submitted our proposal to their management yesterday afternoon and received a "Well Done" acceptance email from CEO Matt at 10pm last night. We are all very excited and now look forward to getting our actual electronic marketplace created, post each of our shops there and look forward to inviting all beadweavers across the country (and soon to be international) to apply for membership in our group. This move allows us to spotlight our own particular kind of unique beading to be showcased in it's own entity which we believe will make it easier for the public to find us. Until now, beaders, beadweavers, bead makers, lampwork bead makers, etc. at 1000 Markets have been bunched together under "jewelry".

These shops are the hard-working Founding Members of the Market:

Beadazzled of Oregon
Rachele’s Originals
Conlin’s Creations
Beaded Extravagance
Beadsforever
The Beaded Lily
Cigar Box Beads
Hiding Place Beadery

Come and see us! Or come and join us at 1000 Markets!

INVITATION:

If you are a beadweaver and are interested in membership, we invite you (at this time) to contact either me (Beadazzled of Oregon) or Racele Dagley (Rachele's Originals). We are compiling a list now. Soon we will have our own 1000 Markets link to membership and I will post that here so watch for it!

NOTE: Double click on graphic for close-up view.

PROPOSAL ON THE WAY TO 1000 MARKETS!

THE BEADWEAVING EMPORIUM

Beadazzled of Oregon started it's own shop at 1000 Markets, a new selling venue sincerely based on "quality not quantity" just a few weeks ago. After a week of being open, still posting my inventory (and haven't finished that yet!) I spent some time investigating my way through the marketplace there. It occurred to me that all beaders were glomped together: stringers, beadweavers, lampwork artists, bead makers, etc.

That insight gave way to the initial idea that we beadweavers should have our own marketplace that just showcased our art. So, OK, you know the rest... Inviting anyone who might be interested in such a venture, within a handful of days there was a solid group of 8 of us who have spent the entire last week, pioneering our way through writing up our proposal, choosing our name and tag line, establishing our vision of the market we wanted to establish and deciding on a final banner graphic. We will call ourselves: The Beadweaving Emporium.

Today we spit and polish and make sure all those "i's" are dotted and submit it for consideration by the 1000 Markets jury. Regardless of the outcome, (though obviously we hope it's a positive acceptance) this last week has been a wonderful, non-stop experience by 8 devoted, hard-working entrepreneurs, teamed together for a common purpose. Great job gals!

Mumblings in the outside beading world that this proposal is in the works surfaced. Now my list for other beadweavers who are ready to join us is growing daily. And, that's exciting too! Any beadweaver reading this now, if you are interested in joining this group, please send me your name AND email address and I'll keep you postes on our progress. Stay tuned for the outcome.

NOTE: Double click on photo for close-up view.

What's On My Beading Board Today?

He's just wonderful!!
I was browsing the web one day, came across "Amee Runs With Scissors". OK, now if you came across that as a name for a shop, wouldn't you check it out? Of course, so I did. Amee does some fabulous multi-media work but this old gal fell absolutely in love with her lions.




Alas, I couldn't locate an actual outlet shop for her so I contacted her and asked if she ever made these fellas for sale. Well, no, she hadn't...so I pleaded (and I'm really good at that) and Amee agreed, making me 4 lions with the most fabulous, individual personalities you ever saw. I couldn't wait to get started on one...but other work got in the way. Finally last night I poured the accompanying beads onto my beadboard and began.

Follow this guy as we proceed together to a finished piece. I'm thinking he needs to be called "It's A Bad Hair Day". What do you think?

Find Amee at: http://www.ameerunswithscissors.com/home



NOTE: Double click on photo for close-up view.

A DEAR CUSTOMER'S CUSTOM REPORT

This custom necklace I made for a dear friend of mine in Mesa, AZ. Donna is one of those people who wears jewelry like a model (or is it queen?). She has commented on the responses she gets from admirers about how the neckpiece looks like it is part of the top she is wearing - it drapes easily and gently around the neck, as a loose-choker style. Donna wears lots of beiges, blacks and browns so you can imagine the mileage this necklace gets; yahoo!

We'll be working on another custom piece for her soon - I'm just waiting for her color selection. Here are a few more close-ups of the beadweaving. It's such a joy to make special items for special people that you have a relationship with!! ThankX for these photos, Donna! Wear in the spirit of good health and harmony, my friend. Sending lovies...

Congratulations: Rachele's Originals!

"The Seductress"

An utterly exquisite rendition of the Feb-March Etsy Beadweaver's challenge ("Temptation") titled "The Seductress" brought designer Rachele first place and the right to choose the subject for the next challenge.

Graze your eyes over this magnificiently executed neck piece. The colors are so rich and exciting.

Congrats Rachele! This is just smashing and would go with a lot of clothes in my closet.....

NOTE: Double click on photo for close-up view.