A Great Little Bead Show

The annual Heart of California Bead and Adornment Expo is in 4 days! This will be the fourth ? or fifth one. It's from 10:00~5:00 Saturday and Sunday. It's held at the Ramada Inn in Fresno. Ahhh...some more Summer weather! So I've been busy packing beads and clothes to take. Jewelry is polished, (mine as well as a little jewelry to sell) The freezer is full of food for hubby and the laundry is caught up for the moment! One of the things I like about this show is that it is mostly small vendors from the local area. Not a lot of imports! It's a friendly venue and Stephanie and Penny go beyond the call of duty to make the vendors feel welcome. The customers are friendly, they offer classes and make and take projects. If you're in the area, stop by and say hi! And if you would like to vend at the show, please contact them through their website.

Post Bead and Button Show

What a great experience Bead and Button show was! I am finally getting back in the groove of my regular routine. Aside from some airline glitches I had a great show. I wish I could have been in two places at once! It was hard to shop with all the great vendors and be at my own booth at the same time. I did manage to do a little shopping of course! It was great seeing all my lampwork friends too. It's a huge show, so if you haven't been before, plan ahead and pace yourself. Mark the booths you really want to visit, do a quick walk through and mark your program with the ones you want to go back to. With three and a half days of shopping, it's definitely possible to see it all. There are food vendors inside the Wisconsin Center, one really good one in particular that had great panini sandwiches, soup and the most amazing brownies! They even included some gluten free options. One of the highlights for me was being able to see the beautiful winning seed bead designs from the BeadDreamers competition. As a seed beader, I can really appreciate the work that goes into these pieces. I also met some of the designers, like Sherry Serafini, Marcia DeCoster and Phyllis Dintenfass. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. I would again like to thank the ISGB for presenting this marketing opportunity and allowing me the chance to do this show. I will be back I'm sure. Now, back to listing beads in my Etsy shop!

Bead and Button Show

The day is near...I leave tomorrow for Milwaukee to attend and sell my wares at my first Bead and Button Show. I would like to again thank the ISGB for this opportunity. I received a place in the show among 2 other artists as a marketing opportunity from the Society after applying about 3 months ago. Bead and Button is the largest consumer bead show in the U.S. it is 2 weeks long with many, many classes by expert teachers. The Marketplace is open to the public starting Thursday evening with a sneak preview and continues through Sunday.

I forget from time to time, how much goes in to doing a show not to mention, putting on a huge show like this. I have been making beads for months to set aside so that I don't deplete my Etsy shop and forget about my loyal customers. Making beads for both has been a challenge. I have a carry-on full of beads and some stashed in my suitcase too! Display items, lights, cords etc. have been mailed to the hotel so they will be there when I get to the check in. List after list of thing to remember, things to take, don't forget this, don't forget that....

The worst part (if there is one) is not knowing what to expect. Since I have never attended this show, I have no clue as to how many beads to take! But, I can only take so many and whatever is left will be listed in my Etsy shop as soon as I return.

Free Tut Friday!

The second in my Free Tut Friday, we'll explore making headpins. This is a style and technique I cam up with that has been very popular.

You will need: Reichenbach Iris Orange #RL- 6208 (aka Raku) CIM Stone Ground #511251 Effetre Black Transparent #591064 20 Gauge copper wire. Pliers Clamp tool Wire cutters. Make some twisties with the Iris Orange as a base and Black lines. I pull them about 3mm. Cut the copper wire about 4" long.

To hold the wire, I use a "Broach Holder" from Arrow Springs, but you can use hemostats or even make one of these with an alligator clip. Some people also use a pin vise, but I find it cumbersome to get the wire out and into the kiln.

Heat a gather of Stone Ground and barely heat the end of the copper wire. Apply the gather to the wire. This takes several applications. Remember, hot glass does not stick to hot glass, so take the bead out of the flame to apply the new hot glass. It should end up about 8 to 10mm. Be sure you keep the wire out of the flame or it will burn right though it.

Next apply the twistie in a sort of back and forth "S" around the bead.

Heat to melt in still keeping the wire at the edge of the flame, only the bead should be in the flame.

Don't let it get too drippy either! When the twistie is all melted in, hold the bead upside down so the gravity will form it's shape. Sorry for the blurry photo, the camera phone does not want to focus on the bead!

Last step is to slowly heat the bead for about 5 seconds at the top of your flame. This will help bring out the colors in the raku. They will develop more in the kiln too, so don't overdo it! Pop it in the kiln by unlatching it from the clip. After annealing, I swipe the wire with steel wool, then polish with Renaissance wax to prevent further rusting.

I hope you enjoy making these, they can be addicting!