Halloween Masks, Dishes and Bling

Are you ready for Halloween? Several artist friends make great things for Halloween.

Looking for a costume? Andrea of Beadmask makes the most incredible leather and beaded masks. Check out the variety and order one up from her online boutique. You can see many more of her pieces and learn about her process at her website, just click on costumes to see the variety of masks she has.

Having a bash? Kandyse of Blue fox Glass has some fun candy corn and spider dishes.
Check out more on her website.

In need of a little bling? Then Beadware has just the thing. 

Pendant Swap

A customer liked the picture jasper pendant on this necklace,

and the 3 strands of gold beads in this agate necklace,

So I swapped out the picture jasper for the agate,

And made a new jasper pendant for the other necklace.

All have been  SOLD

An Opportunity for Improvement

Occasionally I hear from a customer that something they purchased from me broke, or that a bracelet was lost due to a faulty clasp or failed part. I always feel very bad when this happens, but I am also thankful that folks let me know. The feedback is very important so that I can change out the offending material or improve my technique.

I guarantee all of my work - regardless of how long someone has had it. If you ever have any problems with any of my designs please let me know. I will fix, remake, or replace any piece that fails or causes an issue. I want you to enjoy wearing my designs.

And don't forget my orphan earring guarantee: Do you have orphan Beadware earrings looking for a partner? Send them my way and I will repair, remake or replace.

Cheers, Ann            beadware@wavecable.com

French Paper - An American Original

 I print my onward business cards, jewelry tags, postcards and signs. There are less expensive ways to print things, like Vista Print, but I like the flexibility of being able to change things as needed and also the cool papers that are out there. This year when I updated Beadware's look I found some new papers to use. I have had difficulty finding them ins stores to restock so I went online and found the paper mill that makes the paper, I pulled the company description off their Facebook page.......

Established in 1871, the French Paper Company is a sixth-generation, family-owned American company. And after 140 years of continual operation, French has not only persevered in an industry notorious for corporate acquisitions, name changes and outright shutdowns, they’ve emerged as one of the strongest, most consistent paper brands around.

As one of the last remaining small, independent mills in America, French Paper takes their direction from customers, not corporate bean counters. They spend their days improving product lines instead of the bottom line. And when they talk about the quality of their stock, you can be sure they mean their papers, not shareholder value.

Long recognized for their iconic designer paper brands including Speckletone, Dur-O-Tone, Pop-Tone, and Construction, their impact on the design world has been enormous. Their environmental footprint, however, is tiny. French uses no petroleum in the manufacturing of their papers, and instead generates their own clean, renewable energy. Hydroelectric generators installed on-site in 1922 have saved over one million barrels of fossil fuel to date. And French was an early pioneer of recycled, 100% post-consumer, and other environmentally friendly sheets.

Today, French Paper continues to innovate by becoming the first mill to go beyond pulp to provide not only distinctive papers, but the equally amazing images to use on them. By offering the world's most extensive and highly regarded free digital design resource, French has created a powerful new means to enhance the work of creative people everywhere.

If you need paper in your work check out http://www.frenchpaper.com

Color of the Day - Purple

A few new necklaces. The first 2 have magic jasper pendants. The third one is rhodochrosite. All three use deep amethyst glass seed beads, sterling silver tubes, pewter hangers and toggle clasps. The earrings are sterling silver, silver plate and glass beads with copper filled sterling silver earwires. Dark purple is an "in" color this season!

 These have since all sold. Good for me, but sad if you wanted one! 

Bright Dangles

These are a fun and popular earring design that are made with bright colored, very luminescent beads. The ear wires are copper filled sterling silver.   

All have been  SOLD

Celebrating Fall this weekend

Do your no rain dances for this weekend please. As much as my garden would like some rain, I have been enjoying setting up my Beadware tent in dry and sunny weather this summer. Saturday you will find me at the Quilcene Fall Fair along with Blue Fox Glass. On Sunday I will be in Silverdale at the Peterson Farm Fall Fair along with Blue Fox Glass, Eastern Wind Glass and a host of other local artists. This event helps to support the Kitsap Food Coop and Great Peninsula Conservancy. For links and details please check out the events section of my Facebook page.

Halloween is coming....

A friend wanted a Halloween bangle bracelet. And you always need matching earrings.

I can never make just one of something!

 Lemon Drops!

More Black and Silver

 Sterling and silver-plated beads with dainty heart clasps. All have been  SOLD

 Starry Nights. All have been  SOLD

 Sterling Silver Earrings. All have been  SOLD

Crystals and Glass. All have been  SOLD

Black and White

New black, white and crystal earrings.

Sunshine, tugboats, theft, disrespect, and Rice Krispies

This past weekend I had a booth at Harbor Days, along with Kandyse of Blue Fox Glass and Dawn of LaGrave Designs. The weather was gorgeous and the setting perfect. My booth was 50 feet from the harbor with a cool breeze, views of the tugboats and Olympics in the distance. And having friends to share a room and dinner with each evening makes for a fun weekend.

It was a busy weekend with many folks there to tour the tugboats and watch them race, check out the tall ships and see the new boardwalk and park.

 

 

Saturday two if my items disappeared. In the last 2 years of doing booths almost every weekend, I have had only had one theft, a pair of earrings this past August. This day a bracelet and ankle bracelet disappeared. And folks were so rough on my things Saturday! Dropping them on the sidewalk, bending, breaking, stretching, cheesy popcorn fingerprints on earring cards, dripping ice cream on my displays, etc. 

Glass gardens are a fancy, fringed beaded bracelets I make that take a lot of work and a lot of beads. I usually put them out front because they are interesting and in the sunshine their sparkle draws folks in. The sixth time my purple one hit the ground it broke in 3 places. I re-arranged my display and put them back by my cash box so I could keep on eye on anyone who touched them. I also had a woman pull so hard on a necklace she broke the clasp. I know that my memory wire bracelets are indestructible, but did a lady really have to totally straighten one out and let it snap back? Another woman grabbed a crystal sun catcher and promptly dropped it on the ground. Retail value of my losses on Saturday: $144. Two steps forward, one step back.

An artist puts thought, creativity, time and a little bit of themselves into each piece they make regardless of how small or the price. Being so rough on my things was disrespectful. As my booth neighbor Kandyse said, it felt like a personal violation.

Sunday was another beautiful day – and Olympia redeemed itself. The day was extremely busy. Folks were appreciative and they bought many things. In the end I made my goal for the weekend. And the best part of the day – Kandyse made more than 2 times her best ever show!!

Kandsye and I often get booths next to each other so we can share funny stories, commiserate as needed and keep a running commentary on people and dog fashion. One of the memorable things this weekend was a sticker on a skateboard – “I do what the Rice Krispies tell me”. So when is the last time you listened to your Rice Krispies?

Harbor Days

This weekend I will be down in Olympia at Harbor Days - weather looks gorgeous so if you are looking for a destination come on down! Booth #29. Tour one of the many tugboats in the harbor or watch the races at noon on Sunday. Check out their website for more info.  http://www.harbordays.com/

This weeks work

Another busy week in the studio. Agates, copper, glass. Take a peek!
All have been  SOLD

These have been selling like hotcakes. These are the last 3 square agates I have. 

I am trying to find more of these stones.

 A reddish agate with blue streaks hanging from matte black diamond and dove grey opal seed beads.

 A red and gold agate with rust and pale topaz seed beads. 

Another reddish agate with wisps of blue and gold hanging from smokey grey 

and shimmering grey seed beads.

The next 3 use LillyPilly pendants. The pendants are made out of shell that is etched using a CO2 laser. Very delicate and detailed.

The next three pictures are of necklaces and earrings that use hand blown glass beads. The earrings use Niobium wire - excellent for anyone with metal sensitivities.

When friends travel they often bring me back beads as souvenirs. These beauties are from Italy. They are glass flecked with copper. I used copper for the findings to bring out the warmth of the beads.

Art in the Garden

For a slide show of all the great art available this weekend at Art in the Garden click here!
Art in the Garden