Silverdale Artwalk Starts This Friday

March 16th 6-8pm head on down to Old Town Silverdale for their first Artwalk of 2012! Nine business are participating, each with featured artists. There will be photography, drawings, paintings, fused glass, jewelry, writing and more! Start your evening at Old Town Custom Framing & Gallery, where the featured artist is my friend Dixie with Eastern Wind Glass. You can also pick up your map there for the other spots to check out. 

And then if all that art has your creative juices flowing, sign up to participate in Girls Night Out at the ClayWerks and Eastern Wind Glass studio in Bremerton. You can spend the evening making one of several glass or ceramic projects. There will also be a potluck supper. Contact Angela at Claywerks for more info and to RSVP  360-377-2354.

I plan on doing both so I will see you there!

Now at Juliana

I just came back from a meeting with the accessories buyer at Juliana. She added a few more Beadware items to their inventory. Here are some of the Beadware pieces you will find in this great little store in Port Orchard.

Hand blown glass beads

 Green Jasper, Jade and copper

Glass Beads

Amethyst

Freshwater Pearls

Freshwater Pearls

Black crystals and glass

Orphans

When I make bracelets and necklaces I usually make several pairs of earrings to go with them. I don't require folks buy them as a set, so that often means I end up with bracelets and necklaces with no matching earrings. So several times a year I go through my inventory looking for these orphans. 

Then I scour my bead boxes and see what I can find. Usually I can come 

up with at least a few of the beads that were are the original piece.

All have been  SOLD

Orphans no more!

Online Craft Bullies

Ok, time for a little old fashioned climb-on-my-soapbox venting. This weekend while researching where some of the traffic visiting my online store comes from I came across a few visits from a site I did not recognize. So I clicked it.

It was a website that bashes other peoples art/crafts. Hmmm. I am not going to post a link or mention the name because I don't want to encourage any traffic to their site. They don't deserve it. They featured one of my bead art pins.

They post a picture of their find and then the group takes turns posting nasty comments. Their disclaimer is: These crafts aren't necessarily bad crafts. Many are well made and have taken the crafter a lot of time and energy to create; this site’s goal is to showcase those crafts that are funny, weird, strange and make us laugh. We mean no harm and are proud to say that there have been sales for some sellers on various sites due to their craft being featured on this site! We merely want to share the laughs and enjoy the talents of many. Talents which none of us have.

My reaction was anger and hurt. I thought about making my own comment - but you can't once that day has passed. So I vented to a friend via email and then decided to let it go. But after thinking about it over the weekend I thought a blog post was in order. I was reminded of the girls in high school who sat on a bench in the hallway and made nasty comments about others as they walked past - ie: bullies.

I'll be the first to say that I have been in a gallery and whispered to the friend standing next to me what on earth is that, how is that art? But I certainly would not bash that person's work to the world. Beauty, and art, is in the eye of the beholder.

My pins are actually very popular. They have been in 2 galleries, one retail store and I have sold more than 60 of them in the last 1.5 years. So I guess I can laugh all the way to the bank. :)

Climbing off soap box now - thanks for listening.

Its All About Ears

Today I listed 3 pairs of my popular copper dangle earrings in my online store. The pair on the right is perfect for March - green and copper. The beads on the middle pair look black but some are actually very dark burgundy. These are fun to make - I get to be noisy and pound with a hammer!

All have been  SOLD
 

Next to get listed will be these 3 pairs. 

I will also be listing some versions in silver and gold. Keep watching!

Many New Items in my Store

I have been busy listing new things in my online store! Today I will photograph this new glass garden and you'll see it in the store in a day or two. Right now a green glass garden is on my worktable - and I am toying with trying a necklace to match.

All have been  SOLD

Also recently listed was this lovely magic jasper necklace.

And several pearl necklaces. This has since sold.

 This one is very long and has a heart shaped toggle at the front with pastel 

Swarovski crystals dangling from it. Sold.

And an amethyst necklace. 

You'll notice earrings in many of these photos. If you would like just the earrings let me know, they do not have to be purchased as sets. Check out my store for many more recent additions and keep watching for many more to come!

Gorgeous Stones

I got an email from my favorite local place to buy gemstones that they were having a 70% off sale. So today off I went to Gig Harbor Beads. Oh my, it was hard to be good! But I restricted myself to the sale table. Basically for every dollar I spent, I got $2 off. That kind of discount is why I can keep the prices of my finished jewelry reasonable. And even when not on sale most of their strands of gemstones are 50% off. If you are in the area I recommend you stop in. 

 I love this stone. Green Opal. I have some large ones I have been using as pendants. I can use these to accent the big stones and to make earrings.

 These are delicious! Chocolate Jasper. Three sizes, a large faceted teardrop, a rectangle and a smaller rounded rectangle.

 In the upper left are mother of pearl. I can see those with cream, gold or bronze pearls. The upper right are teardrop shaped tiger eye. I think they will make fabulous earrings. And the square ocean jasper goes with many things I already have.

 Green jasper and agates. These will also work with many things I already have.

 Small faceted pink quartz. I will make some earrings to go with a pink quartz necklace I have in stock. The red rounds are agate.

I promised myself no more storage boxes. Any new stuff must fit in my existing storage. But......these stones are so pretty and I do not want them to get scratched. Mike had the perfect solution out in the garage. A really cool wooden box with drawers that are lined with felt. Now I just need to find space in the studio for it.

Most of the time when I buy stones they "tell me" what they want to be. My mind is spinning with all of the ideas I have for these new stones. Stay tuned!!

New Items in my Store

As promised I am restocking my online store. In addition to Party on a Pins, you will find these 3 beauties.....

All have been  SOLD

Online Store Restock

My online store has been extremely neglected. I sold so many of the things that were listed at the end of the year that it is now very sparse. So today I began re-stocking. First up was a few of my unique bead art pins. You can find them in the Accessories section of the shop. I don't think I have ever listed these online so we will see how they go. In my booth they are attention grabbers, but it can be hard to capture their whimsy in a photograph.

Have a HeART this Weekend!

This weekend at Old Town Custom Frame and Gallery you will be able to get some great locally crafted art for under $20! Maria has pulled out all the stops for her 5th annual Have a HeART Jewelry and Art Trunk Show. Select from paintings, glass, jewelry, pottery, wood and more. And all from local artists. You will even find a few items from yours truly, Beadware. Art will be specially priced during on Friday the 10th, 12 to 7pm and Saturday the 11th, 11 - 3pm. Check out their Facebook page for pictures of the amazing art you find during this show.

Have a heART and shop local!

Introducing Snooterdoots

Sharing a booth (#1102) at the NW Flower and Garden Show this week with LaGrave Designs will be the fun and quirky gang from Creative Endeavors - Snooterdoots! If you have never met a Snooterdoot then you have to stop by their booth and say hello. Each one has their own name, birthday and story. You don't buy a Snooterdoot - you adopt them. Guaranteed to bring a smile to anyone's day.

 
A fun way to follow their antics is to subscribe to their blog. A recent post answers the perplexing question - where do Snooterdoots come from? If you can't make it to the garden show you can also find Snooterdoots at several local shops.

This Weeks Work

Something different this week, scissors instead of pliers. I was helping my friend Dawn get ready for her booth at the NW Flower and Garden Show next week. I spent several days cutting and assembling KaleidEscapes.

First I cut out the various shapes. I use one photo sheet that the artist has marked lines on for each layer as my guide. These are parts that will be stacked up to create 2 finished works. The pictures that follow are some of the pieces I finished. See if you can identify what they were originally. I'll list the answers at the end of this post. These will all get matted and framed in square black shadow boxes. 

You can read more about LaGrave Designs and the other new artists to be featured at the Flower show on the flower show blog.   If you go the show be sure and look for the LaGrave Designs booth.

Answers: Arc de Triompe, sunflower, gondola, orange tulip, Notre Dame, rack of wine bottles

New Year - New Venue for LaGrave Designs

On Monday I helped out my artist friend Dawn at her new venue - Pike Place Market! Dawn makes amazing 3-D photo kaleidoscopes. Check out her website for more info.

We arrived before most other craft vendors to wait for roll call. The vendors are called by name and a space assigned. Because you never know where your booth will be, you have a short time for set up and the spaces are small, Dawn has opted for a very simple, but effective set up for her space.

 
She focused on her Seattle landmark series - the space needle, pike place market, library, aquarium, Smith tower, the underground, etc. Hopefully this will be a hit with tourists. Our toes got a bit cold, but we had a fun day. And I got to bring home bread from Three Sisters Bakery - yum! Dawn's schedule will vary, but she hopes to be there several times a week. And occasionally you will find me womaning her booth.

The second weekend in February you can find Dawn at the NW Flower and Garden Show.  We are busy cutting and assembling (I help her out) all kinds of beautiful flowers. This is a dahlia in process and I just finished some orange tulips and sunflowers. Look for her sharing a booth with the gang from Snooterville!

New Year - Learn Something New #2!

Once you've mastered baskets, why not try glass? Dixie at Eastern Wind Glass teaches a variety of classes in stained glass, fused glass and mosaics. Make a plate, learn to fuse, slump a bottle. Check out the website for the class list.  Classes range from $35 to $120. Her shop is located inside Claywerks on Callow Ave in Bremerton.

New Year - Learn Something New!

 It is always fun to learn a new skill or craft. If making baskets from natural materials intrigues you I know just the thing. Take a class from Jo Hart at her Wilderness Basketry studio out in Seabeck. Her 2012 class schedule is now available on her blog. Scroll down past her photos and you'll find a post listing classes for baskets, bowls, pouches, and even a hat!

"A basket is not really a basket, but a vessel created of beauty, joy, and happiness from a window in the soul, a reflection of love and a creative outlet to our ancestors of the past."