Tuesday, June 5, 2012

What I have been up to

Image heavy post warning. 

I am getting ready for Beadfest in August and you will probably all be tired of hearing about that fact this summer, I will try and keep the show prep talk to a minimum. I have to have a productive summer because of Beadfest, but in addition to that I will also have a show a month September thru November. 

I have been spending so much money on supplies lately, but you have to spend money to make money, right?

I am usually more spontaneous with my bead making, so in an effort to stay inspired on demand I took some photos of flowers from my garden. I tried something new, I photographed some flowers on a white background. I am surprised at how much more detail I see without all the clutter of my garden in the background, this helps me think of bead shapes, color combinations, and techniques.

Just purchased this great tutorial, my name is Anne and I am a tutaholic. I highly recommend Kim's other tutorials, they are very well written. Fortunately my hands never make the same bead in the tutorial, the point is to learn new techniques. When I get a tutorial I first just skim the content, then I go to the torch and see what happens. Sometimes new ideas and looks independent of the tutorial are born. I wish I could say that I planned this strategy, but it started out of my impatience and short attention span with directions. I do go back later and read the tutorial in greater detail.




I can see making a glass twistie to mimic that pattern on the side of the bud. 


More shapes.


Love the green tips flowing into the purple petal, maybe I can get this effect with enamel.


Bella begging for a walk when I am working, those eyes are hard to resist. You can see the dishtowels she removes from the kitchen as well as the socks in the background. I created a play box for her full old socks, she showed no interest, apparently the socks must be stolen to be fun.


The only thing that will scare me more than not having enough inventory for multiple beads shows is making jewelry. So of course I said yes to a jewelry trunk show in June, actually this is a good exercise for me, it helps me think of new components to offer in my shop. If you look at the lower right hand corner of the photo you will see some pretty filigrees that make great earring components, my samples turned out well so you will be seeing some in the shop soon.



When I make a glass bead I would like to repeat I put it in a bowl on my desk. This week I strung them on wire so I could take them to the torch for some inspiration. It's easier than digging in a bowl and holding a bead in my hand gives me more information than a photo could.









I am in love with these trays I purchased from Rio Grande. I used these at the last show I had and it made set up and tear down a lot easier and faster. The trays stack and I add little bubble wrap in each compartment to minimize the beads from knocking against one another in transit. My table is ready to go as soon as I lay out the trays.


In prepping for Beadfest these trays have also come in handy. I am so visual that I need to see all my inventory to see what components and colors I need to make. So I have filled a whole worktable with these trays for my enamel and glass beads so I can work  a little smarter not harder.

Wednesday beads are on track for tomorrow, check this blog and facebook for more details regarding a specific time new items will be listed in the shop.




1 comments:

windshield guru said...

Beads are my favorites. I can create a lot of style from them.