Sigh!

I have to admit, I am disappointed.  Normally, today, I would be leaving for Milwaukee to attend the Bead and Button Show.  This year, I'm not.  Life happens, I guess.  I have to devote some funds to my house, so it's no Bead and Button this year.  For all my friends who are attending, I'll miss you!!  I hope you have a great time.  I'm going to start saving tomorrow for next year's trip!  Nothing will stop me then!!!!

The Classes - Part 1 - Christie Friesen and Polymer Clay

This was the first class that I have taken from Christie Friesen,

and

I LOVED IT!

Not only is Christie an amazing artist in clay,

she is FUN!

I learned a lot from her.  She let me make many pieces in her class.

Then, she taught us how to use certain chemicals and make polymer clay look like metals.

I hate the word chemical, but it's the only one I can think of to describe liquid metals, patinas and dyes.

Fun!

Here's what came out of my class!

I need to listen more carefully to directions.  

I thought we were adding more items to the heart after baking.

Whooops!

The green urchin was an experiment using a mold.

It will get better as we go!

I decided that I like the heart the was it was and didn't add metals to it.

The cat is a "lump" cat from one of Christie's books!

More cats will find their way into my Etsy store once I make some eyes.

Octopus on a raft

That was fun!

This was all play!

Thank you, Christie, for showing me how to make this octopus!

Now, on to the metals!

I'm not happy with this, but the great thing is, that as soon as my kit arrives, I can work on it again and improve the look. 

It will be much better later, I promise.

Believe it or not, this urchin started out green.  I added bronze and copper metals.

I added a verdigris patina.

It was then topped off with brass!

Cool, isn't it!

I love this!

The mold is perfect!

The polymer clay looks like a piece of metal that has sat out in the rain and snow for many years!

This is my favorite.

I plan to make more!

Wow!

Stay tuned!

Another class will follow this blog tomorrow.

And,

if you ever have an opportunity to take a class from Christie,

I urge you to do it!

It's a class you will never regret!

Another Piece of Jewelry for the Bead and Button Show

It was clearly a last minute idea,

but,

it worked.

I made two new pieces of jewelry to wear to the Bead and Button Show.

I leave tomorrow.

Anyway, to make a long story short,

I deliberately left one at home because it was just too big and didn't go with the rest of my jewelry.

It's a popcorn bracelet, and I'll show you that when I get home.

Anyway,

I decided that I wanted a bone bracelet.

I love making bones and skulls.

There are no skulls in this bracelet, just

bones and crystals.

I am wearing it with another bracelet, and,

unless I can make more bracelets while I'm there,

this will have to do.

See, how fun?

I added both silver wire and silver foil to my beads!

Now, I'm thinking,

should I make more bones for my Etsy store?

What do you think?

I like the neutral ones, and I like the colored ones.

If you were to buy some bones from me,

what color or colors would you choose?

Let me know!

Glass Corsages

Last year,

at the Bead and Button Show,
I took a class taught by
Sara Sally LaGrand
called
Glass Corsage.
I will never regret that class
because it was
ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!
I made a corsage then,
and
I have enjoyed it so much
that I thought I should make one for spring!
I have been making components for a while.
I ended up with enough components to make,
not one,
but two glass corsages.
One I will wear.
The other will go into my living room as a sculpture for all to see.
Here they are.
This is the corsage I will wear.

This is the one I will display in my living room!
I just love them!
Thanks, Sara Sally!

Ahhhh! The Bead and Button Show Sara Sally LaGrand's Class

Day 2 of my experience at the Bead and Button Show - Sara Sally LaGrand's Glass Corsage Class. Now, when you see this photo, you might think we had a terrible time in our class. In truth, you would be wrong. i can truthfully say that we had so much fun as a group. Sara faked this photo! She's way too sweet!





















This-------------------------------->
was our glass class! Sara smiled the whole time!


Day 1: we made our beads.
Day2: We put together our corsages and our necklaces! Just wait till you see!

















Here's a group photo of all our corsages. Can you find mine? Well, if you can't......
















Here it is!
---------------------------------------->






















Here's my necklace! I love it!
I was stopped by so many people at the Bead and Button Show because they thought it was great! I don't just think it's great, I think it's AMAZING!















This necklace has hardly come off of my neck! I LOVE IT!


More tomorrow on the B & B Show!

I'm Home!

More later, but it was a great trip! On both flights, the TSA checked my bags. That was no surprise!! I had so many tools, but what did surprise me was...









My glass was checked!!!
See the seal? More tomorrow because I'm so tired tonight!!!!

Bead and Button Show

It's the Bead and Button Show's 10th Anniversary! I'm here! Let the fun begin!

More tomorrow.

Today, I take Sara Sally LaGrand's lampwork class! Yipppeeee!!

Now, this is my favorite bead! And the winner is...

I made, it, too! Thank you, Sara Sally LaGrand! I learned to make it in the class I took from Sara at the Bead and Button Show.
I combined black for the center bead and I streaked it with chalcedony. Then I built the pod around the base bead. I put a final edge on the glass of chalcedony.

Wow! I'm in awe, and it's mine!
rofl







I almost forgot! And the winner is.....................
Mona and the Gaffer Girls!
Oh, I used the Random Number Generator at Custom Random Generator since Jenny was busy!
I'll get the vessel out to you this week!
Ang, Sydney, and esdesigns, you will each get one of my ugly beads! I just need some addresses from you. Send me a convo on Etsy or on Artfire!

I'm Home! Memories from the Bead and Button Show.

Friends I knew but had not yet met:















Robin and the Gaffer Girls!


















Dora Schubert: My facebook friend!


















Isis Ray: A new friend



















Bernadette Fuentes: A sweet and dear friend.

















Sara Sally LaGrand: My email buddy in the lobby.


















Samma and Trish: My WC friends



















Sylvie Lansdowne and her boys. (Thank you, Sylvie, for Fairy Princess Mallory!)

















Two very real fairy princesses: Sharon Driscoll and, you've seen her before, Bernadette Fuentes!

Wow! These are just a few of the people! How could anyone be more blessed to have come in contact with these fabulous people!

The Bead and Button Show was a success!

Sara Sally Grand Bead Class at the Bead and Button Show

Wow! Wow! Wow! You can call that my reaction to the class I took at the Bead and Button show taught by Sara Sally LaGrand. Not only is she a classy lady, but she is an awesome bead maker. Be sure to look at Sara Sally's website for a better look at her beads.

The class I took from Sara involved both color theory and the use of silver glass in bead making. For our non bead maker friends out there, silver glasses are not silver colored rods of glass, but glass rods inundated with silver that react in very distinctive ways when kissed by the flame of a torch.

Now, when you visit Sara Sally's website, you will see examples of beads using silver glasses made by a master bead maker. My class beads weren't the best, but I certainly learned a lot in this class about treating silver glasses more kindly than I had in the past. Here are my beads from the class.


















I love the pod beads and the crater bead. It cracked, though, but I will find a way to wear it! Thank you, Sara Sally, for the great class.

Oh, and Sara Sally was also featured in the Convergence display at the Bead and Button Show. The Convergence display was sponsored both by the Bead and Button Show and the ISGB (International Society of Glass Bead Makers). Here's Sara Sally's entry. Trust me when I say this, the photo does not do her work of wearable art justice.

















Do you see what I mean when I say Sara Sally is an amazing artist? She's also a class act person! So ends another day at the Bead and Button Show!

Flame On! Another Day at the Bead and Button Show.

Another day at the Bead and Button Show. Activities today included a lot of shopping, meeting friends from Wet Canvas, a soldering class, and The Flame Off by master bead makers to support Breast Cancer Awareness. This gathering of master glass workers supports BCA because the pieces made tonight by these and other artists were donated to the silent auction that, last year, raised $28,000! Awesome! We watched the guys with the big torches--the boro boys. Amazing! Take a look at this video for a small sampling of what went on tonight.

Soon, I'll be showing you the beads I made in Sara Sally LaGrand's class! Hers are amazing. Mine weren't quite so amazing, but they were decent. That blog will happen when I am able to get a good photo.

More tomorrow!

Meet the Teachers at the Bead and Button Show

The room was full of some of the finest bead makers, sculptors, seed bead artisans, wire workers, in other words, you name the category, and it was represented during the Meet the Teachers Event at the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee. Pictured here is Laura Andrews (center) and friends. Laura is almost a neighbor since she originates out of Rochester, Minnesota, which is only about 75 miles from me. Be sure to check out her website. You'll be able to see some of her jewelry, and a photo of a kit I purchased from her. I love Laura's work! I'm anxious to get home and start to work on my kit. This event, like so many others, helps to make the Bead and Button Show an event to remember. More tomorrow. Today I took a class from Sara Sally LaGrand. I wanted to wait to show you photos from that class because I want you to see some of the beads! More later!

Bead and Button Show Day 1

No, that's not my plane, but it's a plane I saw out the window as I waited for my plane to arrive in Minneapolis. This was the start of my journey to the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

It's been a long day. It's been a fun day. For me, it's Day 1 of the Bead and Button Show, for others it's day 3. Classes started on Sunday for many people. My first class is tomorrow. I am taking a class from lampwork bead artist, Sarah Sally LeGrand. I hope I remember my camera. I'm looking forward to that class.






















Here's a photo from the room. It's sunset and it's beautiful! Good night! More tomorrow.

My Jewelry for the Bead and Button Show

I am writing this yesterday. I am about ready to leave my home for the Twin Cities where I will fly to Milwaukee for the Bead and Button Show. I finally settled on my jewelry. Some of it you've seen before, but the photo at the bottom left, I made from fiber beads from a tutorial written by Sharylin Miller of Wire Jewelry Lessons! It's a fabulous blog that I just found! Love it! Love it! Love it! I didn't realize my Egyptian Coil Necklace was upside down when I took the photos, but I am in a hurry now, so just pretend it's the right side up. Of course, there's Bugger Man aka the Nose that looked like it was porno before I added the boogers, mouth and eyes. There's also my Fire Bird and my eye ring.
All right, now I'm off. Look for later postings this week.