Home from the bead show

 It was a great weekend - except for the fact that my bad back decided to act up Friday night and Saturday morning.  However with the help of my booth partner Judy Baun, I was able to get through it - thanks Judy!!  Sales were a little bit better than last year, which is always a good thing.  Judy had her vintage cutlery bracelets there along with her beads, and I had my polymer buttons and my glass beads.
Here is a picture of our combined booth - a fairly simple set up, but I like the rust cloth.  I am not too thrilled with the ivory coloured risers, but they serve as a great place to hide all our assorted bits and pieces.

On our left was Eugenia Chan and her incredible metal work click here.  I just had to purchase one of her incredible key fobs.   

To the left of Eugenia was Judy Mackenzie with her Kazuri beads click here.

To our right was Glenda Tyski.  Glenda used to live in Nanaimo until last January when she moved to Mission.  I now have Glenda's spot at the Nanaimo Friday Farmer's Market - small world.  To see Glenda's work click here

We had a great time, and Judy only steered me wrong once or twice - lol (we were staying with friends and she was the navigator, and I was the driver.)

The quality of the work in the show was absolutely fantastic - I only wish I had more money to spend - as it was, I spent probably nearly as much as I made.

Over the next few days I will be posting photos of  the other lampworkers that were at the show on my other blog - Vancouver Island Fireflies. click here

I am now back at the torch madly making beads, as I have two more shows to get ready for.

Have a good week!

This Weekend - the Fraser Valley Bead Show

Our booth from last year - 2010

It's almost time for the fall Fraser Valley Bead Show.  Judy Baun and I will have a booth again this year - we have changed our table design somewhat from last years layout and colours.  I will try to remember to take a photo after we are set up and put it here on the blog next week.

The FVBS is held  at the Cascades Casino/Convention Center, 20393 Fraser Hwy, Langley, B.C.,  Friday Nov 21st to Sunday Nov 23rd.  The show times are 2:00 pm - 8:00 pm on Friday, 10:00 am - 6:00 pm on Saturday, and 10:00 am - 5:00 pm on Sunday.  Check out the great classes available here.  Everything from stacking rings and metal clay rings to all kinds of bracelets and necklaces to fold forming, enameling, soldering, resin and etching - that's a lot of classes, and there is sure to be something to interest you.

Judy and I will both have some new items at the show, and I will have a show special:  one of my poppy disc flowers with 2 leaves of your choice for $12.00!!

Sure hope you can make it - it's a great show, and we would love to see you!

"Harvest", beads for the FVBS

I love the colours of Fall, and I must say that it is my favourite season.  The rich browns, olives and burgundys make me think of frosty days to come with the wood stove going and a mug of hot chocolate (or herb tea if I am on one of my perpetual diets - lol).

These four sets of "Harvest" beads are ready for the Fraser Valley Bead Show which starts in just over one week - and no, I am no where near ready. To check out the location and times of the show, click here.  They have some great classes as well.

I'm not sure why the orange is so bright in some of the beads - it really isn't!  In reality it is more of a pumpkin colour.

Have a great weekend!

Misty Cedars - glass tree focal bead.

One of my "Room With a View" style beads called Misty Cedars (artistic license on the tree form).  I really like these pseudo scrimshaw type beads, and someday I plan on exploring other subjects besides cedar trees.

Well, it is out to the studio for me - only two weeks until the  Fraser Valley Bead Show and I am very much behind in my bead making.  Then I have two more shows after that - yikes!

Two New Floral Glass Lampwork Beads

Two new florals for the Fraser Valley Bead show.  The first one is a Sunflower on a base of Reichenbach Antique Green - a very expensive glass, with not much to show for itself.  I like it, but not at the price they are asking - it has what looks like minute bubbles and a sparkle of some sort inside.  Pretty, but I think I will just stick with a pale green Effetre glass next time.

The second flower I can't remember the name of - someone help me.  For some reason I keep wanting to call it an Echinacea flower?

"A Frosty Morning" Lampwork Tree Bead

It won't be long before it looks like this outside in the morning - brrrrr!!!  I'm making a few of these to add to the collection of tree beads that I will be taking to the Fraser Valley Bead Show on October 21 -23.

My daughter - the computer techie - said I had to make my titles a little more "search" friendly.  So that is why I didn't just title this post "A Frosty Morning". She told me that if people were searching for glass tree beads they certainly wouldn't find it the way I had wanted to title it.  Actually to be honest, she didn't say anything about this post, but she made comments about my previous posts.  She looks after me - it's great!

Help wanted - incentive prize offered!

This is a necklace I made up with one of the disc poppies and leaves I have been making lately for the upcoming bead show.  I made up a sample so that customers can see how I have used it, and to give them inspiration.  However I am not happy with how I have "strung" it.  You can see the back side of the bead in the picture below.  I put a long headpin through a small accent bead, then through the front of the flower to the back, added another small bead and wire wrapped it using what I call "birds nest" wrapping.  Then I bent the loop upwards with my pliers, and threaded it onto a copper figure 8 link - then added a hammered copper washer.  The washer acts as a bit of a ballast and somewhere for the large chain, leaf and bead dangle to hang from.  I have worn it several times, and it does not turn around (I was really pleased about this), and is quite comfortable.  I want to be able to add one of my disc poppies to a rubber tube/cord type of necklace, and don't think this method will work with that, as I want the flower to be centered on the rubber cord.

OK - now for where I need your advice - how should I go about attaching the flower to the rubber cord?  I don't want to just wire wrap it on, as it would possibly cut into the rubber and could flip so it was facing downwards, which is what I want to avoid.  The problem is that this disc is not like a regular focal pendant whose hole is from top to bottom - the hole in the poppy disc is from front to back.  So I am offering an incentive to someone who has an idea that will work for me with either the rubber cord or to streamline the method above.  In about a weeks time I will draw one name from all the people who have given me a suggestion to my problem and that person will receive the ruffled disc poppy shown below. (Or a plain one if they prefer).

Thanks for your help!

Building up show stock

I can't believe it has been two weeks since I last posted on my blog - sorry about that.  I have been busy getting beads made for the upcoming Fraser Valley Bead Show in October - only 4 weeks left.

The beads above are a small sample of the beads I will be taking.  The bead at the top is one of my Pacific Reef beads, and the three florals are a new style I have been working on this past summer.  I know that sunflowers have larger centers and smaller petals - just call it "artistic license".  I thought I might do some in colours other than yellow too - maybe pink, purple or blue (more artistic license).

I am going to post a picture in a day or two of a necklace I made up with one of the poppy discs that I showed in an earlier post.  I need your help with suggestions on how to string it.  Prizes will be involved too!
So keep an eye out for the next post - hopefully some time over the weekend.

Have a great day everyone.

Flowers and Leaves - Show Stock

I am busy making beads for the Fraser Valley Bead Show in October, and trying to get some different items in stock.  I love the colours of these poppies, and I have lots more colours I want to try out yet, and I want to do more two and three toned ones as well.  I plan on making about 50 of these, and thought I would sell each one with a leaf bead.  A couple of the first ones ended up with little cracks in them, so I have made one of those into a pendant and will use it as a prop in the show to give the customers an idea as to how the beads can be used.

Unfortunately, I don't think I will be able to sell them in my Etsy shop, as they would have to be shipped in a box, and that means they can't go for "Small Packet Light" international, or "Oversize Letter" within Canada, because to qualify for those the packaged item has to fit through a 2cm slot, and be under a certain weight.  In this case the depth of the box would be a problem, and the price of shipping would be double.

I hope you are all having a great week!

Home Again!

While I enjoy going out of town to shows sometime, I sure do like getting home!  I think I am definately a homebody at heart.

I was sharing the booth with a beader friend of mine, Judy Baun, at the Fraser Valley Bead Show this past weekend, and the sign would be just too large if we put both our names on it, so we call ourselves "Playing With Fire" - I know, not very original - LOL.  Above is a picture of our booth before the masses of enthusiastic bead buyers came through.  We had a great time, met lots of fellow beaders, and purchased way too much stuff!  It was a great show, and I must give Barrie Edwards, the promoter, a big round of applause for doing such a great job - thanks so much Barrie!