Tapestry Beads

Full recovery

2012-01-08T05:35:00.000-06:00

I'm back! Full force...watch out world...the beady spirits have found me once again. Thank goodness! For the first time in weeks I'm feeling compelled to sit and bead and design and pick colorways. I spent one full night cleaning the bead room - I made great headway, but there's still a long way to go. At least we can now move around in there again, and I cleared off 14 beading trays that had been covering every inch of horizontal surface!! There's definitely going to be a bead garage sale in the future and I've already started setting things aside for that as I go along.

Tonight I've been working on colorways for my new kit/class Reversible Star Shine. I'm totally loving how this one works up and all the design options for it. Necklace, bracelet, earrings, ring...no problem!

The 2012 season is basically here. I think I'm well rested and potentially well-prepared. Time will tell! But here's what's coming up in case you aren't aware:

Texas Bead Retreat, Temple, TX - Jan. 19-22 The retreat is sold out. I'll be teaching one class and have kits available.

Tuesday, January 10th - class registration goes live for the Bead & Button Show where I'll be teaching a record 11 classes, and have a booth with kits. Here's the link to my classes:
Jill's Classes
Good luck getting your first choices!!

I'm teaching in Tucson at the Best Bead Show for the first time this year in addition to having a booth. Registration is open for those four class now at:
http://www.bestbeadshow.com/BestBeadShowClasses/BestBeadShowClasses.aspx

And in early March, I'll be setting sail on the Bead Cruise! I'm so excited for my first cruise. More info at:
http://memorycruisin.com/beadcruise.php?page=ship

In late March I am totally thrilled to be heading to Seattle to teach at Quiltworks:
http://www.quiltworksnw.com/cartgenie/prodList.asp?scat=392

There's more in April (a trip to Pittsburg!) and May (Detroit!) and then June rolls around and it's Milwaukee, of course... Poor Winston is going to go back to sleeping on top of my unpacked suitcases between trips again, isn't he???

Guilty fingers

2012-01-03T00:56:00.001-06:00

Mom asked me tonight if I was ever going to start beading again. I told her I hoped so.

Post Book Syndrome (PBS) is still holding me in it's nasty little grasp. I had started beading something that I still believe will grow up into a fine national class project a few days ago, but I haven't touched it now...well...since my last blog post about the darned Swarovski pearl organization.

This happens to me at least once a year, and usually around this time. My brain goes on hiatus. My fingers go on strike. I sit and read books and watch stupid tv and sleep a lot. I hear some people call this "taking time off." But around here, it worries folks because in general I never stop. Ever.

And it's actually an inconvenient time to close down the Jill Machine because all of 2012 is shimmering in the near future and demanding new projects. I'm trying to remind myself that this is kind of like a computer rebooting. You've got to power it down for it to reset all the systems. Then when you power it back up again it works like a charm again.

Detours

2011-12-31T07:11:00.002-06:00

Earlier tonight (and by tonight, I mean 3am, naturally) I was working on a new design that will end up being one of my national class offerings, and I decided I needed a couple of Swarovski pearls for it. I walked into the Bead Room and picked my way through the piles to the special Swarovski pearl spot. And by special Swarovski pearl spot, I mean 3-4 random small boxes on top of some cabinets with mixed colors and sizes of pearls that make OCD sufferers start to shake.

It's already been pointed out to me that they're not in order.

All of a sudden, I just couldn't take it one more minute! Next thing you know I grabbed some storage containers, my labeler, and some baggies along with the Swarovski pearl stash, and two hours later I have this lovely pile of organized, labeled, sorted beads. And an unfinished design. This is my life - full of detours.

You may have noticed I've been absent from the blog lately. And by lately I mean a really long time. I'm blaming the detours. My last post celebrated the turning in of my last designs for The Book. You know the one - that big monster that took over my entire year? THAT book? Well, after the last box of beady fun went in the mail, the work was far from over. I still had instructions and illustrations to create for more then half of the 24 projects, and a technical editor (Judith Durant) and illustrator (Melissa Grakowsky Shippee) waiting for me to send them. So another solid month or more was spent with my hindquarters glued to the sofa and my hands to the computer getting every last title and intro and period written. Edits were made. Illustrations drawn. And then all of a sudden I was facing down...nothing. No urgent deadline. No people waiting on me. No. More. Book. Urgency.

Do you know what happens when the constant stream of adrenalin that has been coursing through your veins suddenly stops? You stop too. You crawl into bed for days. You stare into space. You spend one pathetic night crying and terrified that what you just turned in wasn't good enough. Poor Mom for having to deal with that insanity! I guess she gets Employee of the Month yet again!

I'm working on digging back out from the freefall by catching up on things that got pushed aside during the last few months. I'm slowly starting to design again. Thinking about all the fun and exciting things will happen in 2012. But I won't lie - I'm still deep in Post-Book Syndrome.

I learned so much while writing this book that as I start looking at the next book and how I want the process to go, I know it will be much better. Less detours.

Catching up and feeling human

2011-11-09T03:22:00.000-06:00

The deed is done. Wait - my editor reads this blog and she's totally going to bust me. So let me rephrase that - the deed is partially done. I mailed off the final set of beaded samples for Jill Wiseman Teaches the Ropes, and now the design portion of my first book is complete. How I managed to conceive of and bead up the majority of the projects in the last six weeks is still a mystery to me. There was very little sleep. A few meltdowns (usually when the tiredness overcame any sensible thought.) A bunch of giddy, silly moments when something turned out even better than I'd envisioned it. And much heartburn for all involved as we wondered if the deadlines were obtainable.

As I sent the last bits in, though, and was able to take a moment and look it all over as a collection, I was really proud of the accomplishment. It looks like it all goes together. It looks like my kind of design aesthetic, which is so important to me - I feel like I have a slightly different style that I sometimes struggle to keep in line. It's easy to gild the lily! The harder part is editing it down to the more streamlined, graphic, modern sense I work for. But I feel confident that every piece in this book belongs in this book. And I'm teary and emotional about it from feeling like I did good.

And as happy as sending that box made me, it's far from over. I still owe them about a bazillion sets of instructions that need to be written and illustrated. I am finishing some samples showing variations of the book projects that will be shipped Thursday for the photo shoot on Friday. I have the Basics section and some other smart sounding words to write.

But all of that seems so much more manageable than the last six weeks of my life. I'm working on finding my life under the piles of beads again. I slept for roughly two solid days. I got a massage yesterday. I'm finally unpacking the suitcase from my trip to California four weeks ago. Laundry is drying at this very moment. And a pedicure is in my very near future.

But don't worry, Nathalie - I'm working on what I still owe you too! :-)

I leave you with a photo of Winston that I took tonight as he laid on my lap, keeping me company during the night shift. I suppose he thinks he deserves the Employee of the Month title now!

Great blog post re: inspiration vs. exploitation

2011-10-14T16:17:00.000-05:00

I talk about the subject of design copy all the time...but Pat has put together a blog post I wish I had written, so let's let her do the talking! Check it out at: The Crafty Retailer.

The good, the bad, and the ugly truth

2011-10-13T02:20:00.000-05:00

I'm discovering that writing your first book is full of one learning experience after another. And by discovering, I mean the hard way! Just when I think I have it together...well, you can imagine. Here are some of the lessons I've learned:

You make an outline at the start that has a visual description of each project that you have in your head. And when you actually start beading that design, it laughs at you and shows you what the real design is. Takeaway: Be flexible
When you sign that contract, the deadline for turning in your completed projects, instructions, and illustrations seems like a million months away. And then the calendar laughs at you and time speeds up and all of a sudden you're behind and panicked. Takeaway: Pretend like it's a race to get it finished as fast as possible and then you might make that deadline without having to take anti-anxiety medication.
The good news is that you've spent the last 10 years of your life collecting all the coolest seed beads, focal beads, clasps, and crystals, and it finally pays off as you're making the collection of your life for the book. But then the beads laugh at you as you discover EVERY SINGLE TIME that while you have the perfect beads, you don't have enough of them to finish the project in question. And remember that deadline? Yeah. Me too. Takeaway: Overnight shipping is your friend.
Above all else, trust in your vision. Because through the twists and turns, it will come together in the end - and you will look over the mountain of designs you created as you were feeling slightly out-of-control and off-kilter, careening down a steep mountain with no brakes, and like a miracle, the laughter stops and you realize it is beautiful and you couldn't imagine making a single project any other way. Takeaway: Dang. This is so much fun!

Sparkle!

2011-10-03T11:13:00.000-05:00

From June: I have now counted over 32,000 special color coat 2mm Swarovski crystals into individual baggies of 51, and I've updated the website. Yes, it was a lot of work, but only what you'd expect from Tapestry Bead's Employee of the Month (for 2 straight months!). If you haven't used 2mm Swarovski crystals before, they're about the size of a size 11 seed bead. Tiny. Yummy! Here's a list of the colors we have in stock.

Aqua AB
Black Diamond Vitrial
Champagne Aqua
Chili Pepper
Crystal AB
Crystal Copper
Cyclamen Opal
Emerald/Sahara
Indian Pink AB
Jet Doroado
Light Amethyst Verde
Light Colorado Topaz/Tabac
Light Rose Rosaline
Light Sapphire AB
Light Siam Iridescent
Olivine AB
Peridot Sphinx
Sapphire Sahara
Tanzanite AB
Tanzanite Light Vitrial
Tanzanite Titan
Topaz Glazier

What's your favorite 2mm Swarovski color?

And the winner is....

2011-09-25T16:43:00.000-05:00

Drum roll, please!

I used the online random number generator, and it picked number...

ONE!

So the first Natalie to comment (I'm sorry - it doesn't show your email address) should email me and we'll get you all set up with your free class!

I've been busy working on projects for the book like a mad woman. I'm so very pleased with the way things are looking and coming together at this point. It's an interesting challenge, not only in the designing of projects, but also having to keep an eye on the overall content and how it flows. Making sure the mix of bracelets/necklaces/earrings is good. Being consistent with a color story, but not making everything the SAME. Keeping true to my own design vision of modern, contemporary pieces that you'll wear in your daily life. It's keeping me on my toes!

I'm Baaaaack!

2011-09-16T01:30:00.001-05:00

I feel like I've been on a world-wide odyssey, but it's been less than that, of course. My three week trip to Shreveport, New Jersey, and Philadelphia was quite the trek, full of adventures like saving an ungrateful snapper turtle on the road, torrential rains, me sleeping through the Virginia earthquake, and lots and lots of fun beading moments. I swear I slept for days when I returned!

And as I finally recovered, it was all to apparent that I needed to be working on book projects like YESTERDAY. So I hunkered down to do that. A quick weekend trip to teach at Beads by Blanche in New Jersey last weekend broke things up, but now I'm back to book, book, book all the time!

BUT! I have something really cool and important to share with you before I start talking about book stuff. Because my next two classes with Beaducation.com have launched! And we figured it was a good time to have another blog contest to celebrate!

Blog Contest

Ogalala Lace

All you have to do is leave a comment on this page, or if you have trouble, you can email me at jill@tapestrybeads.com to enter. I'll collect entries until Thursday, Sept. 23rd at 6pm CST. Then I'll announce the winner here on Friday! The lucky winner will receive a free Beaducation.com class of his or her choice.

The new classes are Parisian Lights, and Ogalala Lace Bracelet. SO much fun! Check them out!

Parisian Lights

Workedy working

2011-07-29T01:23:00.000-05:00

Do you know how much 12,000 baggies weigh? I do! I just ordered that many (in 6 different sizes) and the box that is due to be delivered tomorrow is 44lbs. That's around a 4-5 month supply for me. It's totally nuts, but also totally necessary for the kits.

I was doubly productive today with Mom's help. Not only did I work on finishing up some samples that needed to get shipped out, but Mom managed to knock out my entire backlog of shipping random things that needed to go out. AND I got my email inbox back down to under 50! My goal is to whittle that down to 30 before I leave on the road trip next week. Baby steps in getting caught up, but I'm really feeling the difference.

Now, if I could only spend the next week doing nothing but beading!! My one big freak out this week is getting the samples made and photographed to ship out to Bead & Button next Friday. I also have to price out the class kits and write descriptions... I only have one figured out for sure. I'm working on a few others, but they need some time and attention. Luckily with the temperatures hitting 100+ every single day in Austin, I basically don't leave the house at all so beading time is easy to come by that way.

Not the most exciting blog post in the world, but the reality is I'm just slogging away on chores for the moment!

Miami Report

2011-07-26T00:47:00.000-05:00

The July meeting of the South Florida Jewelry Arts Guild

I just got back from a five day trip to Miami, Florida, to teach some classes for the South Florida Jewelry Arts Guild. What a wonderful group of women down there! On Thursday night was the monthly group meeting, which was attended by roughly 40 enthusiastic Guild members. I saw some really amazing pieces of jewelry adorning bodies! Artists doing everything from polymer clay to fused glass, and PMC to beadweaving - all facets of jewelry arts were well represented among the membership.

And I was lucky enough (and brave enough) to teach the group a new earring project that I developed just for them called Whirligig Earrings. Most of the women left with at least one earring completed, and some wore their finished set out the door! The earrings were definitely a hit, and I will be rolling them out as a new kit in the very near future. I have to restock first!! They bought me out!!

As is true all across the country, the weather was less than delightful. Hot. Rainy. Muggy. But we had beads, excellent food, and even better...BEADS! I taught a total of five classes in five days, and came back with a significantly lighter load of kits. I'm very grateful to the ladies of the Guild for inviting me to come visit and I hope they adore their new jewelry!!

Mariela Corte & I after the Rosetta Suite Class

So now that I'm home I'm facing 10 days to restock kits, develop my class submissions for the 2012 Bead & Button Show, and do anything else I need to do before I leave on a 21 day road trip. My goal for tonight is to take a kit inventory so I can figure out what kits need to be made, and what supplies have to be ordered pronto! Having Mom here to help is such a wonderful thing...

Drum roll, please....

2011-07-16T22:00:00.001-05:00

And the lucky winner of our Beaducation.com Free Online Class contest is.....

Sarah Dockery!

Thank you to everyone who entered, and left such wonderful comments on the blog, and also those who have been so supportive on Facebook. Making the videos was initially quite a scary-feeling stretch for me, but in the end was such a fun and fulfilling experience. Stay tuned...because there are two more classes that are scheduled to release this fall!

Here are a few photos from our video shoot that I have been waiting to share with you...

We used some of my jewelry for a gorgeous display in the background!

Try not being intimidated by THAT camera staring at you!

The view from my chair. I would look in the monitor to see if my hands were centered.

My makeup crew!I'm ready for my close-up....

The mess outside the camera frame! That's how you know I was there!

Trouble with comments?

2011-07-14T14:08:00.000-05:00

Hey folks!

So I've been hearing on Facebook that some of you have been trying to leave comments on the blog post for the free class from Beaducation giveaway and have not been able to do so. I hate that! So I just made some changes to the settings that I hope will help. Try again. And if that still doesn't work, no worries...just send a quick email to me at jill@tapestrybeads.com, and I'll get you entered!

Sleek Bracelet Class - ONLINE!

2011-07-11T11:24:00.000-05:00

Today is a big, Big, BIG day! Launch Day for my first online video class with Beaducation.com! And even better than a new class? It's on SALE this week! And even better than THAT??? I'm going to give away a free Beaducation.com class this week to celebrate - any class they offer!!

Sleek Bracelet

Beginner level class!

$12.95 - but 20% off through July 15

To be entered in the contest, all you have to do is make a comment on this blog post. Easy shmeazy! I will then randomly choose the winning entry and announce it on Saturday, July 16.

My Plate Overfloweth

2011-07-09T01:25:00.000-05:00

How do I manage to do these things to myself? Oh yeah...because I like my job and it makes me want to do cool projects and go teach cool people and so that makes it hard for me to say no to things.

But seriously - I look at my "immediate" to-do list and feel a little crazy.

Kits for the Sleek Bracelet online video class which launches with Beaducation.com on Monday (I'll be having a giveaway for a free class on the blog next week! Details on Monday's post!)
Kits for new Whirlygig Earrings which I will be teaching at the South Florida Jewelry Arts Guild Meeting in less than two weeks.
Instructions need to be written for Whirlygig too
Kits for the brand new Dew Drop Spiral Necklace that I'll be teaching there for the first time. Oh, and samples of the colorways need to be made.
Instructions need to be written for Dew Drop Spiral
Restocking other kits for the classes in Florida
Kits for the project I'm teaching at the Shreveport Bead Retreat in August. Samples made. Luckily the instructions are done on this one! It's Deborah Roberti's design which I'm teaching with her gracious permission.
Figuring out how to send samples to stores in South New Jersey, North New Jersey, and California all at the same time when I only have one of some of the samples available. Plus I need the samples for teaching in Florida too.
Designing/figuring out projects to submit for the Bead & Button Show 2012 - they have to be mailed by Aug. 8th
Still slogging away on book projects. I have about half done.
Plotting and planning a new joint venture with Sylvie Lansdowne - Two Babes and a Bead Party! We're going to do bead retreats - first one will be over New Years weekend in Georgia. More details coming soon!

Thank goodness that Mom is able to spend more time helping. She's been amazing! She's taken over shipping all the orders, and can help more putting kits together.

Poor neglected blog

2011-07-08T08:19:00.000-05:00

Dear Blog,
I know it's been a very long time since I last posted and I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am that I have been avoiding you. It's not you - it's me. You are perfect. I know you can be a little needy sometimes, and I thought I had gotten used to that. But I needed a break! After a little therapy, and a better understanding of how you and I might communicate better as a couple, I'm back. I hope you'll find it in your little Bloggy heart to forgive me. I do love you. I always will. I'm going to work on showing you how much and I will make it up to you.
xoxoxoxoxox,
Jill

It's a big, Big, BIG DAY!

2011-05-31T05:01:00.000-05:00

Happy Retirement!

Today is Mom's last day of work...in the corporate world, that is!

She'll still be assisting at Tapestry Beads - but we have extra special employee benefits like extremely flexible hours, doggie and kitty kisses, daily naps, and "I don't wanna" days.

Congratulations, Mom!

Introspection

2011-05-27T05:32:00.000-05:00

It's been awfully quiet here at Tapestry Beads the last few weeks, but not for lack of activity. In Beadville, May always means preparations for the massive Bead & Button Show. And that means making kits. Lots and lots and lots of kits. And then a few more thrown in for good measure. It's the time of year when my credit card starts squealing every time I pull it out for one more supply order, and my UPS man just assumes that he'll be stopping at my house every single day. We're known for over-preparedness - on Facebook the other day as I was lamenting (okay - whining) about the endless kit assembly, one of my long time students said,

"You're the only instructor I know who makes enough kits so the class attendees can choose any color and not worry about them being sold out, then you still have some to sell to non-class members."

It made me realize not only do I choose to make this many kits, I do it because for me, it's good customer service. I do it because I would be so sad if someone came to a class with her heart set on making a certain colorway and it was already gone. I've been that person before! It's not just about good business practices (the more kits I have to sell, the more I'm likely to sell) but much more it's about making sure my students and customers have a good experience.

And while I know this, that doesn't mean I don't have those blue mood days where I struggle with having to sit for yet another 12+ hours and weigh out beads, or put labels on baggies, or print patterns. It's mind-numbing after a while when I'm doing this kind of volume (not to mention butt-numbing. I think the sofa is permanently attached to my backside now.) And so for the last few days I've been fighting the urge to run away and hide for a respite.

And then I watched clips from Oprah's farewell show online tonight. And cried. And was reminded of how lucky and special my life is. What an amazing journey this last 9 years has been since I first encountered beads. I don't say Thank You enough to YOU. Because you guys out there, reading my blog, becoming my friends on Facebook, buying our kits online and at shows, taking my classes, and anticipating my books - YOU are the people who allow me to do this. You share your excitement and enthusiasm with me and keep me going through tough deadlines and canceled flights, and bad hotel rooms.

I think I have shared this before, but when I first started down this path of becoming a jewelry designer and instructor, I felt kind of silly making it a career. It seemed superficial at the time. An entire job revolving around something as non-essential as jewelry and crafting? I am ashamed to admit that now. But I couldn't know...I didn't understand just how the experiences I would have along the way would show me how something as "inconsequential" as beadweaving can change lives.

I have watched deep friendships form between women in my classes. The locals in Austin who started gathering twice a week at the local bead store for the company. The women who discovered in one of my classes at Bead & Button that they lived just blocks away from each other in Washington State and have become close friends.

I have worried about the woman over there in the corner who always came to class, but never participated in the chatter and laughter. Was she enjoying herself? A private conversation between us eventually revealed that she was a recent widow with no children and very few friends. Her only interaction with people happened within these classes. She came because she loved hearing everyone talk and joke and she loved the beads. And she didn't have to put on a brave face or do anything but just be in the company of others. It was an escape from her sorrow and her loneliness. That was the moment I felt for the first time I truly understood the saying "Art saves lives."

I have watched students work out bad days at work in beading class. Who have found solace from personal and family tragedies and illnesses. I have seen beading quite literally keeping two dear friends alive. The excitement and pleasure of artistic creation, the meditative motions of the beading, and the treasured friendships developed from their beading connections have combined to keep them going. When one thought she was going to be unable to bead any longer I could see the life-light draining from her eyes. But a medical adjustment allowed her to continue to keep her beady company, and all of a sudden - like the flip of a switch - she was back again with sparkle and laughter and I knew it was going to be okay.

Working with adult learners has taught me many lessons too. How hard we can be on ourselves if we don't master a new technique or stitch right off the bat. (Y'all, I failed learning peyote stitch several times when I first started out! Don't tell me you can't learn something!) So my job is often simply to remind people to be willing to goof up. To keep going. To be a personal cheerleader. And to stand there like a proud mama when they get that "ah-ha!" moment - because that's exactly how I feel! When a woman in one class pulled me quietly aside to thank me for being so patient with her questions and need for extra help, she brought tears to my eyes (then, and now) as she explained she had suffered a stroke a year prior, and relearning to bead was difficult, but important to her self-esteem. She had taken a class from someone else who had made her feel stupid and slow, and wanted to thank me for not making her feel like a burden at all. I was floored! Not only because I couldn't imagine thinking of her being a burden - but also because I could imagine what it felt like to be treated badly in the past. Her accomplishment in that class made me so happy for her! How sad that the other teacher missed out on that joy.

So all of this is simply me saying THANK YOU. Thank you for sticking with me through growing pains and grumpy days and spotty blog updating. Thank you for being the reason I love what I do so much. You all hang out with me every single day, whether you know it or not. My gratitude is endless.

Aw, man. Now I'm all weepy again. And if that's not a sign for bedtime I don't know what is! But I had to stop right this very moment and tell you what I was thinking. Thank you too, for listening.

Cruisin'!

2011-05-16T17:16:00.000-05:00

I've been waiting, hoping, and and dreaming I'd get to announce this one day. And now it's the real deal - no more dreaming necessary! Because...

I will be one of the instructors on the

2012 Bead Cruise!

And what an amazing cruise it will be! Not only are there classes by Heather Powers (the mastermind behind the Bead Cruise and the fairy who has pulled it off for 7 years,) Beverly Herman, Tracy Stanley, Kerry Bogert, and little ol' me....but look at this list of ports of call: St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Puerto Rico, and Hati. (I should be shot for the punctuation in that sentence, but oh well.) How decadent is THAT? And while the ship is at sea, you'll have the bead classes to enjoy.

It's limited to 60 bead cruisers, which means there will be only 15 in each class. I know so many folks who have been on the cruises over the years and said it was one of the best experiences of their beady lives. I am thrilled and honored to be asked to participate. And yes! Mom will be coming too!

More details as they come...but in the meantime, check it all out at BeadCruise.com! There's also more info at the Memory Cruisin' website. Pricing will be available in the next day or two.

I have a confession to make

2011-04-26T12:37:00.003-05:00

Sometimes, I am late to the party.

When I first learned beadweaving everyone in the industry was basically using Nymo or Silamide. Before long though, one of the beading teachers at the local store started talking about this new thing - Fireline. She was such an advocate that she talked the store into carrying it. I resisted. More beaders converted. I tried it once and hated it and kept resisting. The WHOLE WORLD converted to Fireline, and I finally decided I'd give it another chance. It took a few projects to get used to this new fangled thread imposter - it had all this body to it! I had to flatten the tip to thread my needle! It left black marks on my hands! But before you know it, I was one of the converts too, and I almost never use anything else now.

Which brings me to the topic of thread conditioners. Or rather, my lack of usage of them. Baby Beader Jill faithfully used Thread Heaven and beeswax on her Nymo thread. But over time....they kept disappearing into the great Bermuda Triangle of my beading stash.Because I got tired of buying it over and over again I simply stopped using thread conditioner althogether! No problems arose, so the habit stuck.

Enter Fireline into the thread condition equation. I felt like it made absolutely no sense whatsoever to use thread conditioner on Fireline. It wouldn't absorb into the thread like it did with old fashioned beading thread so it would leave a coating on the Fireline that would then block up the bead holes, and get sloppy, and who needed it? Fireline already didn't tangle quite like thread did, and it was easier to get out the knots when you did. So no thread conditioner recommendation from me! I was surprised when I heard that other national beading teachers DID recommend it. I just didn't get it.

So here's the confession part. (You thought I'd forgotten by now, didn't you?) This week, I finally tried using Micro-Crystalline Wax (the synthetic stuff that doesn't go bad on you and lasts forever - or until it falls into the Bead Bermuda Triangle) on my Fireline. And...um, well. I liked it. A lot.

Not only did it cut tangling to basically not at all, but it gave the Fireline a bit of resistance which will be really helpful for beaders with loose tension who need to tighten up. It also cut down on the black marks on my hand.

There you have it. You CAN teach a resistant old dog new tricks eventually. I am now going to recommend using the Micro-Crystalline Wax with Fireline. Yes, you may laugh at me now.

You can purchase it from my friends at The Hole Bead Shoppe. Just $3 for a 4oz. cup that will last you forever. For the local ladies, I am now stocking it at the house for when you come to bead.

Head Shots!

2011-04-24T15:06:00.000-05:00

Like many people I know - I hate having my photo taken. I've gotten better about it over the years, mainly because when my grandmother died many many years ago, one heartbreaking moment was my grandfather confessing that the day before she got so sick she had to go to the hospital, they were scheduled to have a portrait taken of the two of them for their 50th anniversary. He balked at the photo shoot and refused to do it, but regretted it terribly after she passed away. So I try to remember that it's okay that I'm fluffy or my hair is wonky that day or I don't love the outfit I'm in. Because that's not the point of the photo!

Still doesn't make it easy, though, when your brain thinks you're significantly skinnier than reality. Seeing those pictures can be a shock! So I haven't been enthused about having to get a head shot taken for the book. But yet, that's my first book-related deadline, so - grumble - groan - put off - reschedule - whine - I finally did it yesterday.

I picked Korey Howell as my photographer because I loved the informal tone of her website - kinda silly and chatty, like I tend to write. Plus I also loved her photos! Much to my surprise, the whole event was, well, a non-event! It was quick, and easy. I chose to do several different clothing looks so I would have a variety to choose from (again, thinking they were all going to suck!) and also so I would be able to use different photos for different things. The book, bead show websites where they post the instructor's bios, bead stores where they are showing what classes are being offered by national instructors, and magazines when I'm published. But guess what? I had a horrible time choosing photos because they were ALL GOOD!

Here's what I picked - and I may go back and pick one more big smile shot. But really, I feel great about them! What a relief!

Albuquerque Classes Report

2011-04-22T15:05:00.000-05:00

I was lucky enough to be invited to teach Pitaya Necklace to some really amazing beaders in Albuquerque last weekend. It started out small. A regular customer of mine, Bonnie, saw me at my booth in Tucson, and asked if I might be able to teach a private class in Albuquerque when I was in the area for Bead Fest Santa Fe in March. I figured, why not? I'd stay over an extra night, and we'd do the class that Monday before I headed for home again. And I was thinking it would be 6-8 folks since it was a private class. Silly me! I underestimated Bonnie!

She lined up a store for us to hold the class (Bead Obsession), and filled it with 20 folks! Then, due a variety of issues, the class got pushed back to April, and Bonnie told me she thought she could fill a second class for Pitaya if I did one on Friday and one on Saturday. And doggone it, she did!


Friday's Class - waving hello!

So we had quite the weekend of beady love. The Albuquerque ladies (and Jerome!) are simply wonderful beaders, and they have a great time together. Bead Obsession is only open two days a week, but she has a super selection of seed beads and Delicas and books! Wow!

And this was my favorite part - the owner made Delica sample mats of all the Delica colors (before the store was opened) and they are available as a reference. Can you imagine the hours this project took? I'm in lust for them!

I'm delighted that I'll be going back to visit them again the first weekend in November for more classes and beady love. I made them all promise to bring show-and-tell jewelry to share with me!

Secret news - not secret any longer!

2011-04-07T10:20:00.000-05:00

I have been holding some really important secret news close to my heart since mid-February. It's been KILLING me to not be able to share with you! Because you guys know, I share everything! But today I got permission to announce it....

I'm writing a book!

(Two books, actually!)

I have signed a contract with Lark Publishing to write two books. The first will be part of the amazing Master Class series on beaded ropes. I couldn't be more honored to be included in this series of books by designers like Diane Fitzgerald, Laura McCabe, Marcia DeCoster, Sherry Serafini, Rachel Nelson-Smith, Maggie Meister, Sabine Lippert...and me!

It will be released in the fall of 2012.

And then I go right back to work! Because I'll have a second book focused on advanced herringbone coming out 12-18 months later.

Way back, as far as when I was 8 years old, I said I was going to be an author one day. And now I will be. Dreams do come true!

"Simple" Designs

2011-03-18T04:21:00.000-05:00

The simplest of designs are often the hardest to accomplish. When there's not a lot of layers and extra beads to hide behind, every single stitch counts. The beads must lay just so. Be exactly right. And sometimes it's easy to mistake an elegantly conceived piece as simple.

But let me tell you about that simple piece. I have been working for six hours now on a simple piece. I've changed bead sizes. I've tried out different bead shapes. I've added two beads at a time, then tried three, then tried four.... I've ripped and reshaped. I've played with color. I've tried more than one type of stitch to get the drape I'm looking for. I'm finally closing in on the best way to make it. I think. But there are hours more of this type of experimentation to make sure that it's perfect.

So when you get the instructions for the project, of COURSE you're going to think it's simple. Because I worked up all the wrong ways to make it the right way for you.

You're welcome. :-)

Whirl & Twirl

2011-03-17T02:49:00.000-05:00

At last, I arrived back home Wednesday afternoon. It seemed like twice the distance I drove getting to Santa Fe! The strong pull to be home home home was the culprit, I'm sure. I spend much of the next 10 weeks getting to BEAD! And DESIGN! And, oh yeah - there's this little thing called the Bead & Button Show that I need to get ready for as well.

I made Mom laugh like a hyena today as I was describing my spending spree on filigree components at Artworks by Cathy J. It's all Mom's fault. She emailed me a shopping list that included the note, "I like the stuff at this vendor - this piece in particular." Except she hadn't attached a photo of the piece she liked so much! I managed to get over to the booth in the last 30 min. of the show, and doggone it, I liked it all. So I bought it all. Almost all of it, anyway. Seems like. I'm a heck of a power shopper! Now if Mom had sent me the photo...I would have gone with a specific purpose! Instead she sent me shopping for "pretty." Mom asked if I was buying thinking about using pieces in kits. Um. I dunno. Actually it's probably mostly stuff for my personal jewelry. You know - the jewelry I haven't made in FIVE YEARS!!! But I have the perfect filigree for it when I get around to it. You're laughing like a hyena at me now too, aren't you? I can feel it.

I am tired and tried going to sleep at 9pm tonight. But the brain is dancing about - whirling and twirling. So I was back up by 10, and making lists and paying bills and ordering supplies and Facebooking and Tweeting. Listening to the new Adele album which I love and adore. But at last I feel sleepy eyes coming on. I think I'll be dreaming of filigree jewelry designs tonight.

Bead Fest Santa Fe: By the Numbers

2011-03-14T02:23:00.001-05:00

766 - miles from my front door to the Santa Fe Convention Center
14 - hours it took me to drive nonstop on Thursday to get there
12 - the time of night I arrived
2 - the time of morning I went to bed because I was glued to the Japan earthquake/tsunami coverage on tv
6 - the hour the alarm clock went off
3 - number of curse words used when the alarm clock went off
20 - happy students who now can make Kumihimo with Beads
4 - vendors from whom I made purchases (Beyond Beadery, Alacarte Clasps & Wirelace, Oak Grove Studio, Artworks by Cathy J. )
28 - new colors of Delicas I purchased to add to my stash
0 - number of times I got to walk the whole show - too busy!!
2880 - number of 2mm Swarovski crystals I spilled on the floor of my booth
7 - number of curse words used when I spilled them
2700 - approximate number I managed to pick up
1 - burnt out headlight that I have to get fixed Monday morning before I head home
47892093457 - number of happy exchanges I had at the show. (Approximately.)
1 - tired Jilly
4- puppies and kitties that need their Mama Jill to come home for lovin's. And Winston wants his bed back.

Packin' up the suitcases again

2011-03-08T01:18:00.000-06:00

One more big trip to get through, and after that, while I do have a quick overnight trip to Lake Jackson, and a vacation weekend visiting a friend in Phoenix, I will be HOME until the beginning of June.

And what do I plan to do while I'm home, you might ask?? Well! Let me tell you.

First, I intend to play with the beads. Lots and lots of time sitting and designing the beautiful items I've dreamed up in my head over the last year but haven't had time to bring to life. I have a list of projects that's so daunting - but I am excited to dive headfirst into the pile - like when I was little and dove into the pile of Autumn leaves, giggling and laughing and screaming. Exactly like that.

And I have a new bead cabinet that Mom and I scored from a fellow beader who needed to downsize a bit. We have plans to put it in our personal bead room to organize our personal bead stash, but naturally that requires moving pretty much every item in the room. Again. Organizing never ends!

And while I think they're gorgeous, I think Mom and I might break down and put the Christmas Ornaments that have been hanging in our front hall for the last three months away.

First, though? A week in gorgeous Santa Fe for Bead Fest 2011. I'll have a booth in the Convention Center, and my Quick & Easy Kumihimo with Beads class is sold-out for the second year in a row. (As a matter of fact, we just added a fourth session of that class for Bead & Button in June - on Tuesday night.) I'm also teaching a private class in Albuquerque the Monday after the show, and plan on being home by Wednesday. SWEET!

Pretty Tucson photos

2011-02-26T04:29:00.001-06:00

I still owe you the STORY of Tucson Tales, The Finale, but in the meantime, here's some fun photos!

We have a LOT of fun in Tucson!

The top photo is an overview of the loot I brought home. Smaller photos are close-ups. Most of this is for kits!

The artisan beads and buttons I couldn't resist. From top left going clockwise, buttons from Raven's Journey; lampwork by Ellie Mac; lampwork by Isis Ray; and a spectacular wooden bead by Gerry Kmack

I loooove pearls!

Beading Shortcuts

2011-02-26T02:48:00.000-06:00

I'm probably about to disappoint you. Because I'll bet you read the title of this post and got all excited to learn some tips to make your beadweaving faster and more efficient. But guess what?? Nope.

Instead I felt compelled to tell you all that I'm not a big believer in beadweaving shortcuts. Gasp! I know! It's not like I haven't tried them - I do, all the time. And what I find is that taking two stitches at once in a peyote stitch piece inevitably causes more tangles than usual, and the messes are bigger to out of. Cheating on a herringbone stitch by pulling the thread only once through both the downward and upward strokes pulls your beads out of a pristine, straight alignment, and makes for a sloppier looking project.

You are a beadweaver. You're not in this for speed. Take the slow road, enjoy the process, and your beadwork will thank you by being more beautiful in the end.

Writing the Blog

2011-02-23T13:19:00.001-06:00

From June:

I know it’s been a while since we’ve updated the blog. That’s partly because life is comparatively calm right now, and I can’t think of anything to write. Well that’s not exactly true, stuff is going on, but it’s stuff I can’t talk about yet. So…..oh look! What an amazing sparkle.

Okay, I’m back now. Trying to think of something to write about. Winston! Winston, drop that! Winston……!

Back again. Oh, there’s the phone. Out of town number. Probably about an order. I’d better get that.

Hmmmm….maybe I’ll check Facebook while I think about what to write.

Ahhh…maybe I could write about…..oh, just got an order in. I’d better go get that ready to mail.

Okay, now! Although I am a little hungry – I haven’t eaten anything yet today. My brain will probably work better once I get some nourishment.

Wow, lunch made me really sleepy. I bet a nap with all the dogs and cats will refresh me.

Oh-oh. Know how sometimes you wake up in the wrong sleep cycle, and you feel like you’re just underwater? That’s me right now. Ugh. Maybe I can update the blog tomorrow.

Tucson Tales, Part II

2011-02-08T17:36:00.000-06:00

The buildup before coming to Tucson is immense. So much planning and creation and anticipation. The appointed day finally arrives and it's instant and pure joy! Seeing my beady friends from across the world, vendors and customers alike. I miss them mightily between shows. They are my tribe! My family! The people that get me and my obsession with tiny beads and the beauty we can create with them.

So for five days, we all gathered at The Best Bead Show (among other shows) and laughed and hugged and bought beads. We played at night, dining and dancing. A few hours of sleep were all we could spare before getting up to do at all again. And then, suddenly...POOF! It's over. My friends stop by to say farewell before they leave for their own little piece of the country, and I pack up all that's left behind. Sometimes I get what I call the Post Show Blues from the letdown of intense adrenalin.

But not this time! Because for all the wonderful WONDERFUL things that happened at the show, it was a rough one this time around too. The frigid temperatures left the vendors outside in tents and on the patio in dangerous conditions. Pipes around the city at hotels and show venues burst, leaving many without heat and water for a few days. I wrenched my back, and dug a huge gouge in the back of my hand while setting up. OUCH for the rest of the show. And to top it all off, I came down with a cold the last day. Tucson, I love you. But you're testing my patience this year!

Back to the good stuff, though. I treated myself to some fabulous lampwork beads from Isis Ray, Bernadette Fuentes, Ellie Mac. I'll have to wait until the sun comes back up to take photos to share. I placed a project in Bead Unique Magazine - I'll keep you posted on when you can find it! And it looks like I'm going to be adding a bunch of teaching weekends around the country soon. Chicago, Albuquerque, Phoenix, and more!

I spent a day in the hotel, sleeping and trying to shake the remainder of this cold that's got my energy low. Because while MY show is over, there are many others out there that need some of my spending money! So tomorrow I'm off to shop. POWER SHOP!! I can't wait!

Tucson Tales, Part I

2011-02-02T01:21:00.000-06:00

I sat down tonight to write an email to Mom to tell her all about the craziness of this day, but then I decided y'all would want to hear it all too. So now it's a letter to ALL of you!

So....you may not have noticed this, but it's C O L D outside. I don't care where you are in the US, it's way colder than usual. And I live in Texas, therefore, I do not have cold weather clothing. Sure, it gets chilly for a few days a year, but it's not a big deal most of the time. I don't even have a real winter coat these days. I lost mine a few years ago somewhere, and I've been making due with some sweater/wrap type of things. I own only one pair of closed-toe shoes.

But then this cold front came through. BIG ugly, hairy, wicked cold front. So evil, that as I was driving to Tucson yesterday, I just couldn't bring myself to keep going when I got to the point where I was driving through snow, sleet, and 30mph winds. Enough! So I stopped for the night at a hotel, and made the rest of the trip on Tuesday. When I left the hotel that morning the windchill was below zero, and I was out getting gas in the car in my sandals. I'm not the brightest bulb in the box, ya' know. Luckily I drove out of the worst of the weather and got myself to Tucson, albeit much later than I'd wished.

I did a power shopping whirl around the To Bead True Blue show - so fast and furious that I'd already racked up a security hold on my debit card in the first 45 min. You veterans of the bead show shopping will know what I mean... When you're at the bead shows and buying from different vendors from all across the country/world, it looks like there's credit card fraud going on to the credit card companies and they kindly put a security hold on your card. It's not a huge deal as you just have to call them and confirm that you're really the one making all those purchases. But it is annoying in that moment when your card gets declined!!

Kelli Burns & Jill

I got to hug on Kelli Burns from the Hole Bead Shoppe - we were so excited to see each other we couldn't sit still for the photo! She's one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. I also got to meet a whole bunch of my Facebook friends in real life - it's so much fun!

After the show closed at 6, I had to run by MY show to unload my car into the booth. And it was like a bad Marx Brothers skit. I am using a new set of bins to hold all my kits under the table instead of my usual rolling carts. The table is only 6' instead of my normal 8' setup, so I had to get creative. Unfortunately, the new bins are a nightmare to transport! They all fell apart and spilled kits all over as I tried to get them in the hall. I left a trail of kits and bins behind me as I dropped them over and over again. Rolling carts? I'm SO sorry I strayed! Please forgive me! I'll never do it again! By the time I finally got most of them into the hall, I was so annoyed that I just left them in shambles. I'll have to get to the show extra early in the morning to sort it all out again. Sigh.

I was rushing (surprise) because I still needed to go check into my hotel, freshen up, and then head out to the Interweave party to meet up with a bunch more friends. So I find my hotel. Go to check in. And.....wait for it....they have given my room away. And they're full. And everyone else in the area is full. I feel dizzy with visions of having to sleep in the car for the next 10 nights. When I made my last set of changes with dates on the room reservation online, it evidentally didn't take, and poof! There goes the room. Thank goodness, I had the sense to call Kelli Burns first and she said she thought the hotel they were staying at had some rooms available. So in one phone call, Kelli saved the day. I love Kelli!!!

Stephanie Dixon & Jill

At that point I no longer had time to find the new hotel and freshen up before the party. So I did a little primping in the car. Good enough. The heck with being cute. I was THERE! And I had SO much fun!

I finally FINALLY got to meet the amazing Stephanie Dixon, The Dixon Chick & Swarovski Ambassador from Toronto. We've been Facebook friends for a while now and ADORE each other and it was so great to discover we love each other in real life too!!

I could name drop like crazy and tell you ALL the folks I met and talked to through the day, but I'll spare you. Because I'm in serious need of a bed right about now. I'm going to have to wake at dawn to get ready before the show opens at 10am, and wouldn't you know it, Wednesday is the day we're open until 8pm too. I have plans with Tracy Stanley and Janice Berkebile for dinner afterwards, and we'll probably have others join us as well.

There are a bunch of vendors who are having trouble getting to Tucson with all the weather issues. And the saddest for me is my dear Anna Draeger. Her flight was cancelled, and now she can't find another flight down here. She plans on spending the whole day Wednesday trying to find a seat. I'll cry if she can't make it!!

And hopefully...if I'm really lucky...I will survive it all. Cold weather? Booth disasters? Hotel room chaos? No problem. I got it covered!

2011-01-31T10:58:00.000-06:00

Same Song, Same Verse

From June: It seems like no matter how much we try, we can't seem to get ahead when getting ready for a big show. Originally we weren't going to do a show at Tucson this year - Jill was just going to shop. But at pretty much the last minute, we decided to do the Best Bead Show again. So Jill's been working long hours ordering beads and making kits for the last couple of weeks.

But it wasn't enough. It's never enough. We had our traditional Pre-Big Show Printer Meltdown, for one thing. And that's a whole other story. I'm still working, so my help was limited in getting ready - Jill was pretty much on her own. A last minute push, and Jill delaying her departure twice, got it done. I was up until 3 a.m. on Saturday night (Sunday morning?) and was up again at 7 a.m. Last night, bedtime was after midnight and we were both up well before 5 a.m.

In our business, Jill designs most of the complex, special works. I'm not as good a beader as Jill, and I design a lot of the beginner stuff. We always take great care with our instructions, and never is that more important than with instructions for a beginner. We want to make sure a new beader can succeed and be sucked into Bead World with the rest of us. Here are two new beginner kits that I've recently done. I don't have them on the website yet, because Jill has taken all the kits to Tucson, but I'll pull the trigger on that as soon as she gets home.

The first one is called Center Stage, and we have it in several colorways, including an orange/pink combination.

The one below is a wide bracelet - it's called Harmony. It comes with a fabulous button from Sonoran Beads. I'll do another colorway on this one, too. What do you think? Red/orange/pink?

Happy 2011!

2011-01-02T03:46:00.000-06:00

You know, I was thinking last night, wasn't Y2K just a few years ago? How did we end up in the double digits of this century so fast??? It kind of makes my brain hurt!

You know what else makes my brain hurt? Preparing for all the new things happening here at Tapestry Beads this year! It's the time of year where we're finalizing a bunch of new kit designs, and picking colorways and making samples of them all. So I've got colors and supply orders on non-stop rotation through my brain. In addition to our regular kits, I'm also working on colorways for some of my national teaching projects, like the Pitaya Necklace, Rosetta Suite, and Evening Song Set. There will be kits available later for these, but for now I'm just scrambling to get colors picked. Luckily I have my beady minions to help me make samples, including my German co-Pitaya instructor, Martina Nagele!

And sometime in February you can expect to see my online video classes debuting with Beaducation.com! I am working out kit colorways for all three of those projects as well.

All together, I'm working on about 25 new colorways between them. AGH! No wonder I was just in bed, but not able to sleep! I decided to get up and work if I wasn't going to be snoozing. And I've missed talking to y'all!

My next blog post, I've got something to show you....It's 3:30am right now, so my photos wouldn't turn out great if I took them now. But in my best procrastinating way, I found it absolutely imperative to organize my entire Delica collection the other night....and tonight's dodging efforts centered on completely reorganizing my Swarovski stash. I know. I know. Believe me...Mom's already given me "that look." You know the one. But the good news is that they're organized! And it will make a huge difference over the long haul. I can't wait to show you my pretty new system.

I leave you tonight with this photo of Santa Jill. My elves were a little too interested in food and Play-doh to smile for the camera, but I guarantee you, there were lots and lots of smiles that day.

Participating in The Best Little Bead Box project!

2010-12-19T07:31:00.000-06:00

Please forgive me for cross-posting, but I wanted y'all to know about this cool project I got to participate in if you don't know about it already!

I really don't know how he did it, but my postman managed to get both GIGANTIC Best Little Bead Boxes stuffed into one of our community mailbox lockers. I practically needed a crow bar to get them out of there! And I also thanked my lucky stars that I live directly across the street - because when you're carrying over 60lbs of beads, you don't want far to travel. Yep. That's right. Over 60lbs!!!!

I had a special message from Jean on my boxes too.

Coincidentally, the boxes arrived a day after a special thing happened regarding Beads of Courage, the charity that will be receiving the proceeds from The Best Little Bead Box auctions. I was out of town for the day, but my mother was at home Sunday morning and said she turned the TV on, looked up, and there was Margaret Zinzer (lampworker extraordinaire, and avid Beads of Courage supporter) on the screen! Mom thought quickly and started taping...whatever it was. Turns out it was a news story on CBS This Sunday Morning about the Beads of Courage program. What serendipity! And y'all, I'm embarrassed to say this, but I had no idea. Seriously. I really didn't understand what the Beads of Courage program was all about other than "sick kids get beads." And I'm willing to bet that a lot of you are in that same position. So please pardon my ramble, but can I tell you just a little bit about this program?

Kids with serious illnesses go through so much, both emotionally and physically, and it's often hard for others to understand everything they're dealing with. When a child enters the Beads of Courage program, they are given a length of string with beads that spell out their name. After that, as they work through their treatments, colorful beads, each representing a different treatment milestone are given to the child. For instance, they get a yellow bead for an overnight hospital stay, a white one for chemotherapy, and a glow-in-the-dark bead for radiation treatment. It's not uncommon for children to amass 10, 20 -- even 35 -- feet of beads. It helps young patients track and celebrate their progress, but it also gives them a way to get through upcoming procedures as well as a way of sharing and telling their story to friends and family. It's a visual representation of their courage. The CBS story brought both my mother and I to tears (please click on the link and watch,) but also immediately made us ask, "What can we do to help?"

Which brings me back to the Best Little Bead Box(es). As I opened each treasure in the box, fondled the beads, lusted after them and set aside a pile to keep, I kept thinking about that question: What can I do to help?" And slowly I repacked all the beads but one strand of beautiful purple lucite flowers from The Hole Bead Shoppe. I intend to make into a special, commemorative necklace from it to remind me of how honored I am to be participating in this project. But everything else? I decided I couldn't accept any more. I have more beads than I can use in a lifetime, and I'm lucky enough to have my entire world surrounded with them. So the beads in the boxes? Well...they are for the auction, and ultimately for the kids.

The spirit of sharing and giving also made me dig deep into my own beady treasures to add to the stash. And dig I did! Everything from crystals to glass, seed beads to pearls, and gemstones to lampwork. I've got it all in here. So please forgive the sparse commentary....but enjoy the BEADS!

Pearls (there are a LOT more of the green ones!), a silver chain, Ruby Zoisite, and some glass strands.

Cool side/top drilled pearls, and some interesting finish glass beads

The pink stash includes some Rose Quartz, Button Pearls, and a bunch of glass beads

All glass beads, some vintage

More glass - how cute are those butterflies?

Furnace glass I picked out for a bracelet I never made.

David Christensen Furnace Glass

Um, can you tell I really like Furnace glass?

All semiprecious gemstones

I threw a bracelet I made in there! Why not?

Some of my all time favorite seed beads, including Size 8 3-cuts by Toho. Sparkly!

Some of my specially coated 2mm Swarovski crystals

Green Girls clasp

Sterling Silver clasps

Fun beads from Susan Nestor!

The pendant on the right is polymer clay

Pendants

Lilly Pilly, Dichro, and a stone pendant

Cabochon

Metallic lampwork beads by Donna Mehnert of Blackberry Beads

Porcelain

Lampwork

More lampwork

Adorable small set by Pam Way of Yellow Dog Beads

Another Pam Way set

Assortment of Tagua Nut pendants and beads

Holy Cannoli

2010-12-01T23:04:00.000-06:00

Man, when I owe you a blog post, I REALLY owe you a blog post! I have yet to tell you all about the fun and interesting Beaducation video shoot (went great - I'm known as One Take Wiseman there!) And I do have stories and photos. But honestly? It's going to be next week before I have a spare moment to write a coherent account!

Why? Oh, because I'm INSANE! Wait. You knew that already. Why do I keep rediscovering it? At some point I have the nerve to actually convince myself things like "Oh yeah...I have a lot of down time in between Thanksgiving and mid-January." ???!!! NOT

So what I'm staring at right now is having roughly eleventy billion people over to our house on Saturday for our annual Tapestry Beads Open House (and if you're within driving distance of Austin, why aren't you coming??) and we've been rushing around like mad to get ready for it. The new bead cabinet and slat wall means having to fill it all up with fabulous things to buy, so I've been ordering vast quantities of seed beads, tubing and labeling them, and then getting them organized. Same goes for firepolish beads, crystals, needles, yada, yada....

We also have some (a lot of "some") finishing touches to the house remodel. Like hiding all the unpacked boxes we have yet to find homes for. But to hide the boxes, we had to clean out the garage because there was no place to walk in there, let alone hide things. So that's what Mom and I did all day today - and now we have a pile roughly the size of Mount Everest in our driveway for the Salvation Army to take away. Once upon a time, we'd planned to make money off it and actually have a Garage Sale. But then we got over it. The problem is, Salvation Army said on the phone today that they had room in the truck they were sending out for about 20 boxes. HAHAHAHAHAhahahaha....cough, gasp. So whatever THEY don't take, we hope the neighbors steal overnight. Because we need that crap, er, stuff, gone by Saturday!

Want any of this? Please? Car not included.

I've also got a big wholesale order I'm trying to get out the door by Friday, which involved making kits because I was out of some. I still haven't done any of the printing on that. I have to make a special trip to the fixtures store for hooks for my slat wall because when Mom stopped by there Tuesday to buy them, they were out of stock. Of course! So they had them brought in from the San Antonio store. Nothing like doing an errand twice. My last box of seed beads will not be arriving until Thurs or Fri, so Mom and I will be labeling like crazy at the last minute. Oh! And I'm also supposed to be updating the instructions for the Beaducation videos and sending those out, as well as deciding on 3 kit colorways for my class on Dec. 11th, because I gotta get those beads ordered like yesterday.

Meanwhile, proving that delusions are hereditary, Mom thinks she's going to bake brownies and cookies and stuff for the Open House, do all the Christmas decorating, help clean the house, and help label the seed beads, and install the knobs on her bathroom cabinets.

Down time. Yeah.

BABE report

2010-11-16T02:51:00.001-06:00

Bead people are SO MUCH FUN! I've discovered it over and over again as I travel to new places from coast to coast and it makes me happy. We share passion for color and texture and beautiful things. We have a joie de vivre that shows in our faces and interactions. We have a common language. A special "handshake" (consisting of going straight to the jewelry one is wearing and exclaiming upon it.) It's no wonder I adore bead shows so much!

And the BABE show in Oakland, California was no exception. I was able to hang out with some of my most favorite people on Earth - fellow bead teachers that live all across the country. I made new friends as well. And who knew how awesome the food was in Oakland??!! I had some of the most tasty meals I've ever encountered! It's hard for this Texas girl to admit the best Mexican food I have ever eaten was at Tamarindo in Oakland!

But let me tell you - this show was also not my finest organizational moment! I forgot: the tablecloth, the boxes that I use to make my riser, the credit card machine, my hair dryer with the diffuser (essential for a curly haired girl), and the display for my 2mm Swarovski crystals. AGH!!!! So I borrowed a tablecloth, used some aluminum pans from a store across the street to make a faux riser, hand wrote all the credit card transactions, and air dried my hair. The 2mm crystals stayed in my bag instead of being sold. I know...you are all thinking "Packing list!" Yeah. I know.

Monday I spent sadly saying farewell to my hotel roomie, Barb Switzer, who was the best roomie ever, and then driving across the bay to Redwood City where I will be hanging out another week. Tuesday brings my first filming day for my online video classes with Beaducation. Eeek! I'd better go get some beauty sleep!

I will leave you with a variety of photos from this weekend's show...

Lavinia Touchton, Jill Wiseman, and Peggy Goldblatt. Some of my favorite students turned friends!

Tracy Stanley, Jill Wiseman, and Janice Berkebile adopting "The Pose"

Nikia Angel caught me working hard!

Beaducators gather together! Tracy Stanley, Jill Wiseman, Kate Richbourg, Dallas Lovett, Barb Switzer, Colin Mahler, Janice Berkebile, and Lisa Claxton

The annual technology meltdown

2010-11-08T15:51:00.000-06:00

At least once a year you get one of these blog posts, don't you? The sad, frenzied madwoman, trying to cobble together a host of printers and faxes and scanners and whatnot to get her danged job done! Where's my IT Help Desk when I need it??

This time, it's still partially an after effect of the flooring redo. We had to unhook everything and rehook it up and we moved the printer to a farther away spot which necessitated a longer cord because I haven't stopped to figure out how to wirelessly connect it yet. So I finally got the longer cord and all should be well with the world, right? But no! We're out of magenta toner on our monster Dell printer. No problem. I skip off (drive) to Cartridge World and get a magenta cartridge. I've used them before in a pinch, and while it's not an official Dell cartridge, it worked and was $75 cheaper. Naturally, I let it sit there for days before I really needed it. Which was today.

Last night Mom and I both worked to get that new cartridge in the printer to no avail. It simply doesn't fit in the slot. I tried again this morning just to make sure. Hasn't shrunk overnight. So do I return it and get another one? What if I waste my time and it still doesn't fit? They are the ONLY place in Austin to get a toner cartridge on the shelf for this printer. Everything else is delivery only. Which doesn't help me TONIGHT.

Okay, I can work around this for the moment, right? My urgent need today is to get my Bead Fest Santa Fe Booth Rental Contract printed out, filled out, scanned into the computer, and then faxed. Because the deadline is today to keep my same booth spot. Because this is ME and I waited until the deadline day. You've been following along and this is expected, right??

Luckily I just bought a second printer for the house! The new desk setup in the Bead Room has a cheapie ($25 and I ain't kidding) inkjet. Go to Bead Room and print out contract. Fill out contract the old fashioned way. With pen. Move back to the Office to scan into computer so I can fax through email. No old fashioned fax in our household - we don't have any phone lines. All cell phones. Put contract page 1 on the scanner. Hit Scan on the software. Error! Can't communicate with the scanner. Look at scanner. Silly Jilly! Scanner not turned on! Turn scanner on. Restart software so it can "communicate" with the scanner this time. Hit scan button. Error! Can't communicate with the scanner. Waaaa?? Follow long and complicated cord snowball to discover scanner cord not plugged into computer. Plug into computer. Restart software again. Success this time!!

So it has now taken me 45 min (plus another 15 to write this post) to do something that should have taken 5 min. and I still don't have a working main printer.

Technology? Bite me.

A little of this, a little of that

2010-11-07T02:46:00.001-06:00

I think I've mentioned before that while I used to be a great multi-tasker, age is taking it's toll, and I now function best doing one thing at a time. I don't actually hate it. I do think my focus is much better that way, and I don't make as many mistakes.

BUT! When I have a bazillion things to do, it's hard for me to switch around from project to project, because I would actually like to finish things sometimes. I had started working on getting the new bead cabinet all stocked up, and beads ordered, and on bead room organization of those beads (all one task) but I'm still not finished.

And it's killing me! Because I have to put it aside now as I'm getting closer and closer to the twin deadlines of leaving for the BABE (Bay Area Bead Extravaganza) show on Thursday, and finishing the preparations for the Beaducation classes video shoot which will happen while I'm out on the West Coast the week following BABE.

The boxes of kits for BABE will get shipped on Monday. I still need to burn some CDs to complete the kits for a number of designs. That will be Sunday's work.

And I'm also reviewing and tweaking the instructions for the 3 Beaducation classes, and making the samples for the video shoot. It's kind of like Groundhog Day. You make a sample up to a certain spot where you know you're going to want to do a demo for the video, and then stop and package it up. Then you make the sample again and go past that demo spot to the next demo spot. And stop and package it up and start all over again. For example the project I'm working on tonight I decided I need 6 different samples. I may be over-preparing, but I want everything to go super smoothly!

Sluggin' and Chuggin' Along

2010-10-30T05:07:00.000-05:00

Somehow I thought I'd be done moving back in the house by now, but I certainly should have known better. But massive progress is being made. Tonight I was up all night working on the monster known as The Bead Room. I need a trip to The Container Store and a trip to Big Lots for more storage containers. There are about 7 boxes of mishmash that need to be sorted through and homes found for the contents. I'm still contemplating whether I need to put a table or a couple of short bookcases back-to-back in the middle of the room. The room is already so small, and I quite literally have every inch of wall space taken up with shelves and the desk, so it's the center of the room or nothing. Maybe I can consolidate and purge a little more...

Saturday is also a BIG day because Mom and I are going to head on down to the store fixtures store and get our slat wall panel! This will go in the front room where I have all the beads for sale, and once we get that installed the the beads hung up, that room will be finished! Yippee!

So you know how I had that poll for what class you wanted me to teach at the Texas Bead Retreat? Yeah. Well. How about something totally different?!! Because the earrings class was the low vote getter. And after figuring out everything that's going into the Grapevine Bracelet, I decided I couldn't really teach that as a short class. And despite having touched nearly every bead I own in the last week, the Tila beads remain elusive little suckers. I guess they must be in one of the dreaded mishmash boxes. Where they could remain for QUITE some time.

My new plan since time is up for me to get the class info to Sandy Pardo? I'm going to teach Smadar Grossman's amazing Mumbai Masala bracelet!

Blues Clues

2010-10-28T19:05:00.003-05:00

From June:
The day before we were having the laminate floors done in the house, Jill convinced me to paint the bead room. I'm not sure which of us is crazier. She picked the Tapestry Beads turquoise as the main color. Not a color I'd normally use, but it's a room that only Jill and I go into, and that color makes us happy.

Of course I ran out of paint and had to finish the job after the floor was laid in that room. When I was done painting, I went into the kitchen and saw blotches of turquoise all over the newly-laid tile. I back-tracked, and found splotches of paint on the laminate too. I must have stepped in a drip of paint and tracked it all over. #@&%. It took a while to get it all up, but finally, finally, I was done.

It wasn't until later that evening when I saw that I was not the one who had stepped in paint!

Picking a class for the Texas Bead Retreat

2010-10-26T02:34:00.001-05:00

I need your help again! It's time for me to pick a project to teach at the Texas Bead Retreat in January 2011. I've got a number of ideas, and I'd love to know what y'all think! So I created a poll over there <--- to the left. Please vote!

I've been wanting to do my own gorgeous version of a grapevine bracelet/necklace for years now, but I never finished the sample I started in 2007. Yeah - really 2007. In all the house ruckus, I rediscovered it, sitting sadly in a box, waiting for some attention. And now I'm reinvigorated to work on it again - especially since there are more options for drop beads these days and I will be making the grape clusters with several different sizes and shapes for a textured look.

Tila beads are all the rage at the moment, of course, and I'd love to have an excuse to play with them! I'm thinking of a layered 3-dimensional type of bracelet.

One of my Austin students has been pestering me for an all-earrings class. What do y'all think?? It would be three completely different styles of earrings. I think we could accomplish that in the time frame allotted there.

If you have something entirely different you'd like to propose, I want to hear it! Send me an email or a comment, okay?

On a different note: a further update with photos of the house renovations is coming soon! I can't believe what a change has gone on in this house in the last 30 days. Don't pinch me....I don't want to wake up if it's a dream!

The Tile Work is DONE

2010-10-16T10:29:00.000-05:00

From June:
Jill is still asleep (anyone surprised?) But she had a very stressful day yesterday. She had to deal with tile laying mistakes and non-English-speaking tile layers while I went to work. If you are friends with Jill on Facebook, you know a little of what went on during the last few days. But that's behind us now. Jill did a great job yestarday, and we are very happy with the results. On Tuesday we start the wood laminate installation, and we are SO excited.

When we were picking tile, we decided to go bold or go home. I guess you could say we went bold AND went home. So as promised, here are some before and after pictures. The front entryway did have plain tile (boring!) which we replaced. The kitchen and bathroom had linoleum.

Front entry. Our mosaic was had made in Beirut and shipped to us.

Kitchen (same tiles as the front entry).

Master bathroom, with the infamous blue glass accent tiles

And they installed the mosaic in front of the back door. This one also was made in Beirut, but from a different company. Are mosaics a big industry in Beirut??

Evolution of a bracelet

2010-10-11T04:17:00.001-05:00

One of the things I worked on this past weekend while in my hotel room is a lovely bracelet by Martina Nagle. I purchased this pattern from her Etsy store a while back and I even bought beads for it in June, but haven't had time to sit and work on it until now.

This is the original design that I fell in love with...
Martina's bracelet uses alternating pearls and Swarovski bicones down the center. She added the embellishment with the Size 15 seed beads only on the outside two rows. Gorgeous!

And then I saw Petra Tismer's variation on Facebook, and fell in love with this one too! Can you see the difference? Petra's version used the Size 15 embellishment on every hexagon, and added a smaller firepolish bead in the center of each one.

I had decided to do Petra's variation, but look! When I added the Size 15s on all the hexagons, I decided I was already done. I adore the pattern of the beads without any additional embellishment. It's like a Wedding Ring Quilt pattern in a bracelet. I also left one middle hexagon without the Size 15 embellishment so I could use it as a clasp. Adore!!

And the winning name is....

2010-10-08T00:36:00.000-05:00

Twining Vine Lariat! What's really freaky, is that Nikki's comment suggesting that name had just been published mere minutes before Mom stumbled out of bed from a nap and said, the name of the lariat is Twining Vine. I was sitting there trying to figure out how she'd seen that blog comment when I had JUST published it! But it was actually Nikki beaming it straight into Mom's head and bypassing all this comment business. Nikki - contact me with your email and address, and you'll be getting a special prize!

I'm sitting in a hotel room in San Diego tonight, eagerly anticipating a weekend workshop with the goddess of beading, NanC Meinhardt which starts in the morning. We're beading a stick. Yeah, you read that correctly. I flew to California to bead a stick. I'm working hard on keeping my mind open - those of you who know me well are laughing your heads off right about now. But I promised myself to go with the flow. I brought an entire suitcase full of beads - 35lbs of to be exact. I hope I have the right ones. It's all NanC's fault because in her supply list it says, if you're in doubt whether to bring a bead or not, bring it. So I did!

I apologize for the long blog absence. I'd been doing so good for a while there, too! In the month I've been gone I got the flu for 5 days, taught a bead class in Lake Jackson, Texas, got a cold for 7 or 8 days, taught at Bead Fest Texas, and now I'm in San Diego. I keep waiting for a break where I get to sleep and do nothing for a few weeks, but it's not looking too good for that.

I'll be getting home on Monday night, and on Wednesday the long anticipated floor installation will begin with tile guys on Wed, Thurs, and Fri. The following week, the laminate guys will be installing on Tues+. Then we have to get the house back to normal!! And I have to prep kits for the BABE show, finish prep for the Beaducation videos shoot in November. Open house and home classes on the weekends in December. Plus lots of new kits to make, designing to do, and the holidays. It all makes me very glad I chose to take a nice long nap this afternoon!

Fred: the Lariat

2010-09-07T04:15:00.002-05:00

We are stuck, and we need your help. Mom and I have hit a brick wall as we've tried to come up with a name for Mom's new lariat design. Please keep us from naming it Fred. Or Larry Lariat (because we like alliteration). Keep in mind that there will be other colorways than just purple.

Ideas???

Procrastination techniques

2010-09-04T10:00:00.003-05:00

I fully own up to my endless ability to procrastinate. It's something I've fought with all my life, and I don't see it changing any time soon. Because I'm such a professional at it, I realized I could actually pass along some of my favorite procrastination techniques for those of you who aren't quite so naturally gifted in this area.

Facebook. The Internet in general, but really Facebook has taken over as the prime culprit in the last two years. I have 660 friends right now. That's a lot of people to keep up with. Granted, I don't actually know all of them, but that doesn't mean I don't want to peek into their virtual living rooms!
Sleep. Many of you talk about how you worry about me not getting enough sleep when I see you in person. But honestly, you shouldn't give it another thought. TRUST me. I am the Queen of napping. And in my world a nap ain't really worth anything unless it hits the 3 hour point. So, yes, I am up in the middle of the night. But I'm sleeping all day!!
Suddenly feel the urge to clean out your closet. After all, that's work, right?? Okay, so technically it's item number 756 on the list. But at least you're being productive!
See Number 1.
Eat. Want to take a break from beading/filing/paying bills/writing instructions/making kits? I'm sure you could fit some food in that tummy. And clearly you can't do both at the same time. All the weight loss wizards out there say you need to concentrate on the eating. Can do!
See Number 2. Because I always feel sleepy after I eat.
See Number 5. Because I always feel ~~hungry~~ like I need to eat something after I wake up.
Chase the dog around the house with his Bear Bear in his mouth. Give up after 3 laps because you're tired. Get back on the Internet.
Write a list of all the many things you have to do.
Wonder if anyone signed up for your next national class in the 2 hours since you last checked. Get on the computer and check.
Update your Facebook status with how busy you are.
Play Solitaire on the computer. You're "thinking." Promise yourself that you'll get up and accomplish something as soon as you win a game. Get up 2 hours later with a swollen hand from clicking the mouse, and a sore butt, but you DID finally win.
Watch something on TV that you have to actually WATCH as opposed to just listen to as you bead. Wonder idly where you know that actor from. Get on the laptop to look him up in IMDB. Look up 30 minutes later and realize you have no idea what's going on in the show. Rewind.
Take a break - it's been a long, hard day of work.

Hot news!

2010-09-01T09:00:00.002-05:00

I've got to confess: I've been holding out on you!! But I can spill the beans properly now and I know you'll be as excited as I am. Drum roll please....

I am joining the staff of Beaducation as an online video class instructor! If you're not familiar already with Beaducation, you need to check it out - they are an amazing company! It's the brainchild of Lisa Niven Kelly, and has become a huge force in the industry. They have a superstar line up of instructors who create online video classes in wirework, chainmail, metalwork, PMC, mixed media, and of course - seed bead weaving! Everything from beginning classes to advanced, and there are even freebie classes. Let me repeat that: FREE CLASSES!

The lineup of instructors include:

I'll be filming four classes in November, along with two freebies (FREE!) and they should hit the Beaducation website by January 1. We plan on me doing several new classes each year. I can't wait to work with these Rock Stars, and I'm so thrilled at being able to provide classes in a video format for y'all!

This is one of Barb Switzer's classes - Figure S Bracelet

You'll have unlimited access to the classes, meaning you can watch the class again five years from now if you want to (actually, there's no time limit at ALL,) and you can watch it endless times over again if you want to giggle at that blooper I'm bound to make again. You will also receive a PDF file with a written handout too that goes with the class. You can either use your own beads, or I will have kits that go along with the projects available for purchase too.

I know the next question is "What are the classes, Jill?? HUH??" Hey - a girl's got to save some surprises. Stay tuned!!

What happened to the home classes??

2010-08-30T22:00:00.001-05:00

I know the local ladies are frothing at the mouth, wondering why I haven't had any home classes in months. Don't despair! They will be back! You might start looking at your December calendars....

What happened is that I needed to clear some space on my calendar to get my life back in order here at home. For five years now, I've been building Tapestry Beads and my teaching schedule across the country, and it's been nonstop go go go. I'm not complaining a bit! I thrive on being busy, and I love what I do, so it's been nothing bad for me. Except. I've finally come to the point where my disorganization was affecting my ability to grow and have design time, and not have a bazillion people waiting on me.

So putting the home classes on hold until December has allowed me to do a ton of catching up. When the ladies come back, they'll find a whole new house! New flooring throughout. A new bead cabinet and some slatwall in the bead shopping area. The bathroom they use will have been renovated (floor, vanity, faucet, lights, fixtures.) The bead storage room will (hopefully) be organized. And unseen, but critical: my paperwork and accounting will be organized and up-to-date. I'll have new classes ready to go, and I'll be much more calm than they've seen me in a long while!!

We plan on unveiling the changes in the house in our Annual Holiday Open House. And at least one class will be scheduled in December too. So hang on! It's coming!

Plans vs. Reality

2010-08-29T22:55:00.000-05:00

What I had planned on getting accomplished this weekend:

Finishing a Rosetta necklace sample, and possibly getting a second substantially done.
Mailing out all the packages that need to get mailed
Pedicure
Writing a bunch of instructions
Making some kits that we're out of stock on
Installing my new bed headboard

What really happened this weekend:

Emergency babysitting of my nephew while my sister-in-law took my niece to the doctor for pink eye
Flooring shopping with Mom - we picked our laminate wood floor and two kinds of tile (one for the kitchen/laundry, and one for the bathrooms)
Working on the Rosetta necklace sample, but not until late Sunday night. I may stay up and finish it tonight just so I can check it off the list.
Installed the headboard - it looks so great! I haven't had a headboard on my bed in over 15 years, and I'm totally glad I bought it.
Several naps.

Soo...can you guess what's on the agenda for this coming week??? Lots of beading samples and lots of instruction writing.. A little cleaning.

It will be a few weeks before we can get the installation of all the new flooring scheduled because we have to involve a plumber (I'm going to replace my bathroom vanity at the same time) and an electrician (we're going to run electrical under the laminate and have an outlet under our side table for lighting and computer) and lastly, we've got a mosaic medallion that's going to be installed in our entryway that's coming from Israel, so we have to wait until that arrives. Not a bad thing since I have to clean up the nightmare in the bead room. I'm not sure what I'll have to bribe myself with to get THAT done. A trip to Italy, perhaps??? I'm thinking a piece of cheesecake ain't gonna cut it.

Moving without moving

2010-08-25T23:58:00.000-05:00

Mom and I moved into our current house three years ago, and while we love it to death (especially the natural light shining from a skylight that bathes the kitchen in a reverential glow) there have been changes we've wanted to make. The biggest one? Replacing the carpet and vinyl flooring throughout the entire house. The carpet was okay when we first moved in, but the wear and tear from our four critters, the heavy foot traffic from my home classes, and the light carpet color, have reduced it to a mass of stains.

The cats, dogs, and students won't be going anywhere, so we need to come up with a replacement solution. We've always loved the look and durability of stained concrete floors, so we had a guy come to give us a quote this week. After he left, Mom and I looked at each other in shock and tried to figure out what Plan B might consist of! Why? Because not only was it going to cost $12,000, but they wanted us to move ourselves and all our belongings out of the house for 3-4 days. SHUDDER. I had moving. HATE it. Passionately and painfully. And to have to move and then move right back in the same place??? It kind of makes me want to cry.

We decided that if we did hardwoods and tile instead, at least we could take it in stages and not have to move everything at once. So now we're researching that option. I tell you what...I think Mom may have finally figured out the only way to force me to clean the bead room...

Back from Bead Fest Philly

2010-08-24T23:48:00.000-05:00

I don't even know where to start reporting about the whole Philly trip! Should I start with how Mom got all irritated with me at 6am the day we were catching the plane because we had planned on leaving then, and I still hadn't showered? We ended up leaving at 6:30 and it worked out perfectly, despite a small panic when we discovered the longest lines EVER at the Southwest counter and the security line. I guess it was all back to school traffic? Very unexpected at the Austin airport.

Then there was the woman behind us on one leg of the flight who spent five minutes explaining in great detail to her seatmate about the doll she hand felted with a tomato head, and the arms were the flower stems, and the hands were holding....a potato. At the point she said potato, Mom and I both burst out in loud, inappropriate laughter that made my stomach ache from the silly of it all.

I taught three classes while we were there, and Mom held down booth duty by herself on Friday while I was in the classroom. Saturday and Sunday we faced the masses of beaders together. What a wonderful show it was! Huge crowds, happy people, and LOTS OF BEADS! I got to meet a number of folks in person who I'd never been lucky enough to encounter at shows before, like the awesome Paulette Baron. We chatted away for the longest time, and if I hadn't had to get back to the show floor, it would likely have been longer. I got to hug on friends, and make new ones. I think my Friday class of Night at the Opera students might have been my most fun national teaching experience ever! The ladies in the class all were funny and silly (my kind of people!) and we giggled our way through it. I adopted Leah Ready's mother, Joyce, who was in my class as my second mother because I adore her so. And getting Leah as a sister in the process ain't bad either!

As we slowly sold out of many of our kits over the weekend, I discovered that I had underpacked for the show. Agh! So next year I'll be making the trip to Philly a road trip and driving instead. That way we'll be able to be much better prepared, with our full booth setup which includes lights and the cash register. I've already talked with two area bead stores about possibly teaching there the weekend before and the weekend after Bead Fest Philly 2011, which will not only be delightful, but help pay for the extra driving costs too.

This week I'm working on business stuff, to try to free up some dedicated beading time next week. I have orders to ship, some instructions to write, and some class info to send off to the ladies at Beadoholique in Houston.

Finally, the long awaited BnB Show stash

2010-08-17T10:00:00.004-05:00

I think I promised y'all these photos about a month ago. Maybe even six weeks. But here they are! Now remember, I hardly had a moment of time to shop while I was at the Bead & Button Show this year, so it's not as extensive a shopping haul as I would have liked. When I submitted my class proposals for next year's show, I told them I can't teach on Friday - my plan is to spend that day at least in the Expo Hall so I can help at the booth and both Mom and I can go browsing.

First off, one of the special things (among many!) about the Meet the Teacher's event each year, is that Swarovski sponsors it, and they provide a special gift for the teachers. This year's swag was the best ever!


You know it's going to be good when you get a whole box...

OH MY! New colors and shapes and I'm feeling faint now...

I have to admit, I haven't actually delved into the box yet to use the components because I get so much pleasure out of the whole treasure chest nature of it. I don't want to open it up and find empty spots!

I also managed to do some quick focal bead damage.

And then there was my spree at the always awesome Green Girl Studios booth. I took an overall shot, and then some close ups of my very favorite clasps.

I couldn't resist that cute Puffer Fish!

Green Girls Studios Flower & Bee clasp


Smaller scale flower & leaf clasp

The key to my heart!

Excuse me...I think I need to go fondle them all again...

So much going on!

2010-08-16T14:58:00.000-05:00

You know how when you avoid a task for a while, it becomes bigger and bigger in your head to catch up on it, and so you avoid it more, and then it becomes bigger yet and it's a vicious cycle from which there is no escape except just DOING it and then you figure out it wasn't so bad after all? Yeah. That's me and this blog! So I'm declaring this clean slate day - no more blog avoidance!!

I've had a lot of good things to share with you, too. Rather than make one HUGE blog post, I'm writing several right now and scheduling them to post over the next week while Mom and I are away at Bead Fest Philly. I'm such a tease!!

Possible New Kit

2010-08-10T18:05:00.000-05:00

From June:
For a while I've been working intermittently on a lariat for a possible new kit. Since Jill left me all alone last weekend while she went and had fun at the Shreveport (LA) bead retreat, I had to entertain my self. I spent Saturday with my adorable granchildren, getting a pedicure, and running errands. But on Sunday, I worked like crazy on the lariat. It still isn't done, but it's close!

Design Time

2010-07-14T04:28:00.000-05:00

I know it's been a good couple of beading days when my right forearm is all achy. That's also my signal to STOP and give it a rest already! Besides, I'm at that point in a design when I'm so twisted and turned in my thoughts that I realize I probably have no perspective left. I'll leave it overnight and look at it in the morning. I bet I'll like it lots more in the (mid)morning when I wake up fresh.

I have quite a bit of designing to do, but the ideas are popping up like crazy in my head so my only problem is time and physical limitations. It's a lot better than when I'm up against the design wall and my head is E M P T Y like a balloon.

I have a lot of half-finished projects around the house that are driving me nuts. The reorg of the office space - I thought I'd be done by now! Instead I haven't even finished unpacking the Bead & Button Show boxes let alone shift the current furniture and go buy and assemble more. I owe you guys photos of my Bead & Button loot. (But notice that this is the THIRD post this week! Go Jill!) It will all get done...eventually...and by eventually I mean I hope before I die...

There's a lot of socializing on the immediate horizon too! So unusual for me since I turn into a total hermit when I'm at home. But Thursday is the first of several farewell parties for my dear friend and former boss, Mick McNulty, who is moving to Florida. Friday and Saturday nights are my 25th High School Reunion. Did I really type twenty-five?? Holy Cow. Sunday night one of those high school friends will be performing in Austin and I never get to hear him sing any longer so that's a must-see. After that point, I will need to retreat to my little beading cave for solitary confinement again. It's a necessary evil.

A little OCD

2010-07-10T05:10:00.000-05:00

I read a quote in a magazine tonight that spoke to me quite perfectly. "If someone told me that I could only eat the same 12 foods for the rest of my life, I'd be perfectly okay with that." Which is not to say I don't eat a variety of foods! But I do tend to get "stuck" on favorites. For the last few years, I've eaten edamame at least three times a week (and sometimes 5 times a week) because it's my number one comfort food.

I also tend to get into these oddball cleaning sprees. All of a sudden, I want everything clean and organized and purged and I want it all done NOW NOW NOW. My beloved pile of magazines has been growing like a weed for quite a while now, so I sat down earlier tonight to go through it. It's now 6 hours later, and I'm still going through them. I can't bear to just throw them out without at least leafing through the pages and speed reading the occasional story. So I've worked my way through 9 of them (yes, I just went and counted) and I still have a stack of 27 left. I guess this will be a multi-night project.

What I'm supposed to be doing is sleeping so that I can get up Saturday morning and get to The Container Store for supplies. Mom and I have big organizing plans afoot for the weekend that include moving where we've been storing the kits, moving a bunch of office furniture, and adding more office furniture from Ikea. So naturally we have to put it together ourselves.

But right now, I just want to go through one more magazine...

In the meantime...

2010-07-09T03:46:00.000-05:00

What a week! I've been hunkered down, working on a set of jewelry pieces I needed to make for a corporate client, and the deadline was today. Eight pieces in 10 days. AGH! How do I get myself into these things? Oh yeah...a complete and total inability to say "no." I'm learning, though, I'm learning!

And what's worse is that I can't even show them to you! Some may be used in an advertisement so they have to be undercover. But I'll keep you posted if and when I can show them off! I'm quite happy with the way they turned out.

Now my attention can turn to the rest of my urgent projects. Namely, getting ready for the annual Shreveport Bead Retreat in 4 weeks. And getting the new teaching proposal projects finished for Bead & Button Show 2011 submissions in 4 weeks. And a few other teaching proposal projects for a secret teaching gig I can't tell you about yet. I'm full of secrets lately! But trust me...they're good ones!

I had these lovely plans of showing you photos of my super quick shopping at the Bead & Button Show, but I was too down to the wire on the deadline and didn't have time to get them done. But look for photos tomorrow! Really! I can't wait to show you!

Bead & Button Show, Part II

2010-07-02T03:37:00.002-05:00

At last. Part II. If I can still remember any of it. I spent the day today thinking it was Wednesday, and Mom spent the day thinking it was Friday, so we averaged out at Thursday. And you expect me to remember weeks ago???

So when we last left our plucky Bead & Button teacher (that would be me,) it was Wednesday - Meet the Teacher's Day. Also known as Beady Chaos & Nirvana Packed into One Ballroom for Three Hours Day. But it wouldn't be as easy as just showing up. Nay! (I'm channeling Barbara Cartland here, folks, not braying like a horse.) I had to teach the 3rd of 4 Kumihimo classes from 4pm - 7pm, and the MTT event starts at 8pm. If you can do the math, that leaves just 1 hour between those two events, which is where Wonder Mom comes in. Having a Wonder Mom is a critical component of my success. She would be in charge of getting all the kits and display items set up in the ballroom since I was going to be tied up with my class. We also enlisted the assistance of my Austin friend, Gwen Youngblood. We knew it was going to be a doozy.

But wait! Where are the kits and display items, you might ask? Why they are all still tightly jammed into the car in the parking garage! So Wonder Mom managed to unload everything from the car, using one small dolly cart in a bazillion trips back and forth through the skywalk from the hotel parking garage to the convention center ballroom. Uphill a disturbing amount of the way. It's not for the faint of heart. Honestly, when I think about it, it make me want to give her a raise.

My class took a while to pack up, and by the time I got to the Ballroom, the table was set up to the point of perfection, and I had ten minutes to assimilate. And then they let Them in. The Hoards. The Ladies. The ravenous bead buying public.

At that point it all becomes blurry in my mind. I remember people being 3-5 deep in front of our booth all night. I remember periodically looking up and seeing some of my wonderful bead world friends. I remember laughter and excitement and lots and lots of kits being sold. Our credit card machine wasn't working wirelessly in the ballroom this year, so before long we had a do-it-yourself kind of checkout line going. Gwen would pull the kits for the ladies and hand them their merchandise. Then they would get into the cash register line which Mom was in charge of. If they paid by credit card, Mom would hand them their receipt and point them to me so I could write down their credit card info by hand. We won't be playing that game next year! I will have it figured out how I can store all the credit card info in the machine even if it doesn't connect, but it was literally too insane to stop and have me play with the menu to get it fixed. There might have been a riot.

The three hours was over in a flash. All of a sudden we looked up and it was over. The circus had left town, and all that remained was the broken down wreck of a crew. We still had to pack everything up and move it back upstairs to the Expo Hall so we could set up the booth on Thursday. Not the easiest of tasks since we had schlepped SO much stuff to the Ballroom. Next year, two carts for moving stuff around for sure. It was midnight before we dragged ourselves back to the room. I'm pretty sure we said OMG about way too many times. But OMG!

So I managed to drag that day out long enough to be a whole post of it's own. Guess there's a Part III in my future!

Patience is a virtue!

2010-06-29T21:29:00.000-05:00

I admit it...I've been missing in action on the blog lately! I can hear your disappointed sighs every time you pull up the page and find no new content. I mean it! I hear every single one of them!

Since getting home from the Bead & Button Show/Beads by Blanche trip last Wednesday night, there's been little time for rest or catching up. I had three weeks of mail to go through, bills to pay, packages to ship out, as well as some important personal things like getting to see my niece and nephew. Mom and I drove to Fort Worth on Sunday to take a class with Maggie Meister (more on that soon!) and that entailed waking at 6am, and then not getting back home again until 8pm. At which point, I crashed.

By crashed I mean slept. For 18 out of the next 24 hours. Maybe 18.5. So there went Monday! And today I spent the whole day feeling ill. Too much travel. Too much greasy road food. Not enough normalcy. So it was day two of my body's revolt.

Thank goodness I can feel the tide turning, though. Tonight as I type this, the energy is coming back and the stomach isn't rumbling anymore. I'm packaging a bazillion receipts to send off to Shoeboxed.com to be scanned and downloaded into my Outright.com bookkeeping package. So actual WORK is happening!

It's good there will NOT be a day three of the body revolt (are you listening, Body??) because I don't have time for it at all. There are projects to be designed, MORE packages to mail out, beads to be ordered, and evidentally, some Part II of the Bead & Button Show blog post to be written!

So hang in there for another day or two with me....okay? I haven't forgotten about you! I never forget about you. You wouldn't believe how many conversations we have in my head.

Just Wondering

2010-06-28T17:59:00.002-05:00

From June:
Do you suppose there IS a Part 2 to Jill's Bead and Button Show report? Just wondering.

Home!

2010-06-23T07:37:00.000-05:00

From June

Hurray! Jill will finally be home today. Between the Bead and Button Show and teaching afterward, she's been gone for 3 weeks. And who will be happiest that she's home. Two guesses.

Bead & Button Report, Part 1

2010-06-16T17:55:00.000-05:00

I have spent the last two days sleeping and gazing around dazedly, trying to recover from the myriad of fabulous experiences of the previous week. I'm still taking it all in. I have never worked so hard, or had so much fun in my life in such a compact amount of time! I can't wait to share it all with you (well, maybe not ALL of it! There are simply some things that have to stay secret a while.)

The whole month of May when Mom and I were little worker bees, making kits like mad women, Mom was a little suspicious that I was overestimating on the volume of kits we needed to be creating. On some of them, she was right. On some of them, I was right. And overall, I'd much rather be over prepared than under prepared. We still managed to sell out of some of them, and came quite close on others. I'll be in good shape for the next few shows in August with only some of the inventory to restock. My car is still filled to the brim and over it with boxes and beads and clothes because Mom left one of her large suitcases with me to take home.

But as a result of that over preparedness, I ended up leaving Austin a full day and a half later than I'd planned, so my calm, leisurely drive became a two day marathon of driving, with me arriving at the hotel at 4am Sunday morning. The parking garage is closed at that time of night (morning!) so I ended up leaving the car on the street. Good thing, since after the week was over, I'd paid $225 in parking fees between the garage and Mom's airport parking. AGH! So that street parking saved me another $20. Anyway, I was able to sleep for a few hours, but then had to get up and hustle.

I had to unload all the things I needed for my classes from the car, in addition to my suitcases. Rummage through boxes and re-pack them in ways that made sense for me to cart them back and forth from the hotel room to the convention center where my class was. And do it all in time for my first 7pm class of 20 people eager to learn Kumihimo with Beads! Honestly, it was entirely too frantic for my taste, but I managed, and the first class was a dream class. Total rock stars! They picked up the technique quickly, and everyone left very happy. I returned to my wreck of a room and ordered room service. The delivery guy started laughing when he came in - there was NO PLACE to set the tray! I had to swipe things to the side to make room on the bed. Good thing Mom wasn't there yet!!

So I was able to sleep in on Monday and recover a bit. There was more last minute kit making in the room, and MORE resorting of things into various boxes. I taught Parisian Lights on Monday night and was thrilled that almost everyone left wearing their bracelets! Another round of room service... (I'm actually having to go back to my Facebook posts to remember everything - especially that first part of the week!) Anna Draeger, Bead & Button Editor, author of Crystal Brilliance: Making Designer Jewelry with Crystal Beads, and really good friend, dropped by my classroom for a big hug. Her book is new and amazing - I'm dying to make several projects out of it!

Tuesday I woke up bright and early (yes! Me!) and met with Gwen Youngblood for lunch. I had to actually leave the hotel room to let housekeeping in for the first time since I'd been there. I hope the poor woman didn't have a heart attack! I invaded Brenda Schweder's classroom for a hug too. I'm big on hugs! Had to actually make room for Mom on a bed, so that involved a lot of cleaning up. Nothing like the threat of your Mama to make you clean your room! She arrived Tuesday night while I was teaching another session of Kumihimo with Beads. And that set of 20 ladies was ferocious! They were very eager to learn, and soaked up every bit of knowledge I had. I was exhausted when they left! But that's why they pay me...and I love that they were so excited! When I got back to the hotel room, Mama Bear was asleep in her bed. I woke her up and talked nonstop at her for an hour over MORE room service.

Part II will include many more celebrity bead sightings, a hint of that big news I can't share, and much, much more! Stay tuned!

(A student from my first Sunday night class, Peggy Rapaport Goldblatt, made this Kumihimo with Beads bracelet!)

Meet the Teachers Night Insanity

2010-06-10T11:20:00.007-05:00

Last night was Meet the Teachers night at the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee. This is where the B&B attendees got to....well...meet the teachers. Its frequently the only place someone is able to buy a kit for a class that they wished they could take. Many teachers make a limited supply of kits and when they're gone, they're gone.

If you have never attended a Meet the Teachers night, it's kind of hard to explain what it's like. Friends meeting up, people oohing and awing over kits, and lots of noise and energy.

Here is a picture of the room as I was setting up yesterday. (Taken with my cell phone, so please forgive the quality.)

Now in past years, they have let all the attendees congregate as a group in the lobby. This year, they decided to line them up. This line went around the corner all all the way down a long, long hall.

And here's the hall about midway through the evening. Our booth was swamped with people as soon as it opened, and it never really let up. It's the first time we've ever had a long line of people waiting to pay for their kits.

Jill and I were exhausted by the end of the evening. The event went until 11:00 p.m., and then we had to break down our display and lug all our stuff to the exhibit hall to be set up again today. Unlike most of the teachers showing kits, we had decided to do our full booth set-up with lights and everything. We finally got back to the hotel, got some room service food, and got to bed about 2:00 a.m. (Getting to actually eat a meal is something that doesn't happen a lot for us this week.) So we did crawl into bed at 2, but we were so tired, but yet keyed up, that we got into one of those laughing binges. Everything either of us said just set us off into uncontrollable laughter. I hope we didn't disturb the people in the next room!!

The exhibit hall opens tonight and we have lots to do before then. Will post more later.

It's Bead and Button or Bust

2010-06-04T17:09:00.013-05:00

From June:
Whew! 5:00 p.m. and Jill JUST NOW started the drive to Milwaukee. She was supposed to leave yesterday morning, but we just didn't have everything done that needed to be done. So she will be driving hard the next two days.

With all the classes Jill is teaching at Bead and Button, the amount of stuff we have to take is ridiculous. It's compounded by the fact that she is not only teaching at B&B, but is going from Milwaukee to New York (well, technically, to Bergenfield, NJ) to teach at Beads by B lanche. The car looked like a clown car by the time it was loaded.

I

I get to fly in to Milwaukee next week, but I have a whole list of things to do and get ready to bring, because you know, WE NEED MORE STUFF! I don't think I will ever be able to drive with Jill after I retire, unless we get a bigger vehicle, because as you can see, the front passenger seat is PACKED WITH STUFF!

Come see us at Bead and Button!!

Burning CDs

2010-05-19T02:59:00.005-05:00

I have discovered that the middle of the night is an ideal time to burn CDs, print their labels, and slap those puppies on - while simultaneously browsing Etsy (i.e., Temptationsy.) I could spend a gajillion dollars on that darned site.

I have this obsession with finding the perfect ring to wear. Me. Who doesn't wear rings. Who takes them off when I DO wear them because they feel weird. But if I found the perfect ring, it would be perfect and I'd wear it nonstop. Right?

But I digress. Here's the CD label I designed. I'm happy with it - simple, easy to read, and streamlined.

And here are some of the rings I covet...

2010-05-15T18:03:00.005-05:00

From June:
If you're a regular reader of this blog, you've already met our crazy dog, Winston. Yesterday I picked up a $3 stuffed duck from Big Lots, and gave it to him last night. OMG. He is obsessed with this stuffed duck. Last night, while Jill and I were trying to work on Bead & Button stuff, he was putting the thing on our feet, wanting us to throw it for him. Over and over and over. And over. It got to the point where he as panting for breath, but he would not quit. Over and over and over.

When we tried not throwing it, he and Mr. Duck would jump into one of our laps without warning. And I have a tray in my lap with over a thousand dollars of 2 mm crystals that I'm counting out. By this time the duck is completely wet and slimy with Winston saliva. Not only would he jump on our lap, but then, he would try to climb up so he could put the duck IN OUR FACE. "What's the matter Mom, can't you SEE the duck that I need you to throw for me? It ain't gonna throw itself, you know."

When I went to bed, he climbed up into bed with me - with the duck of course. Winston never sleeps in bed with me. He has a bed next to mine and he almost always sleeps in that. But no. In bed. With me. And the duck. And periodically through the night he would start squeaking the damn thing. I guess it just made him happy.

Today Winston is STILL OBSESSED WITH THE DUCK. This is just crazy! Does anyone want to come to my house and throw a duck for a while?

5am - time for bed!

2010-05-14T05:04:00.004-05:00

I gotta say, the Bead & Button Show may just do me in this year. I am making so many kits. And I am so tired. And there's only 22 more days until the show begins. That may seem like a long time to you - but I'm barely a quarter of the way through the kit making. As a matter of fact, most of my humongous supply orders won't arrive until next week! But I keep slogging away at it, and I do see glimpses of progress here and there.

You guys know how I love to bite off more than I can chew for the fun adrenalin rush I get from panic, right? So guess what we decided to change about our kits yesterday? (And please note: this was a joint mother/daughter decision, so I can totally blame Mom for leading me down this path. Well, her and Marcia DeCoster and Nikia Angel. More on that in a moment.) The big announcement is....we're going to move to providing the instructions on CD instead of paper copies. No more printing reams and reams of paper! Farewell burning through laser toner cartridges like nuthin' at $200 a pop!

Hello new set of challenges! Like figuring out how long it's gonna take me to burn all those CDs. And designing labels for the CDs. And printing the labels for the CDs. And figuring out a new storage system for the CDs.

Honestly, I'm excited about the switch. In the long run it will be more cost effective and more time effective and certainly more storage effective. Plus you've got to keep up with the Jones'! Or in this case, the DeCosters and the Angels.

It all started a few days ago when Marcia posed a question to all the fellow kit makers out on Facebook about we each make our kits. It was an interesting thread for me to compare my ways with theirs, and in the mix I discovered that I was coming late to this instructions on CD party! I asked Marcia if she got much dissent from her customers over the CDs and she said very very little. Nikia Angel (Buy the Kit) says she's in the process of switching over all her kits to CDs. Since that's the way the trend is going, I think it only makes sense for Tapestry Beads to jump on the bandwagon too.

At Bead & Button next month, we'll have mostly CDs, but will still have some paper copies for those who would prefer the instructions the old fashioned way. It's going to be a bit of a test market for us. But I do see us moving to all CDs in the future unless there's mass mutiny at the show. Don't get any ideas, you rabble rousers who read this blog and will be attending the show!

My work for the day is done. Time to recharge. I'll be dreaming of burning CD after CD after CD....zzzzzzzzzzzzz

No fun without photos

2010-05-10T12:59:00.002-05:00

As I've been reading through all the various blogs I follow, I realized how stingy I've been lately with photos! But here's the thing: first off, I haven't been beading! No new designs in ages. I do have a bunch of ideas and partial bits and pieces floating around, but until I spend a few days beading, I got nuthin'. Secondly...um, how do I put this? I can't find my camera's batter charger. You've met me, right? So you KNOW that I'm cluttered and chaotic and frequently put things down in a "safe spot" never to be seen again. I know it's here. Somewhere safe. Very very safe. And as soon as I find it, I'll get you some photos. In the meantime, here's a teeny tiny monkey.

One bead...two beads...

2010-05-06T23:13:00.002-05:00

My life has become a massive assembly line. For the next 27 days, I will be consumed by the myriad of mindless tasks that constitute kit assembly. My brain gets a workout only as I'm trying to calculate how much of what goes into which baggie, and trying to make sure everything is getting done. I've barely left the house in a week. There's something rather Kafka-esque about the whole predicament - something along the lines of "be careful of what you ask for!"

But the good news is that I have the new Netflix disc that turns your Wii game console into a instant streaming DVD player. I'm not sure that's what my brother had in mind for the Wii when it was this year's Christmas gift, but hey! Now I can go back and watch all the seasons of Dexter while I work away, among other things.

Been there, done that

2010-04-29T13:25:00.002-05:00

I'm home! Since we last talked, I flew off to Denver and arrived in the middle of a seriously lousy spring storm. My favorite part was when the rental car lady sent me to the LAST car in the LAST row for my own vehicle as 35mph winds and driving rain pelted me in the 34 degree temperatures (can't even imagine what the wind chill was.) I was hauling two suitcases, one with a broken wheel. And I might have said some very bad words in that moment, but they were necessary and appropriate to the situation.

Luckily, things got better from there. I was still dragging from having been ill last week so my energy level wasn't what it usually is, but let's face it - when you're at a bead show, it's hard to not have a good time! The Rocky Mountain Bead Society puts on a heck of a show with great vendors and demos and classes and door prizes. I'll definitely be back next year!

So now I'm home again, and facing the BIG ONE. Yup. The Bead & Button Show is just 36 days away. (I've been having a lot of fun torturing the other instructors with a daily countdown on Facebook.) The volume of kits I'm needing to make is staggering and it will quite literally take an entire month to do it. Thank goodness I'm the freaky kind of personality who doesn't mind the monotony of kit assembly tasks. And I know I have a large group of beady friends here who are willing to step in and help when I need it. Right now the biggest task is simply getting the beads and supplies ordered and here.

Speaking of Facebook, are you my Facebook friend? I'd love it if you'd friend me!
http://www.facebook.com/jill.wiseman

Bye Miami - Hello Denver!

2010-04-22T00:18:00.003-05:00

My weekend in Miami went by MUCH too fast! The good news is that I get to go back in December, but I'm getting ahead of myself with that.

This was certainly one of the more interesting shows I've attended in the last few years for a number of reasons. First, my booth was right next door to the lovely, sassy ladies of the South Florida Jewelry Guild, and they are a riot! Each day a new group arrived to spice things up and rustle up more laughter. We got along like peanut butter and jelly, and I'm happy to say they are letting me come back the weekend before Christmas for three days of classes. And giggles. Beads and giggles always seem to go together, don't they???

I also got to spend some quality time with the amazing Anna Draeger, a fellow seed bead designer, and one of the editors at Bead & Button Magazine. Anna and I have known each other in passing for years, but never really had time to get to know one another. In Miami we quickly rectified that situation, and cemented our friendship with a crazy fun night on South Beach, dancing the evening away... Her brand new book, Crystal Brilliance, has just been released, and it's a winner! So many new projects I'm dying to tackle. Sigh. Where is the TIME??

Monday was a rushed trip to the airport that almost left me missing my flight home. I was literally in the security line hearing them page my name at the gate that was just beyond. I begged a few folks to let me cut in front of them, and managed to sneak on board with seconds to spare. No, don't ask why I was running that late.

By the time I got home 3 hours later, I realized I was getting sick AND had an eye infection coming on. AGH. So since then I've done very little but sleep. I fit in a quick trip to the doctor earlier today because the eye isn't getting better on it's own fast enough for me. Especially since I'm leaving again Thursday - this time for Denver!

Yup. Denver and the Rocky Mountain Bead Society Bazaar, here I come! Last year was my first time at this particular show and it was just wonderful. Really great vendors, and a good crowd of folks. Many amazing classes. So pretty please, come visit if you're anywhere nearby this weekend!

After I get home again Monday, the plan is for non-stop Bead & Button Show prep for the next four weeks straight. But maybe I'll sleep for a solid day first. Yeah. And a massage. And THEN kits.

Miami madness

2010-04-16T00:38:00.003-05:00

And the show hasn't even begun!

I flew to Miami with no troubles on Wednesday night, and man do I feel lucky! Everyone I know who flew in on Thursday had delayed planes, missed connections, and all sorts of traveling mishaps. My biggest issue has been that I managed to leave my toiletries bag back at home. AARGH. Walgreens and CVS have perfected the art of building on every few blocks, however, and saved the day.

So my main mission today was simple: retrieve the boxes I shipped ahead from the hotel and lug them to the convention center that's attached to the hotel by way of a stroll through a wholesale merchandise mart, filled with more purses and glittery faux jewelry than I've ever seen in one place. Get the table set up. And then bead for a few hours as there are samples I need to mail off next week that need finishing.

Got all that first part accomplished, no problem. But then it all went nutty. I had to make a run to the bank. Got caught in traffic when President Obama landed in Miami and they started closing down streets for the motorcade. I talked with friends for a while, then had to go pick up a lost and wayward traveler in from the Ft. Lauderdale airport. Rounded out the night with a great group of friends parked in the hotel lobby bar.

There's always tomorrow for that beading....

Link to original broken foot post

2010-04-11T14:57:00.002-05:00

For those of you who weren't reading this blog back two years ago when the "incident" happened, here's the full story:
http://tapestrybeads.blogspot.com/2008/04/if-it-aint-one-thing-its-your-mother.html

Maybe it was worth it

2010-04-11T13:44:00.004-05:00

From June:
Maybe it was worth breaking my foot moving the stones to build this planter. It's just started blooming and is covered in buds.

Workedy work

2010-04-08T21:46:00.002-05:00

I've had my head down, avoiding distractions (mostly) trying to get massive piles of work shoveled out the door. There's been progress, but there's always more sneaking in when I'm not looking!

So I have this crazy spreadsheet where I've calculated out how many of each kit I want to make before Bead & Button, and how much of each kind of bead I need for that number of kits, and the volume is pretty scary! LOL! If I don't get a good head start on it now, I'm totally in trouble later. And cash flow being a reality, I can't afford to buy ALL the supplies at once, so as they come in, I get them weighed, and bagged and labeled. The final kit assembly chaos will come later in May.

I also spent some beading time for a few days and I've come up with a potential rock star project that I can't wait to show you! I will say it's not a quick one - that's for sure. I'm still working on finishing the initial necklace (there will be variations too, as per usual with me!) and then it will translate into an awesome bracelet as well. As soon as I can, I'll give you a sneak peek!

There are teaching proposal deadlines on April 30th for both Bead Fest Texas 2010 and Bead Fest Santa Fe 2011 and I really need to get on it! MORE design and beading time is definitely in the immediate future. As a matter of fact, I'm assigning myself at least one day a week dedicated to designing for a while.

In the meantime, though, I've got a couple of trips coming up! I leave next Wednesday for the Best Bead Show in Miami, and the following weekend I'll be in Denver for the Rocky Mountain Bead Society Show. I'm looking forward to them both SO MUCH!

Worker Bee

2010-03-30T15:58:00.004-05:00

I have this sudden burst of "Spring has Sprung" energy! The amount of work I've accomplished in the last few day is impressive. Yes, I've still got piles ahead to slog through, but I'm making progress in a huge and visible way and I feel like Wonder Woman right about now.

My email has been out of control for a long time, but I'm working my way through it. Every time the Bead & Button show sends out another email about my classes they added there I get a flurry of website orders, and requests for Night at the Opera and Kumihimo kits. To answer those questions here - yes, I will have kits available for both classes on the website at some point. I'm working on getting supplies in so I can have a decent quantity on hand before I put them up. So stay posted! You know I'll make sure y'all know about it as soon as it happens.

I'm also working on supply ordering in mass quantities for all the kits I'll have to assemble between now and the beginning of June. If we don't start now, the end of May is going to really be a sad time of chaos for us, so we're working away on what we can do now each day. Just yesterday I spooled Fireline for 90 kits - about 1500 yards of it. Tip of the iceberg!

Mom's been sick with some creeping crud for three weeks now. You can tell how bad she feels just by the fact that she broke down and went to the doctor yesterday. She's on a Zpak now, and I've been trying to make her sleep a lot before she has to return to work tomorrow. And I'm washing my hands about eleventy billion times a day.

I've snuck in a tiny bit of beading time here and there, but more is definitely called for. One project I can't show you for a couple of weeks, but you're going to adore it! And I'm doing some bead doodles of various sorts looking for some new designs for the 2011 class proposal deadlines which start hitting April 30. Yikes!

Enjoy your spring days!

The Cord Tamer

2010-03-23T11:44:00.007-05:00

Yup, that's me, the Cord Tamer. Jill has been in Santa Fe at Bead Fest. Initially, I was going to go too, but we decided I would stay home to cut costs. I took 4 days of vacation anyway, and decided I would get some stuff done around the house.

Unfortunately, I had gone to my son's house to babysit for him last weekend and Alexis has had a cold. Of course, I came down with a cold too. I guess that's not unexpected when you munch on a kid that has a runny nose and cough. I couldn't help myself. So I've been feeling pretty lousy, and haven't done a darn thing but sleep, read, and do a little beading.

Jill is on her way home today, and I wanted to accomplish at least ONE thing while she was gone. I decided once and for all to tame the computer cords. Because the computer is in front of a window, Maggie gets in there and is always getting tangled up in the cords. I wish I'd taken a "before" picture, but I didn't think of it. We have a printer, a scanner, a label printer, a postage machine, a wireless router, and the box to run the cable. Each one of those accessories has a cord to the computer and a cord to a power source, in addition to the power sources for the monitor and computer themselves.

TA-DA!!

I went to IKEA and got a couple of these. You wouldn't want to look at the BACK of the desk, but I'm pretty happy with the results.

Reporting in from Santa Fe

2010-03-20T02:31:00.005-05:00

If you haven't been to Love Fest Santa Fe, er, I mean BEAD Fest Santa Fe, you really should start thinking about a trip next year. I simply adore this show for so many reasons. Cool vendors, a gorgeous location, and lots of fun classes. The overall vibe is simply joy at this show for the second year in a row.

I've taught both my classes now - and what classes they were! SO much fun! On Thursday a group of us were working on Night at the Opera bracelets, and that's when this photo got snapped of me and one of my students, Fae Hamilton. See my new bangs? I really think I like them! The ladies in the class were super talented and basically needed me there to provide comic relief, I think.

And Friday night a HUGE group of us made Kumihimo with Beads bracelets. It's a bit of a challenge to get around to everyone when there's so many, but we laughed our way through it and by the end everyone had it down. I had many of them stop by the booth over the rest of the weekend and tell me what fun they had, as well as show off their new bracelets.

I started this post on Saturday, but then got distracted (probably by sleep) and now it's Tuesday and I'm finally ready to get back on the road to go home. We had a major (for me) snow storm in Santa Fe on Saturday night that left me driving the 5 miles from the convention center to my hotel in super snowy conditions. Mind you, I've never driven in snow before. It's true. I grew up in Wisconsin, but moved to Texas when I was 14. And when it snows in Austin it's not like THIS kind of snow. Besides, if it threatens to snow at all, the entire city shuts down. I'm not kidding. Everything closes and we all stay at home.

So! That was an exciting few miles, but I managed just fine. ish. And there were no cops around to notice that I was driving down the middle of two lanes. So there.

This is what it looked like outside my hotel the next morning. Pristine! Fluffy! Gorgeous! Alas, it was almost all gone by the end of the day. I'm really glad I got to see it though.

Overall, the show was a total blast. I got to see many of my favorite people in the whole world, I taught a few fun and silly classes where folks learned stuff, and I sold a kit or two. Good deal.

I'm back on the road for home now and will get to hang out there for about three weeks before I jet off to Miami for The Best Bead Show. The following weekend I get to pack an entirely different set of clothes for Denver and the Rocky Mountain Bead Society Show. So I need to get home and get prepared!!

Michael's ad - instructions online

2010-03-13T04:31:00.001-06:00

Turns out Michael's was getting a bunch of calls from folks, asking for directions for the necklace and earrings I designed for them - so now the instructions are available online if any of you are looking for them!

Click the photo to go to the instructions page:

Coming from Miyuki...

2010-03-12T04:21:00.003-06:00

I just discovered this info about a new bead style that Miyuki is going to be coming out with in a few months. They're calling it a Tila bead - it's 5mm x 5mm, and has two holes. Talk about design opportunities!

More classes at the Bead & Button Show!

2010-03-09T15:43:00.000-06:00

Lucky me! The folks at the Bead & Button Show have found some more space on their class schedule to offer up a few more sessions of my classes there that sold out in the first 5 minutes of registration. Yippee! Because I've been getting SO many emails, begging for seats!

They added 2 more sessions of the Quick & Easy Kumihimo with Beads class - one Wednesday at 4pm, and one Sunday morning at 9am.

And they also added a session of Parisian Lights on Friday night at 5pm.

So if you're going to the show and wanted in on one of these, hurry! Sign on up!!

Here's the link:
Jill's classes at Bead & Button

Michael's ad

2010-03-08T15:31:00.006-06:00

I did a quick design job back in December that tickled me, but I decided to wait to tell y'all about it. Now that it's been published in the April issue of Bead & Button magazine in the Michael's ad, I can brag!

What's funny to me is that while purpose of the ad is to tell folks that Michael's is now carrying Toho seed beads (woot!) they didn't want a bead weaving piece. Instead my directions were for a multi-strand necklace with a tassel, using mostly Toho seed beads. It's been so long since I had strung any pieces, that it took me a little longer than I thought it would to put the piece together. The main time spent was getting the spacing right on the front three strands. It took several trips to Michael's as I was getting the right materials and working on them. Here's how it came together:

The badly drawn concept I submitted (I am NOT good at drawing!!)

My scan before I sent the pieces off for the photo session

And the finished ad in the magazine

Gratuitous adorableness

2010-03-05T16:21:00.002-06:00

Just because EVERYONE should see this.

Bead Fest Santa Fe

2010-02-24T16:08:00.001-06:00

So, this is really surprising, but I have a few more spaces in my Night at the Opera class at Bead Fest Santa Fe on Thursday, March 18. Those of you who couldn't get in at Bead & Button can still take it in Santa Fe!

I also have free passes for admission to Bead Fest Santa Fe - saving you $10! Just email me at jill@tapestrybeads.com and I'll send one your way.

Whoops!

2010-02-24T03:33:00.007-06:00

Rut Ro. I'm in trouble with Mom for not updating the blog lately. Whoops! She's totally right, of course (shhhh...keep that between us, will you?) and I've got a lot to catch you up on!

First off, I just spent last weekend teaching in the Houston area. On Saturday I made my second trip to Lake Jackson, Texas, where there's an feisty and active beading group for such a small locale. We had 13 ladies working away on Night at the Opera bracelets, and I was so thrilled to see all the enthusiasm! We even had 3 baby beaders in the group that stuck with it - NATO is a challenge for a beginner, but they all left with finished clasps, and that's the hardest part. I have faith the more experienced members will help them with completing their projects so I can see them all when I return again in September!

Sunday was spent at the lovely bead store, Beadoholique, in Spring, Texas. I stayed the night with the owner, Glynna White, and her family, including her adorable fur children. Rudy the poodle is often at the store during the week, and he's a hoot! He and I got along like fast friends, and if Glynna isn't careful, I'll be sneaking him out with my luggage next time. We had 18 in class on Sunday and it was a joyful noise. You know exactly what I mean, don't you? Some of the students I know from various classes and events over the years, and others were new beady friends. We laughed all day and teased each other mercilessly. I felt right at home there, and happily they have asked me back for a class in September also.

Royalle Giddings is one of the regular instructors there, and she had the most AMAZING shoes on! I couldn't help but snap a photo. She was too diligent for me to crawl under the table and actually snatch them off her feet. Maybe I'll get lucky next time!

I haven't talked about the end of the Tucson extravaganza yet either, have I? As per usual, it was a whirlwind of all my favorite people in one place, and a struggle against the elements and exhaustion. We had pouring rain the last day that flooded some vendor spaces out in the tents, and made our break down and loading of our cars a muddy mess. But since controlling Mother Nature is not in the plans, we all made due. I stayed over a few days to shop for kits and supplies, but honestly, I never even left my casita on Monday. I slept roughly 20 out of 24 hours that day. By Tuesday I was recovered again, and made my way to my favorite show for some spending. Just like a rookie, I managed to spend all my money at that one show, so to keep myself from spending beyond my means, I decided to avoid even looking at any of the other shows I normally would have attended. I know myself too well. Me and temptation are not a good mix.

I was dreadful about taking photos, but here's a shot of me and Brenda Schweder who kept me company at my booth for a while on Wednesday. She's got a new book coming out with Lark Publishing in the fall on Steel Wire Jewelry. It's SO COOL!

And another of me with Rashan Omari Jones, who makes amazing boro glass beads, pendants, and perfume bottles. He's also very important because he is the Assistant Show Director, and he's in charge turning the heater on and off in the tent. So I suck up to him a lot. I have to keep warm!!

This and That

2010-02-15T11:27:00.001-06:00

From June:
Jill did get back from Tucson last week. She tried to drive all the way in one fell swoop, but the incessant rain made her decide to make it a two-day trip instead. Safety first, always.

Since she’s gotten back, she’s been working on filling the orders that came in while she had all the kits in Tucson. I also forced her to work on the bead room yesterday. For 30 minutes. With a timer set. It’s been so overwhelming, and we’ve been so busy, that we’ve been reluctant to even go in there. But we had to start somewhere. We really should take before and after pictures, but I think the “before” picture would be too frightening. (Ever watch the TV show “Hoarders”?) So that’s the goal – at least 30 minutes every day.

While Jill was gone, I painted the entire living room and dining area off the kitchen. We didn’t hate the color it was when we moved into the house, but it needed to be repainted. Jill and I decided to change the tint a little. Guess what? Jill likes the original color better than the new color. I ain’t repainting it. I’ll just wait for her memory of the original color to dim!

Mid-Tucson Report

2010-02-06T10:04:00.002-06:00

What a jam packed few days it's been since I posted last! The days in Tucson are always long because you're working all day, and then gathering with friends at night. A few hours of sleep and then I'm up to do it all again!

Wednesday was the start of our show and it's traditionally one of the busiest days. Unfortunately, we had some pretty strong rain showers off and on all day so it wasn't quite as busy as usual. I can't imagine the rain deterring ME from getting out to shop for beads, but evidently not everyone is as dedicated as I am! I got to see many of my usual customers, and the editors of Beadwork and Step-By-Step Wire. (Don't tell, but I sold a seed bead kit to Denise Peck, the Step-By-Step Wire editor - she's a seed beader too!!) The ladies from Fusion Beads stopped by, and they'll be carrying some of my new kits on their website before long too.

I enjoy my neighbors, Janice and John, so much. Crazy Australians with spunky personalities and cute accents. We've been neighbors for years now and it's amazing how they become close friends even though you may only see them once or twice a year.

Thursday was slower since one of the major shows down the road opens on Thursday, but we had warm temperatures and sunshine so some of the stragglers from Wednesday showed up finally. Friday was more of the same perfect weather with many more people coming through. Friday night was a Karaoke party for our show, and I have to say I'm impressed with how well some of these folks sing! Not to mention impressed with out BADLY some of them do! It was a fun time and I'm pretty tired.

But there's no time for rest yet! I'm quickly updating this before I head out for Saturday's show. It's going to be 70 and sunny in advance of a cold and rainy day tomorrrow. I need to go soak it up!!

PS - it's quite amazing, but I've only managed to buy ONE bead so far! Only because I'm always at my booth and don't get shopping time...but I'll manage before the weekend is out...

It was the night before the Big Show...

2010-02-02T23:21:00.002-06:00

Hello from Tucson! The bead and gem and jewelry forces of the universe are gathering in this corner of the Earth to show off the best we have to show for the next few weeks. There's simply nothing else like it. Interested in huge fossils and geodes big enough to hide small children inside? No problem! Want to see more pearls than you've ever imagined existed? Yup, we've got that! Acres of tents filled with beautiful and unexpected wonders await. Lampworkers have trotted out their best designs from the past year with which to tempt you. And every person I know in the biz is here. I can't wait for my show to start in the morning!

Here's how it has been going...
I left Austin on Sunday - had planned to leave by 10am, but hit the road around 11:20. That's practically early for me! I'm about 45 miles down the road when Mom calls. I jokingly answer the phone by saying, "What did I forget?" Except it wasn't a joke. I'd left behind a box of jewelry that needed to be with me. ARGH!! So I turned around and Mom met me half-way with the goods. My day just got 40 miles longer, but at least I had the jewelry. Thanks, Mom! The delay meant I was pretty darned tired by the time I arrived at my hotel in Van Horn, Texas at 11pm or so at night. So tired that I tried to check into the wrong hotel! I just knew my reservation was at the Hampton Inn, but they couldn't find it. So I whipped out my confirmation email...from the Holiday Inn Express. If it hadn't been pre-paid, I would have just switched to the Hampton. Reloading my luggage in the car and driving the extra quarter mile took my last bit of energy. I hit the bed like a rock and didn't move for 10 hours.

Monday was a shorter driving day, and I bebopped along the road while listening to my iTouch. Remember my last post about the cables in my world? Well, the saga continues! Since I updated the software on my Blackberry Storm phone, my wall charger no longer works. The only way I can charge it up is to connect it to my computer right now. And the cable I had to connect the iTouch to the car speakers? Yeah. Wrong cable. I haven't yet stopped to buy the one I need, so I was using my headphones to listen to the iTouch in the car. Why, oh, why can't they do something useful like make all cords and connectors universal?? WHY??

Anyway, as I was saying - Monday night I got into town around 8:45pm. Dropped my stuff at the Casita I'm renting for the second year in a row, and then headed around the corner for food. I was five min. too late to get the Chinese takeout I'd been hoping for, so instead I stopped at the grocery store and stocked up on a week's worth of meals. Another 10 hour sleep coma later brings us to...

Tuesday! Set up at the Best Bead Show day. But not until 2pm. Originally I'd planned on driving over to one or two of the other shows for the first part of the day, but honestly I'm pretty well out of money at this point and I knew I'd find things I wanted to purchase. I'm not good with temptation, so I figured it was best to stay locked up at the Casita and chill out.

When I finally got to the Kino Veteran's Center to start getting my booth all decorated, I was more than ready to get going! Right off the bat I started seeing friends left and right...Rashan Omari Jones, Amanda Jeffries, Janice & John (who's last name I can't think of at the moment) from Australia, Susan Nestor, Lori Dixon Greenberg, Margaret Zinser...and I didn't even go into the main hall yet! I got most of my set up done before my energy just dropped out of the bottom. I'll finish up in the morning.

So the show opens at 10am! Come see me!!! I know I'll get to see Brenda Schweder, who will be coming to spend a few hours helping me in the booth. I'm going to pitch a collaboration project while she's there...iron and seed beads...intriguing... And the various editors from the bead magazines will be coming through too. Jill MacKay is in town and promised to stop by to say Hi. Marsha DeCoster and Shelley Nybakke are in town, and I'm sure I'll see them at one spot or another. Gail Crosman Moore has made the trek here despite having broken her leg by falling on the ice last week. Can you imagine?? She's got spunk, that gal does!

I'll try to report in every few days at least. Wednesday is going to be a loooong day for me, since I need to get there early to finish set up, and then the show is open until 8pm. So after 12 hours in the booth, I'm guessing there will be no update tomorrow night. Although...one never knows...I will have photos!!

Cables are taking over my life

2010-01-28T02:33:00.003-06:00

Oh, I do love a cool gadget. I'm not one of those tech geeks who buys the latest and greatest of every new thing out there. As a matter of fact, I'm absurdly proud of the fact that we don't even have a DVD player. I blame that particular circumstance on the emotional damage caused when we were early adopters of the late, great Betamax system instead of VHS. Oh, how I loved my Betamax. Sniff.

But I digress. There are a certain number of gadgets that make my life as a home-based small business owner who travels a lot much easier. My Verizon Blackberry Storm phone is attached to my body 24/7. I'd implant it in my body if it were an option. I'm down to 3 computers (from 4) - my desktop for the heavy duty stuff, the 17" screen laptop because it's fabulous, and the "Barbie" netbook computer because I discovered quite quickly that a 17" laptop is heavy to carry around as I travel. The 4th computer, my first laptop, was gifted to my sister-in-law for her birthday. I have a labelmaker that connects to my computer. I have an iPod. A speaker system for the iPod. USB cables to connect the iPod and phone to the computer. Let's not forget the charger cables too! And cameras! Yes, Mom and I both have them, along with a memory card reader to transfer the photos to the computer. Different chargers for both laptops. Car chargers for my phone and Mom's phone (yes, different.) And don't forget the cord that connects the iPod to the car speakers!

I AM DROWNING IN CABLES! We have a whole box - not a small one either - of various cables that's been sitting in the garage for two years and yet we're terrified to throw them away. I have two other hiding spots for cables that have been growing with wirey protrusions too (don't tell Mom.) I am currently using my handy-dandy label maker to make labels to attach to the identifiable cords and cables so at least I'll know what's what.

So what did I find it necessary to do today? Add to the list! A Plantronics Voyager Pro Bluetooth headset has been added to the Tapestry Beads IT department! You know - I go on these regular road trips every year. Tucson in February. Santa Fe in March. Milwaukee in June. And that's not counting the trips to Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston that pop up. So it only makes sense that I should be safer and talk on the phone through a headset, right? Just nod your head yes, please.

At least it only came with one cord.

Moving right along

2010-01-23T12:30:00.002-06:00

I'm so very confused! All of a sudden I stopped to look around me and discovered I'm better prepared for Tucson than I thought! Well, with the caveat that I let go of the illusion of having ALL the new kits ready by then. The truth is I'm still tweaking some of the designs. I have a bunch of samples to make up. And since the seed beads haven't been finalized I certainly can't order the supplies for them. Not to mention directions that haven't been written. So by letting go of being perfect, I'm finding a lot more peace and harmony. There's supposed to be a lot of that kind of learning for me this year!

While I was at the Texas Bead Retreat last weekend, I booked a teaching day at Beadaholique in Houston to teach the Night at the Opera bracelet. Glynna posted it on her website on Monday and by Tuesday all 16 seats had sold out! There's a substantial waiting list too, so I'm thinking we're going to have to plan a return trip in the not too distant future. (Glynna nicknamed the Night at the Opera bracelet NATO, and I love it!)

Additionally, I'll be teaching at Beads by Blanche in New Jersey in June. And of COURSE I'm going to have to tack on some additional days to schlep around in NYC while I'm there! Between the Bead & Button Show, and now the NJ/NYC trip, I'll be gone for about three weeks straight in June, but that's just how these things happen - in bunches.

So now that I have this "extra" time on my hands...I'm going to spend some time today shoe shopping! Woo-hoo! It's not even my fault, really. Living in Austin, like I do, my toes are pretty much exposed in sandals year-round. But it's looking like I'm going to be awfully cold again this year in Tucson with highs in the 50s and 60s and lows in the 30s. It's the only show I do where I'm outside in a tent, and it never warms up that much inside the tent. All of which means I need shoes with covered toes. And I only own one pair show-worthy pair right now. See how I HAVE to go shopping???

What happens at a Bead Retreat...

2010-01-18T23:04:00.003-06:00

...should generally stay at a Bead Retreat. There's a vow of secrecy that should be required before you're allowed in. But since that didn't happen this last weekend, I'm telling ALL! Bwhahahaha!

Well, not really since I'm afraid of what they would do to me. But let's just say there were some amazingly inappropriate discussions that caused hooting and hollarin' in loud tones that included topics like: Just where is J pierced after all? What is up with G's yo-yo? And now everyone KNOWs that K is a slut for beads! There were some bottles being passed around and shots being thrown back on Saturday night. We didn't let the presence of a few guys stop us...poor fellows have now learned more about the female spieces than they'd ever wanted to know, I'm sure. And every once in a while, there was some beading done.

You'd laugh to see just how LITTLE beading I accomplished while I was there! Quite literally, one beaded end cap, and less than 2" of a beaded rope. Now, I also taught 2 classes, had about a bazillion folks from all over Texas, Colorado, Kansas, and who knows where else to catch up with. This group of ladies and I have been bead retreating together for years now, and it's such a joy to share their lives. And I was selling kits here and there too.

Sandy had tried to talk me out of teaching two classes this year because she wanted to make sure I would have enough time to enjoy the retreat. I resisted because I love teaching these ladies so much! But by the end of the weekend, I told Sandy that next year, I'm going to listen to her. One class only. There were too many conversations I missed. Too much exhaustion by the end. It's all part of my 2010 theme of finding more balance in my life. I'm usually either going on full speed ahead, or I've got the engine completely cut off. A happy medium is the new goal.

So I slept most of Monday in recovery. And Tuesday, there's something going on...hm...what is it again? Oh yeah! My birthday!

I plan on doing a slew of fun stuff all day long. Some personal shopping. A pedicure. Time browsing at the book store. Taking myself out to lunch (alone on purpose - no time constraints - sweet silence - I'm a good companion to myself.) A friend is taking me out in the evening to see Toni Price at the Continental Club and later, Malford Milligan at Antone's. Both are singers who used to live in Austin and moved away in the last few years. The fact that they're both performing here on my birthday is unbelievable!

Wednesday, it's back to work. Only 10 more days at that point until I leave for Tucson. Can it all be done? Will Jill maintain her sanity? Are there enough beads in the universe to make the number of kits Tapestry Beads needs? Stay tuned...

Frozen fingers

2010-01-10T20:07:00.002-06:00

Hey...I just figured out that the warm spot on the bottom of your laptop that's such a pain in the butt the rest of the year is the perfect place to warm your frozen fingers so you can type a blog post!

I'm really quite over this coldest winter in decades baloney. I'm a hothouse flower, it seems, and my productivity is quite tied to the temperature. Which is why it was a really good thing I had so much to accomplish late last week when the wind chill dropped to the single digits in Austin. I didn't have the luxury of hibernating in my bed covered by blankets and fur children like I wanted to. So I layered on clothing until I looked like the Michelin Tire Man (remember him??) and toddled off to work away.

We had an open house of sorts on Saturday here at the Studio. It was a call for folks who had old projects they needed to work on and perhaps needed my help with to come and gather for companionship while beading. We had a full group all day, and lots of laughter and a couple of finished projects got standing ovations at their moments of completion. We had enough fun that we decided to do it all again in two weeks.

I'm getting ready to leave for the Texas Bead Retreat in Temple, Texas on Thursday. I'll be teaching the Kumihimo with Beads class, as well as a new class for creating your own beadwoven end caps for Kumihimo. I spent the day packaging up bobbins and S-Lon cord, and next I'm putting together the kits. I also found some new sources for base metal endcaps, and if I'm lucky, I'll be able to get them in my hot little hands before I leave this weekend.

Designing block - OVER!

2010-01-07T04:14:00.002-06:00

What a complete relief to be back in the swing of work. I'm already behind on deadlines, buried in emails, and happy as a clam. I do so love my job!

I can't believe I lost so much work time in December, though, due to my own shut-down. I know I needed a break, but that was more like a forced work stoppage than a vacation. Now I'm scrambling to get all the new designs I assigned to me created in a sadistically short time frame, but I have no one to blame but myself. So I'm cranking it out like a little soldier.

Last night I had a design idea that I doodled with, and managed to get about an inch and a half of something I thought was usable. Today I worked on it for pretty close to 12 hours straight, and here's what I've got:

I'm planning on re-designing the clasp loop because it got too big and ungainly for the rest of the project. It's out of scale and throwing off the balance. Luckily I have an idea for that, but it's too late now for me to work on it any more. I need sleep!! I'm also thinking it wants to have an optional tassel hanging off the clasp area. What do you guys think?

OMG - So beautiful!

2010-01-01T16:39:00.005-06:00

From June: I can't remember if I posted here of on Facebook that I was painting my bedroom. It was a hideous shade of intense yellow when we moved in, and after living with that color for two years, I was DONE. I painted it a soft celery green, and spray painted all my bedroom furniture a dark brown. That was topped of by a beautiful green, brown, and tan quilt.

I've been deciding on art. I wanted to get some macro flower close-ups, and surprisingly, there were quite a few to choose from. It took me a while to decide, but I bought the photos just before Christmas, and Jill framed them as my Christmas present. We finally got them hung this afternoon, and I couldn't be happier.

I did get some glare on the photos, but I couldn't wait to share them. These photographers are amazing. I found two of the photos on Etsy and the third on another site called Smug Mug.
From left to right:
"Tulip" by Andrea Lazar; closencounters on Etsy
Unnamed white flower by Rosemary; rojoimages on Smug Mug
"Tinge" by Jenny; flandersfield on Etsy

Getting back in the swing of things

2009-12-31T01:51:00.003-06:00

I actually accomplished some things today. I was beset by the usual insomnia all night and tossed and turned and worried and stressed. Sleep finally arrived around 6am. Not ideal. I finally rolled out of bed and eventually out into the world by 3pm, and all of a sudden...I started actually getting things done. Ticking jobs off my to-do list which has been buried under a pile of books and beads and dust for weeks. And I started feeling...what is that feeling?...oh yeah, energized!

Worse yet - when I arrived home I actually worked out with my new Wii Fit for 32 minutes. (Please be sure and give credit where credit is due for that extra 2 minutes beyond the 30 I was supposed to do...they were hard minutes!) And get this. I felt MORE energized. Freaky, I know.

So the next big hurdle to cross is going to bed before dawn. I may even take a sleeping pill tonight to try to get back on track even though I hate them because I always feel groggy when I wake up. Yes, it's 2am now - but in my world that constitutes an "early" bedtime.

And then we jump back into work. Hop. There ya' go. Back on track. Might not be that easy, but I am starting to feel the thump of the wheels on the track that are alerting me that it's only 14 days before the first event of the year - the mighty Texas Bead Retreat in Temple, Texas, and only 30 or so days before I leave for Tucson. Gulp! I even made a hard, but grown up decision about Tucson today. Mom's birthday present this year is that she gets to stay home. I'm doing the Best Bead Show this year - all five days of it - by my lonesome. It makes more financial sense, and honestly the show isn't really busy enough that I HAVE to have help with it. It's been a luxury on my part to have Mom there for companionship and to allow me to run around and spend money and socialize. I'll be staying in Tucson three extra days after my particular show ends so I can run around and spend money and socialize, so it's not like I'm going to suffer that much. I already warned her I'll probably be text messaging her every 20 min.

Okay...about that sleep thing...here we go...wish me luck...

I haven't disappeared...

2009-12-29T02:47:00.002-06:00

I know. Ya'll thought I'd forgotten about you, right? Not a bit!

I'll confess, though, that I've been doing pretty much everything BUT anything to do with beading. I've been spending time with friends, sleeping a lot, reading a lot, cross stitching, and generally goofing off. I know it's worrying Mom - she's seeing the days tick by and knows the new year and the busy schedule will be here before we blink too many more times. I haven't been able to get myself in the mood to do...anything.

I'd worry myself, but I remember this from years past. Every year I spend about 2-3 weeks around this time freaking myself out because I'm so uninterested and uninspired by beading that I wonder if I've lost the magic. And then every year, like clockwork, something finally springs in me and poof! It's back. I'm feeling a little more drawn to work the last day or two, so we may be close.

In the meantime, I haven't designed any of my new pieces for 2010 kits. (Sigh.) And I haven't set up any of the home classes for 2010. (And the students are starting to email, wondering...) And I haven't done any of the business improvement projects I'd planned. (oops.)

On the other hand, do I feel rested!!! (Giggle!)

Your Turn

2009-12-22T06:57:00.002-06:00

From June: As Jill and I look back over the last year, it has been absolutely amazing. The business has grown, and we've had to grow and adjust with it. I know it sounds corny, but our success has been because of you, our loyal beaders, and we appreciate you so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

As we plan for next year, we'd like to hear from you. We do have 2010 sketched out, but we're always tweaking. What do you want us to do more of? Or less of! What can we improve? What would YOU like to see in the upcoming year? Send us an e-mail at june at tapestrybeads.com. (Replace "at" with @.) We would love to hear from you.

Quick drive-by post

2009-12-18T00:43:00.002-06:00

An all night beading session left me sleepy at 10:30 am when I had to wake up...to go get a 90 min. massage that I'm pretty sure I snored through. Poor fellow working on me. My last minute project got shipped out and will be in the right hands by 8am on Friday. A lovely and delicious dinner with friends rounded out the day. I'm desperately wanting to sit and bead some before bed, but I think I'll let my head prevail on this one and head for slumber instead. There's always tomorrow...

Oh! And Mom bought me some $1.99 gloves at the grocery store that are just perfect. I believe I'll be sleeping in them tonight.

I'm taking a hint

2009-12-16T22:59:00.002-06:00

Darn it all...I keep meaning to change the blog password! Yes, Mom did a good job of outing my pathetic cold weather aversion. I become quite useless, it's true. Hibernation mode clicks in, and I want to spend every moment huddled under large piles of bankets and dogs. No problem - except nothing gets done! And while I've been crowing about the end of my teaching and traveling schedule for the year, that does NOT mean the job list is wiped clear. Far from it.

So I'm trying to cope because a look at the forecast tonight did not predict a stunning 80 degree December heat wave. Instead I'm taking the blankets with me from room to room (Snuggie, anyone? What do you suppose the odds are that I'm getting one for Christmas??) and bringing my small space heater too. I plan on buying some cheap gloves tomorrow and cutting the fingertips out of them so I can wear them while working on the computer or while beading, but still gain some warmth. I'm such a style icon! And the rest of the plan is to just buck up and deal with it.

Because those work piles are not goin' anywhere without me! I picked up an unexpected design job this week that's had me flexing some dormant stringing muscles. And in the process of doing some research for the design, I felt a desire to do some...gulp...wire work. I have a number of projects for myself that have been sitting around for ages, waiting to be put together. I plan on carving out some time to get at least one if not two accomplished before the end of the year. Like in 14 days, ya' know. As for the design project, well...you'll have to wait a while before I tell you the details on that one. :-)

Have you seen that the Bead & Button Show class schedule has gone live? Registration doesn't open until January 12, but you can peruse the classes now and plan your trip. I'm going to take at least one class since I'm there so early in the week this year. There are 3 that are vying for my attention. So far. I haven't even had time to finish looking through them all.

And I realized that I haven't yet told ya'll about this cool retreat I'll be teaching at in July! The Teton Bead Retreat will run from July 24-28 at the Grand Targhee Resort. Jeanette Cook, Kelly Wiese, Rashan Omari Jones, George O'Grady, and I will all be instructors for the retreat. I can't wait!!

Okay, off to do some more work if I'm going to allow myself the luxury of tomorrow's scheduled massage, and dinner with some friends. Both very important appointments!