Outside my Window

Couldn't resist...this is what is growing in my yard-

 The irises are in full bloom...

 The azaleas have been so beautiful but are beginning to fade...

Bead Fest

Just coming back down to earth from my adventure at Philadelphia Bead Fest.  This was my first time attending Bead Fest. Living  in a small town with limited access to great "bead" shopping, I have to say seeing so many beads in one place was sensory overload. But I soon recovered and found lots of goodies!

I was fortunate to take classes from two great jewelry artists, Linda Larsen and Kim St. Jean.

Linda Larsen taught the first class "Lockets".

These are some of  her class samples...

There was lots of sawing, which I hate but I did get better at it and maybe don't hate it quite as much.  We learned techniques for making a hinge and shaping the locket but  having it "snap" closed  was what we were looking for in the end.

This was my finished locket... so proud of it...not perfect but you have to start somewhere!

My next four classes were with Kim St. Jean.
The classes were "Copper Soldered Necklace", "Ruffled Bracelet", " and "Greek Goddess" and Air Chasing".

 So many techniques and tips learned from Kim-like....

 How to know if you had the flame right...

  Soldering the bezel...

  Making a bail....

 Using a metal brake....

 Annealing metal...

 Fold Forming...

These are my finished pieces...

 Now the hard work begins...trying to remember all I saw and figuring out how to apply the techniques.

The Bead Soup I Sent

This is the "Bead Soup" I sent my partner, Loretta Carstensen.  I can't wait to seeing her ideas and creation.

A few little packages....

Wrapped in a little handmade pouch...

And this is the soup...

Choice of deer antlers for the focal, a mix of Czech glass beads,

Betel nut beads, wood beads, copper 22 caliber shell casings, 

vintage shell beads, a copper clasp, copper spacers 

with sari silk and voile ribbons.

Bead Soup has Arrived!!

I happy to introduce my "Bead Soup" partner, Loretta Carstensen and show you the "Soup" I received.

First a little about my partner-

Loretta recently moved from Palm Springs, Ca. to South Ogden, Utah to be closer to her family. Loretta is a retired Insurance Agent.  Since her retirement, she volunteers at the local hospital.  She also has a travel trailer and enjoys traveling with her husband.

She likes creating all kinds of jewelry and makes a lot of her own beads and pendants from polymer clay. Loretta said she was buying a lot of polymer beads and decided she wanted to try making them so, she bought a book and taught herself.

I hope you will visit Loretta on her blog, designsbyloretta.blogspot.com to see her creations and learn more about her.

Now for the soup-

Excited to receive this package from Loretta!

Couldn't wait to see what was in it-

Loretta didn't know what the stone is...any ideas?  

The large red beads are glass African trade beads 

and the small red ones are jasper.

I'm going to let the "soup" simmer for a while and on 

May 3rd I'll show you what it became.