Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal Time!

It's Bead Soup Blog Party time again. You can visit Lori Anderson's BSBP blog for links to all the participants. I am part of the "second reveal". And again, my partner is Julia Gerlach, editor for Bead and Button magazine. In February I posted a teaser photo of what I sent her and here is the real deal:

In that stash are a large dichroic pendant signed "Catharine", a cloisonné bead; two copper clasps, some square and cube-shaped black agate, pearlized glass in pink and green (the pink are vintage), Czech table beads with copper bevels in two sizes, faceted Czech ovals, etched window beads, faceted rondelles, and some 6/0 seed beads in black.I thought you might like to find out a little more about Julia so we did a little interview session:

T: How long have you been working for B&B and how did you get to where you are today? 

J: I've been working for B&B since 2005 and for Kalmbach Publishing since 2002. I started at the company as a part-time administrative assistant in the Books Department and worked my way up to my current position. It's been quite the journey! 

T: Did you bead before the job or did it become part of your life after you signed on with the magazine? 

J: When I started in Books, I had no beading experience but I did have access to all the back issues of Bead&Button, so I would take them home in the evenings and on weekends and I learned the various stitches and techniques that way. I worked on some of the early books and booklets in the category so I learned a lot just by reading through those. By the time I was hired as an associate editor for the magazine, I had a lot of basic techniques under my belt, but I really got immersed in the hobby at that point.

T: I've visited Milwaukee once for the B&B show, but what is it like living and working in that area? Remember, I'm Texas born and bred so the thought of living where it snows that much is alien to me. The year I was there I had to buy a sweater in June because it was so cold there!

J: Milwaukee is a great place in a lot of ways – there are great restaurants, parks, and performing arts organizations. We have an amazing art museum and there are things to do here year-round, as long as you can deal with the weather. For instance, we know that just because March 20 is the first day of spring this year, we may not get really nice weather until early- to mid-June, when it will be perfect for one day and the following day it will be blazing hot and three days later we'll need to pull out our jackets again! But like I said, we get used to it. One of my favorite weather conditions is actually when it is about 20 degrees and sunny with no wind. If I'm dressed properly, it's just awesome!

T: What is your favorite beading technique? Is there a reason why you prefer it over others?

J: I don't know if I have a favorite beading technique – I really enjoy all of it. I stitch, string, and crochet, do wirework, kumihimo, and loomwork, and I even do a little with polymer and metal clay. Maybe it's because I am always trying new things and I haven't really dug in and gotten obsessed with a single technique, but I can't seem to claim a favorite.

T: Working for a major beading magazine, what do you do for relaxation? (I get this question a lot & my answer is usually fishing) Since my coworkers and I work with beads all day, most of our customers think beadwork is what we do to relax. It's difficult to explain sometimes that beads are work; beadwork is still work & not necessarily what we do for fun & relaxation. Is that the same for you?

J: I love to garden. I also enjoy cooking for my little family (my husband and 11-year-old daughter). I do bead at home quite a lot, though, mainly because the beading I do at work is obviously work-related and if I want to create for personal reasons, then I have to do it at home. 

T: What piece of beaded jewelry do you now own that you absolutely could not live without?

J: I made a really cute – and super easy – pair of earrings with some findings that I got in a Bead Hoard Curiosities box (from A Grain of Sand). I've attached a photo of one of them as well as a picture of the findings I used.  

I love those earrings and I really want to visit Milwaukee specifically to meet Julia in person. I'll wait until the blizzards are done though. Too cold for this Southern girl. 

In March I posted a teaser photo of what Julia sent me and here's the real thing:

So, I received a beautiful focal consisting of lampwork leaves and flower by Barbara Svetlick; (oh my goodness, the yumminess!), a sterling box clasp with a peridot, the cutest 3mm green pearls, olivine green dagger beads, some 13x20mm Czech glass goodies in a gorgeous orchid, white 10mm pearls (to die for), 10mm teal and purple died agate, 6mm two-hole lentils in lime (slurp!), 4mm purple fire polished beads, 5x18mm disks in a purple/green/teal (swoon!), 5x7mm curved petals in purple AB and 4x6mm opaque lavender drops. Breathe! It's like she read my mind and discovered my favorite colors. 

I love everything Julia sent me - that was my first dilemma. The second was that I am a bead weaver - I like teeny-tiny beads put together with needle and thread, so I am often stumped by stringing. I did come up with a couple of things. First, the requisite use of the focal and the clasp:

I used the pearls (both the tiny green ones and the large white ones) and mixed them with some "pearl jade" that I picked up from the store. I really wanted to showcase the flower, and the creamy pale green mixed with those pearls really seemed to do the trick, plus I wanted that focal to be off center. It's a bit dressy but I love it. That means I am keeping this baby for myself. The photo does not do it justice - it was really difficult to capture the colors. I may get my friend Jessi to take some better photos. 

Next, I focused on those disks and the agate. I found some nylon cord in a nice teal green and did some knotting:

I had some vintage faceted Bohemian glass in a purple irid but I'm not yet sure if they work. They may be too formal looking to work with the rest of the piece. I'll look at it for a while before I decide. I need to find something to give me four inches on each side of the piece. I might get some lampwork rounds from Pam to finish this. We'll see. 

As for the rest of the stash, I've already got plans for them. Those two-hole lentils will be a challenge but I'm sure I'll figure it out. I'm considering a macramé piece to work everything into. And those large orchid beads will become the base of another necklace.

And in other news I have some new classes coming up at Nomadic Notions. There will be plenty of eye candy in the next few weeks. I'm baa-aack!

Oppressive Heat!

The heat index yesterday in downtown Austin, where I was spending the afternoon, was 107°, which is odd since the outside thermometer on the car read 106°. I felt every degree of . . . . well, you choose one of them. Today will be the same. And the breeze out here is straight out of the south and hot and dry. Did I complain about the cold a few months ago? If I did, I take it all back. It's hard to believe that just a few days ago I was in a blustery 45° with rain in Milwaukee! I do believe it sent my entire system into shock!!

I think that today I will sit inside the cool house and make some earrings. Maybe I will take some photos. I went through the pictures of the Bead and Button road trip. Some of them are usable, most are not. Obviously, I do not know how to correctly use a camera. *sigh* I want a new one so badly, but I'm thinking I may have to take lessons when I get it!

Question: How do you keep cool when you are creating? I have a small, directional fan that I set up to blow directly on me. I'd just curl up and die without it.

Whatever you do, wherever you are, I hope you keep cool today.

Such A Boring Day

According to my calendar, today I need to do some paperwork. It's nothing big or dire, it's just things that need to be done. I need to update the calendar some more, write a class description, update my resumé/bio, and fill out a proposal or two. It sounds like such a little bit, right? Ugh. I mess around and take my time because I hate trying to describe what we're going to do when it's so much easier for me to show you, I hate tooting my own horn, and class proposals bring out all of my insecurities.

Speaking of insecurities, I did two small paintings this week. Of course, my family sings their praises and I don't even have to pay them to do so! The first one was getting used to the canvas and paints. It looks like it was done by a five-year-old. The second is okay. After paperwork today, I'm going to try sketching out a design for the next one. Why am I painting? A friend talked me into doing paintings for her apartment models after she found out that I like to play with paints and I said yes. The canvas that frightens me is the 36"x36", although I have definite idea of what is going on it. Let's just say I am a hack and leave it at that. But hey, I'm sitting here watching a guy make a pineapple in a shadow box using duct tape, a glue gun, caulk, and paint, using a pencil to texture the paint. It actually looked like a pineapple when he finished. Obviously, I am not pushing myself enough.

I also made two pair of earrings this weekend, which just goes to show what happens when I'm intently procrastinating. But according to the calendar, photo day is Friday this week. And yes, I've got something specific scheduled for every day this week.

Now on the Pay It Forward Prize Front, you are still not there. However, someone is very, VERY close. T-man says I'm being too vague in my hints. Well, it's not a palette I use very often, it's not the colors in the prize package, and it is pretty much a brand new crayon in my box. Even if you have already guessed, give it another go. Here is a BIG hint: look at my Etsy store for a clue.

I'm off! (Most of you already know that.)