Lincoln Bead Bazaar

Hi beady people! Those of you who follow me on Facebook have probably heard that my in-laws have moved to Africa for a couple of years to work for Bead For Life. While I am sad to see them go, I am also very excited for them in their new adventure! They left last week and made it safely so I can at least breath a little easier. :-)
I will update more on that as they get settled and start sending pictures. We can share the experience vicariously through them!

In other news, this coming weekend I will be in Lincoln, Nebraska, for the Lincoln Bead Bazaar. This year the Bead Bazaar is being held in conjunction with the Textile Society of America's biennial symposium. VERY exciting!!





I hope to see lots of people! What better way to spend the day than looking at beads!? I'm sure many vendors will have "you can't beat it" bargains and even I will have a 50% off basket! :-) Come on down!

Iowa Bead Bash

This weekend you can find me in Marshalltown, Iowa at the 8th annual Iowa Bead Bash! Vendors from 8 states around the Midwest come together to bring you everything you could need to bead!
Sept 24th 5-9 pm
Sept. 25th 10-5pm
For more information you can go to the website:
www.iowabeadbash.com

Hope to see you there!
P.S. I have a 50% off bowl!!! :-)

Fire Divas New Jewelry Challenge!

Hey Beady people! It was so nice to meet so many people at the Bokamo Designs
open house! Steve and Terry (and Ziggy!) are WONDERFUL hosts!! I didn't even get any pictures taken to share, but maybe I can steel some from them. :-) They have a beautiful set-up! Thanks to Steve and Terry so much for having me!

I wanted to tell you about another great opportunity for you!


The Fire Divas are hosting another Jewelry Challenge! The theme for this callenge is "The Holiday Season." Pick any of the upcoming holidays and celebrate them! You can see holiday-inspired Fire Diva creations in our Flickr. By entering this challenge, you have the chance to win:

http://www.beadygirlbeads.etsy.com/

http://www.twoglassyladies.ca/

http://www.etsy.com/shop/JanelDudleyBeads

http://www.arensea.etsy.com/

http://www.teasebeads.artfire.com/

http://www.artfire.com/users/BabsBeadsandDesign

http://www.lajewelrydesigns.etsy.com/

http://www.hollysfolly.com/

http://www.lutrick.artfire.com/

Owl bead from http://www.maybeads.etsy.com/

http://www.emakaye.etsy.com/

Now for the details:

All submissions must feature Fire Divas' lampwork. We require the name of the Fire Diva who made the beads used in the submitted piece, so if you submit something, please be ready to provide that information.

We will allow one submission per person per contest, and a maximum of two photos per submission. Entries may be submitted here (http://www.flickr.com/groups/firedivachallenge/) for approval, no later than October 15, 2010. Please include, in the comments section, the following:
Information about the beads:
Description of the piece:
Inspiration for the piece:
Submissions will not be approved without all of this information.

Fire Divas reserve the right to approve or reject any submissions.

Fire Divas reserve the right to modify or cancel the challenge at any time.

The winners will be determined by an open poll which does not allow multiple votes.

I encourage you to enter--this could be our best jewelry challenge ever!

Open House With Bokamo!

Bokamo Designs Open House!

I'll be doing the open house with Steve and Terry Rhoades for the first time and I couldn't be more excited! If you've never seen Bokamo Beads at a show, you're in for a REAL treat! They have the most amazing silver and every color, shape and size of Czech bead you could possibly want! Steve makes his own fabulous Boro beads and there will be jewelry and all kinds of stuff!

Bokamo will have ALMOST EVERYTHING 50% OFF!
Beads
Silver
Crystal
Lampwork
Czech Glass
Treats too!! :-)

I will have all carded beads & jewelry 20% off! (Which is basically everything I have besides baubles, spacers and bookmarks) A first for me!! You gotta come!!
Something for everyone at super-great prices!!!

August 6 – Noon to 7pm
Saturday August 7 – 10am to 6pm
Sunday August 8 – 10am to 4pm

5609 W. 99th Street (99th & Nall)
Overland Park, KS
913-648-4296

Anything not sold from my Etsy shop will be going to the show with me. As soon as I get back from the open house I'm off for Colorado. It's going to be a big driving week for me! In the meantime this week I'll be busy getting ready for the show, taking the kids to swimming lessons and taking care of 9 baby tree frogs!





They are so small and cute I can't stand it. Don't worry--we're taking REALLY good care of them. I've figured out how to get the live crickets in the cage without touching them so all is good with that! :-)
It'll be fun watching them grow. We may have to give some away though, the buying of crickets every other day is getting tedious and expensive! More updates (and better pictures!) on the frogs later.

Be sure to mark your calendar for the open house next weekend! Would love to see you there!
Ta Ta until next time XO

Fire Divas Summer Jewelry Challenge

I know I'm bad about blogging...
I didn't even get a chance to tell you that I was in the July edition of Bead and Button! I know right?
Page 52. Pretty exciting. My first time being in a publication. Whoo Hoo!

I hope everyone is having a great summer so far and that you had a happy and safe 4th of July weekend. Rain and more rain here but...what can you do?


I wanted to let you know about the Fire Diva's Summer Jewelry Challenge! The prizes for the Fire Divas Summer Jewelry Challenge have been announced! All the details can be found here. Now you can see what incredible prizes are up for grabs!! If you haven't been to the Divas' bolg lately, you should go on over to the new Meet The Divas section! :-)

I don't know much more for now. I'll be doing an open house with Bokamo Beads in Kansas City the first weekend in August. More information on that VERY soon (yes, I promise!).

Happy Birthday To Me!

I know it's been a long time since I've updated here. You should know by now that I'm bad about that!

Today, May 30th, is my birthday! In celebration I'm having a one-day sale. Since I'm turning 40, (GASP!) I thought it would be fun to take $4.00 off of each item purchased TODAY only in my Etsy shop . This DOES NOT include Beads Made To Order, but everything else goes! :-)
I've added a few new things and plan to add a few more later today.
Hope everything is going well in your world. The end of the school year is VERY near so I've just been working hard because once school is out for the summer (*que music*) my time at the torch is limited!

I don't promise that I'll update here again soon because well...it just never seems to happen! You can follow me on Facebook though, I post over there at least once a day. THAT I can do from my phone and it's MUCH easier! :-)

Hope to see you at the sale.
Have a great Memorial Day weekend. Bless our Vets!

Get Your Green On!

Happy St. Patty's Day! Hope you find a great way to celebrate! Everyone's Irish on March 17th, right?!
The Twin Cities show was fantastic! So great to see everyone--vendors and customers alike!

It's spring break and Grandma Lorna is here from Colorado. She brought food and new clothes and likes playing board games and will go on bike rides...it's great! :-)

The Fire Divas have a lot going on right now too:
The Quarterly Jewelry Challenge is going on with lots of fabulous prizes including a gift certificate from yours truly!

Don't forget to vote in the Easter poll and check out the beads of the day. Good stuff!

I've got new stuff on eBay
new stuff on Etsy
And if you haven't done it--think about becoming a "fan" on my
Facebook page! :-)

Have a great St. Patrick's Day! Go Green!

Bead Show!

This weekend is the 11th Annual Iowa Bead Fair!
"For The Beauty of The Bead"

Saturday Feb. 20th 10-4

Sunday Feb. 21st 10-3

Here's just a little sneak peak of some of the beady goodness that will be going to the show with me!






Bead Fair 2010 will be held in the Visitor's Center at
Living History Farms
in Urbandale, Iowa. There is easy access off 1-80/35 at exit 125.

Hope to see everyone there!!

The New Year and Then Some

So, the last time I posted was back in OCTOBER!? Way back in 2009? Wow. I really AM boring I guess. Maybe boring but never bored. It's important to me that I shouldn't be bored. EVER. Always have something to do. With four kids, a husband, a cat and a business to run, it's not hard to find something to do. Just in case though, I always make sure I have paper and pencil, a good book and some beads with me--almost wherever I go.
ANYWAY.... I don't know where all of THAT came from!
HAPPY NEW YEAR! A little bit late but I mean it. :-) I do have some shows coming up. ----------> Check over there for event listings.
The Fire Divas are always good about posting on the Fire Divas' Blog:

There you can find all kinds of good stuff including Bead of the Day and info on things like the 4th Annual "One World One Heart" global blog event!! Pretty cool stuff--you should go check it out!

I'll have to get back with more updates soon (yeah I know, so don't hold your breath!) it's already past my bedtime tonight. Who's reading this anyway?
I'll leave you with some pictures from Narnia. Well ok, not REALLY Narnia--it's my yard. And they're from last week. Only 6 inches of snow to show THIS week. Not too very exciting--only 6 inches. :-)

Breast Cancer Awareness Challenge

I am a new member of the Fire Divas! A group of lampwork bead artisans promoting the use of artisan made glass beads. The belief is that, by promoting one another's work, we all benefit. :-) What an organized, talented bunch! I'm proud to be a part.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Fire Divas are having a Breast Cancer Awareness Challenge! Several of our members have made wonderful pieces for YOU to vote on. First, you can feast your eyes on these beauties in big, clear pictures. When you're done savoring them, please vote for your favorite in bite-sized images on the right side of the Fire Divas Blog . The voting will stay open for one week - then the winner will receive a really cool prize!

You can also find us on Facebook at the
Fire Divas Fanpage

It's all new to me so I have yet to get myself completely emergered, but I really look forward to being in the group.

And for other news...my fall shows are over. It's usually kind of sad, but I did four in a row (and one I helped at in between!) so I was kinda of ready to get home and CLEAN the house I guess! ha. No really, I did clean the house. I don't remember the last time I did that! No more shows coming up until Feruary--which will be here soon enough.
Well, off to get the kids ready for school. Have a great day and don't forget to vote in the Fire Divas Challenge!

I love My Customers!

Two of the latest installments of works by my talented customers!

These wonderful works above were done by Linda Jones of Wild Wicked Beads. Her Etsy shop is definately a treat for the eyes! I have admired her work for quite a while and was so honored to have her work with my beads!

These super-fun pieces were done by Gergana Todorova of Geri Jewel Art. Check out her Etsy shop for wonderful, wearbale art!

Birthday Sale

It was 20 years ago today...
In honor of my daughter's 20th birthday (No, I am NOT old enough to have a child that old! ha) everthing in my Etsy shop is 20% off today! That includes the sale stuff and everything! :-)
Here's my shop ------------------------------------------------------->>>

It's Almost the End of July!

I haven't posted for such a long time! I guess my life is just really BORING! Wow.
I guess we HAVE been painting the house. What a long drawn out process THAT has turned out to be! Can you say "vinyl siding"? My husband says we'll never paint again. We'll see. Here's a preview--we started with the shed:


No shows this summer--kind of depressing. Can't wait for the fall shows to start. The weather is making it FEEL like fall, however!

I've been listing as much as I can in my etsy shop, you can find new things there. I also donated some "swag" for an event call the Des Moines Swap-O-Rama .
Swap-O-Rama-Rama is "a clothing swap and series of do-it-yourself workshops in which a community explores creative reuse through the recycling of used clothing." Sounds cool huh? August 1st. You should check out the website. I'm also working on some things for the Iowa Shakespeare Experience . That should be a good time for all!
Well, that's about all the new news that I have for now. Hope summer is going well for everyone. It's going FAST, that's for sure!

Bead Blast 2009

I'm so excited to be doing the Kansas City Bead Society Bead Blast . I've never even been to this show but I've heard very good things and there are a lot of fabulous vendors!

It's coming up next weekend:

Saturday May 2nd 10am to 6 pm
Sunday May 3rd 10am to 5 pm

Cost : Adults $5.00 Children 12-6 $3.00 Children 5 and under are Free (There's a $1 off coupon at the website)

Kansas City Market Center
6800 W. 115th Street
Overland Park, KS 66211

Check the website for vendor and class lists, coupons and directions. In the meantime, everyone stay healthy and dry (not possible in Iowa this weekend!!) and I hope to see you there!

Wow what a whirlwind it's been since last I updated! It was great having Grandma Lorna here!
Thanks to all of the people who came out to the Twin Cities Bead Bazaar in Hopkins, MN. It's always great to put faces with names and meet new beady people! I think we may have even born a couple of new bead people at the gas station up from our hotel! We left the two young cashier men with some beads for thought and I have to say they seemed very intrigued! :-)
I'm getting ready for the Omaha Bead Bazaar which is April 4th at the Westside Community Center. If you're in the area, this is a really great one-day show with many fantastic vendors!
Check my "Upcoming Events" for more information.
I'm going back to the torch, then to the nursing home with my grandma and then tonight is "Fun Night" at school. Whew. I need a clone!
Talk to you soon!

Grandma's Coming!

Of course, as always, it's been a long time since I've updated here. I've been doing more of the Twitter and Facebook thing. Now that I've been doing that, I feel like I have more to say than just 140 characters will allow, so maybe I should do my babbling here! :-)
Anyway.... Grandma Lorna is coming from Colorado tomorrow. I think I've told you before that she's somewhat of a celebrity around here. Today we will spend the day cleaning and telling anyone who will listen (even strangers at the store!) "Grandma Lorna is coming tomorrow!". Tomorrow will be hours of, "How much longer?" and "Is she here yet!?" until finally after ten long hours of driving, Grandma will arrive to a barrage of, "DO you want to play hide and seek!?' and "Can we go to the park!?" and "Do you want to use Mom's bike and we can go for a ride?" and and and....
That will all be before she even walks in the door! Once in the door she will not be allowed to use the bathroom privately and she will be instantly obstacled with pictures and projects from school, toys from Santa that she's hasn't seen yet, and anything else that can be quickly carried out and placed at her feet to see. It happens pretty much the same way every time. I guess that makes it somewhat of a ritual. I hadn't even thought of it that way until now.
It's always exciting when Grandma comes!

To You

To all of my wonderful customers, I would just like to say a big: !!!

Thank you for allowing me to do what I love! It's important for me to be able to create in my life and without your support of my beadmaking, I probably would have just kept creating more children!! haha!
Have a great Sunday. We're off to the Kiwanis club pancake breakfast and then to the Pinewood Derby races for Boy Scouts. I'm sure you'll wanna see pictures of that! :-)

Second Sunday

Hello! Happy New Year! Geeze, hard to believe that as a child (and even into high school) I thought I wanted to be a writer! Now I can't even seem to keep up with a blog!
I hope everyone had wonderful holidays. They were fast and furious for us but the weather did do its part to slow us down! With 4 new inches of snow yesterday, it's like Christmas all over again! The kids love the snow of course and even my husband secretly can't wait to get on the tractor and plow our mile-long driveway! It's not REALLY a mile long but...I wouldn't want to clear the snow with a shovel. Actually, I wouldn't want o clear the snow myself at ALL! :-) That's what I have all these kids for--haha.
Anyway, I just wanted to say Happy New Year before it was Valentine's day! I've got several shows coming up that I'll update soon on the "Upcoming Events" section.
Take care and stay warm!

P.S. I know I'm not supposed to mess with Texas...but for my southern border friends (and my little brother too!) we Iowans don't have much sympathy for your 53 degree days in the middle of January. Sorry! As you're walking around in your sandals and short sleeves, think of me here with my four layers of clothes and wool boots. At least I work with hot glass and not ice sculptures! :-)

Hello for the Holidays

Happy Holidays!
I hope everyone is doing well and staying warm and safe this Festivus season! For those that celebrate it, as Quentin (8) just said, "Tomorrow's tomorrow is Christmas!!" I like that.
I want to share a video with you. It's made by a fellow Des Moinesian and Twitter(er) which is how I even found it in the first place. I don't know a whole lot about Brandon Barker but from the pictures on his blog, he and his family look so lovely and happy that I can't help but smile and feel warm inside. Hope you don't think I'm weird for saying that. There are SO many other reasons for thinking I'm weird, you don't need to make that one of them.
So anyway, this video, shot IN Des Moines has been played over and over in my house for the last two weeks. Owen (he's 6) and I love it and dance around the kitchen to it. Even Quentin, who usually rolls his eyes when Owen and I listen to show tunes and watch theatrical excerpts on the YouTube got into this video..."Wait, did he just say, 'Han Solo'?". (you'll understand better after you watch it)
Anyway, I hope you'll like it as much as we did.

I wish for warm smileys inside for everyone this season. And BEADS. Everybody needs beads! We're leaving Santa Rice Crispie Treats and beads! :-)

Customer Appreciation

As a bead seller I'm always curious about what my customers MAKE with the beads that they buy from me. I am always so happy and honored when my customers chose to share what they've made. This beautiful bracelet was made by Joanne Jovich . Joanne is the owner and artistic force of JJ's Jewels . Here are a few of the other wonderful works she has to her credit!


Go look through her Etsy shop and find something for someone on YOUR gift list!

Have a great day!