Artisan Clay Trunk Show and Staci Louise Originals Drilling Demo this weekend! Be there!

Look at us!  Aren't we cute?

We are wearing each other's work :-)  Staci is wearing a necklace that she made as one of the Artisan Clay Design team challenges and I am wearing a necklace that Staci made for me YEARS ago!

Today was the day that I set up my Trunk Show at Bead of a Feather in East Greenville, PA..... That is just a 20 minute drive from my home and just a few miles from Staci's. 

Staci is doing a couple of demonstrations at the shop tomorrow.  I love the subject, drilling your beach finds, sea glass, shells.... for your jewelry making.  So.... be there!  Staci is your girl for tips on making jewelry that will LAST!  BE WEARABLE!  Hang straight!  Not be junk!..... which we happened to discuss while setting up the show ;-)

Thanks for coming by and setting up the show with me today Staci!   You rock!

After this weekend my work will travel to Beads of a Feather's Kutztown location..... SO..... if you are in the area, this is YOUR chance to see a larger selection of my work than is available online.... after this, my work heads to New Jersey before stopping in Virginia :-)

In other news.... I am super famous now  ;-)  .... My bead is featured in a new E-Mag put out by Interweave called Live Wire..... I downloaded my copy last night and I am really impressed!  I hope to work up the project and show it off soon!  So there you go!  I'll say I knew you when ;-)

Don't miss our Artisan Clay Design team reveal next Friday!  This month we are working with my glass fused donuts.... It should be fun. 

I hope you are having a great summer!  Mine has been a blur of choices and people and hope for the future...... and this weekend.... camping with my girl scout troop.....in 100 degree weather.... but I think we will figure it out.
(and I even get to hang out with my Clay Bead and metal buddy Melinda Orr at THE BEACH on Monday!  OH my gosh!  What fun!)

Look What Staci Made! And what's new?

I love it!
I made the Flower-cupish bead at center.
Staci bezeled a fossil for the bottom part of the focal.  She's so super fancy!
Check out Staci's Blog here

I'm been a busy bead maker this past few weeks.  My birthday sale was a much bigger success than I imagined it would be and so was my last trunk show and so I have been a very busy bead maker.  I fired the kiln again yesterday and made a bunch of new disc beads for Heather Power's Bead Cruise.  I also have my next Trunk show lined up in Kansas City, Missouri....   because I'm taking myself and my daughter's to Kansas City for Easter and why not schedule my next trunk show to be picked up in person???  Yes!  Why the heck not? 

Next I should schedule a trunk show in the Portland area I think...  Why the heck not?  I'm sending myself on a vacation to see my great friend Debra.  Because I love her and I miss her.  And I don't let many people close to me and she is very close to me.... yet very far--- Eugene Oregon to my Philly burbs far.

I can't really believe how busy my spring is with travel and camping trips.  I haven't been on a vacation in 2 years and now I'm going on 2 vacations and 2 camping trips before June!  I am very excited, yet very nervous that I'm not going to be able to handle my workload with all this fun.  --And be the awesome momma my kids deserve at the same time.

I am 99.99% sure that these little hearts are in the current issue of Stringing Magazine..... I have seen a photo of the layout online and I have been told by a customer that they saw the earrings in the Magazine, but I have not yet seen a copy or received my earrings back in the mail.  I think that there is even a second pair of earrings in the issue that I designed... but these things get fuzzy for me, as they happen so far in advance and I don't usually contribute very often.   So... once I get a copy, I'll do a little "fancy like in the magazines" post.

So all the beads in this post are in my etsy shop as of this moment and more new pieces not pictured.... and soon I will add things from yesterday's firing...  As soon as I pick out pieces for the Bead cruise and for my greedy little self!
Oh yeah!  I get to go to the Berks Bead Bazaar in Reading this weekend with my girlie Staci and squeeze some hugs out of Joan Miller and Lisa Peters!  Watch out ladies!  I'm gonna get you!  It's been too long!

Bead Fest Philly 1

I just have to share some quick photos of my booth at Bead Fest Philly this weekend.

My generous friends Mary Lou Holvenstot, Carol Dean Sharpe, Marcie Abney and Staci Smith lent me their work to display at the show. 

I am so thankful to have the opportunity to have their work with me.  I admire them all so much as artists and friends and I love to talk about their work with new friends.  I would like to show off their work in more detail at a later time.  Every single piece deserves a spotlight.

I am so tired from the show.  It was a really great time.

I didn't have a booth helper this time around and I couldn't get out and walk around except for before and after hours and even then I needed to be brief.

That's a little bit different than I am used to.....  I am usually the artist known to not be at her booth.  Usually I end up wondering around and chatting with all my favorite artists for most of the show.  This time when I did run out to take a quick break I found people at the booth and security hovering nearby. 

Somehow I still shopped at the VERY LAST MINUTE and found some fun chain and wood.  I kept to the list.  Thank YOU ----->  (pointing right at you) Yes, Thank YOU for coming by and saying hello! 

And Thank YOU----->  (pointing finger again)  for following my work :-)

So now I will rebel from my 10x10 cubical and go on a road trip tomorrow.  Quite quickly following, I will need to figure out what work is going out to a few new venues.  This is a pretty cool job ;-)