Bead & Button Plans Hatched!

So Friday I had this little hatchling of an idea that maybe I could go to Bead & Button. I searched around and found a great deal on the flight. A roommate was next on the list and my buddy Erin came to the rescue. So I'm am freakin' going to Bead & Button! I would not have guessed last week that this would be the plan, but that's life. Sometimes you just have to grab a hold of a wing and prayer and see what happens.

Bello Modo will be selling my work at booth #957 and I will be there throughout the show visiting with customers and helping in their booth. I do hope you'll stop by to say hello and see what they have. I'll be at the show Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

And what does Bello Modo have? Well I sent an order last week that was a sampling of my most popular beads. Since then I've found that Lorelei Eurto has an urchin necklace project in the new issue of BeadStyle, so I've been making tons of urchins and summery beads to add to Bello Modo's inventory.

New things that will be there: Van Gogh beads in long tubes and lentils, branch beads in new summer colors: raspberry, periwinkle, antique gold & navy. Limited edition colors of knobby urchins, urchin connectors, starfish charms and pendants. And finally just to amuse my muse I've created some eggs. Very painterly, precious eggs. We'll have to see how they go. I won't be able to photograph them until I get back.

Now I need to pack, sand beads and map out my plan of attack for shopping at the show!!!

And speaking of shopping, it's always nicer to have extra money when bead shopping is involved so I'm having a sale for my blog readers. Everything in my etsy shop, except the grab bags, are 20% off. I will send a revised invoice after your purchase. Add B & B sale to the notes when you checkout for your discount! Sale ends Monday at midnight. All orders will ship out on Tuesday before I leave.

Letting a Bead Breathe

When I saw this chain last week I immediately envisioned it paired with one my urchins for a simple, no-fuss summer design. I have to say I really like it's understated and quite nature. I hammered the links for a little more strength and the clasp is made with half-hard wire and hammered to hold it's shape.

I posted a few more urchin designs on the Art Bead Scene today. You can win a free urchin if you leave a comment over there. So head on over!

Opps, I almost forgot to mention I have a few new grab bags in my Etsy shop, they are all beach-themed with urchins, starfish and more!

Oh Nuts!

I've been sneaking in some late night jewelry making sessions over the last month. These designs were created a few weeks ago and I'm just now finding a few spare minutes to share them. Lorelei had sent me a strand of very funky nuts, I'm not sure what they are called, and challenged me to do something creative.

I started by assembling a collection of larger beads: a shell and wood bead, ceramic, turquoise-daggers-of-awesomeness, and a buttery yellow urchin I made before the Bead Cruise. I sprinkled in some copper spacers, brass chain and a fish pendant/clasp thing from Vintaj. (I get all my Vintaj from my good buddies at Bello Modo.) And I had to add in a little brown lava bead from Rings & Things. They are popping everywhere in my designs, they are just so much fun and so very versatile.

The finished piece reminds me of my recent trip to Costa Maya, a beachy tribal design. This will be in my etsy shop soon along with a whole slew of summer inspired jewelry.

A detail of the clasp
a matching bracelet

Bead Sale!

This sale is a like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get!

So my mom was talking to a friend and said friend wanted to know where she got a certain bead since she had never seen it in my shop. Ah, those were beads found on the bead table. You see, I make many beads that never see the light of day. One-of-kinds, ones that were maybe just a bit off in color or size from my regular line or an experiment. They end up in a big ceramic dish on my bead table. So I've decided to package up a few grab bags of these unique beads. They aren't seconds or flawed in any way, I'm just too lazy and too busy to take photographs of all of them. They are really beautiful collections. There is a least 5 beads in each grab bag. I have 8 of them made. (Click on the link to go to the listing.)

Earth Angel

A few weeks ago I was playing with the brown lava beads that Rings & Things sent to their blog partners. I had picked up a strand at their show a few weeks before and was happy to have more. I have a free project on the Art Bead Scene featuring lava beads, you might want to check it out.

For this design I had a two-hole focal bead with an orchid. I thought the lava would pair nicely with unexpected texture and light color palette of muscovite and pinky/peach pearls.

The wing is Zoa Art, isn't it just amazing! Okay back to my marathon beadmaking.