Major Detours

Here is one more picture from the taping of Beads, Baubles and Jewels. I look pretty calm here, considering that I am about ready to get filmed. The host, Katina, was really great and put me at ease, so it went pretty easily. I just talked to her about stuff I love!
Last night was pretty crazy! I was about a half hour away from home, at a meeting/party for Construct. Just as Alex and I were getting ready to leave, my friends told us about a tanker explosion VERY near my home. My friends can be practical jokers, so I didn't believe them right away, but as we were driving back, it became clear that it was all over the news radio and people were calling me about it. We decided to try to get to my house, taking the long way around. We were able to get there without too much of a problem, and saw the black smoke billowing as we got closer to my street. Scary stuff! We got to the house, grabbed some stuff and the Zoey dog, and I headed to my parents house and Alex headed home. Leaving was more of a challenge, recalculating around the major freeway intersection, but we both made it home. Traffic is going to be a mess around my house for quite a while, as the whole bridge collapsed, and trying to get anywhere from home will be pretty tricky, so I am glad to keep the Zo here at my parents house, and I am going to take off out of town on a little trip.
I am going to head back home to pack up some stuff, and then drive on out to the west side of the state to meet with Heather of Humblebeads and her family! I took this trip last year and had a blast! There will be beach, beads, and fun! I just wanted to check in and let you all know that I am ok, and will be offline for the next few days.

Beads, Baubles, and Jewels...Lights, Camera, Action!

Well, almost a week has passed since I set out to Cleveland for the Beads, Baubles, and Jewels taping. Since then I have had a lovely few days off, and then a couple of days back in the studio working hard, while getting ready to take another couple of days off. It has been quite a whirlwind! I wish I had blogged right when I got back and my thoughts were fresh, so it feels a little strange to blog about it all now. So to sum it up, I was terribly nervous, but after meeting the staff of the show and the other great artists who were also filming, I calmed down and got more comfortable, I gave it my biggest and bestest effort, and I ended up having a great time! I am so excited to see how my segment turned out, but it will take a few months before the tape gets done and longer still before the show airs.

Kerry from Kab's Creative Concepts wrote a big post about the day, and she took the pictures I am using in today's post (thanks, Kerry!) Also, Jean Campbell and Marcia DeCoster wrote great posts about their filming experiences. Above, a picture of all my stuff on a tray in the green room, getting ready to go. I was really happy with the project I picked to show, a quick but interesting Steampunk pendant made with a brass filigree bead that unfolds to create a bezel for one of my porcelain gear discs. Its a pretty dramatic thing to show, so that's fun! I also talked a little bit about steampunk. It was very casual and conversational... not rehearsed and scripted... so I hope I sound reasonably coherent when I see it on tape. I think my ideas and creativity burst through my nerves and I got my thoughts across clearly.

Above, a picture of the television screen in the green room showing the feed of me and the host, Katina, in the middle of taping my segment. It was SO weird to see myself on TV, and all made up! The make-up artist did an amazing job, especially since my eyelids were all pink and itchy from my allergies. We sat down together with the producer, and I tried to ignore the big cameras and just chatted with Katina about Steampunk and my beads. It went so quickly! Did I mention that the staff was awesome, and made us all feel at home? It was a great experience and I am so glad that I did it! Stay tuned, I will certainly keep you all informed when I have updates on show times!

Weekend Vacation and Extra Extra Linkage

Wow, what a week that was! I have much to tell about my experience with Beads, Baubles, and Jewels... but I was whisked away for a delightful weekend vacation in Petoskey and Charlevoix, Michigan, so I haven't have time to blog about about it yet.

I spent the weekend wandering around, window shopping, relaxing, enjoying a beautiful wedding in a gorgeous castle, meeting great people, and spending time with someone very special to me. Here are a few snapshots of my weekend, and after that... this week's Extra links!

A Bead A Day
Lisa’s “Swarovski Summer Picnic” project is progressing. The only thing missing are the crystally butterflies!!

About.com Jewelry Making
School's out for summer, but is it really? Nope, not when you can take one of these free jewelry making e-courses.

Art Bead Scene
Art Bead Scene's monthly challenge painting for July is the Lascaux Cave Paintings. Get your stash of beads out in ivory, red and brown to match the color palette of these ancient drawings.

Beading Arts
Wonderful wonderful wonderful new CopprClay! Cyndi is so excited about this new material that she can't stop playing with it!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi attempts to create a necklace after a resin pouring disaster.

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva
Cindy shows off some new chain and realizes one should never shop for jeans on her lunch hour.

Humblebeads
Check out the 2009 Bead Cruise design contest winners!

Jean Campbell
Jean Campbell finished off her new LeTemps Necklace design which marries bling to grunge. Hurray!

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Lorelei has busted out of the studio and into the Museum of Art for a trunk show.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean reviews a different, colorful, and inspiring book called Glass, by Marlene Blessing and Jamie Hogsett

Strands of Beads
Melissa talks about where to find reliable information on copyrights - the U.S. Copyright Office, of course!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Challenging himself with a smaller scale, Andrew tackles doll jewelry. Check out five new designs with dolls in mind!

Beads, Baubles, and Jewels...Getting in Gear

Wheee! *flailing around* I am very nervously busy today, and will be for the next couple of days! I am getting my things together for my big TV debut! I am driving to Cleveland tomorrow, to tape for the PBS show Beads, Baubles, and Jewels on Thursday! Its very exciting, but I am also a little bit scared, as I have never done anything quite like this. But you don't grow unless you take risks and do things to push yourself, right?

My plan is to talk a little bit about steampunk, and its influence in fashion and in jewelry, and then demo a pendant made with Vintaj brass and a steampunk inspired ceramic stone, like the one above. I am feeling a bit unprepared, even though I have been thinking about it and have had it going through my head constantly for a couple of weeks now, since I met the producer at the Bead & Button Show. I think I am going to spend the rest of the day getting my notes and samples prepared, and getting myself ready as well... maybe a little spa treatment is a good idea?

I won't have much time once I get home to blog on Thursday, after the taping. I will probably run and do some shipping and errands, but then I am being whisked away early on Friday up to the North, for a wedding and a little weekend vacation. I will need it after the next few days. I will check in when I can, but until then, I hope you wish for me to break a leg (or whatever you tell someone who is going on tv...*giggle*) Whee!

Extra Extra

Happy Fourth of July! I am heading out to a BBQ with my friends in a few minutes, but I have just enough time to post the Extra Extra links for this week. I have been balancing hard work with fun really well this week... having a couple of birthday celebrations for my brother's birthday while working on my big order and preparing for a very exciting opportunity coming up this coming week (OMG wait til I tell you all about THIS!) Today is more of the same... beadmaking and BBQ. Whee!

A Bead A Day
Do you love Swarovski Crystals? Inspired by talented jewelry designer, Lillian Chen, Lisa creates a Swarovski “sculpture” ring.

About.com Jewelry Making
Heard about copper clay or coppr clay? Find out more about this great new metal clay product and check out some new metal clay projects too.

Art Bead Scene
Art Bead Scene gets creative with the "Best of ABS."

Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts
Sometimes you need to have a jewelry makeover

Beading Arts
Cyndi reports on her experiences with firing and finishing CopprClay pieces. This stuff rocks!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi tries Ice Resin and upcycles a greeting card into a necklace.

Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork Diva
Cindy learns to make murrini and deals with mud.

Humblebeads
Bead & Button stash and Heather's inspired creations

Jean Campbell
Jean gives a sneak peek of her next Beadwork magazine piece

Katie's Beading Blog
Check out Katie's wire-wrapped dragonfly!

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Instead of continuing on with the tried and true techniques of jewelry design, Lorelei is finally ready to take the leap and try something new.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean gets her cool stash from Use the Muse II, and muses about it

Strands of Beads
Melissa wants to know what outrageous materials are in your beading stash?

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Stop by and say hello to Andrew in Charlotte, NC this weekend. Check out his new designs and some delicious new metal clay coins!

Art Beads Artistry: Clockwork Sparkle Necklace

The other day, I posted about a bracelet I made with some Swarovski crystal beads that I got from from ArtBeads.com. This is a necklace I made on the same day, with the two leftover Swarovski Crystal Rings in Light Smoked Topaz. I really like the way the color of the crystals work with the Rusty Engine glaze on my Toolbox Treasures, combined with the natural brass. I am such a sucker for any shade of brown! I also love the deco/nouveau style of the Vintaj components and how they remind me of clock hands and parts for some reason. The long lariat design of the necklace seems to work well with the brass and crystal for an art nouveau sort of style. This was a very simple project to make: just a few jump rings and head pin twists. I'm thinking I will submit this one as a project to a magazine somewhere, I have just been really lacking the time to send in submissions. Ah well, time to get ready for a sushi party tonight! Happy Birthday to my brother, Jeremy!

ArtBeads Artistry: Clockwork Sparkle Bracelet

Tick Tock, Tick Tock! That old saying about having too much time on your hands... well, that does not apply to me, lately. I have a big old pile of tasks to do and beads to make, and somehow that pile seems to be growing! Time is slipping away from me and I am scrambling, but I feel great. Just trying to keep up...

For example, I started this bracelet in my booth at the Bead & Button Show. I had received a delicious shipment of 6 Swarovski Crystal Rings from ArtBeads in May to blog about, and wasn't able to make anything in the days leading up to the show. But I found some time at the show, and started the bracelet. And I just finished it this week and just took the photos yesterday.

Anyway, this crystal ring bead is a style of the many kinds of Swarovski crystal beads that I have not used before. When I ordered them, I had just started making the Toolbox Treasure links, so I had a piece like this in mind, and I chose earthy colors in Olivine and Crystal Copper. I love the way they look with my Desert Pine and Rusty Engine glazes. The faceted rings are neat, because they have a small hole running through, in addition to the large central hole, so there are a variety of different ways to use them. I chose to use a headpin on each side, strung through the bead from the center, so I could wire wrap them, leaving the center hole open. I think it would be fun to trap a little bead inside the ring, too.

I am really pleased with this bracelet design. I like the colors and the little clock charm, and how it works with the subtle gear and industrial markings on the Toolbox links. The faceted rings add a bit of elegance and sparkle to the bracelet too.

I mentioned that I ordered 6 rings, and only 4 are shown here. Tomorrow, I will show you what I did with the other two.