Monday, November 12, 2012

Art Charm Exchange

So.. a few months ago I got introduced to a group creating charms for an art charm exchange. I figured why not? I would make a few charms, get a few charms and help out a group called Beads of Courage. I first became aware of Beads of Courage through Brazee Street Studio where I take glass bead making lessons. They often sponsor a day of bead making and then donate all the beads to this group. Unfortunately this always seems to be on a day I can't be there so this was a great opportunity for me to join in.

The organizer of the Art Charm Exchange is Jen Cameron. I can't say enough about how great it was for her to organize this event. I can only imagine the time spent putting us all in groups, sorting the charms as they came in and getting them all out to us in time for the big reveal. She also is running the auction of our beads here http://myworld.ebay.com/glassaddictions.

I made a total of 11 charms.. one for everyone in my group and one for the auction. Our theme was laughter and I drew a blank. So I decided to just make some enameled charms and then a little one that said LOL! I tried a new technique of stamping on the charms as well and they made me smile.

I then packaged them all up and sent them on their way!

Then the waiting began. I wanted to see what everyone else came up with! And when I got the box it was like Christmas!

Now.. I know I am not supposed to have a favorite.. but I do.. and when you see it you will know why! I laughed out loud....

Yes.. BACON AND EGGS! Thanks Mallory Hoffman of Rosebud's Lampwork Beads.

And here are the rest of the charms I received...

I truly appreciate all the hard work put into each charm and hope you will visit the auction to support this cause. Here is a link to all the participants... hop around and enjoy the blogs!

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Creating an Identiy in a Sea of Jewelry Artists - post for Artisan Whimsey

Creating an Identity in a Sea of Jewelry Artists

This has been a busy summer.. I can't count the number of art shows I've done. I've set up and taken down my tent so many times I could do it in my sleep.

(you can see my helper there in the back... big guy with the sun glasses)
My display has become an ever evolving part of my shows as I tweak it so that when someone walks by they say.... "there's Lynnea!" If you have attended a show lately, jewelry is still the biggest category of all. Your booth set up and the presentation of your work is more important than ever. At this show I had jewelry next to me, across from me and one booth down from me. So I have to work extra hard to get people to see me in the "SEA".
At this show I can't tell you how many people came up and stopped to read my banner with my new motto "Life is too short to wear department store jewelry". More than a few said I heard about you, or someone told them about me from a previous show. This one catchy slogan has caused many a shopper to at least stop and take a look around. Making that impression is so important, not just at this show, but since I know they will talk about it, for future shows.
I want my look to be a bit upscale boutique so I am keeping to a neutral palette of cream, brown and aqua accents. I even made my own neck forms to go with my color scheme.

You can read about it on my blog here.
This summer was all about getting the look I wanted. And I will probably continue to change it up as I go next year. I have my pieces spread out enough for people to look at and not get overwhelmed. Yes I get nervous when I see a booth that is jammed with stuff... but then I think of how much of each piece I make myself and know that I can truly say my pieces are handmade.
The next steps I am taking is to develop a few signature designs that I will have multiples of. Already this bracelet design is recognized in my area as a Designs by Lynnea piece.

I've made these is various colors with all kinds of beads, chain and fiber. Lucky for me I have a lot of these focals to patina and bend.
The next look I am perfecting is what I call my Zen necklace. Enameled copper discs on a necklace. I was inspired by Kim St Jeans Urban Pine cone. I am working on a whole line of these to place in a local gallery.

Here is one last picture of a one table set up at a recent boutique type show

As you can see I maintained my look even in a one table set up. If you were looking for me you could easily identify this as my booth.
A recent article in the Sept/Oct Jewelry Artist magazine was Develop Your Artistic Identity. I was already heading that way when I saw this article. I highly recommend that you read it to understand why we sometimes need to create not only a repetition but a variation on a design so that our work is readily identifiable to customers. Just remember to make what you love and not worry about the crowd. Our goal is to stand out in the Sea not be a part of the school of fish around us.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

In The Pink

Oh I have been so busy this summer.. but that is another blog post! Today I am going to post about a very special friend... Lori Anderson of Bead Soup Fame. I have never met her in real life, but the day will happen sooner rather than later. I first heard about her when another beader was taking part in the infamous Bead Soup Blog Hop.

I started to peek at her blog posts and noticed one outstanding thing about her besides her great smile ... HER PINK HAIR! Now people who know me also know I tend to have pink hair too!

How could I not love someone else who likes to make jewelry and had pink hair!

As I've come to know Lori, I've seen a caring person with her own life struggles who somehow puts together this event that allows jewelry makers all over the world to connect and share and expand their horizons. She does all of this with no expectation of payment from us, just the joy of seeing what we make with what we exchange. Lori allowed me to be a part of this event earlier in 2012. Since that time my circle of online and in person friends/artists has expanded so much. The knowledge and encouragement of all these great people lift me up and make me believe more in myself and what I can do with my own work. Lori may never know how many of us she has touched.

Oh, and on her own blog she shares her own struggles, heartbreaks, frustrations.. she lets us all get to know the person behind the "event". So Lori.. this is one big virtual hug from me! And the next time I am anywhere near your part of the county we will get together so I can give you a real hug.

And for all you who are reading this and want to see how much we love Lori.. here is the blog roll:

Gail Vanderster-Zwang http://angelmoose.blogspot.com
Lea Avroch http://lajewelrydesign.blogspot.com
Leslie Wayment http://www.aabeadsonline.com/blog
Kelley Katherine Hagerty-Fogle http://www.mylifeonebeadatatime.blogspot.com
Sheila Davis http://www.stonedesignsbysheila.blogspot.com
Amanda Effron http://craft-o-licious.blogspot.com
‎Solange Collin http://www.blog.ahowinjewelry.com
Jennifer Chasalow VanBenschoten   http://www.vanbeads.blogspot.com
Isolina Perez http://IsolinaPerez.blogspot.com
Toltec Jewels www.JewelSchoolFriends.com
Sherri Stokey http://www.knotjustmacrame.com
Mary Howell Govaars http://mlhjewelrydesigns.com
Bee Kuhlman http://mixedmayhemstudios.blogspot.com
Lynnea Perry Bennett   http://designsbylynnea.blogspot.com
Alicia Marinache http://www.allprettythings.ca
Heather Otto http://www.thecrafthopper.com
Kimberly Flood http://www.goddessesandbeads.blogspot.com
Courtney White Breul http://beadsbybreul.blogspot.com
Lisa Liddy http://lisaliddy.wordpress.com
Marlene Cupo http://amazingdesigns-marlene.blogspot.com
Marianne Baxter http://www.simplyseablimejewelry.blogspot.com
Mária Horváth   http://horimarikabeads.blogspot.hu
Andrea Beth Trank www.heavenlanecreations.com
Heidi Mansfield Kingman  http://mybeadtherapy.blogspot.com
Emoke Schmidt http://emoke1.blogspot.com
Sandra MrtzDiaz www.petaloazuljewelry.blogspot.com
Lupe Meter http://gesmpccorner.blogspot.com
Tanya Boden http://fusionmusebangkok.blogspot.com
Ambra Chicandfrog http://chicandfrog.wordpress.com
Kumi Fisher http://maliekaidesigns.blogspot.com
Sandra Young http://blog.gypsyroadbeads.ca
Sandi Marinaro Volpe http://www.sandivolpe.com
Gretchen Nation http://www.artfoodlodging.blogspot.com
Mimi Gardner http://www.othercuriosities.blogspot.com
Marian Hertzog http://mhertzog-msplace.blogspot.com
Sonya Ingersoll-Stille http://dreaminofbeads.blogspot.com
Terry Matuszyk   http://pinkchapeau.wordpress.com
Audrey Belangér http://esperianterra.blogspot.com
Sandra McGriff http://skyescreativechaos.blogspot.com
Shelley Graham Turner http://www.shelleygrahamturner.blogspot.com
Sally Bohner Anderson
Mowse Doyle
Judy Daly Reganti
Brenda Lee Sigafoos

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

I've been busy!

Seems like forever since I've posted something here...but I've been a busy artist, Mom, wife, hairstylist! This Summer is flying by with all the jewelry selling/making I am doing, birthdays, getting my son ready for middle school and the HEAT!

My son just turned 11 and spent the week before his birthday at Camp Friedlander with his Boy Scout Troop. I know he has been on over night camp outs before, but this was a week long! He complained a little about the walking, but other than that seems to have had a ton of fun and came back a bit more mature than Mom is ready for him to be. Here is a picture of him on Parents Night...

He was excited to see me and talked a blue streak. Took me on a tour of the camp. It was nice, but definitely roughing it! As a friend of mine said recently....camping for me is a nice hotel with a view of the beach and room service.

I did my second show for Folksiders in Rabbit Hash. I could tell there were more people there even though it felt like the inside of my oven. Lucky me, I had a new camping fan that runs on batteries. I think I could have sold it for about $100 to some of the other vendors.

Yup.. that's me and my fan getting set up for the show!

Then I had 2 weeks "off". Which means I have been making jewelry, doing hair and trying to keep my house from turning into a giant ball of dog fur. This weekend and next weekend I'll be back in Rabbit Hash..maybe I should just buy a cabin or something!

This weekend is the Brown Grass Festival. A fund raiser for WNKU and yes, I posted a video from last year on a previous blog post. Next weekend is the Dog Days of Summer Art Show... now in its' 4th year I hope we have a great weekend! If all goes as planned, I'll be in my usual spot under the tree by the barn. It is nice and shady and I've been told about 20 degrees cooler than closer to the Store. But I will also have my handy dandy fans!

In the midst of all this I am also taking my first on line class with Keith Lo Bue. It is the first time I've done this kind of class, but I became a fan of his last year and am looking forward to learning how to make beautiful jewelry with steel wire.

So I guess I need to get back to making jewelry because I hope to sell a bunch over the next few weekends!

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Weekend Wrap Up!

So last time you heard from me I was going to Augusta KY for Art in the Garden. I'd waved my crafty wand and made my poor old necklace displays look new. Guess I'll talk about Augusta first. I have to thank the organizers for running a nice show. My only complaint is they had me right next to another jewelry booth. Had they switched me with the painter on the other side it would have been just a bit better for both of us. Here is a picture of my booth once I had it set up.

Now this was all before the wind started up. The booth with the paintings moved about a foot at one point. I was so happy I had my weights and tent stakes (which I quickly added after the photo was taken). I still have to figure out how to get the wrinkles out of the table covers after I wash and dry them...but other than that I love them. I think they make my table look much more professional.

There was a steady crowd and overall I am happy with how this show went. This was the first time this year for me to try this set up and I knew I'd be tweaking it a bit. I will definitely apply for this show in the future.

This weekend I did not one but two shows! One on Saturday at Verona Vineyard in Walton KY and the other one in Rabbit Hash KY. Talk about night and day!

I have to say the Verona Vineyard is a beautiful venue with a lot of potential. I'm not sure exactly what went wrong or who dropped the ball but with ZERO advertising we had about that many customers. I did as much as I could with an email blast to all the salon clients and posting it all over my facebook pages. I am not sure the vineyard owners were on board with this event. They could have added info on their website front page, contacted the media, or done something to bring in people. But nothing was done to promote this event. We were told they often have chili cookoffs and music events that are well attended and if they try to have an art show in the future maybe they should combine it with one of these events. As it is I seriously doubt that many of the vendors will agree to set up again.

That being said..here are pictures of my booth set up for the show

I added some new things that I got in the clearance section of Hobby Lobby and moved some other things around. I figure I'll keep adjusting at each show to get it they way I want. Here is a picture of the goodies I got on sale.

They worked in well with my existing displays. I think I may be done buying stuff for a bit. I have some older stuff I didn't even put out this weekend.

So at the end of the day we packed up our dog and pony show and went to dinner at TGI Fridays. I came home and crashed! Thank goodness for my husband and son who help me set up and tear down for these things. They made sure all my water bottles were filled and chilled for the next day.

Day TWO...off to Rabbit Hash KY! Now not everyone around here even understands how the Hash works. The mayor is a dog (and yes there was an election), the General Store takes you back to Little House on the Prairie and the winding ride makes it a favorite with bikers. Here is a short video about it...

This is from an event last year, but you can see the charm of the place. Don't get me wrong, we were covered up in motorcycles by the end of the day, and if you look for more videos you will see some full of bikes. The store is a cool place just to look around at all the stuff and Elk Creek has a store there as well.

This was the first event for Folksiders. I have to give a hand to Susan and Terry for getting the word out. If you Google Folksiders they spread the word. After experiencing the first one, it is a bit more like a flea market than an art show. A nice blend of artists, people who reuse vintage and antique stuff, Swan Maiden Soap was there as well as a few other vendors I know. There was a steady flow of people all day. Parking is always a problem in Rabbit Hash, so be prepared to hike a little. They are hoping as this continues to have a small hayride wagon to haul people in. This week the tractor wasn't running.

This was the first show of many. The plan is to do this on the Second Sunday of every month thru December (weather permitting). I am already signed up for July and August. I may have a conflict in September. I love the following promo....

They had some music, some food and we had a beautiful day. It is worth the drive just to people watch and see all these old buildings and the funny signs. Here is my booth set up for this day. I am really happy with how it looked.

I added the sheers around the tent posts and love the little spa/boutique look I came up with.

I've ordered a new banner that should be here for my next show...and don't you just love the old building behind me!

One more photo...here is the mayor on the poster for an event I am doing next month...

Enough about Rabbit Hash...if you can't wait to get some new jewelry come to Covington KY for Roebling Fest...

Looks like it is going to be a busy busy summer!

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Getting Ready for Augusta Ky - Art in the Garden

Whew... this year my goal is to "brand" myself. Not the painful kind with an iron, but the good kind..the kind that makes people recognize my show booth by the colors and how it is set up. I started to do that last year with my cards and banners matching the colors I use on my website and blogs.

So far this year I have boxes (aqua) and brown bags with labels, new table covers in ivory and I am working on my displays and set up to reflect my style. In an effort to not only save some money, but to make everything "match" the colors of my banner I decided to try to paint my old inexpensive neck forms. You know the ones...those fake leather ones. I had black and white in various sizes. The black ones were still pretty good, but the white ones have seen better days. They seem to get marks and smudges pretty easily. I was at Lowe's and had a thought...why not spray paint them???!!! So I bought an antique copper and a pearl ivory and came home and started to spray.

Well the black ones look fabulous now...

Exactly what I wanted a nice rich brown that sparkles just a bit in the sun. They covered easily and dried quickly.

The white ones were another story. The spray paint is supposed to prime and paint all at once, but some of those marks were not getting covered. So then I applied a spray on white primer...my mistake of course wasn't allowing for drying time (who isn't in a big hurry to see how stuff comes out?). The second they felt dry I added the ivory. Big mistake! Now they are all sticky and if you try to fold them down and stack them when you check them the next day they are all stuck together. And when you pull them apart they look worse than when I started. Notice that I didn't post a picture of that mess.

So the wheels in the poor overworked brain started to turn again. I need those displays for Saturday! What am I going to do? Even if I placed an order right now they won't be here in time. So I trolled the internet and pinterest yesterday to get ideas. The problem with that is I am easily distracted by all the other cool ideas in the show booths I saw. Finally yesterday I thought, why not use paper and decoupage them. I stopped at WalMart on my way home but they didn't have any ivory crepe paper. I knew I had a variety at home but didn't think I had ivory. So I gave up and decided to look for some today and tomorrow. I looked in my stash today and woo hoo...there was an unopened package of ivory. I ripped open the pack and crumpled it up because I wanted the stands to look a little funky. A little spray adhesive, some patting and then I also added a few torn pieces to the surface and I LOVE them!!!

I like them so much I am not going to try to seal them. If they get messed up I can rip off the bad part and add another scrunched up sheet. It is hard to see in these pictures but they are the perfect shade of ivory. I love that I was able to rescue my 4 year old el cheapo neck forms and that they will be unique in my booth. I've never seen anything like these...maybe I shouldn't share this with you all. Nah, use the ideas..just make them your own style.

Happy crafting!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

It's Gonna be a Busy Busy Summer!

Whew! I've been creating like crazy...getting ready for a very busy summer/fall show season. The month of May already had its' ups and downs with the weather playing a big part. The plan was to work on Mothers Day at the Duveneck Art Show and I guess Mother Nature had her own ideas...rain rain rain! The up side is that I got an invite to the Roebling Fest. But I am getting ahead of myself....

June 2nd you should take a drive to Augusta, Kentucky for Art in the Garden

I'll be there with my nature inspired creations along with about 60 other artists. Tour the beautiful homes and gardens. Who knows maybe George Clooney will show up!

The next Saturday, June 9th, I will be at the first annual Wine Tasting and Art Show at Verona Vineyards.

And like the crazy woman I am I will be at the first Folksiders Market in Rabbit Hash KY the next day, June 10th. I was happy to be invited to be one of the artists that will be here on the second Sunday of each month. Take a Sunday drive and shake hands (ok one hand one paw) with the Mayor!

I finish up the month on June 23rd at Roebling Fest. Then I have a couple of free weekends...HA! Like that will happen, I will be making jewelry like crazy for the July Folksiders and also for the Dog Days of Summer Art Fair also in Rabbit Hash. And it continues like this all Summer...September is busy busy busy and I will continue to add shows thru the fall.

Guess I better fire up the kiln and get busy. Hope that you get a chance to come out and see me at one of these events and buy some jewelry!

REMEMBER....Life is too short to wear department store jewelry!

Friday, April 27, 2012

My Messy Studio(s)

So, Brenda Sue Lansdowne asked for artists to participate in the Messy Studio Blog Hop and I raised my hand. I am lucky to have taken over several spaces in my home and to have a family that understands and tolerates my messes.

One of the questions Brenda says she gets is what can someone who has no dedicated space do when they want to make jewelry and be creative. I started to make stuff when I was a kid. I always had beads and yarn and fabric swirling around me! I don't really remember how I stored stuff back then, but probably in Tupperware containers and plastic bags in my bedroom. As I got older I used old cookie sheets and paper plates for my seed bead work. I could slide a plate full of beads and work in progress into a big zip lock bag and put it on a shelf in a closet. And I had some tubes of beads and maybe a small plastic container with some stuff...pretty much it fit into a small tote that I got out when I wanted to work on it.

Since I sew as well, in my apartment I would set up on the dining room table and have to put it away after every use. When my husband (at the time) and I bought a house I was thrilled when we turned the formal living room into my craft area. I bought a fancy sewing cabinet for my then two machines and a desk to work on. When I moved to Cincinnati I got a room on the first floor of our house for my MESS as he called it. That way I could close the door and he didn't have to look at it or complain about it. I had put beads to the side for all the sewing I was doing, so it was full of sewing machines, fabric, thread, ironing boards and my desk and first computer. Little did I know then how important a computer would become in my creative life!

Yes, that relationship ended and I bought a condo of my own...with a room for me to use. I met my current husband and he didn't mind my creative mess. We married and eventually sold our homes to build the one we live in now. There are days it is less messy and there are days when it is more messy. Originally the office space off the great room was supposed to be mine but I found I didn't like working there..felt like I was separated and not spending time with my family which now includes a son. So now it is his office space and the desktop is in there while I sit on the couch with the lap top.

My work space(s) have expanded and contracted depending on what is going on in our lives. Right now they are pretty expanded! It kind of started about 4 years ago as my work began to evolve from sparkly, seed beads and crystals to where it is now. I had a car accident 2 years ago and when I started to create about 6 months later my esthetic had taken a left turn and I also found some of my mentors/supporters. I began to actively pursue my jewelry designs as a business vs as a hobby to get where I am today - already talking about 2013 shows!

So I've kept you waiting long enough....

Here is my wonderful cabinet from The Original Scrapbox Company. This is how it looks when it is cleaned up for a picture...

Lovely isn't it?! This is the ideal situation. I can fold the table down and close the doors and roll it to another space. I love it because this is in my family room and I can be working, cooking, washing clothes and watching tv with the family all at the same time. The light is great here as well for my designing.

Here is what it looks like this morning...

I got more stuff since the neat picture

I am in the process of reorganizing my storage so the little metal ones are empty as I combined them nto the box

No rhyme or reason for this ...just need to put it away


yup, the floor and more boxes in a cool rack I got on clearance. I should have bought the other one!

But that's NOT ALL!!! Here is the kitchen counter annex and the kitchen table annex. Notice the cookie sheet? Yup I'm still using it...

Now for my lower level studio...yes I have one. We have a large basement with a bedroom/bathroom family room but I took over a corner when I started lampworking and enameling. We recently consolidated my sewing stuff there as well.

my corner

glass rods and enamels are supposed to live here

As you can see..the enamels took over the last month

Before I fire up my torch again I have to clean the whole table up

Obviously, I haven't been sewing since this is neat (and that is a bead loom on the right)

a lot of this is my fabric stash, embroidery thread and my art show props

So I am one of the lucky few to have a lot of space. And yes I do clean it up, and was going to before this blog hop was on my radar and then I just had to take the pics first. It is a never ending job as I create furiously and mess up and then reorganize so I can mess it all up again.

Go check out all the messiness! Here is the list

MESSY WORKSHOP BLOG PARTICIPANTS
Brenda Sue Lansdowne
http://www.bsueboutiques.typepad.com/
Robin Delargy:
http://looloosbox.blogspot.com/
Kim at Cianci Blue
http://cianciblue.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Jazwick-Smith
http://hudathoughts-jennifer.blogspot.com/
Mary Shannon Hicks
http://www.uptwnsh-fallingintothesky.blogspot.com/
Tracy Swartz
http://tracyswartz.com/category/blog
Jacqueline Marchant
http://jaacquelinesjewels.blogspot.com/
Lynnea Perry Bennett
http://designsbylynnea.blogspot.com/
Terry Matusyk
http://pinkchapeau.wordpress.com/
Laurel Steven
http://laurelsteven.blogspot.com/
Dr. Brassy Steamington
http://drbrassysteampunk.blogspot.com/
Pamela Takeshige
http://www.crittersandthings.blogspot.com/
Kris Lanae Binsfeld
http://www.cherishdesigns.wordpress.com/
Outre Art
http://theartistspaintbox.wordpress.com/
Linzi Alford
http://www.magpieintheskyspoilheaptales.blogspot.com/
Deb Davis
http://naturaltreasuresbydeb.blogspot.com/
Tamara Jones
http://irrysistablejewels.wordpress.com/
Harry Wood
http://www.oscarcrow.blogspot.com
Gerry Nickerson
http://gersgems1.blogspot.com/
Elizabeth Owens-Dwy
http://www.thepolymergeek.blogspot.com/
Georgene Lockwood
http://sylvanavintagedesigns.wordpress.com/
Charisa Sloper
http://www.blog.obsidiansoda.com/
Jennifer Justman
http://soulsfiredesigns.blogspot.com/
Beanzie
http://the-vintage-heart.blogspot.com/
Mary Deis
http://mdeis.blogspot.com/
Cheri Reed
http://creativedesignsbycheri.blogspot.com/
Sondra Kolner
http://scrappybydesign.weebly.com/index.html
Sonya Ingersoll-Stille
http://www.dreaminofbeads.blogspot.com/
Lori Anderson
http://www.prettythingsblog.com/
Sandra McGriff
http://skyescreativechaos.blogspot.ca/
Shelly Joyce
http://www.aujourlejour-shelly.blogspot.com/
Joan Williams
http://www.lilrubyjewelry.wordpress.com/
Kashmira Patel
http://sadafulee.blogspot.com/
Deb Beechy
http://beetique56.blogspot.com/
Ginger Bishop
http://lilmummylikes.blogspot.com/
Kelli Jacobson
http://creativemoonjewelryandthings.com/
Natalie McKenna
http://www.grubbi.co.uk/
Andrew Thornton
http://andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/
Mary Govaars
http://mlhjewelrydesigns.com/
Kate Mulligan
http://mulliganstewjewelry.blogspot.com/
Lisa Lodge
http://pineridgetreasures.blogspot.com/
Tami Luchini
http://ssprocketsmetal.blogspot.com/
Monique Lula
http://www.moniquelula.com/blog/
Lee Koopman
http://stregajewellry.wordpress.com/
Jayne Capps
http://mamasgottodoodle.blogspot.com/
Susan Lloyd
http://designsbysusan-dbs.blogspot.com/
Cynthia Wainscott
http://www.exoticperujewelry.blogspot.com/
Stephanie Amanti
http://www.stephaniesjewelrybox.blogspot.com/
Alicia Marinache
http://www.allprettythings.ca/
Sam Hamp
http://hampgirl59.blogspot.com/
Lennis Carrier
http://www.windbent.net/

Monday, April 23, 2012

Long Time no Blog!!!

Wow....has it really been over a month since my last post? I guess I have been a busy woman. I had so much fun doing the Bead Soup Blog Hop, and now I am getting ready for the Messy Studio Hop. You will all get to see where the magic happens. HA HA~ I always seem to start out with a more organized space and it somehow turns into the Blob that ate my house.

So, since you were last here I got 2 new puppies. Yes, I got talked into 2 puppies by a certain boy and my husband. They are beautiful Chows, a brother and sister. The girl is Cynder Ella and she is black and the boy is MuShu Pork and he is a cream. Guess now you want to see pictures...

Cynder is named after a character in the Skylander Game and MuShu was the dragon in Mulan. The Pork come in because he is a little (not so little now) piggy when it comes to food. They have been a handful!

The very next week my husband Terry had to have a wrist surgery called a carpectomy. He was a crazy cinder block breaking martial artist in his younger years and unfortunately he is suffering for his excess now. The ligament that held in the bones was like the elastic in an old ladies underwear....ALLL stretched out. They took out 3 bones and the ligament and he has been in a splint for over a month now. He worked from home, but since I am not used to having someone here working I wasn't able to pound on metal and torch stuff like I usually do.

Lucky for me 2 of my bonus kids came to help out their Pops during their Spring Break. Logan and Dutch, two of my husband grandsons. They mowed, cleaned gutters and did pretty much anything we asked. The next week my son Justin was on Spring Break and the next week is what I came here to write about!

NEW YORK CITY and Philly Bead Fest!

So, this was my view as we drove into the city on Friday the 13th! Thanks to my new friend Heather Marston of CSW Designs for driving the bead van into the city from Lancaster PA. She also has an Etsy Shop HeHe Beads. We met on the Painting with Fire Ning and have been chatting for over a year. She had been trying to talk me into coming for Bead Fest and the NYC bead buying trip was a bonus. Then she added a super secret bonus that Barbara Lewis of Painting with Fire would be going with us. How could I resist!

We picked up a cast of characters along the way into the city. Barbara and her husband Jim are just a delight. They hugged me like they had known me forever! Heather drove like she was a native and I navigated along with the GPS. We parked in a garage near our first stop CJS. There is no way to describe this place! It is wholesale only, so bring your tax id.

The owner Carl and his lovely daughter Elyse. He took us on a tour and then said "don't mess anything up". That was funny..I don't care who you are!

Here are some pictures of what you might see.

Finally here is the whole crew at the end of this part of our shopping spree

We are all smiling because of all the bargains we got.

Here are a few pictures of my stash

And this isn't all of it!

The next stop was York Beads...Czech Glass heaven! I could have spent a much longer time there, but we had a schedule to follow. Here is a picture of the beads

Then on to Tinsel Trading Company a Ribbon Boutique and a whole lot of other stuff. Yet another place to spend the day in. While we were there a courier came in to pick up an order for Martha Stewart! Yes THE Martha Stewart.

I picked up some beautiful ribbons here to use in my Garden Bracelet Series

We left and headed to Metalliferous another adventure in digging treasure. Just remember to write the number of items and cost on the plastic bags or they will send you back into the racks to do it! LOL they must have said that a million times while we were there. But seriously, very great staff.

The owner gave us a few more suggestions of places to go, but it was getting late. We slid in sideways at Beads World. They had a lot of everything...prices not as low as some of the other places but marvelous selection of beads and chains and gemstones.

We ended up in Times Square and bought some gifts for the kids and found a great restaurant for dinner. Then there was some snoring in the back seat and I kept Heather company on the drive home. We got back to her house exhausted but happy.

We spent the next day in Lancaster walking up and down and checking out galleries and shops and even grabbed a whoopie pie at the farmers market. The we headed to Philly to Bead Fest and dinner with Barbara and Jim and a few of the Painting with Fire crew. We had a great time and Jim is already planning my trip to Florida to visit them in their new home.

I can't believe I am saying this...but I can't wait to do it all over again!