2008 Bead and Button Show

The 2008 Bead and Button Show class catalog was published online on December 14. You can browse the classes, order souvenirs and special events tickets; and in just another month you'll be able to register for your favorite classes online!

The show, touted as the premier beading show in the world, is held every year in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This year it's at the Midwest Airlines Center from June 1 through 8.

There are hundreds of classes and workshops offered during the week of the show, in all sorts of techniques and media. This year they're introducing Fundamentals in Techniques workshops aimed at beginners, instructing them in a specialized area of study over three days. There are also Master Classes which focus on intermediate and advanced students; and there are General Education Classes which include bead stitches, loomwork, wirework, bead embroidery, bead crochet, and a huge variety of other techniques.

If you live near Milwaukee, or if you just want to have a vacation where you can overload on BEADS, check out the website. As a past attendee, I must warn you of a few things:
- The hotel (the Hyatt Regency, in downtown Milwaukee) has a block of rooms available for show attendees. Those rooms go quickly, so make your reservation early!
- Some of the classes fill up quickly, too, so if you're thinking of taking a class make sure you sign up as soon as they're available.
- Take lots of sturdy suitcases with you to haul away all the gorgeous beads you'll find offered by the exhibitors.
- Forewarn your family members that you're going to be beading like crazy for months after the show.

I've attended the show for the past three or four years, and I can't wait to return. The exhibits are open on Saturday and Sunday; and it takes both those days to make it through all the offerings. A lot of the exhibitors have special show pricing, so there are some great deals to be had.

Check out the website to see more info: Bead and Button Show

Etsy BeadWeavers in Step by Step Beads!

We love it when our members' creations are published, and if you peruse the pages of the January/February 2008 issue of Step by Step Beads you're sure to recognize Carol Dean Sharpe's signature cuff. Turn just a few more pages, and you'll find Leslie Rogalski's Comet Anemone bracelet!

Carol Dean Sharpe, whose Etsy shop is called SandFibers, creates cuffs in just about every color and pattern imaginable; and the patterns are, in most cases, her own designs. Within her shop you'll find everything from randomly-assembled blends of bead colors to stripes, braids, triangles, her signature spirals, and even a houndstooth pattern! Browse her shop some more, and you'll find rings, pendants, necklaces, amulet pouches, and other beautiful beadwoven masterpieces.


Leslie Rogalski, whose Etsy shop is called Leslie19083, is the editor in chief of Step by Step Beads, as well as a contributing editor to two other publications. To me that sounds like a full-time job, but Leslie also manages to create original, unusual, and finely crafted bead jewelry! Her shop contains just a few of these goodies, but it's obvious from just viewing those few pieces that you're seeing the work of a talented bead artist.

Kudos to both Carol Dean and to Leslie! It's wonderful to see beadweaving presented as the artform we all know it to be.

What Inspires Us!

We asked our Etsy BeadWeavers, What inspires your beadweaving? Not surprisingly, their responses are as individual as their creations.

Kim of Regal Beads: I've never really thought much about this before. First of all, I believe that God has given me the gift of creativity.

How things come together for me? Well, sometimes I really love a colour personally and that inspires me to use it in some way. Sometimes I am looking at my beads trying to decide and some colours just jump out! Other times another's work will inspire an idea. (And I am grateful that, when this has happened, they have gladly told me it was fine!)

Beadweaving is one of my main creative outlets. It seems I am forever wanting to try something in the back of my mind, while in the middle of my current project!

Trish of SkyesMedicine: Anything and everything. As I am not an amazing designer like so many of the others out here, I bead what catches my eye. A lot of native influence since that is where my knowledge of beadweaving comes from, but if I like it I bead it...

Ann of Inspired Jewelry by Ann Burke: I get inspired when I see something in nature, in a magazine or anywhere, that looks like something I like, kind of a different thing. That is probably why I like freeform so much. I do patterns sometime and do 2 or 3 to get the hang of it, but always return to freeform. Putting together different colors and shapes of beads, is my favorite.

Dawn of DawnChastain: EVERYTHING, if I see metal work, I wonder how I can get the same shape with beads. If I see a shell I wonder how to attach beads to it. If see a great color combination I try to recreate it with a bead mix.
I find that if I am spiritually "right", not stressed out, mad or worried that I am totally more creative.

Cyndi of Beauty in the Beads: A lot of inspiration comes from fellow beaders, Beadbug in particular. She has always been an inspiration to me. Some of the things she comes up with makes me want to learn more stitches and more techniques. Before I met her, I was strictly a loom beader (for over 35 years)! I now know how to do a lot more with beads than I ever dreamed of! She inspires me to be all that I can. When I see what other beaders can do, it inspires me to try something new. I am part Native American, and I was taught how to loom bead when I was 12 years old by a close family friend (we called her Auntie) who was Choctaw-I actually think she was one of my real aunts. She has since passed on and I am deeply grateful for all the beading knowledge that she passed on to me. Other than a physical inspiration, is nature. Most of my beaded items have a nature theme (Summer Sun, Winter Chill, Ocean Deep, Sea Waves, Earth, Water, Fire, etc).

Bev of NoEasyBeads: Art beads inspire my beadweaving. I like to us them as focal points. Different shapes and size of the beads inspire my work.

Jean of Totally Twisted: There are many things that inspire me to bead. I think the biggest inspiration would be color. I see colors in nature, in fashion, in the beads themselves and I have all sorts of ideas and patterns I want to try floating around in my head. I guess being an artist (abstract painter) I am very influenced by color. I like to play with color and use unusual color combinations to create my jewelry. Another thing that is inspiring to me are other beaders, especially on EBW - when I see the beautiful items they are all making it makes me want to strive to do better - to get to the next level in my work.

Sarah of TheBeadedLily: The same thing that inspires all my beading, the beads themselves. I love the colors, shapes, finishes. I love to form the finished product. I love seeing how one set of beads makes another set gleam. I love that people wonder what the inspiration is when I'm just having a blast with beads. I love that the finished product is beautiful, that it's art.

MaryLou of Time2Cre8: The better question would be, 'What doesn't inspire my beadweaving?' A trip to the garage, and I find interesting bits of hardware that just call out to be incorporated into a necklace or bracelet. A walk on the beach, and I gather stones and bits of glass that have washed up; and then I try to figure out how to incorporate them into a bead woven creation. I love books, and while I don't spend much time at all copying a pattern directly from a book, I do spend a lot of time paging through them and being inspired to create something similar to the pieces I find. Colors and patterns are everywhere, and it's so much fun to try to take plaids, stripes, polka dots, and diamonds and translate them from fabric or paper into beads. I'm never short on inspiration, but I'd love it if there were more hours in the day...

Wolf of Dante's Spirit: Life in general. Sometimes a movie will give me an idea (Calypso's Dream was inspired by The Odyssey), sometimes Nature itself inspires me. Sometimes my imagination just takes over.

Ivey of Enso: My beading is inspired by modernist and minimalist fine art and music, the colors of gemstones and simple forms to best show them off, and by decades of modernist fashion and ornamentation. The expandable, fluid nature of woven forms allow for infinite possible shapes, colors, and scales.

Judy of BeadBug's Boutique: I am inspired primarily by nature as many of my beading involves flowers and leaves, but also by colors. I gravitate towards shiny beads but sometimes use matt.

Esther of Green Envy Designs: Inspiration to me is the beauty I see of this planet. So for my "visual" pieces I use a lot of animal and nature references. For instance my swan handflower or my ocean dream dolphin embroidered necklace. Yet I also find inspiration in many other places! One of my favorites are contests/challenges because they usually give a theme and that always gives me an excuse to beat my best and explore new ways of beading.

Morwyn of Another Country: The natural world, poetry, literature, Impressionist art, classical music, science fiction and fantasy novels and movies, trance music, video games, the history of costume, European decorating magazines, Pre-Raphaelite art, books on color theory, and other beadweavers' work.

Claire of ClaireCreations: Many things inspire my work. Designs I see from other mediums that I try out with beads, the look and feel of different beads combined with different gemstones. Beautiful work I see from other beaders makes me want to create something of my own. Like I said. Many things inspire my work.

Sooz of Sooz Originals: Really the beads themselves. I am amazed that stitching these little ones together one way or another can make such a diverse product! I love the colors, and the finishes and they inspire a piece or a direction.



Melody of Salamander House Studio: That's a hard question. I go in streaks. For a long time, I was working on Greek and Roman myths, and I think that particular obsession was fueled by reading the Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan. Right this minute I'm very aware of the natural world and the odd color juxtapositions thrown out there by Mother Nature. Vintage fashion is another thing that makes me think in beads, as is geometry. And chemistry- or anything seen through the microscope, I want to reinterpret the very tiny with the very shiny.


We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming . . .

While we were at the ballot box

Three of our BeadWeavers found themselves on the Etsy Front Page, at different times.

On November 26, Mrs. Peacock, in the Atelier, with a String of Pearls Bead Embroidered Purse by Darcy (aka thejadedog)graced the front page in this treasury

The very next day, Susan (aka ClinkscalesArts) saw a pair of her beautiful crocheted hoop earrings on the Etsy Front Page for the second time. Here's a screen shot of the treasury they were on:

And to start the month off on a perfect note, on December 1, the All that Glitters Recycled LP Bracelet created by Kelly (aka Tresijas) appeared on our monitors to brighten our morning:

We celebrate all of our successes, not just those on the beadweaving front ;) Congratulations, Darcy, Susan, and Kelly!

And the winner is . . .

The voters have decided on a winner: MistyRidgeBeads' Bead Woven Netted Gold Flower Bracelet!

Congratulations, Swanee! ;)

Swanee will get to pick the theme for our February challenge. Why not for December? you ask. Well, stay tuned . . . the Etsy BeadWeavers have a special treat planned for the next challenge!

November Challenge - Caught in a Net - Time to Vote!

The Challenge entries are in, and we have more than ever before! There are 31 entries by 22 of our members. You can see them all in the mosaic, but you'll want to click the individual links to check out these gorgeous pieces. And don't forget to vote for your favorite!

1. Royal Copper Lace, by arosebyname

2. Netted Fringe Explosion Choker, by cigarboxbeads

3. Beaded Netting Necklace, My Blue Lagoon, by nardiesarttowear

4. Capturing The Stone, by noeasybeads

5. Moss Agate, Green Netting Necklace, by LauriDesigns

6. Lacy Netted Collar, by clairecreations

7. Sweet Dreams, by totallytwisted

8. Caught in a Bronze Net Beadwoven Bracelet, by SandFibers

9. First Frost, Netted and Coral Fringed Necklace, by cigarboxbeads

10. Caught in a Net Captured by Pearls Bracelet, by noeasybeads

11. Mist on the Lake, by thebeadedlily

12. Beaded Holiday Evening Bag, by Forbesfarm

13. Champagne Bubbles Freeform Netting Bracelet, by myfairladyvt4

14. Beautiful Blues Netted Bracelet, by SandFibers

15. Arizona Copper Necklace, by KathysKraftyKreation

16. Caught in a Net, by bylynette

17. Winter Ice Bracelet, by LauriDesigns

18. Copper Bangle Watch, by LauriDesigns

19. Caught in a Net, Necklace, by LauriDesigns

20. Bead Woven Netted Gold Flower Bracelet, by MistyRidgeBeads

21. A Gift from Neptune, by Tresijas

22. Snow Garden Waltz, by DantesSpirit

23. Netted Pearl Cuff, by maneklady

24. Turquoise and Teal Freeform Netting Bracelet, by myfairladyvt4

25. Netted Christmas Ornament, by clairecreations

26. Beadwoven Matt Golden Large Christmas Ornament with Pearls, by beadbug

27. Princess Anastasia, by RegalBeads

28. Flowers in the Net, by Beadaholics

29. A Twist of Lime - Ruffly Beadwoven Necklace, by time2cre8

30. Russian Royalty, by RegalBeads

31. Aurora Borealis Netted Panel, by SalamanderHouse

Beadwork Patterns at Kalmbach Publishing

For those of you who are new to the art of beadweaving, or who might not have a large library of books and patterns to use, I thought I'd pass along this link to an offer from Kalmbach Publishing. They're offering their online patterns at half off the regular price, at only $1.95 per pattern. They have a pretty wide variety of patterns available, and they're all downloadable as PDFs, so all you need to read/print them is Acrobat Reader.

Check them out here: http://www.beadandcraftbooks.com/beading-pdf.html

Note that the Etsy BeadWeavers Street Team has no affiliation with Kalmbach. This post is for information only.

Happy beadweaving, all!

More Beaded Treasures

Bev of noeasybeads has proven herself quite the treasury hunter today. She is curating two beautiful lists featuring Etsy BeadWeavers. The first showcases some of this month's EBWC entries; the second features a more random grouping . . . both are beautiful!




You can find this "Caught in the Net" treasury here until Tuesday evening. Stop in and comment if you like what you see ;)




You can find these "beadiful things" here until late tonight.

Addendum:

Esther of GreenEnvyDesigns returned after her long travels and snagged a treasury right away. This one will be up here until Monday afternoon.

TwoTreasuries of Beadweaving Treasures

Both up for only a day or so, sadly:

You can find this one here until Sunday 12:18am EST.

You can find it here and comment until Saturday at 10:48 EST

Etsy Front Page Appearances!

Our members certainly create beautiful beadweaving, and every once in awhile one of our pieces is chosen for an Etsy Treasury that winds up on the front page. That's grounds for celebration!

Susan (aka ClinkscalesArts) made an appearance with her crocheted earrings. While these aren't beadweaving, they're still beautiful and noteworthy! Those are hers in the third row, third column.

The next appearance was by Swanee (aka MistyRidgeBeads), whose beadwoven bracelet joined this extremely colorful collection. Like Susan, Swanee's bracelet was in the third row and third column. This Treasury was truly eye-popping!

Prelude to the November Challenge

Six of the pieces in this list are actual entries in the November Challenge. The others are just beautiful beadwork using netting, by team members. :)

This list will be up live on Etsy until early Tuesday morning, so go and visit and comment. Thank you. In two weeks the challenge pieces will all be up on this blog for you to vote on, by the way.

November Challenge - Caught in a Net

Wondering what the Etsy BeadWeavers are up to in November? Sandy (aka Forbesfarm), the winner of the October challenge, has selected a new challenge: Caught in a Net.

When asked to choose the November challenge theme, Sandy said:
When looking at the other beader's work, it appears that many of them stick to one or two stitches. I try to use a variety of techniques when I work. I was thinking about a challenge using just one stitch. It would be new to some of the group, and perhaps not their favorite one, but it would challenge them to get out of their comfort zone. Peyote and Herringbone seem to be done to death. How about a challenge for the Net stitch with no limit on color, beads used, etc.? Personally, I have used this stitch quite a bit, but always in a flat necklace. There must be more to it than that!

We'd love to have you join us for the challenge! If you're not a member of Etsy BeadWeavers, you can click the link on the blog to join. You just need to be a seller on Etsy and love to do beadweaving to be a member. You can send a convo (via Etsy) to either me (time2cre8) or Carol Dean (SandFibers) to join the Etsy BeadWeavers Street Team.

I thought I'd save everyone some searching by posting some links to sites with information about netting stitches:
http://www.beadwrangler.com/samplers/netting1/making_bead_netting_samples1.htm
http://www.whimbeads.com/cart.asp?pg=classroom_3beadnet
http://www.angelfire.com/co2/beltana/net.html
http://www.beadjewelrymaking.com/Arts_and_Craft_Idea/bead_netting_instruction.html

In addition to those sites, there numerous books and patterns available. Check 'em out and get started on your November challenge!

And the winner of the October challenge is....

Forbesfarm! Sandy's Many Shades of Royalty freeform beadwoven bracelet (#2 in the mosaic shown in the previous post) was voted as the favorite amongst the 21 gorgeous entries for the October challenge.

Stay tuned for next month's challenge!

Proudly presenting the entries in October's Etsy BeadWeavers Challenge
Study in Monochrome

Don't fret: even larger, individual pictures are below for your careful review! :D And remember to vote for your favorite.

1. Dusty Lavender Fringe - Beadwoven Necklace
by time2cre8

2. Many Shades of Royalty -- Purple Freeform Bead Bracelet
by ForbesFarm

3. Bronze lights Bracelet
by clairecreations

4. Blue
by DantesSpirit

5. Pink Princess Bracelet and Ring Set
by Patchers7

6. Who Got The Blues Cuff Bracelet by Sooz
by BoodlersBeads

7. Dutch Spiral Bracelet
by noeasybeads

8. Anyone can whistle necklace
by enso

9. World on a String Necklace
by ambrosianbeads

10. For the love of Pink
by LauriDesigns

11. Study in Iolite
by thebeadedlily

12. Pearl Waterfall Necklace
by nardiesarttowear

13. Seismic Wave Peyote Cuff
by Tresijas

14. Fractured Orchid - Ruffly Beadwoven Necklace
by time2cre8

15. Delica Triangles Bracelet
by BeadJewelryShopGirl

16. Beadwoven Leaves and Vintage Brass Button Bracelet and Earring Set
by beadbug

17. beaded picture - Green Lady Green Mother Gaia
by LauriDesigns

18. Green Ruffles
by DantesSpirit

19. October - Freeform Bead Bracelet
by totallytwisted

20. Gold Rush Log Cabin Braid Peyote Cuff
by SandFibers

21. Shades of Silver
by maneklady

Beadwoven Luxury

That's the title of this gorgeous treasury Susan of ClinkscalesArts put together last night. It will be up live until Thursday evening, so please go look closely and comment.



Who knows? If we get enough visits and comments, a treasury like this might actually make it to the big leagues: The Etsy Front Page!

October Challenge Theme - A Study in Monochrome

Congrats to Helena and her gorgeous winning piece for the September challenge! The winner of the challenge chooses the theme for the next month and Helena has chosen "A Study in Monochrome" as the theme for October.

Monochromatic colors are all the hues (tints and shades) of a single color. As a result, the energy is more subtle and peaceful due to a lack of color contrast.

Search EBWC for a sneak peak at the entries for our October challenge! To see all of the other fabulous pieces being created by the Beadweavers team, search EBW.

Step By Step Beads is a bead jewelry-making magazine from Interweave Press, in publication since Spring 2003. The magazine is published bi-monthly and features 12-20 bead jewelry projects per issue.

The November/December issue of the magazine will hit newsstands on October 9, and two members of the Etsy BeadWeavers group are featured in the magazine!

Beverly Herman, aka noeasybeads, has an article on Page 22 for an even-count peyote stitch bracelet called Bumps in the Road.

Regina X. Jiron, aka BeadJewelryShopgirl, has an article on Page 48 for a Sophisticated Squares Embellished square stitch bracelet.

Congratulations, Bev and Regina!

Show Your Colors

The poll is closed, and the winner of the September challenge is... (drum roll, please)... Helena, aka maneklady. There were 268 votes this month, a good showing for only the second Etsy BeadWeavers Monthly Challenge. More importantly, there were more than twice as many entries for this month's challenge!

You can see all the gorgeous entries below. These entries were created by the following members (left to right, top to bottom):
1. time2cre8
2. Forbesfarm
3. arosebyname
4. Tresijas
5. beautyinthebeads
6. clairecreations
7. dawnchastain
8. DantesSpirit
9. enso
10. MEjewelry
11. time2cre8
12. beadbug
13. BeadJewelryShopgirl
14. beautyinthebeads
15. maneklady
16. noeasybeads
17. kerinskreations
18. thebeadedlily
19. ambrosianbeads
20. SandFibers

Take a few moments to visit their shops to see more gorgeous beadweaving! You can also visit the other members' shops by clicking the links at the right of the page.

Hot August Nights

The August Challenge was completed, and everyone's hard at work on their September challenge, chosen by the August winner, noeasybeads. There were 154 votes total, and it was really close! The September challenge is Show Your Colors, and it's sure to bring out some wonderful beadwork from this talented group of beadweavers.

Make sure you check out the shops of all the participants in the August challenge:
beadbug

MistyRidgeBeads

beautyinthebeads

time2cre8

clairecreations

blazinbeads

SandFibers

dawnchastain

Forbesfarm

...and come back to check out the September entries and cast your vote for your favorite!

The First Etsy BeadWeavers Monthly Theme!!!

Thanks to Dawn Chastain for posting the suggestion that the Etsy BeadWeavers participate in a theme. It sounds like a lot of fun, and it appears that several members will participate!

The first theme will be Hot August Nights. You can read more about the theme and who's participating in the Etsy Teams forum: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5199655

Keep an eye out for links to everyones' creations.