Twisted Treasures class - January 2013

This fun and interesting wire wrapping technique is a great way to begin creating your own unique wearable wire art! Learn how to form a wire net that can encase an assortment of shapes including gemstones, beads, and many other miscellaneous treasures. The only limit here is your own imagination! After twisting your way to the top of your piece, you will have the opportunity to embellish your pendant with coils, spirals, and beaded treasures. This creative project is a fabulous introduction to wire wrapping. Level: beginner.  To register for this, or other wire wrapping classes,  in the future, click here.

We offer plenty of amazing wire wrapping classes in our Denver bead store location, for more information, visit us at www.theColoradoBeadCo.com

helping Misti find a forever family

On Thursday of last week we had the opportunity to work with The Adoption Exchange and CBS4 to help a lovely young lady named Misti find a forever family.  She was a riot, she was very funny and fun to be around.

We made upcycled soda can necklaces.  You take empty soda cans, rinse them out, cut them open and you can use scrapbook punches to punch out cute little flowers.  You then attach them to a necklace and ta da! a fun spring garden, perfect for a chilly winter's day.  It might not have been the best project choice, but I think they did alright.  Here is Misti and Evrod (and Eddie the cameraman) working on their projects.

Misti, age 11

Prepare your heart for this sweet and engaging songbird! Misti enjoys singing her heart out; Taylor Swift is particular favorite of hers. When this creative princess isn't singing she likes to stay active by dancing, playing outside or riding her bike. 

As a fourth grader, she benefits from an IEP (Individualized Education Plan). She is in tune with others' needs and likes to please others.

The caseworker prefers a two-parent or single-female family; however, all family types will be considered. Misti would thrive with a family who has a structured routine and is predictable. Financial assistance may be available for adoption-related services.

You can click here to learn more about Misti -  Child ID 8473

Our sincere thanks to The Adoption Exchange and CBS4 for thinking of us.  We really, really hope that Misti finds a forever family, we know she'd really like one.  To watch the full segment, tune into CBS4 tomorrow, Wednesday, February 27th.

Update: Here's the  VIDEO 

how to make a single strand leather bracelet

Supplies:

• 2 - fold over crimps
• leather (we're using lead free leather in a 1.5mm)
• 2 - 6mm jump rings
• 1 - clasp
• charms or beads that slide on the leather 

  How to:

1.  Cut your leather to the correct length (remember that your clasp will take up 1/2" or more). For women's bracelets, the standard length is 6.5 to 7.5 inches. A bracelet of 7 inches is the most common in women's jewelry. (source: Overstock.)
2.  Put a fold over crimp on one end of the leather.  To use a fold over crimp, you'll use your chain nose pliers and fold one side of the crimp over and into the leather. 
3. Then fold the other side over.  This creates a secure 'tube' that your leather is in. 
4. Open one of your jump rings (remember to twist your jump rings in opposite directions to open them; don't pull them apart - pulling them ruins the shape) and use it to attach your clasp to the loop on the fold over crimp.
5. Slide on your charms, or in our case, a pretty little glass heart.
6. Repeat steps 2 - 4.

Other ideas:

The bracelet below has two strands with the leather knotted between the beads, as well as a length of chain to make it adjustable.  To do this, instead of adding the jump ring to the non-clasp side, you just attach a few inches of chain.  I recommend making the actual bracelet part (the leather) shorter, so that you don't make your bracelet too long.

 - Anne.

P.S. - if you're confused or unsure about this project, we're always here to help!  We also offer a lot of jewelry making classes in our Denver bead store - The Colorado Bead Company. 

I'm back and digging through piles of goodies - Tucson bead show 2013

I knew we got a lot of great stuff while I was at the show, but I didn't really process how much awesome stuff we got until I started actually going through it piece by piece.  It's taking a long time, it's so much fun.  Sarah and Kody are coming in this weekend to help me get it all priced, labeled, and put on the shelves as quickly as possible.  I think it will probably take two full days.  I'm so glad there's such a great team here.  :)

getting down to business - Tucson Gem Show 2013

Ahhh… the end of day two, and I am completely exhausted.  This morning we got up early and headed to breakfast at Sunny Daze Café.  It’s a very good restaurant, super kitschy and full of pink flamingos. 

We went back to the JOGS show and picked up some amber, I priced it yesterday, thought on it, talked to some people, and made some decisions. 

From there it was to the G&LW Gem Show.  I really like this show; there are so many vendors and so many beads.  This show is all about stocking up on good quality strands at good prices.  Which we did! 

It’s also SO much walking.  So much walking.  

In lieu of actually writing, I'm going to post some pictures - 

gaspeite (center on left), quatz (top right corner), chrysocolla (botton two on the left) and malachite/azurite cabs (three down the center)

A sea of pearls.

Mountains of gemstones.

 Dinner was also delicious (sopapillas, what!) - Guadalajara Grill.  Mmmm.

Have you ever had one of these days?  It was 4p before I realized that my shirt had been on backwards all day. 

And I have no words for this.

Tomorrow is the last day.  :)  See you all soon.  - Anne.

Hello hotel room... I'm so glad to see you...

It's 930p and we just got a room.  We had a reservation, but the hotel's computer systems went down so they were processing everything by hand and I don't think it was super effective...  :(  they seemed stressed, but handled it really well. I also feel a strange sense of accomplishment in having a place to sleep tonight.  YES!

We managed to get to the To Bead True Blue Show AND the JOGS show (I don't even know what JOGS stands for, if I say JOGS show, is it the same as saying ATM machine?  Does the S in JOGS stand for show?)  I found some fun vendors for lots of new supplies and things.  There were some beautiful finished pieces as well; lots of glass blowers at this show.  Blowing glass seems hard, it's so impressive when done well though.  We didn't pick up much there, but made lots of great contacts, and might be picking up things from them later. 

W've had a few people in looking for the clasps for the wide leather pieces, particularly the bracelets, and the slide beads for them...  replacing Pandora bracelets maybe?  Here is a resource for you for beads and clasps.  Antelope Beads is a Colorado based company by the way (out of Boulder) hooray, support local.  

There were also these incredible leaves!  I see the metal aspen leaves all the time in Denver, but they had all sorts of leaves in a lot of colors.  LOVE!  Here are some design examples, they're so fancy. We did get some of these! 

I really liked these super cute clay flowers from Sonoran Beads.  They're by an artist named Eriko Page.  

I did get some beautiful beads from Grace Beads – they're blown glass and I think they're great.

We ended up getting lost between the BTB show and the JOGS show.  However, found our way to a great sandwich shop called Melt.  I had a turkey, bacon, and avocado sandwich.  Mmm.  They also had popcorn made by some nuns that are in the Tucson area.  It was delicious.    Www.Prayerfullypopped.com  :)  And I had some corn chowder... and found no corn in it, actually.

Somehow I got stuck driving the rental car by the way.  And I backed into a parking spot (like a boss)... and the wall behind it... but that's neither here nor there I guess.

I'm not sure about JOGS show, honestly.  I haven't been there before... I'm not sure if I'd go back.  There was a LOT of amber there.  And a lot of strange things. 

An amethyst case, the lid actually folds down.    Some old swords...  HUGE wire wrapped trees with amethyst or rose quartz "leaves." 

Anyways, a breakdown of what's coming into the bead store from today:  metal leaves, druzy cabochons, faceted nugget amethyst, botswana agate, carnelian, and quartz, malachite azurite faceted rounds, skulls in all sorts of colors, lucite flowers, and a lot of other stuff, but I'm too tired to remember it all.  :)  anne.

and we're off!

On the plane, heading to Tucson! Yay! Did you know that Southwest has WiFi on the planes? I had no idea. Now I know though. The space for putting bags under your seat is also very narrow, here's a picture of the wheely backpack I'm taking... and my shoes. They look fiercely dirty this morning. Very excited about landing and getting on the way. Well, excited in general AND I thought it would be a great idea to have a double espresso this morning, so instead of just being excited, I'm very ExCiTeD.

The pilot just said that it's a whopping 35* in Tucson. Glad I brought a jacket and a scarf that Linda with Titus2Designs made me. It's awesome. My mom actually really likes this one, I might see if Linda will make her one... in a raspberry color.

Today is the last day for the To Bead True Blue Tucson Bead Show, so we're going to go there first. I like this show for a couple of reasons – there are some really interesting, smaller vendors there. A few years ago I met Lisa Pavelka working at her booth, and the Crystal Clay ladies were right next to her. I want to see if I can find a new vendor for glass tiles for making pendants. There are also some wonderful jewelry artists at this show.

Oh! And, the To Bead True Blue show usually has really interesting looking workshops, I've never taken one, but they look amazing. Maybe one year we'll actually take enough time to make that happen. I would love to do work in polymer clay and they have had workshops on it in the past. We do have a couple of vendors that we order from throughout the year that have a presence at this show, so it's nice to stop in and say hey and see if they want to give us any amazing deals.

If we have time after that, we might hit up the JOGS show, or maybe that one will have to wait until Wednesday morning before we fly out. The JOGS show only has one vendor that I want to see, this particular vendor doesn't have a website, so when we need something from them, I have to call and ask. Then they send us pictures and then I call back and order what we need. It's kind of a pain, but we do what we have to do to get the best stuff in at reasonable prices. I kind of understand where they're coming from though, I would imagine that going to shows AND having an online store would be very time consuming. I know that for us it's incredibly prohibitive based on the time aspect. Someday though, in my dreams, we'll have a robust web-store where you can get all of your dream beads and bits from us... someday...

Photobucket is loaded on my phone and ready to start uploading pictures. Check in frequently to see the excitement. Or more pictures of my shoes, whatever.

- Anne.

Tucson Bead Shows 2013 - here I come!

Whew!  It seems like only last year I was at the Tucson gem and bead shows.  Oh wait.  It was only last year that I was.  :)  I'm excited to go back, it's so much fun and I'm really looking forward to picking up amazing things to bring back.  I'm also excited to eat at one of my favorite breakfast places (Sunrise cafe), meet new and exciting beaders, maybe make a few friends along the way, and generally, have a good time.  You can follow along here (on the blog) and through this photo album.

One of my favorite booths!  It's HUGE and amazing.  See the front table on the left?  Coral.  Piles of coral.

Today I need to get ready.  I need to make our itinerary, what shows we're going to hit, make sure everything is printed (our wholesale badges, etc), and leave notes for the team here.

To take/pack (other than clothes and personal items):

• a budget - this is particularly important because it's easy to get overwhelmed and fall in love with literally everything.
• itinerary.  I like having an idea of the exact hours shows are open and their location/addresses.  This helps me plan our trip fairly effectively and efficiently.  I'm not staying long, so I have to use the time as wisely as possible. 
• bag with wheels - I typically take a backpack style bag, so I can roll it when it gets really heavy, and I can pick it up and carry it if I need, or if I'm feeling particularly guilty about the deliciousness I had for breakfast and to gear up for dinner. 

Uhm, so yum!

• notebook - I've been making notes about what we need/what to look for/special requests for the last few months.  Can't forget this!
• copies of our Sales Tax License - we go to primarily wholesale shows and need this to register and get in, some vendors also ask for it when we buy, so it's good to have a few copies, just in case)
• checkbook - this is the one I usually forget.  I just don't keep a checkbook with me, ever.  However, some vendors will only take checks or cash.
• badges -  Some shows we can pre-register for, which we typically do.  I like having all of that stuff pre-printed and ready to go, that way we can just walk in when we show up.  Saves time.
• sticky labels - this one might not be as important for you, but for us, it's really important.  This means that when we purchasing something, we can tag the item exactly as it's sold to us.  There are some stones that can look a lot like other stones, or things that have fancy names that I might not remember later.  I tag them on the spot.
• business cards - another thing I sometimes forget.
• comfortable shoes.  So much walking!
• heart rate monitor/calorie counter.  Might as well find out what my actual exertion is!  It's feels like it's a lot. 

Gosh, what else.  I feel like there's so much, but there's not really.  So, here's a picture of some mother of pearl beads.  :)  (want more pictures from last year?  Check out this album.)

- Anne

P.S. - the store is open this week!  Check in on Aimee while I'm away, don't let her be lonely.  There's a sale on gemstone strands this week too (Monday - Wednesday), 30% off. 

A weekend project - cluster earrings (how to)

What a fun late night project! Having 4 children, I love projects that I can finish in one sitting since I never know the next time that I will be able to sit and create in peace :) These little clusters can make big a statement in just a little package.

Red donuts with crystal and leaf clusters

Supply list:

• 2 - 1" donuts (you don't want these to be too heavy or else your ears will fall off)
• 4 - glass leaf beads (the ones I used are drilled top to bottom and I liked them a lot, but briolette leaves would work too)
• 8" - 22ga wire
• 8 - glass crystals
• 1 jump ring (6 or 8mm)
• 2 - ear wires (if you're planning on giving these as a gift, don't forget to use nickel free ear wires, just in case the person you're giving them to has a nickel allergy)
• headpins (I used the ball head pins we carry because they're a softer temper than most head pins and I wanted to wrap the ends)

How to wrap the doughnut bead:

1. Cut four inches of 22ga wire.
2. Put one inch of the 4” wire in the center hole. Fold both ends up towards the top. With the 3” section, wrap the doughnut 3 times.
3. Make your loop with what you have left over of the long wire
1. Not sure about loops?  Check out our wire loop making how to. 
4. What is left of the shortened wire wrap the base of the longer wire to make it secure.
5.  Repeat on the second doughnut.

For the smaller beads:

1. Put each smaller bead on a ball head pin - do not trim the pin yet!
2. Make your head pin loops and wrap the extra wire from the head pin around itself and toward the bead.
3. Trim the excess wire.

Connecting everything:

1. Open your jump ring, (tip: always twist a jump ring clockwise/counterclockwise to open, don't pull them straight out).
2. Decide which beads you want on each earring.
3. Put half of your beaded headpins onto a jump ring (1/4 of the total headpins).
4. Put on your wrapped doughnut.
5. Put the other half of your beaded headpins on.
6. Slide on your ear wire.
7. Close your jump ring.
8. Repeat.

Another example!  This one is done with large briolettes in place of the donuts.

Blue goldstone briolettes with crystal clusters

 The ideas and color schemes are endless! The bead layout I have together for the next late night project is: Gold metal, light Blue, burnt orange, & dusty brown (but who knows when that is going to be!) I look forward to seeing what you all come up with!

 - Aimee

P.S. - if you're confused or unsure about this project, we're always here to help!  We also offer a lot of jewelry making classes in our Denver bead store - The Colorado Bead Company.