Crafty Cruising

Earlier this month, I went on a 7-night Caribbean cruise with Colin.  I knew I wanted to create during our "at sea" days and evenings after leaving the ports.  Originally, I intended to pack my chainmaille supplies but then I thought the pliers could be an issue. So I packed two other things; an adult coloring book and a bead embroidery project.

Cabochon glued to backing

I selected a glass cabochon by SueBeads that reminded me of a tide pool and glued it to some dyed Stiff Stuff (from Bead My Love).

Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas.  Norwegian Spirit in the background.

I gathered up an assortment of seed beads that were inspired by the colors of Caribbean waters.

Base row of galvanized seed beads

I fell in love with these galvanized seed beads at the bead retreat last month so I came home with an assortment of them, including these fabulous blue ones.

Even-count peyote bezel

And thanks to Jenny and Meg, they taught me peyote bezel at the retreat.  I loved how those little 15's  matched some of the speckles in the cabochon.

Adding visual interest and playing off the bubble-design

Each night, I sat on our balcony and added a little more to the design.  It was a nice way to wind down in the evening.

Final row consisting of size 8 and 6 seeds.

This is where my design ended on the cruise.  I realized I hadn't packed any glue or leather for backing material.

Travel-size coloring book

Once I could no longer work on the bead embroidery, I pulled out my travel-size coloring book.  I picked this up last minute at Barnes & Noble before we left.

Completed pages

These are just a few of the pages I worked on between the cruise and my flights.  These were so much fun, I can see why adult coloring books are trendy right now!

Costa Maya, Mexico

I had a great time on the cruise and it was so nice to have projects to work on.  I don't think I'll ever travel again without a craft to take with me!

Happy Beading!

Bead retreat + Beach retreat = Bliss

Dunes at Dewey

Beads and the beach? Beach combing? Hanging out with friends old and new? Stitching and shopping? Sign me up! 

And so it happened that three of us ( Diana, Jenny and Sue) arrived at Dewey Beach DE for the final Bead My Love retreat of 2015. I had attended last year (my post is here) and loved it! The beach off season is gorgeous, spacious and just as stunning than in summer time. Sue greeted Diana and I with the picture (above) while we were still on the road. 

Meg and Moggie host multiple retreats during the year, spring and fall/ weekend or weekday. Included in the registration are some meals, a few perks, instruction, an outstanding project kit... Camaraderie, friendships, relaxation - all free with the package. ( Bead My Love site for details) The retreat welcomes all levels of seed bead experience, and everyone is bound to learn and be inspired! 

My view across the table! Love it! 

Sue at work - and the progression of her piece from kit to halfway completed. 

Susan: I loved taking this workshop because, first, I got to hang out with Jenny and Diana and I don’t have any beady friends here in Pittsburgh. I loved this workshop second because I never have time where I can just sit, spread out all the beads, and be creative. This gave me uninterrupted time (except for talking with beady people) to just create, and not worry about what’s the plan for dinner or having to be anywhere! Meg does a great job teaching and is available for questions and demos the entire workshop. It was a lot of fun and I would definitely do it again!

Diana's kit, learning peyote, and the progress steps in her fab scarab piece. 

Diana: The Bead My Love bead retreat was wonderful! One of the great things about this retreat is the relaxing, pressure-free environment in which you get to create. There was no set project so you picked a kit and created your design from start to finish using your imagination (and massive supply stash). Everyone was friendly and encouraging and it was fun watching their projects take shape. The best part of this retreat though (besides finally learning peyote bezel), was getting to spend time with my friends just beading and beach combing. I hope to take another Bead My Love bead retreat in 2016!

Jenny's workspace goes from organized to jumbled as a few different projects take shape. 

Jenny: What can I say that they haven't already said? I do quite a bit of bead embroidery these days and I relish the retreat as a place to play, to learn, to experiment, and to relax. It was great fun to have a beady sleep over at the family beach house! I feel energized and tired, with new ideas percolating. 

There were beach walks and beach combing. 

The off season rates/ retreat pricing are quite reasonable, but we three stayed at my MIL's beach house. Pretty nice, huh? We took advantage of the beach whenever we could! And we were gifted with great weather!

Diana's found treasures, Jenny's impromptu found bead dish, Sue's finished piece!, Jenny planning yet another one... 

 Dinner out in Rehoboth Beach, DE - great seafood! Great fun! Then the next day? More beading, its a win-win situation.

Dinner? Seafood? yes! 

 I knew many of the attendees from last year's retreat. Lovely to see new friends again and what they are up to... Simply walking around the room and viewing other's WIP was inspirational. Everyone is ready to share a technique, offer ideas, and discuss.

We loved seeing our friends and colleagues cabs! Can you spot a Lisa Peters cab? A Staci Smith polymer pair? And a Celtic cab by yours truly.

Diana, Jenny, Meg our hostess, and Sue. 

And now we are all home. Unpacking our loot, finishing our pieces and starting anew. I mss them already! Until next year... bead all the things!

Goodbye ocean... until next year. 

Bead Cruise Workshops: Recap

Last Sunday I flew back in from Florida after a 10 day trip on the bead cruise.  This was my second year attending and I had an amazing time!

Fashionably matching the tiles in Puerto Rico with my maxi dress.

This trip included stops at 3 bead stores (1 in Florida, 2 in Puerto Rico), 3 workshops, 4 ports and countless parties.

I was honored to have my beads featured in two of the workshops on the cruise.  The first was for Beverly Herman's Star of the Sea class.  

Photo by Beverly Herman

The Star of the Sea necklace featured my stoneware cabochons.  Techniques in this workshop included bead embroidery, peyote and herringbone stitches.

Making the decorative starfish

I have a pretty good handle on basic bead embroidery but bead weaving...bead weaving and I have a history of not getting along very well.  This little starfish took me FOREVER.  Thank goodness Beverly is a very patient teacher!  I only managed to get this starfish and the base bead embroidery done during this workshop.

It didn't help that this workshop was held in a room with an amazing view of the ocean.  LOL!

Working hard on their necklaces

I had also signed up for Tracy Stanley's Byzantine chain bracelet class.  I taught myself Byzantine weave last summer so I ended up assisting some of the other students in class.

Erin Siegel working on her Byzantine weave.

Norma making her chain.

The third workshop was Erin Siegel's Tribal Inspired Beaded Bracelet.

Photo by Erin Siegel

This workshop involved knotting waxed linen and included my ceramic buttons as the clasp!

Selecting the right button for each kit

Here I am working diligently on my bracelet.  Waxed linen is so easy to work with. 

I ended up buying some knotting tweezers from Erin and they were well worth it.  They really get the knot right up against the last bead.

My completed bracelet

Sarajo and Kathleen sat behind me in class and we had a blast.  Speaking of Sarajo, she was the lucky winner of the massive AJE door prize on the cruise!  Congrats Sarajo!  Enjoy playing with all those beads!

I actually made another variation of this bracelet over the weekend.  I have plans to make more in different colors.

Overall, the cruise was fantastic.  I did have some sea sickness here and there but I didn't let it ruin the trip for me.  If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend going on it.  You'll learn new techniques, make new friends, enjoy tropical locales and just have a great time.  

If you'd like to see more photos from my trip, make sure to check out my blog later this week.  I'll be posting a recap with lots of photo highlights.  

Happy Beading!

Freeform Friday: Skeletons in the (bead) closet...

 Now - we all love beads.
Seed beads. Czech glass. Gemstones. Artisan beads. Polymer, ceramic, lamp work... Metal, Bali, Hill tribe... bicones, super duos, magatamas... lentils, daggers, rondelles, briolettes... Sorry I got lost there for a sec. But I know you are with me.

These last 2 weeks have been a flurry of productive time for me - getting ready for Spring festivals and shows. And as such I have been in the clay cave (basement ceramics studio, you know) for much of the time. Once tiles and pendants are glazed I can create new wearable pieces in clay, gems and polymer.

What's your point, Jenny? Oh - well... I have nothing really unique and new to show you from the jewelry studio - yet. But I do have a few skeletons that I recently uncovered, and thought I would share.

Zoey guards the entrance to the Studio Closet of Doom

Ah! The Chaos! The treasure! The perils that await our intrepid explorer! 

Spiral rope in 2 pieces. That's NOT supposed to happen. St. Petersburg stitch? chain? (w/ blue teardrops) app 3".
Tubular/circular peyote. Yes, that is a taped together toilet roll. Ha. I wanted to make amulet bags. Still do, actually. 

Here we have unearthed evidence of my love-hate relationship with seed beads.  While I am currently loving seed beads, these false starts are at least 10 years old. And yes - I had them packaged with their ingredients, like space explorers in cryogenic chambers. Just chilling, waiting to be revived. 

 Egads! A relic from the past! The tins that used to arrive via post with a CD inside for AOL. Whoa. That places this artifact in the popular culture timeline. What's inside?!

Why its more seed beads! A blue and silver peyote soup in progress as a bracelet. Not very old - as it includes a stoneware cab made within the last 4 years. Was I planning on stitching a bezel onto the bracelet? We may never know. And on the right - I don't even know what stitch that was GOING to be! Its a lovely raku leaf pendant from a mother/daughter team based in Washington state. We carried their pieces at the Shepherdess ( San Diego, CA) when I worked there  - like 12 years ago! 

Speaking of the Shepherdess/San Diego years... this wasn't really hidden as I go to this tray often. When I worked at the Shepherdess I was the lowest bead girl on the totem pole. I spent many, many days tubing seed beads. After I punched in I would be handed a tray with half a dozen gram bags... of beads. To tube. Scoop, scoop, tap, scoop, lid, hammer. Repeat. The left overs were bagged and sold on the cheap. Yes, I personally felt compelled to adopt many, many bags of orphaned 11's, delicas, 8's... I do still use them in pieces today.

And now - a little bead confessional:

1. Vintage/antique crystals from necklaces I took apart to repurpose. I was in my teens. Still have these in my stash. 

2. Bells. While I wasn't hippy enough as a teen to wear bell anklets, I love these bells, man. 

3. Hand painted beads fro Peru. I think I was in high school when my older sister travelled to Chile and Peru. These aren't my style any more, but I still have them.... 

What skeletons are in your closet?

What projects are buried treasure waiting to be rediscovered and reworked? 

What tools or materials did you purchase with good intentions and lofty creative plans - that have  languished in solitude? 

I myself will definitely revisit the peyote in the round. Peyote stitch is the one stitch I feel comfortable doing... and I would love to make amulet bags with a wee ceramic icon or charm tucked inside. Maybe I will look at the St. Petersburg (?) again; I like the drops on the edges, and I have seed beads friends now! Thankfully Kristen has done a AJE tutorial on spiral rope so if THAT urge flares up I can tend to it... 

Please share your skeletons with me! I don't want to be lost and alone amidst the abandoned projects... 

Jenny 

www.jdaviesreazor.com