The Annealer Magazine Bead Contest! Time to Vote!

Hello one and all! I'm excited to announce that the Annealer Magazine is running a contest for lampwork beads and jewelry called "In Time For The Holidays Contest!" Click on the title of this blog post to be directed to the site to vote for your favorites in each category or cut and paste this link into your web browser... http://www.theannealermagazine.com/.

This is a great magazine featuring wonderful articles from talented glass and bead artists from around the globe and the winner of this contest will be featured on the cover of the fall issue! So check it out and tell your friends and vote for your favorites!!

Back from the Bead and Button Show!

Wow! What a trip! This year's Bead and Button Show was better than ever and I had a wonderful time. I went with my dear friends, Stephanie Dieleman (above)(www.stephaniebeads.com) and Kellie Sutton (www.kelliesutton.com) and the weekend was full of laughs, good times and of course, beads!

First of all, I have to brag about Stephanie who was our rock star at the show! Below is a photo of two magazines with her beads on the cover - Bead Trends and Belle Armoire Jewelry! I should get her to autograph my magazine copies before she gets any more famous!


I also have to brag about our dear friend and fellow Firefox - Debra Kallen (www.debrakallenart.com) as she won the first place ribbon in the bead category for the Bead Dreams Competition this year! Way to go, Deb! Look for her amazing box of chocolate beads and her Christmas necklace in Bead and Button Magazine coming up in the months ahead!

After the show, Kellie, Steph and I spent a day in Chicago - what an amazing city! Last year we went down the Magnificent Mile and this time we did a bit more sightseeing. We happened to have lunch right near the Sears Tower so of course we had to go up to take a peek! Look waaaaaay up girls!





The top 103rd floor was closed for renovations so we went to the 99th floor observation deck. The view was breathtaking! What amazed me the most is that this building was completed in 1973 - I was 3 years old then! lol! Ooops! Giving away my age here.....

Heck of a view!



And look who we bumped into in the gift shop at the bottom of the tower? Well hello Mr. President! It was so nice of him to pose for a photo with these crazy Canadian girls! lol!



Well those are a few highlights of the show - my next trip is back to Indiana to Inspired Fire Studio to take a class with the amazing Lucio Bubacco! Can't wait! oh - and in case you are waiting for me to list beads soon - stay tuned! I'm back at the torch and will list new beads over the weekend.

Have a great day!

Off to the Bead and Button Show!

Well I have been really tardy with blog updates lately as I haven't had much time on the computer as of late! I've been a busy little bee in the studio creating as many last minute beads for the show as humanly possible! I always wish I had more beads than I do but I know this will be a fantastic show and I am excited to see the friends I made there last year. It will be a blast! One other thing I am excited about is to debut my new swan beads at the show this year. I just LOVE making them and hope they are popular so I can make more! My favorites are my "Storybook Swans" that have a cute little crown like the Swan Prince! I may do more fairy tale inspired beads in the future - so many ideas I want to try!!

So, if you are in Milwaukee for the show, drop by and say hello! My very talented friend, Stephanie Dieleman (www.stephaniebeads.com) will have her fabulous ocean beads there as well and we will be at booth #1157 - same as last year! Oh - and check out the new issue of Bead Trends and Belle Armoire Jewelry as Stephanie has her gorgeous creations on the cover of both magazines this month! What a rock star!! :)

We hope to see you at the show!

p.s. I will be listing new beads in the store towards the end of next week when I am back from the show and if you are purchasing a tutorial, I will still be able to send it to you from the road! Happy Beading!