A weekend away.....

OK, so it's been over a week since I went to Vancouver Island for the Kitty Coleman Show, but thought that I should show some pics of the fabulous place we stayed at! We stayed at the newly renovated Bayside Beach House and it was absolutely gorgeous. That made it feel more like a vacation than a working weekend!

The artisan show at the Kitty Coleman Gardens was fun although a steady weekend of rain kept many of the locals at bay. The hard core art enthusiasts were there though, no amount of rain could keep them away! Stephanie and I were fortunate to have a nice spot under a sheltered area so we kept dry and managed to have a great time despite the rain.

The beach house was truly a delight and here are some photos of it in the early morning light. Simply lovely.

Woodland Gardens Artisans Festival this weekend!

Hello my fellow bead enthusiasts! Well, you may be wondering why I dropped off the face of the earth this summer! I've been busy enjoying time with my two fabulous step-daughters and also working on some great new beads and jewelry too in preparation for the Kitty Coleman Woodland Gardens Show on Vancouver Island this weekend! This is going to be a fun getaway with dear friends. My partner in crime, Stephanie Dieleman, will be sharing the booth and she has a fantastic assortment of her exquisite beach-themed jewelry! I'm very excited as a group of us are all renting a house on the beach and so I'm looking forward to some beachcombing and relaxing nights by the fire roasting marshmellows with our 4 teenage girls we are bringing along. I will be sure to post pictures of our last hurrah of summer when I return! :)

If you are on Vancouver Island this weekend and want to check out this wonderful artisan festival, you can check out their website for all the show info.....http://woodlandgardens.ca/calendar.html I have borrowed some images from their website to give you a glimpse of just how beautiful this garden setting is. I can't wait to shop with the other vendors as there will be paintings, pottery, weaving, carvings and of course - jewelry! It promises to be a fabulous show. :)

While I'm away I will have limited internet access so I may not be able to reply to emails or send out tutorials until I return on Tuesday, September 8th. Thanks for your patience and I hope to see you at the show! :)

What a summer!

Whew! What a crazy summer it's been so far! I've hardly had a moment to sit at the computer this past month as you can probably tell by my lack of blog posts! Stephanie and I were in Miami last week for the ISGB Gathering and Bead Bazaar - what a blast!! Before that we were in Tacoma for the Puget Sound Bead Festival. In between shows was the usual insane hours at the torch making beads with barely a breather in between!

Now that August is here (my long awaited month at home!) I can devote more time to getting back into a semblance of a routine and spend some time creating new work in the studio and catching up on all of my email correspondence. Time for a big studio clean as well....it always looks like a bomb went off in there during show season! My studio is my own little piece of heaven though I must say, and now that I have installed air conditioning (a must have for the insane heat wave we've been experiencing here in the Pacific Northwest!) I can comfortably catch up on torch time without suffering from heat exhaustion.

As for what's coming up next.....more shows! Yes, Stephanie and I have booked ourselves into the BeadFest Portland show in late September! We've never done this show before and are really looking forward to it. We also have a wonderful little art show on Vancouver Island coming up at the beginning of September at the Kitty Coleman Gardens - if you are in the area this summer please take a look at my "shows" page for more info!

I have some new beads listed in my Etsy store as well.....a few horse portraits and some cheeky crows! I'll be listing a dragonfly later today and more new beads throughout the week so stay tuned!

Well, time to head back out to the studio....as much as I love traveling it's good to be home and back at the torch. :)

Hope you all are having a great summer!!

Bead Trends Magazine Carnelian Honeybee Necklace!

If you haven't yet checked out Bead Trends Magazine, I recommend you take a peek! This delicious new bead magazine has the feel of a book but is available on a monthly basis and is full of fabulous jewelry designs! Last month (June's issue), featured my friend Stephanie Dieleman's starfish necklace on the cover (www.stephaniebeads.com) and this month's issue we both have projects inside! My project is the Carnelian Honeybee necklace on page 22 and 23. With the lazy hazy days of summer here, this is the perfect season to celebrate those adorable and hard working little bumbles that help nourish us and keep our gardens happy! I will be featuring new honeybee beads throughout the month and you can also order the focal featured in this project through my Etsy store.

Happy "Bee"ding!

Kerri :)

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!