Bead Fest Philadelphia

by Staci Louise Smith

This Friday is the first day of the last Spring Bead Fest to take place in Philly.

(don't worry, the August show will still be held here)

Bead Fest Spring is where it all began for me.  It was my first big bead show AND my first time visiting friends I met online (gasp!)

2013???  2014?  Spring meet up

It has since become something I look forward to each year, and I will sorely miss the chance to come out of winter hibernation and get to see my beady creative friends in April.

I am not vending, and there are no planned meet ups or swaps this year.  However, there are still friends I plan to see there, and I am teaching all day on Sunday as well.

If you have not been to this bead show, and you are in driving distance, you should come out.  It is such a nice show.  I know I like to stock up on my gemstone strands at the beginning of the season.

If you have online friends in the area, have them meet you for lunch.  Diana Ptaszynski of Suburban Girl Studio used to organize a fun bead swap and it was a great way to score some new beads and make new friends.

Not only did I meet a lot of great people that way, I made actual friends!  I love connecting with people from far and wide. 

I am not sure what year this was....maybe 2012?

Don't even get me started on the FUN parties that Melinda Orr would put together for the August Bead Fest.  That was a whole other bonding experience!

 Anyhow, I love that we all can find something we have in common and can remain friends online.  These ladies I have met at Bead Fest has not only been online friends, but they have been REAL friends to me.  Giving me rides to a show, staying over with me before my first time teaching for moral support, watching my booth for me while I teach, that is just a small example of the great friendships that have grown over something as simple as a love of beads.  I am so thankful for their friendship and support.  All because someone like Diana took time to organize a swap!  

here we were doing a mini practice class with Erin Siegel

Diana our lovely swap host

photo by Dianne Bachelor Miller

So just do it.  Yes its awkward at first, for like 5 seconds, when you meet someone from online, but then you see beads and you start to shop and talk and time just flies!!!  It is so very worth it!

I will be around shopping on Saturday, so if you want to meet up, shoot me a facebook message on my business page.

You will probably find me lurking around 

Jenny Davies-Reazor # 522 

and Marsha Neal Studio's # 520 booths!  

So make sure to stop by and say HI to them and make sure to fondle all their lovely beads.  I know I have a list of what I need to get from them!

If you need a coupon to get in, save and print this picture and save $$$ at the door!

On Sunday I will be teaching all day.  Here is a link to the classes. Online registration is closed, but you can still sign up at the show if you are interested.

https://www.eiseverywhere.com/ehome/145551/StaciSmith

First thing in the morning, 8:30-11:30 am I will be teaching this Wild Wire Choker.

It's a really fun class that introduces you to working with larger wire in long pieces to create large focal pieces for your beads.  It is also a great class to practice those wire wrapped loops and learn to work wire while it being free form enough that there are no real mistakes!  Let go and have fun with wire!

Then, at 1-4 pm I will be teaching this Polymer Clay Carving Class.  Carving polymer clay is one of my most favorite things to do!  There are a million ways to use it.  This is an intro class, that will give you the basics, your play and creativity can take it anywhere!

So, I am frantically prepping for my classes (making kits is a laborious task, but I love it!)

 bead blanks to carve

 wire rolls for kits

 student practice blanks to carve

polymer kits sponsored by Polyform

 bronze for wild wire choker kits

wood blocks to raise carving surface for carving class

I am also trying to get some bead inventory made to sell in my classes.  

I am sure to be tired if you see me wandering around, but I will be ready to shop and talk anyway.  Look for my bright turquoise hair and flag me down!  

me- turquoise hair!!!

I would love to meet up and chat.

I do hope you will come out.  Organize a meet up.  Make a friend, shop for beads.....you won't regret it.  Even if you get really really lost (you know who you are!...lol)

 Hope to see you this weekend!

The Bead Soup Blog Party

by staci louise smith

Every year, Lori Anderson of Pretty Things hosts the Bead Soup Blog party.  It is a creative and social whirlwind of beads, jewelry and artists.  Lori created the Bead Soup Blog Party for a few reason, one, to swap beads with someone who has a different style from you, so that you can be challenged to create with beads you may not normally choose for yourself.  Another reason, is to give artists a nudge to branch out socially, to try blogging, to meet new people, and of course, to plain old have a great time.  If you want to read more about it, here is a link to Lori's bead soup page.

 

So, the beads have been swapped, the jewelry has been made, and today is the first Reveal Date- blog hop.  Grab your tiara(cause this here is girl time) and a cup of coffee or tea, and enjoy the eye candy that is the Bead Soup Blog Hop.

photo by Lori Anderson- property of Lori Anderson

I participated in this round.  So you can get the list of links here www.stacilouiseoriginals.com .

 

Here is some of the "soup" I recieved this year from Emily Greer of Gaia Copia. 

 

 

She sent me lots of fun beads, but you only need to use the focal and clasp.  Again, hop over to my blog if you want to see what I created with these guys!

 

I am also offering a special discount in my shops this week in honor of the Bead Soup blog Party. 

 

Use code beadsouprocks13 in either shop to save:

 

give you a 25% discount in my jewlery shop

 

gives you a 10% discount in my bead shop

 

Have a great day, and have fun hopping !

 

 

The Art Bead Love Tour

By Staci L. Smith

We here at Love My Art Jewelry are always trying to think of new ways to spread the love of handmade, and the message to create handmade with handmade.  So we put our brains together and came up with this idea, the Art Bead Love Tour. 

The Art Bead Love Tour is an ongoing project to spread the love of handmade to new and exciting places.  It’s a way to reach people who may have never stumbled upon our blog on their own, and give them a chance to share the love of handmade.  We chose to use a chain to link beads as a symbol of  how this project links us all together~ in our unity to stand behind handmade.

We have filled one and a half feet of chain with handmade beads, charms and pendants, donated by our own Love My Art Jewelry Group.  There are 60 beads on this chain, worth approximately $450.  It includes ceramic, glass, polymer, various metals and metal clay beads.  It’s a true tribute to handmade in all its beady glory!  These beads are ready to go on tour…….the Art Bead Love Tour!  This tour is basically an art bead swap, which will go on and on and on. 

Here is how it works. 

PLEASE.......

....please read the entire post before entering).

We will have a giveaway for this chain (how to enter is explained at the end of the post)

The Details:

1.    The winner of the chain will be allowed to take up to 30 beads from this chain.  They will then replace each bead they took, with another handmade bead, charm or pendant of equal quality.  It is so important that the quality of the beads be maintained, so that we can keep the Art Bead Love Tour alive.  We want to share consistent quality with the next winner.  If you make your own handmade beads or components, it’s a great way to get your beads into the world for people to try them out, or, if you hoard  collect art beads, it’s a great way to share your collection and get some new additions as well.  (Art Beads should be handmade by an artist, and not mass produced, such as Hill Tribes Silver beads or others like them).  Remember the focus is on creating handmade with handmade and beads/components taken should be replaced with beads/components that are made by an individual not an organization. 

2.    The winner will post pictures of what was taken and what was added, in order to keep an account of the chains progress and to keep our followers drooling.  Please be sure to give credit to the bead artists as well.

3.    The winner will then have a giveaway, just like this one, to keep passing the chain on and on.  Rules can be copied and pasted from here.

4.    When you repost your giveaway (remember you can copy and paste from here)-a list should be added to show where the chain has gone, with links to each previous blog.  Ultimately, this will end up being a very long list!

For example: 

Look where the chain has been……

www.lovemyartjewelry.blogspot.com

www.yourblog.blogspot.com

www.thenextpersonsblog.blogspot.com

5.    Chain must be shipped to its new home via Priority Small Flat Rate box with delivery confirmation.  Please package it carefully.

6.    There will be a button on the Love My Art Jewelry Website that links to the current blog and giveaway- so if you have the chain, it will link to your blog, that way our followers can have another chance to win it.

7.    You MUST exchange your beads and have your giveaway completed within two weeks of receiving the chain.

(Please please please, if you can not adhere to the above rules, do not enter the giveaway at this time.  It will go on and on and you can always enter at a later date.)  There will be a button on the side bar of our blog so that you can track where the chain currently is.

OK- How to Enter:

1.     You must have a blog to enter.

2.     Leave a comment below (make sure your email is linked to your blog or leave it in the comment.  Entries without emails will not qualify)

3.    Share on Facebook, Twitter or your blog for extra chances to win.  Leave a comment for each way you share, with a link if possible.

4.    Winner will pay shipping and will be billed through paypal-small priority flat rate box with delivery confirmation $6.00. 

5.    Open only to our readers in the United States- due to problems with tracking and shipping overseas (sorry).  Please note- I am having a small giveaway on my blog for our international friends only!!!  So hop over to enter.

6.    Check back here on November 30^th to see if you’ve won.

7.    Good luck and share the love of handmade!

Please, if you have any questions, you can email me directly at staci.louise@hotmail.com

Check it out and see why we call it the Art Bead LOVE Tour……………………..

<-------donated by Izzy

donated by Kelli------->

<--------Donated by LeAnn

Donated by MaryAnn------->

<----donated by D'arsie (who has since left the group due to other obligations, but was so kind to donate to this great project)

donated by MaryJane------------->

<-----Donated by Patty

donated by me (staci)------------->

Here are some pictures of the finished chain......