smarty hearty

smarty hearty!

very aptly named because it was made by a friend that i admire greatly, who is very book-smart, street-smart AND people-smart!

she always makes time to listen, has feedback when appropriate and is genuinely compassionate, without the drama. my idol, my mentor and role model - i'm so happy when she's around - kara, you da bomb, girl!

and here is more evidence of her "smarty-ness"! she designed the floating leaflette (below), and is going to teach it at the store in october... yay!!

where naughty girls go..

we're going to put you in the beading corner!! i know, that's not really a punishment is it!! that's where EVERYONE wants to go! if you need a little place to work on your project, (so you can have easy access to all the beads that you need), let us know and we'll set you up in the corner.

maybe you can make something deliciously cute like kevin bacon!

put some sparkle in your eyes!

i started a right angle weave bracelet with medium vitrail, and it got so sparkly as i went on... i couldn't stop! i finished it in one night, and it's awesome, can't wait to wear it!

i used 10lb fireline and it performed quite nicely - and i didn't have to join any threads (i pre-measured enough and tucked it on the side - ask me how!) so it was easy breezy!

right angle weave is a beginner's stitch, and fun to do! i'm going to start another one soon- i think in crystal ab :) want to watch me? just let me know you're coming in!

ta ta! jamie

teacher teacher!

lynn k. (one of our longtime/favorite teacher friends) learned how to make this cutie crystal apple in michelle's beadweaving class - just wanted to show it off before she gifts it away!

why do we give teachers apples anyway?

penguin party

this is what you get when a bunch of pipsqueak penguins get together and ROCK OUT, under a temari disco ball! thanks gina, for a super cute pic!

click on the pic to see a larger image, it's silly!

mini clarine's crystal weave bracelet

when clarine made the first "clarine's crystal weave" bracelet for me over 10 years ago, I was soooo impressed... I thought... wow, how clever to combine a basic beadweaving with a diagonal crossover! It was one of our most fancy samples in the whole store!!

it's a classic design that has been made in so many versions over the years, and i'm so thankful to clarine for creating this pretty for the bead gallery!

i was browsing through some pictures and found this one that Michelle made (more recently than a decade) and thought it was such a cute combo of crystal bicones, rounds and pearls :) just wanted to share!

call me jamie spielberg!

pretty bracelets, i love you!! AND, i just finished this Curvee Bracelet DVD that shows how to make these puppies!

i must admit that i NEVER thought i'd be making DVD's, but with a lot of 1am apple web tutorials, and michelle's daily prodding, i finished my 3rd one, yay!

I really must admit, that i'd rather shoot, edit and produce the videos that make all those beadweaving samples.. i think i'd go blinder... or blinder.

*The biggest and best reason to watch this particular dvd is for the blooper section I added to at the end.. inspired by the many jackie chan movie ending bloopers that i've loved for so many years. you can hear me snorting, breathing hard and trying not to laugh, and the camera shaking while i'm laughing, as michelle valiantly pokes at the ant sized beads... haha!