Bead Cruise 2013

 www.beadcruise.com

I'm preparing for a trip of a lifetime aboard a luxury cruise liner! Boy, I have dreamed of this since I first heard it even existed. Yep, I'm going on the Bead Cruise 2013 hosted by our fearless leader in the bead community, the gracious, Heather Powers. I jumped at the chance to be apart of her Bead Cruise. Perfect combination of a little bit of business with a whole LOT of pleasure. Plus, it's amazing opportunity for me to do something I have never done before. It's my very first cruise ever and really this will be my first trip outside the US, besides Canada. Geesh, I'm 35. I think it's about time I saw the world a little! I had to rush and get my passport for the first time, too and everything. Well, I got my passport in plenty of time and I'm ready to get away on this cruise!

Did I tell you my word for the year is EXPAND? Well, it is and apparently, I'm kickin' it off with a whole lot of 'expanding my horizons' in a very literal kind of sense! Cozumel, Grand Cayman Island and Jamaica, here I come. I'm so excited and so looking forward to this incredible adventure. Since I don't know if I'll ever get to go on a trip like this again, I went all out and signed up for the shore excursions at the three ports of call. Mayan ruins in Cozumel, snorkeling at Sting Ray City in Grand Cayman Island and a Reggae beach party in Jamaica. Hoo Whoo! Ya Mon. I feel so Irie!...Sorry...A little Jamaican talk for ya. ;)

Not only will this be a vacation trip of a lifetime, but I will also be teaching my Bohemian Knotted Earrings Class as well! Go here to see the classes. In the coming weeks, I will be getting all my beady goodness ready. I'm making kits for my class and extras to sell. I'll be bringing my other jewelry kits and also my tutorial for the Macrame Flower Bracelet, some of my favorite supplies, materials and tools such as Irish waxed linen cord, Macrame boards and knotting tweezers. And of course, a few copies of my book, Bohemian-Inspired Jewelry: 50 Designs Using Leather, Ribbon and Cord.

 Bohemian Knotted Earring Kits 

available for purchase in my Etsy Shop

Whether you are taking my Bohemian Knotted Earring class on the Bead Cruise or not, you can purchase a kit for the earrings in my Etsy shop! The kits included all the materials you need to make the three earring styles, Sun, Fringe and Chandelier. The kits come in Solid Copper for $30 OR you can upgrade to Sterling Silver for $40. All metal components are handmade by Shannon Levart of Miss Fickle Media. If you can't make it to one of my classes this year, you can purchase my Bohemian Knotted Earrings PDF tutorial in my shop for the instruction on how to make the earrings.





Not only am I teaching a class, but I'll have the opportunity to take two of the classes offered on the cruise. Ronna Weltman's Go Organic With Polymer Clay and Kerry Bogert's Sweet Tweeter class. I'm very excited for both of these classes! I'm thrilled to have the time to connect and learn from these two amazing artists, authors and instructors.This is a rare opportunity because most times when you are teaching at an event, you won't have the chance to take any classes yourself or even just chatting with the other instructors.

Can't wait to meet all those aboard Bead Cruise 2013. Many will be new to me. I'm looking forward to seeing my bead friends and fellow instructors, Heather Powers, Beverly Herman and Kerry Bogert, again. I'm also looking forward to meeting instructors, Tracy Stanley and Ronna Weltman for the first time. Bon Voyage!

Bead Fest Philadelphia!

Bohemian-Knotted Earrings Workshop

Saturday, August 18th

I'll be at Bead Fest Philadelphia this weekend! WHO'S WITH ME? If you are going, I'd love to meet up with you. I'm there all weekend long this year. Friday, August 17th - Sunday, August 19th. 

Here's a list of events where you can find me:
 

Friday, August 17th

Meet The Teachers Event

11:30 am -1:00pm

I have a table at the 'Meet the Teachers' Event. I'll be promoting my workshop, Bohemian Knotted Earrings and I'll have samples, kits and handouts for the class on display. I'll have a few of my bohemian knotted earrings available for purchase as well as, books, kits, tools and Irish waxed linen cord! Come see me and see my earrings in person. There's still spaces left in my class and still time to sign-up at the event!

Friday, August 17th
Knotting Demonstration at the Demo area on the show floor
3:15 pm

I'll be demonstrating some of my knotting techniques to make my earrings. Come see how it's done in person.

Saturday, August 18th
Bohemian Knotted Earrings Workshop
Room #20
8:00 am - 11:00 am

Students will learn basic knotting techniques to make three pairs of stylish earrings. Techniques covered in class will included: lark's head knot, half-hitch knot, overhand knot and how to use knotting tweezers for precise knotting.

Online registration for classes is now closed BUT, you can still registrar at the event. There's still time and a few spaces left! 

Bohemian-Inspired Jewelry BOOK SIGNING! Saturday, August 18th

Primitive Earth Beads Booth #528, 530, 532

1:00 pm -2:00pm

Meet me and Lorelei! Get your copy of our book, Bohemian-Inspired Jewelry signed by BOTH of us. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the Primitive Earth Beads booth #528-532 all weekend long.

Please come and join us! See you there this weekend.

Ornamentea: Part 2 - My Class!

 Bohemian Knotted Earrings

On Saturday, July 28th, I taught my Bohemian Knotted Earrings Workshop at Ornamentea in Raleigh, NC. It went incredibly well. I couldn't have asked for it to go any better. I'm kind of giddy about it, really. Everyone that took the class felt very satisfied and happy with their earrings and that is the most important part.  I did have some help to make it go so smoothly, though. First, Ornamentea is a fabulous establishment to hold a class. They have fantastic classroom space and worktables. They did a great job filling up my workshop in a short period of time, too. I was thrilled to learn 9 folks had signed up! Ornamentea had all the tools I needed for my students. That was ideal for me because I was traveling and it would have been difficult bring all that stuff with me. Plus, it's nice for those taking the class not to have to worry about bringing tools with them.  Also, I had my mother-in-law, Nancy Siegel with me. She was my class assistant during the workshop. She came in quite handy! She helped me set out all the class supplies, hand-outs and tools, took these pictures during class, fetched Cynthia when I needed her for something, alerted me when a student needed assistance with something and helped me clean up after class lickety-split.

I had a great group of 9 gals who came to class! Everyone was so friendly and nice. In the picture above, we are doing some introductions at the beginning of class. I stood at the head of the table and introduced myself. Then, we went around the table and I asked each person to tell me and the rest of the class a little bit about themselves and why they wanted to be here.

I was well prepared for class. Each student received a Bohemian Knotted Earrings Kit. The kits included all the materials to make each of the 3 styles of earrings in the workshop. (See top picture in this post) Sun Earrings, Fringe Earrings and Chandelier Earrings. Each student also received a photo step-by-step instruction book hand-out to take home. For me, a thorough hand-out is a vital part of teaching a successful class. I find it makes teaching a large group of people so much easier. It may be more work up front, but on class day, it makes my job a breeze!

The other strategy that I employed for this class, was each student was only required to finish one earring before moving onto the next earring style. This worked well for a few reasons. It ensured that we would have ample time to spend with the techniques for each of the earring styles without being pressed for time at the end for the last pair of earrings. Also, everyone works at a different pace in class. All in the group could finish their one earring without feeling too rushed, yet the pace of the class was not too slow for the faster workers either. We did end up having extra time, so most were able to go back and make the second earring to finish off their pairs. Even if they didn't, I was completely confident that each person would be able to finish the earrings at home, if need be, with the hand-out I provided.

An extra special treat for me was having fellow jewelry friend and blogger, Marcie Abney Carroll of La Bella Joya in my class! Marcie and I have been online friends for years. I think we discovered each other back in 2009. We have been following one another ever since then. I'm glad I was able to come around her neck of the woods so we could finally meet in person. It was a pleasure to have her in class and I'm honored she signed up for my workshop. Marcie happens to be an extremely talented jewelry artist and beader. She creates stunning beadwork and metalwork as well, so for her to want to come to my class says a lot. A lot indeed and I'm not taking the significance of that lightly.

I loved meeting Marcie and all the ladies that took my class and everyone who came to the book signing. That is one of the things I enjoy most about jewelry-making: Meeting creative like-minded people, hanging out with them and having fun! I'm just thrilled with my class and my whole experience at Ornamentea in general. I would love to come back and do it all over again.

And just a reminder, I'll be teaching this same class again at Bead Fest in Philadelphia in just a few weeks. There's still time to registrar and a few spaces left! So, bring a friend and sign up!