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!

Secret Stuff and Snaptastic Photo Results!

Hi all! I apologize for it being so quiet around here. Blogging will most certainly become more of a commitment in my immediate future, that's for sure. I was recently offered an amazing opportunity to join a well known group blog. I'm so excited! Joining a team like this will definitely help me make blogging more of a priority. Can't wait to share the news with you on that soon.

Also, I've been working hard on all secret jewelry stuff, lately. Mostly magazine submissions for 2012...and one other really BIG secret thing. At least, it's big to me. No, it's definitely big. Eeek! I'd be playing where all the professional jewelry girls and boys play if I got this. I haven't heard anything back yet, so wish me luck! I really want this thing to happen. I think it's the direction I want to take my jewelry career for the future. I wish I could tell you more, I just don't want to get too ahead of myself here, so I just can't go there. I know. I hate cryptic messages from people too, so I understand if you dislike me right now. ;)

Anyway, in other news, I finished up Kerry Bogert's Snaptastic e-course! Yay! I learned a lot and I'm improving on my jewelry photos tremendously! I still need a little more work and practice to be where I want to be overall, but I'm happy with the results I've gotten with the information Kerry shared in her course. You can still take the e-course, you know. Just click that link above. I highly recommend it! Here are a few of my new photos I took and edited while taking Kerry's e-class:

 Rainfall Earrings

 Blue Jean Baby Leather Wrap Bracelet

 Exotic Wishbone Earrings

You can see a few more on my Flickr page!

Taking Jewelry Photos

I'm thrilled that Kerry Bogert is offering an e-course of her Snaptastic! Photography class! I was considering attending ArtBliss this year to take the class there, but with a baby, buying our first home and finishing up the book, I just couldn't make it. Kerry is one of those people in the bead and jewelry world I admire very much for just about everything she does. I'd love to meet her in person someday, but I was really thrilled she was offering her class as an e-course. Now, that I can do! I have some new plans in the works and I really need to be taking better photos of my jewelry. I feel I used to be able to get some good shots when I could take most of my photos outside, but I don't have an outdoor space to take photos where we live now. I need to learn how to get better shots inside. I also need to learn how to use the settings on my new camera. Even though I have a point-and-shoot camera, it still has settings and modes for things like aperture, shutter speed, manual, program, etc. Ack! I have no idea.
The e-course will be starting in a just few days. You still have time to registrar and take the class with me. I was a little too anxious to get started, so I bought her e-book version and I've gotten a little head start! I made some new earring designs I'm very excited about, so I wanted to get some good shots of them. I've been taking photos for 3 days straight and I'm exhausted!

Below are photos I managed to come up with after reading Kerry's e-book:

These were taken in natural light. It was cloudy all three days I took photos, but I think I managed to get some okay shots. Still, a bit dark. These are probably the best photos I've ever taken of jewelry, so at least there's improvement! So, what do you think? Be honest, now. I'm looking to improve, so don't be shy with the critiques!