Crazy Earring Contest-VOTE

We have a weekly early-morning event at Panopolie. We open at 8:30 and have coffee and breakfast treats and some of our dedicated and busy customers come in and bead every week. Three of the 'regulars' decided to have a contest to see who could create the Worst Giant Earrings. These three worked on their designs for a month and kept the details secret from each other. There was much trash talking about who would have the 'best' Worst Earrings. When the big show down occurred this Friday we really could not choose. How do you choose between Light and Bright, Ready for a Party and Two for One? Can you? Vote for your favorite by leaving a comment on this blog and I will give the winner a big, very appropriate gift.

Light and Bright - these are just the accessories to wear to any occasion where you want to make sure folks look at your face. The glow of the neon foam will illuminate you. This artist said she was going to wear these all day after the unveiling so if you were in line behind her at the grocery store, well, now you know why she had those earrings on. Please pay special attention to the construction method on these earrings, they sport sterling plated jump rings and some very nice color matching. Read this entry as a fantasy of color and light, pointing out the joy we miss in our day to day interactions. I can tell you that when these earrings are worn, people smile.


Ready for a Party - note the artist's use of kitchen cabinet ingredients including the Excedrin nicely sealed in resin (Amazing Glaze, I believe.) The pain relievers taunt the wearer, as they will be needed if after sporting these heavy earrings but are forever unavailable, sealed in resin. The artist offers a second solution in that the bottle openers do still work, so a liquid 'pain reliever' could be utilized. The wire wrapping on these is also top notch. Oh, the artist would want me to point out that she made that pendant from metal clay and so clearly knows better than these earrings would suggest. I found this entry to be a wry commentary on the stresses faced by the the modern woman and her beer of choice.


Two for One - this artist took apart the idea of earrings as individuals and created a Earring/Necklace that requires a commitment from the wearer. Or at least a commitment from the wearer's earlobes as those lobes will be stretched out after a brief wearing. The piece is weighty both in form and actual weight. Note the mix of hand made beads (made by the artist!) and ethnographic elements in this piece for a clever commentary on globalization and fashion.





So, vote already. Leave me a comment telling me which pair is your favorite. Vote early and often, this contest is clearly rigged. Tell all your friends. Don't tell these three, they think I won't actually post this.

Oh, and if you are up early on Fridays, why aren't you here at Panopolie for Breakfast and Beads? There is a seat at our work table waiting for you...I'll pour you a cup of coffee.

The book is here...

well, it's actually on the way here, in boxes on a truck. A very alert person told me last night that the folks at Amazon had it ready to ship already, ditto for Barnes and Noble. I looked it up and did a few minutes of late-night pj dancing. Wahoo. That's my book! Then I thought, WAIT, why don't I have any of them? I have heard complaints before from small book sellers about the 'big guys' getting books before the small folks but until just now I always thought, so what. NOW I am annoyed, this is MY book! How can they have it before I do??? Well, the secret according to my sources at the publisher is that the big book stores have their stock diverted before the book even reaches the U.S. When the books are packed up in Singapore they pack so many boxes for Amazon, so many for Barnes and Noble, etc. The rest go to the publisher's warehouse and THEN to the small book sellers.

So, moral of this story? Be patient with your local small book seller or craft store if they don't have the book you want the day it comes out. They are trying as hard as they can to compete with giant book-nabbing gorillas.

Second moral of the story? MY BOOK IS ON AMAZON! Wow. That is just crazy. Crazy. But don't order it there, please. Get it from your local bead store or non-chain book store or from ME. Still, it's pretty cool to see my book there...

And now I have a book release party to plan!

Prep Maynard has a chain making class coming up at Ornamentea this week. He's a retired engineer who has been making chains for decades. He's precise and detailed-a real engineer-who brings that problem solving personality to jewelry making. I happen to enjoy engineers, although I know some women think they are dry. I like the ability to fix things, the intelligence and the great collections of mechanical pencils. My husband is an engineer, or he was before I dragged him into the world of bead entrepreneurship. At our house his training has translated to a large collection of short wave radios and cameras and some forays into electronic music-making, but not lapidary and chain making supplies.

I wonder if my husband would like to take Prep's class?

You'll learn three different chain styles and make one bracelet. This is a great guy or girl project, call Ornamentea to register at 919-834-6260.

Unfinished business

I am teaching two new classes this fall. I love to teach and it's one of my favorite things to do at the stores but somehow, I never get my samples done in time. I have about 20 half-done class projects on my desk in the studio right now. These two made it out. They are variations on the same technique with different results. The very bright Miami Garden necklace uses a filigree base and the Moon Garden necklace is simple wire twining. I love that both of these use light-as-can-be resin beads. The Miami Garden pendant could even be an earring it's so light! This technique works with all types of beads, though, so you can use your favorite style of beads and colors that work with your wardrobe. I may make one in class that uses some of Elaine's beads mixed with Swarovski crystals...


Take the Miami Garden necklace class at Ornamentea by calling 919-834-6260 or the Moon Garden necklace at Panopolie by calling 919-872-4767.

What else am I planning on teaching IF I can get my samples done? Well, there will be a filigree project or two. I may do the over-the-top necklace from the book (see a peek of it in my blog header.) That would be an all-day class as it uses every filigree beading technique from the book. I want to do the wire basket, and I have a knotted stone necklace that uses Green Girl pendants. There is also a herringbone woven pendant/hammered collar that I keep working with and a few beaded screen pieces that should be finished. Somehow, the finishing is so much harder than the starting. I wonder why? This is a major struggle in my adult life - finishing things - and I can see that I probably need hours and hours of therapy to figure it all out. The fact is, though, that if I had hours and hours I could just FINISH the things I have started, right? Is that the actual problem? Self discipline? Do you have this problem?

(I will note that I did just finish this blog post, so it's not EVERYTHING that is unfinished!)