Bead&Button Preparation Season

My husband Jim is an avid archer. He loves hunting deer and elk with his bow and arrow and gets so excited for bow hunting season, that he created Hunting Preparation Season at the Schweder household. This means that since the real buck deal opens mid-September, he spends basically all of August and the first half of the following month getting all his gear down from the garage attic, sorting through and reorganizing it, culling out any worn or unnecessary items (hunting is an evolutionary sport you know--what worked last year, may not jive with 2010's strategy), etc., etc. (What all this boils down to for me is that I can't schedule any family or friend gatherings or unnecessary doings while he's in this . . . fervor.)

It used to drive me crazy, but I'm in the same boat now getting ready for the Bead&Button Show. I've been notifying attendees, ordering elements for and assembling class kits, creating a movable display (I'm teaching in four different classrooms this year, so I need to be mobile) for teaching and the Meet the Teachers event, planning my book signing attraction (should I invent a Make-n-Take again this year?), and manifesting a new steel wire demo at the Create Your Style with Swarovski Elements booth. I'm  even scheduling and gearing up for a Guinea Pig class at my home studio since this is the first time I've taught a three-day workshop on resin jewelry techniques.

Of course if that's not enough, I need to be involved in set-up of our Loose Bead Society package check, help in the organization of the Go Global: A Global Bead Society Exchange, and assist with a little soiree Debbi Simon and I are hosting for our fellow CYS-Swarovski Ambassadors.

(If I told you now that my god-daughter's high school graduation is the Thursday night of Show week, would you call your therapist to schedule an appointment for me pronto?)

Jim asked me the other night (at my now-twelve-year-old's birthday dinner), "Are you alright? Are you mad at me?" And, after I snapped back to the conversation at hand with a startled, "Huh?," I replied, "Yes dear (get it? deer?), I'm just in Bead&Button Preparation Season!"

And I wouldn't miss all the B&B fervor for the world--come join me!

Expanding Your Horizons--No Time Like the Present

Our local beading guild, The Loose Bead Society of Greater Milwaukee (yes, I'm head bead) has a great theme for 2010--Expanding Your Horizons.

And, our Web Goddess Traci Otte issued a challenge to members to post ways they have reached past their usual and comfortable jewelry making habits on our site. Some have taken a class on tatting (fellow member Marilee Rockley taught this at our Spring retreat); some have tried peyote or right angle weave stitches for the first time (ouch--my brain hurts just thinking about it); and some have ventured into the puzzling world of chainmaille (many rings, so many ways to cross my eyes)!

Me? I've been fighting my urge to dive into PMC until this week. Oh, I've dabbled a bit: a rollover pendant class here, and a Kate McKinnon workshop at the Bead&Button Show there. But nothing ignited a fire under this b-u-t-t to make it jump up and run toward all of silver clay's potential.

[Note: I admit this had more to do with my readiness than my past teachers or workshops.I've recently discovered that I tend to like to work directly with jewelry materials. I like fast results, instant gratification, and a high rate of excellent results. (Anyone see why steel wire and I get along so famously? A quick bend of the wrist yields a fabulous right angle. Simple. Done.) Media that have more steps, scarier tools, or longer bench-times take longer for me to warm up to.]

As a matter of fact, my friend and fellow designer/author Debbi Simon and I have threatened, but have never taken the silver clay plunge. Until this weekend!

A two-day workshop taught by Irina Miech (author of umpteen books on the subject and owner of Eclectica), yielded these (and a few more) sweet silver pieces!

This class was just what I needed--a short, concentrated time period (two full days to fit our busy work/play/family schedules); a lot of bench time (there's no equal to practicing what's been demonstrated); and a flexible enough workshop format (Irina kept us class renegades interested but within our certification boundaries)!

And guess what? I did it!! I've expanded my horizons AND I've got a certificate to prove it! After all, leaders should set a good example for their members, shouldn't they?)

Smiley Face Watch

I've shared this image with my Facebook friends along with a post something like, "this piece just makes me smile." It's true. I've seen some fabulous resin work that traps unexpected things inside (isn't that 90% of what makes us goofy about resin -- the trapping part?) like big, fancy pearls and even a mouse (ewww!). That's what inspired me to try my hand at my own version of freezing stuff in time!

My friend KaKO recently gave me a big box of goodies from her past -- kind of like a 3-D scrapbook of her life. I spied this 80s watch from the middle of the pile. It probably just needed a new battery, but I decided I'd rather not know so I could be fearless in trying this idea. I prepped a frozen food tray with some release and went to town positioning the watch and carefully pouring the resin.

After it cured enough to pop it out of the tray the following morning, I noticed a bubble at the 10 o'clock mark. Rather than ditching the project (I tend to try to save just about anything with even a little potential), I thought I'd enhance the even-numbered hour marks with chatons. (Just so happens my friend Debbi Simon has been working with these sparkly bits lately, so I gave her a jingle.)

Another little glitch worked out as well, after I hit an air pocket (that darn 2 o'clock mark this time) while drilling the chaton divots. After I carefully removed the drill dust, I filled the pocket with resin one drop at a time. Then I used the resin to not only set the other five chatons, but add a high polish to the face of the piece. (I waited until the resin at the 2 o'clock mark set and thickened a bit before adding the last little glitz-bit.)

I learned three things about resin during this work: that it has a longer pour-time before setting than I thought; that matte surfaces can be glossed up with an additional resin skimcoat; and that mistakes are easily repaired with some patience and precision.

All-in-all, this watch-let was a pretty quick project. It makes me smile and feel happy every time I look at it -- a new take on the smiley face watch from the 70s!