Sunday, January 29, 2012

At the risk of sounding like the Pointer Sisters...

I'm so excited!

I know it's been months again since my last post.  Sorry, but I've been pretty busy!

When I last posted I had just done the Milwaukee Bead Show and had just found out that my Shadowed Diamonds class was accepted by the Bead&Button Show.  I posted about four shows I had coming up in the holiday season, and about a potential article coming out in Bead Style magazine.

I did not jinx the article by posting about it before signing the paperwork.  I made use of the Otte Courier System (Steve bringing items home from Kalmbach and taking things back) to sign the paperwork, to receive the check, and to receive my bracelet and the advanced copies of the magazine.  I am a published artist!!  The magazines have just been sent out to subscribers, and if they're not in stores yet, they soon will be.  In case you'll be on the lookout for it, here's what the cover looks like:


 And here's a look at my bracelet again:






Referenced in the article is my "Parenthetical Statements" bracelet which was the inspiration for this one.  The two bracelets look similar, but the techniques really are quite different.  I've listed the tutorial on my Etsy shop plus kits in four different colorways.


Here's what that bracelet looks like:



On to the shows.  I did very well at Loominosity and Jewelry at the Domes in November.  St. John's in Waukegan was pretty good, but St. Francis De Sales in Lake Geneva was a bust.  My own Saint John (my stepfather) saved that one by buying one of my most expensive necklaces for my mother, and he commissioned earrings to match.  I also slipped into another sale at the German Immersion School very close to home here in Milwaukee.  Except for maybe one class in English a day, all teaching is done in German, even in K4 (that's Kindergarten for 4 year olds in case you don't have it in your area)!  I find it fascinating and hope one day I'll have a child of my own to send there.  Fingers crossed - time is ticking!

The rest of the time since my last post has been spent finishing up my inventory program (getting all of the beads and materials entered that I bought before 2011 - it was quite a bit!), wrapping up the year for taxes, and planning for the future.  I'm working on another project that I hope will make it into Bead&Button magazine this time (the stitching is not as suited to Bead Style, I believe).

I recently taught a class at a local bead store, Knot Just Beads, and I have a few more coming up in the next few months.

The biggest thing coming up is my class at the Bead&Button Show in June.  I've been obsessed with checking my Teacher Inventory Report.  Fifteen minutes after the registration opened I had one student signed up.  I was thrilled and for three days I refreshed the screen about 100 times a day.  Now I'm checking only 20 times a day.  :D  As of right now I have four students.  I'm hoping for more, so if you like stitching and are going to be at the Show, please check out my class.  The class information can be found here.  If you know of anyone who fits that bill, please send them my way!

Shadowed Diamonds

Goodness!  I'm tired just listing all that out!  In between things I've also been knitting that sweater I posted about over a year ago?!?  I'm done with the back and am working on one of the front panels.  It took me 10 attempts to finish the back - that blog post will be coming up.... soon?

Do me a favor?  Poke me if I take too long between posts?  Thanks!

When looking for the post about the sweater I found that I posted 76 times in 2010 and only 8 last year.  Do I still have readers left?  Please leave me a comment and tell me what kinds of things you'd like me to post about, and I'll do my darndest to do it!