Crystal Clay Eye Candy

I taught an Intro to Crystal Clay class yesterday at beadFX as part of their March Break line up. There were two sets of mothers and daughters along with one of the Open Bead Night regulars.

It was so much fun introducing everyone to Crystal Clay and Swarovski Elements. Everyone used chatons in their pieces. One innovative young lady used top drilled bicones inserted with the drilled part into the clay. Smart cookie!

I also had a chance to see some new bezels I bought in Tucson from Nunn Designs. They are pendants and brooch pins in one. Such a smart design!!!! I love the heart and round shapes. The edges are beautiful. These are really stunning bezels which I am happy to say will be available from me at the Toronto Bead Society Spring Fair.

$2 off coupon for TBS Fair

Please make sure and visit the following link to print off your $2 off coupon for the Toronto Bead Society Fair coming up this weekend.

www.torontobeadsociety.org

See you this weekend!!

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TBS Fall Fair

On Saturday, I handed in samples of the class I'll be teaching at The Toronto Bead Society Fall Fair.

Learn the basics of wire crystal crochet with CREATE YOUR STYLE with Swarovski Elements Ambassador, Stephanie Dixon. You will create two pairs of earrings using 26 gauge non tarnish silver wire and silver ear wires.

Good as Gold: Crystal Golden Shadow Aquiline pendant focal surrounded by the CGS Xilion pendant and Colorado Topaz AB2X bicones.

Bargello: Erinite Briolette focal Pendant surrounded by Xilion bicones in Mocca, Sand Opal and Erinite.

Stay tuned to www.torontobeadsociety.org for more details!


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Toronto Bead Oasis Part I

You know Fall is around the corner when the Toronto Bead Oasis Fall show is on. It is the kick-off for the Fall shows.

As volunteer coordinator for the Toronto Bead Society, I was there at our booth singing the praises of the TBS and it's members. Such a fabulous group of women and a few men! A big shout out to all the volunteers who gave of their time to speak to the gazillions of people who stopped by our booth. A special thank you to Sue Henry, our Calendar Girl, for getting the 2009 TBS Calendar printed in time for the show and for backing me up as I was out for the count on Sunday. I have been sick since Wednesday and wasn't able to give it my all.

I was able to help out Amy Waldman Smith in her booth Friday night. You should see her new line of lampworked beads - Folk Art and Pop Art. I love them both. (I love all her work!!!) You can find her fan page on Facebook - Amy Waldman-Smith - Lampwork Glass Beads. Or on Etsy - AmyWaldmanSmith.etsy.com

I had the pleasure of spending some time with my fellow Canadian Create-Your-Style Ambassador, Jamie North as we were demoing with Swarovski Crystallized Elements and Unicorne Beads. I made a ton of rings with their new button beads. Oohhhh YUMMY!!!!!

Crafty Ladies Hip to the Bead

This blog is brought to you from today's issue of the Toronto Star. In the Living Section, Bernadette Morra has written a wonderful article about beading that mentions the Toronto Bead Society, Bead Junction, beadFX and even crocheting with wire - so I guess I am alluded to! She actually mentions Patricia Huff, Heather Taylor and Rachel Nelson-Smith by name!!

http://www.thestar.com/comment/columnists/article/666644
Here is the article:

Having spent a great deal of time visiting my late mother in nursing homes the past several months, I began to forget that it is possible to remain healthy, productive and creative in one's later years.

Then I met Edie Atkin Goodis. At 88, Goodis could be the poster girl for graceful aging.
She spends two hours each day swimming and working out in her condo's gym. When we met on a recent weekday afternoon, she was smartly dressed and expertly coifed. Goodis showed me her needlepoint, her stitchery, her quilting, and her block prints. But her main passion is to create mosaic-like bracelets and jangly necklaces from a palette of microscopic beads.
That she can even see them is remarkable. That she threads a surgically thin needle through the tiny purple spears and bronze spheres is even more impressive. And if Goodis doesn't have a bead she thinks will work in a particular spot, she'll make her own, forming miniature cylinders from tubular Japanese delica beads.

"I am painting with beads," she describes. And she is not the only one.

A survey of Goodis's favourite local bead suppliers – Bead FX in Scarborough, Bead Junction on Roncesvalles, and That Bead Lady in Newmarket – reveals a subculture of (mostly) women who just can't keep their fingers still.

Groups such as The Toronto Bead Society have monthly get-togethers where members "show and tell" new projects. Bead retailers regularly hold classes, birthday parties, drop-ins, beading bees and workshops with internationally recognized bead artists.

It was at a Bead Junction workshop that Goodis learned the technique for the fringed necklace that she has riffed on with her own palette and sensibility – that being typical of beaders who will master a technique, then run with it. Luckily, there are artists such as Rachel Nelson-Smith, Sherry Serafini and Cynthia Rutledge (who will be teaching at Bead Junction next month) who are pushing the boundaries of beading to keep enthusiasts engaged.

It also helps that the range of available beads has exploded thanks to online shopping and retailers such as Bead FX, which makes lampwork beads and offers classes to teach the skill.
No wonder bead stores have become something of a refuge during tough economic times.
"For as little as $5, a person can buy two tubes of seed beads that will make six or seven necklaces," says Patricia Huff, co-owner of Bead Junction. Huff is a client data analyst at RBC by day, and self-confessed bead addict on nights and weekends. She opened the store with architect and bead artist Heather Taylor in 2005.

Bead Junction has hundreds of styles of beads including semi-precious stones, Murano glass, fanciful cloisonné and iridescent dichroic beads made from layers of glass and foil. There are 14 styles of turquoise alone. Prices range from pennies to $99.95 for a Druzy, an inner chunk of a geode that has been gold-leafed.

The beads can be loomed into fabric, strung into strands, crocheted with wire, and used in quilting, knitting and micro-macrame.

The thrill, says Huff, is simply in, "taking this, matching it with that, and then going to town to see what you can make. And I like that in 15 minutes I can have a necklace, or something more elaborate in two hours." One Bead Junction client is working on a seed bead tapestry that will take months to complete.

Such intense work can have its hazards. Goodis is being treated for trigger finger and has had to lay off the needles and wire.

But don't expect her to ever stop. Goodis attributes her longevity, in part, to her hobby. As she puts it, "I can't wait to get up in the morning because I've got something that I love to do."


After 23 years with the Toronto Star, this is Bernadette Morra's final column. In August, she becomes editor-in-chief of Fashion magazine, replacing Ceri Marsh who is on maternity leave for one year. Morra will continue to edit her website for jewellery lovers, firstwaternews.com.

January Classes and Events

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

January is action packed month for me with 5 classes being offered this month. I am also pleased to announce that I will also be offering classes at Bead Junction for those of you who live downtown and in the east end of Toronto.

Here is the schedule:

Saturday, January 10 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm Wire Bead Crochet Basics - Choker at Bead Junction (colour choices may vary from picture shown)

Saturday, January 17 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm Crochet Cuff at BeadFX (colour choices may vary from picture shown)

Sunday, January 18 10:00 am - 12:30 pm Crochet Earrings at BeadFX

Saturday, January 24 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm Multistrand Necklace at Bead Junction (colour choices may vary from picture shown)

Sunday, January 25 11:30 am - 1:30 pm Crochet Earrings at Bead Junction

The new year also kicks off with the Toronto Bead Society's Bag of Bead Challenge. This is a really fun event. Everyone who wants to participate, purchases a bag of beads and has two months to create something - anything! I have seen the beads and they are..... I can't reveal anything! SORRY!

The TBS meeting also has a wonderful special guest - Maria Rypan. Here is the info from the TBS website:

Jan 14, 2009 - Maria Rypan Contemporary Beadwork in the Ukraine

Maria’s PowerPoint presentation will debut at the Toronto Bead Society meeting. She has plenty of new material and stories from her many trips to Ukraine where she visited artists and master crafts people’s homes, museums and met many interesting beadwork artists at the Vernisage, a folk art piazza in the centre of Lviv.

There are also many beadwork publications that came out in the past year. Recent meetings with authors of two new adornment and beadwork books enhance the topic. Maria will bring some actual beadwork samples for you to admire closely. Check out the workmanship and designs using beads on eggs and Christmas balls by Vera. You’ve never seen anything quite like it!

There will be a small Trunk Show featuring Maria’s illustrated step-by-step instructions and a few kits and patterns of the Ukrainian-style “gerdany” beadwork. Come and be inspired! Maria Rypan’s work can be found at http://www.rypandesigns.com/.

Also at this meeting:
Bag o' Beads challenge intro and packages distributed
Vendors

I will in attendance at the meeting with lots of wire for sale! If there are specific colours and gauges that you would like to pre-order for delivery at the TBS meeting, please send an e-mail to me at stephaniedixon@rogers.com.

The Wait is Over...

For those of you who were wondering - where did the Dixon Chick go? Well, here I am. Shortly after my last post on Canadian Thanksgiving, my computer's power supply went the way of the dodo bird. This was very disconcerting to say the least. I chalk it up to "The Curse of the Volunteer Coordinator". Apparently, the same thing happened to Kimberly Harris when she was the Volunteer Coordinator for the Toronto Bead Society.

My last post was entitled: Busy, Busy, Busy. And it is still true - but I thought I would provide some updates.

My name is Mommy: the last post started with the Marlies game that Declan and I went to. Well, as season ticket holders - we go to them all. There was another one last night - a very special one for us. I organized a group of 70 kids from Grades 6, 7 and 8 and teachers from St. Antoine Daniel to go down to the school day game yesterday. When booking the tickets with my sales rep, Darryl, I asked if they had chosen the minor hockey player that carries the Marlies flag onto the ice and skates around with it. They had not - so of course, I suggested Declan. And he was chosen as the McKid! It is hosted by McDonald's and the group sits in the McDonald's zone. It was a great experience for both Declan, his dad and myself. He got to greet the players as they came off the ice, right in front of the dressing room. They high fived him, smacked his pads with their sticks and generally had a fun time with him.

I also went to the Bahamas with some fabulous gals from my softball league. There will be many a post on that trip - but here is a pic or two to whet your appetite:

Beading: Well tomorrow is going to be quite exciting! I am off to John Bead for their warehouse sale. Shopping again you say? Perhaps, but they have asked me to demo my wire bead crochet technique with the new expanded line of 26 gauge Artistic Wire that they are carrying. Christine, Lynda and I have been hatching some ideas and I can not wait to reveal the new design this weekend. All I can say is HOLY BLING MOLEY!!!! Think Preciosa....

All will be revealed...

MWAAAHAHAHAHAHA!

PS. A special shout out to Cynthia Fawcett - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! (tomorrow)

Bead Oasis Prep

Ok, so I am home after a long day.... worked at my j.o.b., picked up Declan, came home, grabbed a suitcase full of jewellery, hit Wendy's for take-out, Staples for receipts, and hopped on the subway to have a leisurely dinner on my way to the Metro Convention Centre to get the Toronto Bead Society booth ready for the big opening of the Bead Oasis tomorrow.

Sounds busy, I know.

I was all keyed up and ready to get everything in place as I have to work at my j.o.b. tomorrow and can't attend the B.O..... I forgot how long it takes to get to the south building of the convention centre. I left home at 6:30 and by the time I actually stepped foot into the hall - it was 7:45. That didn't seem bad to me as we had until 9:00 pm to set up.... or so I thought. They cut it short - we had to be out of there at 8:00!

Freak out!

So, obviously, didn't get as much done as expected.

Guess who gets to be there at 7:00 am to finish the set-up?

Yep - the Volunteer Coordinator - and that's me!

God bless Kim and her hubby John for being there and doing some stuff and to Sue as well, who is keeper of the screens.

Tomorrow is looking just as busy as today.

Get up at 5:00 am to leave the house at 6:00 to get downtown for 7:00 am.

Declan has a soccer practice at 8:20 am. Tim will have to take care of that.

Get back up north to Keele and Steeles for my job at 8:30 am.

Work until 4:30.

Pick up Declan.

Go home and eat.

Get changed for softball - Markham Women's Slopitch League.

Declan and I head to Markham for an 8:30 pm game.

Last game of the regular season - drinks after.

I think I am going to slightly wiped out.