It's a Wonderful Life

Having been motivated by a customer/friend at the Downtown City Market for the past two weekends, I am here "blogging" at long last.  Thank you Valerie!

What a fabulous "RIDE" the past year has been for me and my family.

The photo up top is my new "footprint" at the City Market at the Museum in downtown Fayetteville, NC.

www.facebook.com/CityMarketAtTheMuseum

  It is my permanent vending location. I have been set up there since the onset of the venue last April 2012....over a year now.  On those rare occasions when I can't make it out there on a Saturday I feel like something is "missing" in my life.  I have made so many friends out there.  The vendors are awesome folks who are like family to me.  Alot of my consistent customers are now my friends.  I have so many wonderful experiences at the Transportation and Local History Museum every week.  Albeit has been rather warm some of these Summer days and rainy on a few others.  It still amazes me how loyal our customers are to all the vendors.

http://www.visitfayettevillenc.com/things-to-do/family-fun/6221/fayetteville-area-transportation-museum-and-local-history-museum

Here is my Latest and Greatest News so far on my journey here in NC.  As of  August 30, 2013 I have been accepted as a juried exhibiting ARTIST at Cape Fear Studios
 http://www.capefearstudios.com/
It is the primo source of Fine Art in the region with working Artist's studios right in the building.  My biggest joy is that there is a large classroom area where I can get back to teaching Beadwork at finally.  My sabbatical is over hopefully.

Also, even though the application fee is placing me in a grave financial bind and I am flying on blind FAITH the next couple months, I will possibly be returning to Ft Bragg for the Yule Mart again this year.  IF THEY JURY me in.  Application went out in today"s mail.  It will be at a NEW LOCATION with a new association running the show.  The new promoters is the newly created Association of Bragg Spouses...no longer Officer's Spouses.  New location will be :
Ritz-Epps Physical Fitness Center, Bldg C7215 Ft Bragg, NC
Dates of the venue this year are November 22, 23, and 24 2013
I so enjoyed doing the two day show last November I know this year will be even greater and more fulfilling!

The grandchildren are growing and maturing way too quickly for my taste, but I am still BLESSED to be able to spend time with them after school during the week.  Also, my wonderful grandson, Mylz still accompanies me downtown and helps me with my little shop on Saturdays.  His news is that he is on the soccer team for New Century International Middle School.  Ella is so intelligent for a second grader it is scary.  After First grade, she can read almost as well as I can....AMAZING!  She just turned 7 years old on August 2nd and Mylz will be 14 on January 6th, 2014.  He is in 8th grade.

My daughter has a new position and location for her employment.  She is now local, at Ray Price of Fayetteville and is the Finance and Insurance Manager.  They are the exclusive dealers for new Triumph and Ducati motorcycles in the area.  She is prospering and thriving in her new career.

I still struggle daily with my poor crops.  My mini garden is under siege as before by the pesky squirrels.  I have 19 tomato plants and have yet to get a mature tomato from any of them.  They even ate an eggplant but I managed to salvage a small one for myself (pictured above) before they demolished it.  they also confiscated all my pears and figs.  I purchased a sonar box that was supposed to remedy my plight....not so, MY squirrels are wise to everything meant to thwart them....I believe they must have master's degrees in veggie thievery.  I am keeping up with lawn mowing...saints be praised.  We have had a  very mild Summer with a whole lot of rain so we are truly blessed.

There is a reunion of my eighth grade graduating class coming up in October that I will unfortunately not be able to attend.  It has reunited me with several "old" friends who were absent but never forgotten from my life.  Sure wish I could be there "kids" but finances just won't permit.  I never got to the "Rich and Famous" status I had always dreamed of.  I will be there in spirit though, you can count on that!

Once again, I promise to try to BLOG more often....I know I know.  Happy Trails to all of you.  Autumn and the cooler COLORFUL weather is nearly here along with all the fun holidays and joys of the season.

EBW April 2011 Challenge...Spring Around the Corner

It is finally here! The big day for me...my first entry is actually posted on the Etsy Beadweavers Blog for VOTING tomorrow April 9 thru April 15th > Will I win...not a possibility...but I am IN IT!!!!

http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/2011/04/voting-for-april-challenge-spring.html

To share the same space with such AMAZING Bead Artists is my DREAM!! The competition is OUTSTANDING!!

Please be sure to cast your vote for one of these STUNNING pieces but be sure to look at the offerings of ALL of the ARTISTS on their Etsy pages...you will not regret it!!!

Thanks so much

3rd Anniversay Celebration GIVE AWAY

On April 7 2008 I made the BIG LEAP to online selling!! I joined the Etsy Group of fabulous handmade Artisans! Now I want to celebrate that event with a Give Away-type Contest. I am sending invitations to all of my 3737 Friends on my personal page of Facebook and I am inviting the immediate WORLD!! Here's the details....

Go to my Facebook FAN PAGE:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beadacious1221/135420969835596

Become a Fan if you aren't already one. Then you can click on the MY ETSY app on the left of the wall page and choose an item from my Etsy shop that you like...post the link to that item on my Fan Page with what you like about it...could be just one word like "charming". VOILA...you are entered in the drawing on May 1st, 2011.

The item I am Giving Away is here:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/71606993/spiralific-bead-crochet?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=App_Seller&utm_campaign=fb_seller_item&utm_content=items

Photo of it is at the bottom of photos on this post.

The items above it are my recent additions to the shop...there will be more pieces being added every day so keep checking back...some really nifty Mother's Day gifts in the group, PROM, SPRING, Easter too!!

You will be hearing about VOTING in the Etsy Beadweavers April 2011 Challenge real soon too...get on those laptops & vote vote vote...LOL!

Thanks so much for participating in this little event of mine...there will be more!!

EBW Team April 2011 Challenge ENTRY

Here is the Before, During and After photos of my Very FIRST entry in an Etsy Beadweavers Team Challenge. The theme for this April 2011 Challenge is "Spring Around the Corner".This is my attempt at designing a one of a kind Bead Crochet Rope masterpiece in homage of SPRING...a season I never fully appreciated until I lived in Fayetteville, North Carolina for four years.

While I perform every technique and manner of beadweaving....for the past seven years I have specialized in bead crochet ropes as an Instructor and Artist This is a very exacting & time consuming pusuit which was right up my alley.

The first step was designing the pattern on bead crochet graphs (I use Judith Bertoglio-Giffin's version)using 19 different colored pencils. It is much like creating a counted cross stitch chart, but with many more limitations. Step two is putting the graph on a magnetic board & using magnetic strips to hold my place as I string the EXACT pattern one tiny seed bead at a time onto the heavy duty polyester thread...my pattern area was 18 inches before repeat so there was no margin for errors in stringing...which I made several times and had to start over and over to perfection. I used size 8/0, 10/0 and 11/0 Japanese and Czech glass seed beads as well as Czech pressed glass mini drops in the construction of the main body of the 40 inch long lariat. The fringe contains an additional 10 colors of pressed glass Czech beads. The 40 inches of seven beads around necessitated approximately 280 inches of strung pattern. After all these beads are strung precisely as designed, the crocheting with the tiny 1.25 steel crochet hook begins. In the case of this particular piece it took three plus weeks from start to finish...i am not real good about tracking my time as for me it is a labor of LOVE not Business.

I am SOOOO enthusiastic about being permitted to participate in this challenge with the Best Beadweaver Artists on Etsy....Please CAST YOUR VOTE for your favorite design in the Etsy Beadweavers Team Challenge of April 2011 at:

http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com

ANYONE can vote...the entries are awe-inspiring. That is how I was drawn into the Team...maybe YOU will be too.

ETSY BEADWEAVERS TEAM

Yeah!! I finally got the courage to join the Etsy Beadweavers Team!!

I have been lurking in the shadows...voting for all the Challenges every month. Salivating at the artistic prowess of these AMAZING artisans...now I am in their ranks and hoping to enter my own pieces in the monthly Challenges.

If you are not familiar with these Challenges, you can become educated at this site:

http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/

The Challenge VOTING begins the 9th of EVERY MONTH and ends the 15th.
EVERYONE is invited to vote for their favorite entry. Entries are submitted via each member's Etsy Shop.

I am currently hard at work composing what I hope will be my very first entry in this upcoming Challenge for April:

"Spring Around The Corner"

Please come and join me in my enthusiasm for this Spectacular Etsy Team by getting involved in the voting process.

I am also a member of the Etsy Bead Team:

http://www.etsy.com/teams/6360/etsy-bead

Etsy Pure Handmade Team:

http://www.etsy.com/teams/7747/

Etsy Trade-A-Holics..

http://www.etsy.com/teams/6490/etsy-trade-a-holics

more very active ETSY TEAMS!!

Time Sure Flies When I "KNIT" !!!!

I have been KNITTING for the Holidays..albeit alot of my endeavors were Way To Small for the young-uns up in NC...I will remedy that ASAP! Plus I have a committment to a dear Trade-a-holic Pal on Etsy to provide her with two hats & a cowl out of the discontinued Lion Suede & Lion Thick & Quick Chenilles that I had bunches of in my "stash" of yarns. I have nearly completed that offering....should be in the mail by Friday at the latest.
I have great plans to open my SECOND ETSY SHOP specifically dedicated to my yarnie endeavors in January. I will be either reducing my presence on Artfire to Basic member or remove myself altogether from their site as I have not sold a single item in the entire year of 2010. I paid $100 for the year's membership and did a whole lotta work promoting my shop there but it just didn't work!

I was under the weather quite a bit lately...was it mental duress? Quite possibly, in light of the events of last year this time & the desolation around here this holiday season with no SALE OF HOUSE in sight! My New Year Resolution is DE-FUNK myself so I am more productive emotionally as well as physically!! What are your resolutions?

Proof Positive...Just a Few of My New Items on ETSY!

I'M REALLY WIRED!!!!

Im Really Wired!!!

Curated By: beadacious122...

ArtFire.com

Handmade Gifts

Wire Wrap Pendant COLLECTION on Artfire!

MUST HAVE PENDANTS!

Curated By: beadacious122...

ArtFire.com

Indie Design

IF I had my druthers, every one of these would be in my possession RIGHT NOW!!

MY FIRST EVER COLLECTION ON ARTFIRE

CHIX with STIX

Curated By: beadacious122...

ArtFire.com

Handmade Gifts

I never would have thunk it to be SOOOO EZ to create a collection...but it was! This could be addicting!! Please come view & comment so I get motivated to do more, okay??