It was an absolute BLAST!!!
Jeanette and I drove up together to King of Prussia/Valley Forge, PA on Friday….chatting the whole way about every little bead-related thing you could think of. It is so GREAT to talk with a like-minded friend who is just as crazy about it all as I am! And that was just the beginning…imagine a convention center and two hotels full of people all there for the same reason!!
Leslie Zabel, Kerry Bogert, Me, Shelby Foxwell, Lori Anderson and Jeanette Ryan
With Interweave's latest and greatest Instructor!
I was lucky to meet other wonderful instructors and artists, such as Anne Mitchell (couldn’t resist buying one of her metal/viking knit bracelets for a special keepsake), Cassie Donlen, Kim St. Jean and Andrew Thornton. And speaking of meeting and greeting (see, it wasn’t all bead shopping!), I met Sara Richardson from Interweave and Denise Peck, editor-in-chief of Step by Step Wire and senior editor of Lapidary Journal/ Jewelry Artist.
Me with Denise and Kerry. Kerry and I are contributors to Denise's upcoming book, Wire Style 2!
Anne Mitchell
Now it wasn’t all bead shopping and bead talk, I did take a class on Saturday afternoon. Lisa Claxton came all the way out from the SF area and taught us some wonderful fusing techniques in the Eclipse Chain workshop. I enjoyed trying fusing for the first time along with some cool texturizing techniques (but unfortunately I didn’t finish my piece by the end of class).
Lisa Claxton - she compared fusing to dating in her demo, now I'll be sure to remember the steps in the process! 🙂
Fused and textured silver rings
The excitementt didn’t end once we left Bead Fest…. Jeanette and I somehow managed to travel through 5 states in one day! When you end up a 1/2 hour outside of NY en route to VA, you know something is very wrong. We’ll blame it on talking, it was dark out, no GPS and bad directions…. at least we made it home by 2 a.m.! 🙂
Bead Fest Wire was wonderful. Now I’m seriously thinking about attending the Big Bead Fest this August. If so, I hope to meet more of you there!
WOW! I am so envious … and I should have totally been in that pic with you, Denise and Kerry! dang!
YOU HAVE TO COME TO BEAD FEST in august! I’ll be there!!!
I can’t wait!
What an amazing trip – I’m SO jealous! I am so glad you had such a great time meeting wonderful people, shopping & learning that terrific fusing technique. I can’t wait to see your new pieces made with fused silver rings – they’ll be fabulous, I am certain!
🙂 Molly
It sounds like so much fun! Would love to have been there.
The silver rings from the fusing class look so cool. I bet it was a very informative class. It was so great meeting everyone! I had such a blast too and I bet the people at the restaurant thought we were nuts with all the photos we took. 🙂 I hope to be at BeadFest in August so hopefully we’ll see each other again.
Cool pics and your fused links look great! I would love to be there this August!
I’m so glad to have been there! I’m still recovering!
It was great meeting you and Jeanette, you’re as sweet in person as online, wish we had more time to talk. Beadfest is always so hectic. You REALLY need to make it back this way in August. Two floors of beads and wire, who can resist! The fused rings are beautiful! Can’t wait to see your finished piece! It sounds like you and Jeanette had a fabulous time!!
Glad to hear you had such a great time and so wish I could meet all of you in person! Oh well, somebody has to make jewelry on this side of the world!
Can’t wait to see you put your new skills into action!
Cindy, I had a blast too! So glad we had a chance to meet and chat. Looks like the fusing class was a success…can’t wait to see the finished project. August is a must…I’m planning on attending.
how fun! i hope to go sometime.
Oh man Texas is too far out of the loop lol!
Not fair I need to move beck to VA! That is so wonderful.
You guys did have a blast!
How wonderful to meet people that you have only talked to via blog/email.Sounds as though you had a super trip!!I hope to one day do the same.Hugs-Cat
Looks like you had a great time! I’m looking forward to some more classes offered by you and Jeannette! Hope to make it in August, as well!
What a lovely bunch of instructors! The creative juices must’ve been going in high gear. Thanks for showing us.
Wow! I am totally envious! Looks like you had a great time. Looking forward to getting together with some of you all again, myself!
How nice to meet everyone, and so great to put the names with the faces. Sounds like a great time!
what a wonderful time you guys had! you got to just be yourselves for a while and that is so important… your fused links look great – i learned how to fuse sterling on friday too – just different teacher and venue!
Way to Go Little Mama,
30 minutes from NYC heck you should have called the boys and told them there was a slight change in plans and you two would be home on Sunday after a lovely brunch!! 😉
Pattie 😉
Mazatlan Mx.
It was such a wonderful weekend!!! I’m glad to finally meet you “for real” too! I’m already working with some of my new skills. I’m going to be a soldering master (someday). haaaaaaaaa
I am so insanely jealous, you all look and sound like you had a swell time.
Oh, fused silver, my most favorite technique with no mess. Anne Mitchell was my teacher several years ago. Can’t wait to see your creation.
Looks like everyone had a great time.
I am so glad we won’t have to go another 3 years before getting together again!! Such a great weekend!!
wowwww!! thnk you cindy for those beautiful pictures!! this fest looks so cool!!! we are so so so far away.. (unfair!!!)
I knew you would have loads of fun with all those amazing women! I’d love to meet the ladies behind the blogs that I surf through daily!
Sounds like you had a wonderful time! Isn’t it fun to meet people in person who you’ve only known online? What a crazy world we live in!
Your fused rings look great. I want to do that! Bead Fest will be in Arlington which is only about an hour from me–maybe I’ll get to go. I can relate to your 5-state trip. I’ve done that before, by accident.
thanks for visiting my blog!
WOWZERS! It sounds like you had a GREAT time! That is so wonderful.. I can’t wait to see what you create with your new found skills. 🙂
Take Care!
Thanks for mentioning me in your blog, don’t forget to let me know if you
go to King of Prussia, I can arrange to meet you, and make sure u have decent directions going home, Lol!!
It was great seeing you! Thanks for coming by. It was nice to see a “familiar” face. I feel blessed by all the lovely friends I’ve made through this medium. As Margot Potter said not long ago, “Thanks for turning the 2-D into the 3-D.”
You sooooo have to come to big Bead Fest in August! There is nothing quite like it! I’ve been going for 6+ years and I even got engaged there a few years ago! There are usually 200+ vendors and soooooo many cool people to chat with!