Registration starts tomorrow for the Bead&Button Show

Bead&Button Show online class registration will open tomorrow, Tuesday, January 06, 2015 at Noon, CST. Back before I started teaching at the show I would have already decided which classes I wanted and anxiously waited for registration to open. One of my friends would even create an Excel spread sheet to make final class decisions. I was not that bad.

I'd clear my schedule so I could be at the computer when registration opened and open a window in my browser for each class I wanted so I could just go down the line and click to register for the class. The really great classes always sold out immediately, and I wanted to make sure that I got my seat. One year, poor planning had me standing in the crowds at EPCOT Center to register while my family toured the Mexican Pavilion.

The Bead&Button Show is a must for every serious beader. Always held in Milwaukee, it is the largest consumer jewelry and bead show in the world with a juried exhibit of amazing bead art and more than 500  classes -- bead embroidery, bead weaving, metal work, polymer clay, metal clay, lampwork, kumihimo, looming, and much much more. A huge (overwhelming) convention hall is full of hundreds of vendors sell precious gems, pearls, art beads, gold and silver, beading supplies and books.  And everyone there speaks bead.

I've already posted this information, but I just wanted to remind you of the classes I will be teaching at the 2015 show. I hope to see you there.

Take a Spin

Wednesday, June 3, 2015 8:00am-3:00pm

The intense color and texture of fish leather (yes it is really made from fish skin) is the perfect backdrop for this intricately embellished spinner (yes, it really spins). A bezeled Swarovski rivoli is surrounded with Czech spikes and pearls, and the cuff is edged with tiny pearls.  Students will learn how to engineer a working spinner, bezel a cabochon and set a grommet without breaking beads. They will also learn bead embroidery basics including backstitch, embellishing, finishing and edging. Kits will be available in a variety of spike colorways including frosted crystal with raspberry fish leather (shown below), blue sparkle with gray fish leather, Picasso green with Nutella fish leather, burgundy with fuchsia fish leather and more.

Tiny Dancer

Thursday, June 4, 2015 8:30am-3:30pm

A pie shaped cabochon bezeled and fringed with a lush cluster of marquise dangles in assorted color patinas invokes an image that comes right out of a painting from Renoir’s ballerina series. The shine of the polished cabochon works with the rough patinas to create a pendant rich in color and texture that can be suspended from the chain or rope of your choice. Kits will be available in a wide variety of natural stone cabochons.

The Right Spot (Leopard, Tiger, Zebra and Snow Leopard)

Friday, June 5, 2015 8:30am-4:00pm

Textured bead embroidery takes this whimsical animal print bracelet to the next dimension. Using pre-printed beading foundation as a guide, embroider Rizos vertically to give the illusion of fur. Students will learn how to read a graph, basic embroidery techniques, how to back and edge it, how to add a clasp. Kits will be available in Leopard, Tiger, Zebra and Snow Leopard.

The Other Side of the Moon

Saturday, June 6, 2015 9:00am-5:00pm

This stunning textured bead embroidered bracelet proves you don’t have to spend a fortune on cabochons. Surround a dollar’s worth of bezeled cabs with dense layers of Czech glass daggers, lentils, rondelles, drops, pearls, petals and more to create a bracelet that’s out of this world. Students will learn how to bezel a cabochon, backstitch, layer and combine many different types of beads to create a variety of effects, finish and edge bracelet. Kits will be available in four colorways including lime and turquoise (below) and amber and brown.