BeadFest Philadelphia is over for 2010 and, thankfully, so is the 12 hour drive back home to Indiana. I rolled in at about 5:30a and have had one or two cats sitting on me since then.
I was next to Amy of
Hip Chick Beads again and it was great to see a familiar face. Besides making sweet, hand-cast, sterling silver charms, she pelted me with chocolate whenever I looked sleepy. I bought a nice assortment to work into jewelry for the holiday season and a few goodies for me. Please check out her designs!
One of the coolest items I saw was
SilverSilk! This is a super-fine metal mesh available in Agentium and copper. The photo above is of the 8 needle flat version which I bought to stitch around my vessel necks. I'm kicking myself now for not buying some of the finer, round knit. Becky Machinski had herds around her demos and lines out of her booth every time I walked by. This is a really new product and I think they are just now getting it out to bead and jewelry artists but I think it's going to be one of the next trends in jewelry making because of all of the possibilities! Their website has a great explanation of how SilverSilk is
made, some beautiful
finished jewelry and some
tips and techniques from Becky herself. Check it out!
Last but not least is
Easy Earring Cards. I don't make much finished jewelry and I haven't used earring cards in years but that didn't matter! These punches make perfect, even earring holes in any cardstock or business card you choose. The kit includes both post and leverback/hook style punches as well as 25 blank cards to get you started. You can order a variety of pre-cut blank cards from their website as well as cards that stand up for display (trifolded) or fold into a gift package. I can't wait to make earrings now!
I'm exhausted but what a blast!
Hi Julie,
ReplyDeleteI didn't get to see your work this year. I remember you from last years Beadfest Philly.
I will look for you at the next show.
Dee
Easy Earring Cards