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Nancy Kamp's Beading Diary 2011 Back Next
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Bead Class Links - Useful links for Nancy's students Home: greenlightwrite.com featuring GraciousJaneMarie.com -
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Nancy Kamp's Beading Diary 2011 Back Next
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Bead Class Links - Useful links for Nancy's students Home: greenlightwrite.com featuring GraciousJaneMarie.com -
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2010 Diary - previous year About Us - Find out more about Nancy Kamp and Jane Marie
Beading - Main page and Table of Contents Books about Beads, Beading and Jewelry VeryShinyObjects.com - Watch Nancy's jewelry business grow! |
Nancy recommends Groovy Looping Pliers for fast and consistent single and double wrapped loops: |
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February 8, 2011: The horrible weather has led to quality time with the beads. And because I've been growing my skills, the jewelry I've been making is looking better than ever. (Photos some day soon.) I've also been sorting through the old stuff:
All this results in paperwork (when I haven't finished the taxes) because anything plan to keep forever has to be withdrawn from inventory with appropriate sales tax paid, etc. Aaarrrrggghhh.
February 9, 2011: Sometimes our prayers are answered. Just when snow fever and looming taxes choked away every spark of creativity, the USPS delivered salvation from Kalmbach Books in the form new bead books. And both of them hit me just where I happen to be in the creative process. At our most recent gathering, my beady friends and I did some riveting. We used 14 gauge sterling wire for the rivets and made coin earrings, but there is a whole world of metalwork possibilities out there as best seen in Kim St. Jean's book, Mixed Metal Mania. It has (drool) an extensive tool list, detailed process instructions and tips, and skill growing projects. The book is a must have.
I'm fairly new to seed beading - love those spiral bracelets - and have not been progressing at an accelerated rate in this field because not every technique results in something that appeals to my soul. Nancy Zellers to the rescue with Bead Tube Jewelry. Peyote and brick seed bead stitching can go contemporary with her genius projects. I can't wait to share this book with my group, though they'll each have to buy their own. My copy stays with me..
February 14, 2011: I'm a lot more likely to become a pet hoarder than a jewelry hoarder. I love to see other people wearing my jewelry, yet if my dogs weren't fixed and had puppies, I'm sure I wouldn't be able to let any of the puppies go to new homes. [Note to children - I had trouble letting you go, too, but I trust and believe in you and dogs, as you know, are stupid and helpless in this human world.] My point, and I do have one, comes from the book I just finished, Cheryl Jarvis' The Necklace. It's the story of Jewelia, a diamond necklace that 13 California women bought together, and how the necklace changed their lives. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have joined the group if they'd invited me, but having read their stories, I realize that would have been the wrong decision. A little more sharing, a little more bonding, a little more personal growth, what's not to like?
March 1, 2011: There's a lot to be said for television, especially when a person can make a chunky charm bracelet and a pair of matching earrings while traveling through time and space to the death of Ann Boleyn. Of course, what I watched doesn't matter as much as completed projects and the fact that I've been reinspired. Tudor jewelry was big and heavy the way I like it, and that started some percolation of my little gray cells. But it was new books that really got me ready to create. Saturday, we went to the Friends of the Library Book Sale, an annual event in OKC and one of the largest used book sales in the country. Every year, I look for bead books and never find any because beaders just love their books and don't seem to dump them. I did find two craft books that mentioned beads, which was quite a feat, but it was the USPS that saved an otherwise depressing the day for me with a delicious triple delivery from Kalmbach Books. Seed beads are featured in all of them, but each is unique and special:
March 11, 2011: I'm so excited. I'm going to be teaching classes in the basics at the Intergem Bead Show next weekend in Oklahoma City! Here's their press release:
Oklahoma City, OK – March 18-20, 2011 - The International Gem & Jewelry Show at the Oklahoma State Fair provides an exciting opportunity to shop the best selection of jewelry at the lowest prices available. From $5.00 to $500,000 – there is something for everyone! The show features one-of-a-kind jewelry creations, exotic gems, beads, pearls, exquisite fine jewelry, estate collections and much more. People of all ages will find deep discounts and an amazing variety of beautiful jewelry to compliment this winter’s fashions. We offer convenience, selection and value, all in one place.
FREE* BEADING CLASSES: By Beading Expert Nancy Kamp – Learn from the Best!!
March 21, 2011: Just read that authorities in Bahrain demolished the monument to the pearl in Pearl Square in Manama. Not cool - make your own political judgment. My weekend as bead show instructor was intense. Financially, things could have been better. I had no classes whatsoever because they were not announced over the nonexistent PA system. That kind of cut into ye old bottom line. I did have a few individual students and several product sales, thank goodness. I met a ton of nice people, including the talented young woman behind the incredible chaine maille at Maggie's Cello, and learned a thing or three, so I would do it again.
March 29, 2011: I went to a new bead shop yesterday in Yukon, OK. It's called L'il Bear Beads. [Yes, Teddy O, there is a bear.] Prices are quite good and Gwen, the owner, couldn't be nicer. I will be going back.
April 18, 2011: I read somewhere (?) that if you want to get into metal clay, you should start out with polymer clay. Certainly poly clay is much cheaper and you can get great results, so proceed accordingly. And while you're at it, check out the second volume of Polymer Pizzazz, cleverly named Polymer Pizzazz 2. It features 25 great projects. And techniques. And inspiration.
May 8, 2011: Just saw the movie Thor - much better than I expected. I did not think of mayonnaise, which is code in my family for being bored to tears, though I didn't like it enough to want to own it. However, the Norse mythology questions started on the ride home and while I was brushing up, I discovered that Freyja owned a famous necklace called Brísingamen or Brosinga mene. Thor borrowed the necklace to dress up as Freyja at a wedding?????? Loki stole it at some point. As far as I can tell from the many and conflicting details on the Internet, Freyja was not Frigg, the wife of Odin/Woden and stepmother of Thor. Am I helpful or what? Update: National Geographic's Essential Visual History of World Mythology lists more famous jewelry of mythology:
May 16, 2011: So Lynn and I were headed to Mustang, OK to immerse ourselves in polymer clay with our jewelry making gang. But somehow the driver took us to the charming town of Minco, OK, which is ever so slightly west of Mustang. Then she started laughing hysterically and well, no excuses, I, the driver, felt like a fool. Still do. But we played with clay and plan to do it again next weekend after carefully calibrating the ovens that burned the first crop of group polymer clay projects. So, check your directions, calibrate your ovens and get a copy of Patterns in Polymer by Julie Picarello because once you get past the erratic driving and the uncalibrated ovens, you want to make stuff like Julie does. This is the book I urge you to check out for style, color and imprint techniques that will take my work (and yours too) to a level of gorgeous that will make your tongue hang out. It's that good and glorious.
May 17, 2011: I just dropped a fully loaded, fully sorted box of beads for class all over my office floor. They will not all be recovered until I move. Or die. Bead soup, anyone?
June 20, 2011: Friends and I made a bunch of earrings for an animal charity the other day. I should do that more often. While our motto is YOU CAN'T HAVE TOO MUCH JEWELRY, it's also true you probably have too much. Did I say that? I have just be asked to teach jewelry making at the upcoming AKS Gem Show in July in Oklahoma City. Here are the projects I'll be teaching:
June 27, 2011: New books! New books! For me! For classes! For friends! For ME! More about both books below in our ever expanding Bead Book pages. The wire jewelry page is newly online.
July 11, 2011: Just sort of learned the basics of Kumihimo (Japanese braiding). I'm not sure I would wear my first bracelet, but beautiful things could happen, right?
July 12, 2011: Vintage Jewelry Design, by Caroline Cox, is a beautifully illustrated primer for collectors of classic jewelry, and I picked up several ideas for future projects of my own. I also discovered some very useful info about spotting fake diamonds. Real diamonds don't have cheap settings. They don't sparkle, but rather reflect grey and white light. If you can read printed material through a diamond, it is fake. Your breath on a real diamond won't linger at all. A drop of water remains where you place it on a real diamond's surface.
July 16, 2011:
. July 25, 2011: The weekend bead show wasn't a great financial success, but we had fun and met a lot of people. So tired.
August 29, 2011: With continuing economic uncertainty, gold has become the focus of many investors. I always tell my jewelry students to sell scrap gold and silver locally for a better price, but investing in gold (beyond having more jewelry of course) is outside the scope of my education or experience. If you have an interest in holding gold, please heed the words of respected syndicated columnist Malcolm Berko:
The Oklahoman, August 28, 2011
August 31, 2011: I've been sorting through all my bead books and magazines to find projects to do, new techniques and inspiration. And then yesterday's mail came bringing a copy of Heather Powers' Jewelry Designs from Nature. I wanted almost every piece of jewelry pictured. I mean this stuff is trendy and gorgeous. Last night I even dreamed about Powers' designs. As soon as I finish typing, I've got some beads to assemble, but trust me, you want to get this book. The techniques are simple, too. If you can make an earring, you're good to go.
October 14, 2011: I always try to hit a museum or two on a trip, but this last visit to Boston did not lend itself to checking out the treasures of mankind. We did visit the sasquatch museum in Portland, ME, but there was absolutely no jewelry inspiration among the panda statues and fake shrunken heads. I'll be posting details of that trip soon. Fortunately, there were jewelry books to drool over when I got home:
Both Creative Chain Mail Jewelry and Cindy Thomas Pankopf's Making Metal Clay Jewelry, are from Kalmbach Books. Both books bristle with markers for projects I want to try. In fact, a quick inventory of split rings on hand could have me making the chain maille flower earrings on page 66 tonight! And just wait until my bead group sees Making Metal Clay Jewelry. We are planning a massive leap into metal clay that will be facilitated by this winner from The Absolute Beginners Guide Series. We've all been flirting with metal clay and have various levels of knowledge and proficiency in this field. This book and several others I've reviewed will set everyone up for success.
October 20, 2011: So I've never won a lottery and had been thinking I wasn't the luckiest person in the county when I got the mail (thanks mail) and discover not only a bead catalog but also two new bead books! Truly awesome. You see, my friends are expert level or close when it comes to right-angle weave and I've been tagging along, producing gruesome objects that demand destruction. But one of the books is Stitch Workshop's Right-Angle Weave with the taglines, "basic techniques, advanced results." Obviously, the publisher had me in mind when they produced this book. It even has projects I honestly think I can complete with pride. Plus, Nealay Patel has been experimenting with beading wire. Her book, Jewelry for the New Romantic features crystals in contemporary projects with a whole new twist. If you like bicones and seed beads and thinking outside the standard ole box, you will love this book. I do. I do.
November 25, 2011: On two recent trips to Boston, I visited Windsor Button, near Boston Common, and Bead & Fiber in Southie. I made purchases at each, but I have to say that while the people were nice, neither store knocked me over. Spiral Beadery (where I'll be teaching new wire project classes soon, in addition to my bead and wire classes at Francis Tuttle that start next Thursday) and other Oklahoma City area stores have more and better stock. And cheaper classes. Of course, the alternative, or at least a worthy addition, to a good class is a good book. Some of my new favorites include, the beautiful and highly creative Artistic Seed Bead Jewelry by Maggie Roschyk and Irina's Inspirations for Jewelry, another technique-filled winner from my favorite jewelry designer, Irina Miech. So much to learn, people, so little time.
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