NEWEST LISTINGS!

Wow! I didn't realize I hadn't blogged yet this year until just a few moments ago. My, how time has flown by!


Thankfully, Spring is upon us and warmer weather has come our way. It's been sunny and 65 3 days in a row now, but this weekend we are expecting rain again. Enjoy it while it lasts I suppose.


I have listed 3 new pieces in my Etsy shop this week. Pieces I finished a while back but was to distracted to put up yet. This week seemed to be the right time to do it, so here is a preview of what's new from Beaded Extravagance:

Dragons' Fly Necklace

Behind the Mask Cuff

Sahara Sands Bracelet

Expressions of Winter

As most of you all have noticed, Winter arrived here recently. We've had bitterly cold winds and a little bit of snow. The temperature yesterday morning when I dropped Valerie off at school, was an icy 17 degrees Fahrenheit! That's about 70 degrees too cold for me! Even after living here for over 21 years, I haven't been able to get used to the cold. My brother just recently confided that same thought to me. One of these days I will live where winter is a mild 65 degrees!


In keeping with this wintry theme, I have recently created a few pieces that won't melt in my warm house. They are listed in my Etsy and 1000 Markets shops for your perusal if you like. I have chosen a couple of my best photographs of these pieces to share here.

ICE BRACELET

SNOWBALL NECKLACE

Also, the Monthly Etsy Beadweavers' Challenge pieces are up for voting again. Voting is open to everyone from now until the 15th of December. So please join in on the fun and vote for your favorite 'Peace Piece' at: http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/

Thank you!

Louisa

Plug for the Etsy Beadweavers Team!

It's been a little while since I last updated this blog but there really hasn't been much going on in Beaded Extravagance World. At the moment I am working on this months' Etsy Beadweavers' Monthly Challenge. The due date is November 5th and I just started this project today! I have a week to complete it! I am such a procrastinator but I just couldn't come up with an exotic flower until I remembered some photos that I took 3 years ago while visiting my grandmother on Madeira Island Portugal. She raised all kinds of orchids and these beautiful red flowers whose name I don't know ....yet! But here's a photo of the flower.

If anyone knows the name of this flower, please tell me! Thank you! :)

Ok, now it's time for a shameless plug! As most of you know, I'm a member of the Etsy Beadweaver's Team. This is a group of very talented beaders and one of our members took it upon herself to make this lovely video of every members' work and post it on YouTube. Christina of GoodQuillHunting (http://GoodQuillHunting.etsy.com ), thank you for using your computer skills to put together this video showcasing all our work! You're awesome!

Check out the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7vHSQ5lKFs

See you next time!

Louisa

Hyde Park Square Art Show, 2009

October 4th, 2009


It's 5am and my alarm clock insists that it's time to get up and get my day started. I hear my daughter Valerie rustling up some breakfast in the kitchen already. She's just about as excited about the show as I am. She gets to be 'Raffle Queen' for the day. She will be encouraging all the people who stop by my booth to sign up to win the Fall Fires Bracelet. I lay in the dark, completely confident that I am ready for this show. My checklists tell me so!

And that's how the day began. We arrived at the Hyde Park Square at about 6:45am. I went and registered and found my spot- the same one I had last year, because I requested it. I pulled my car up to the spot and we began to unload. Setting up the tent and putting up the tables took no time at all. It was a chilly morning and still dark out. (Note to self: Remember to buy a Colman Lantern for next year. So much easier to see what you're doing with some light!) My sister Elizabeth arrived a few minutes later and the set-up continued.


The first half an hour after the show start time was quiet, but at 10:30 it seemed like the flood gates opened and we were super busy right up until 5pm when they announced that the show was officially closed. We had a great day with the sun shining and a slight but chilly breeze. We were so thankful that it didn't rain and the wind never picked up to blow away our setup.

At 5 o'clock, 'Raffle Queen' drew a name for our raffle and the the winner is: Jacqui Cowan!! So Jacqui, if you're out there, I've already emailed you, but if you missed it, email me back with your address so I can send you your prize!

A special thanks to my sweet sister Elizabeth who created the raffle tickets and the sign for the raffle too. Thank you also for spending the day with us and helping out with our customers! I couldn't have done it without you! Thanks also to Troy (her husband) for letting me borrow her for the day!
Another special thanks to my adorable daughter & 'Raffle Queen' Valerie for hanging out with mom all day. You did an awesome job getting all those people to sign up! She also did a great job in the sales department!

Last, but certainly not least, thank you to my loving husband , who has patiently endured my stressing out over this show, bouncing ideas off my ideas off him and 2 trips to Hyde Park in one day!



Thank you all for stopping by to check out my work and for purchasing too. We had a fun and profitable day!

Louisa
Beaded Extravagance

Elizabeth & Valerie at the Beaded Extravagance Booth

Looking down one side of Eerie Avenue....

...and down the otherside....

Valerie at her post!

Down to the Wire!!

Ok, so it's late on the Friday evening before the Hyde Park Square Art Show. About an hour ago I finished the last of the pieces that I will be showing and selling at the show. I feel like I've been beading non-stop for the last few weeks. This, is obviously not the case, but it sure feels like it!

I have my tables set up in the basement of our home just to make sure of the layout. I have 95 pieces ready to sell. I should be ready for this, right? Wrong!! I have paperwork yet to do! I need to finish tagging, making up a price list to keep track of the items sold. I need to buy a new table clothe and receipt book. (My daughter's dog Maggie ate my old one right after the last show! Stinker!) I also have to photograph the last few pieces that I finished tonight. I'm hoping for at least 15 minutes of sunshine tomorrow so that I can get that done. Then, when I've made my check list and gathered all my stuff, I need to pack everything up in the cars. I should be able to accomplish all this on a Saturday, right? Wrong again! I have to work tomorrow! I should have asked for tomorrow off, but I'm new at the bead store and didn't feel it would be right to do so. So, I must make tonight a late night and tomorrow night too. I think I'll be running on adrenaline on Sunday!

Enough of my rambling. I'm here to remind you of the show and to please come if you can. Admission is free and there will be 207 artists displaying and selling their work. The weather will be nice, according to my personal Weather Girl Valerie Meece: 65 and sunny! A little chilly in the morning but we can handle that.

There also a raffle/giveaway that I am having. The lucky winner, (whom Weather Girl Valerie will chose out of a box), will win the one and only Fall Fire Bracelet pictured below. Made of Beaded Beads, (by me), Red Magma Swarovski Crystals, Gold Plated Filigree beads and a Gold Filled Toggle Clasp, this bracelet is a beautiful accessory to your fall outfit!

Hope to see you there!

Louisa

Beaded Extravagance

Goodies & Clay!

Ok, so I used my gift card from FireMountain Gems that I received for winning second place in the Cab Category and I bought a few things I needed (and wanted). Thought I would share these goodies with you all.

From left to right: Christie Friesens' 'Under the Sea' polymer clay creations book. Mostly I got it because of the turtles. I just love turtles! The large cream colored bust display which is showing off my winning piece just beautifully. A black leatherette bracelet display which will display my bangle and cuff bracelets at my upcoming show. (2 weeks!) Size 15/0 Gold Luster Rocailles which I was almost out of and needed to make the matching cuff and earrings to Martian Queens' Collar. I started working on the cuff last Thursday. A polishing cloth and a jar of jewelry cleanser. Another bracelet/watch display which my husband has said he'd like to use to take pictures of his watches. (He collects them- the watches I mean!) Three different sized bead scoops. Love them!! And two spools of black Nymo Thread.

This last week I pulled out my Polymer clay and made some fun pieces with it. I made a couple of bracelets with matching earrings for grown ups and then some stretchy bracelets for the kiddies that I'll be selling at the Hyde Park Square Art show in a couple of weeks.

Two weeks from today is the big day! This week I am planning on finishing off working on inventory. I have quite a few pieces all ready made up and photographed, but I need to work on tagging and display. That I will reserve for the following week.

Hope you all have a great week ahead of you!
Louisa

Gearing up for the Hyde Park Square Art Show!

As some of you know, on Sunday October 4th, is the Hyde Park Square Art Show. I believe this will be it's 43rd year and there will be over 200 artists show casing their artwork. This is my second year participating in this show and I am very excited about it. I was fortunate enough to be able to get the same space as I had last year- right in front of Tellers Restaurant and just a few doors down from Greaters' Ice Cream (very important!) Anyway, I just thought I'd give you all a little glimpse of some of the items I have been working on for the show.

Thank you for looking!
Louisa.