Rumor has it

A little bird told me that Absolute Beginners Guide: Stringing Beaded Jewerly is about to go into its third printing!

Happy Saturday at Ben Franklin

What a great day. Thanks to everyone who came to see me on Saturday at Ben Franklin. I loved meeting new beaders, hearing about projects, answering questions, and visiting with such interesting, crafty people. Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

Me and my Ippy

Shameless self promotion -- you betcha. Haven't you been wondering what an Ippy looks like?

photo courtesy of William Zubak/Kalmbach Publishing Co.

Are you a visual learner?

If you're a visual learner, you'll love Absolute Beginners Guide: Stringing Beaded Jewelry. The projects are easy, the pace is great for beginners, and there are over 300 photos to guide you step-by-step. The book has 30 projects plus lots of bonus ideas, and teaches one step at at time. But, if that isn't easy enough, you'll really love the DVD version. The DVD takes the most popular techniques and guides you through each step. Plus, the first project from the book is shown, start to finish., I had to giggle when I looked the DVD up on Amazon and saw it was rated "G." Would you expect anything else from me?

Humblebeads...humble beading

I've been a huge fan of Heather Powers since I was first introduced to her work in the early days of BeadStyle. I love her beads, I love her style, and she's a super-nice person. When I was writing The Absolute Beginners Guide: Stringing Beaded Jewelry, I knew the bead glossary was a very important part of the book. I wanted to show as many kinds of beads as I could and help newcomers to the hobby understand all the choices they had. Heather generously gave me some polymer clay beads for this "visual dictionary" of beads.

Now that the book is finished, I wanted to make something special with the beads. I thought of all the things I admire in Heather's work: beautiful beads, natural elements, asymmetrical design, rich, earthy colors ... I must say it was a little humbling to approach this project. I wanted to showcase the beads, of course, but I also wanted them to be fully integrated in the work. Heather's beads are gems to be waiting to be discovered, not dominant focals shouting "look at me!"

So here's my little bracelet. Please visit Humblebeads to see more of Heather's work, or visit her Etsy shop for even more inspiration.