Beaded Beads at Beadfx

Yesterday's class at Beadfx with Marcia DeCoster was a lot of fun. We learned how to make beaded beads. She first taught us how to make the base bead using tubular right angle weave, by beading around a small wooden dowel. That took some getting used to, but it was definitely a good thing to have something inside the tube to work around. Sadly, I had a bit of a problem with my first bead - wouldn't you know it, I screwed up on the very last row and somehow ended up with too few beads. I tried to correct the problem and felt like I just made it worse, which left me with a funny looking end to the bead and a lack of desire to start embellishing it. Instead, after lunch, I started making a second bead using larger seedbeads, which turned out perfectly. But somehow, I ran out of time and didn't get a chance to embellish it. But I kind of like the way it looks just "plain" too.


The good news is, I now feel quite confident with my right angle weave skills and look forward to using that particular bead stitch more often.

Throughout the day, Marcia entertained us by changing the jewellery she was wearing several times. Which was easy for her to do, given that she had brought so many of her designs with her as well as kits for students to purchase. Boy, was it hard to limit myself to buying just one, I was sooo tempted by several of the designs. However, I have her book, which is chock full of directions for many amazing pieces so once I make my way through that, say 10 or 15 years from now, I can think about picking up another kit or two. :)

Most of the other students finished at least one bead, here are a few pictures of their gorgeous creations:

Jo-Ann's bead:

Janice's bead:

Barb's bead (in progress) - we all loved the red and turquoise combination of colours:

Here's a picture of Marcia and I together at the end of class:

We then headed downtown to meet up with her husband Mark and went out to dinner at Milestones at Yonge & Dundas (Mark tried their signature bellini drink but wasn't too impressed with it). Afterwards, we strolled around Dundas Square, enjoying the summer evening, and having a look at all the goings on, including a few minutes watching a guy riding a very high unicycle, before heading back up Yonge Street to drop them off at their hotel.

It was so nice to have a day of beading, it's been too long since I have done that!

Marcia Does Beaded Beads

Marcia DeCoster is in town, teaching classes at Beadfx for the next 3 days (she'll also be teaching at Beads of Colour this coming weekend). I've taken the day off work in order to take today's class about making beaded beads. I've always wanted to learn how to make them, I even bought an entire book on the subject ("The Art of Beaded Beads", a Lark Jewelry book edited by Jean Campbell) but, as with so many other things on my "to do" list, I haven't actually gotten around to trying to make any just yet. So this class should be a good introduction.

You may recall that I took a class with Marcia last year at Bead and Button - you can read all about it here: http://cynfulcreationscanada.blogspot.com/2009/08/marcias-new-book.html. I am looking forward to seeing her again and renewing our acquaintance. Hopefully we are going out for dinner afterwards, at least, that was the plan last time we emailed.

BTW, I took this glamorous photo of her off her Facebook page. I love how she colours her hair, I wish I was that brave!

This other photo is off the Beadfx website, showing a sample of the Bellisimo bead which I assume we will be learning how to make today. Can't wait!

BOGO at Beadfx

Speaking of BOGO (buy one, get one) as I was yesterday when discussing the Jangles Etsy sale, they are doing the same thing at Beadfx on Thursday nights, only they call it "Happy Hour Torching". You pay for an hour at the torch and get your second hour free.

I believe (but don't quote me) that you can buy a studio card for 10 hours for $100. As far as I am concerned, this is a great deal. For those of us who enjoy making lampwork beads but don't have the money, the desire or the location to set up our own studio, Beadfx has a great, safe and clean facility that you can use and if you're only paying $5 an hour, it's a tough deal to beat!

I just got back from a session there tonight, where I learned that the Happy Hour Torching program, which started this past spring, will be continuing on into the fall. Some Thursday nights are busier than others so it's always best to call ahead and book a torch in advance (there are 6 available in total).

The other benefit of HHT evenings is that resident lampwork artist extraordinaire, Dwyn Tomlinson, is there from 7 to 9 p.m. and is always willing to give pointers, answer questions, solve problems and/or let you watch while she creates her fabulous beads. If you're very lucky and ask her nicely or bribe her with cookies, she's also happy to give the occasional demo or two about a technique or a type of glass.

For example, tonight Dwyn was giving someone a quick demonstration on how to make a round bead, something I am not consistent with at all (I'm kind of partial to the irregularly shaped ones anyway!). Since I happened to be sitting at the torch next to her, I got the benefit of the lesson as well. Even though I've heard the technique before, seen her do it and even tried it myself before, tonight for some reason, it worked for me and I think I made at least 3 or 4 perfectly round beads. I'm so excited! I'll have to wait until I'm back at the store to get the finished product to be sure (did I mention that the Beadfx Bead Fairy is responsible for taking your beads out of the kiln the next morning after they are properly annealed and removing them from the mandrell? Again, you get a lot of value for your $5!!)

So I ask you: