Twins!

Preciosa Ornela, the manufacturers of beads in the Czech Republic, has just released a new seed bead called "twins." They're a two holed, 2.5X5mm oval seed bead.

Currently, the only colors available in the US are crystal, crystal matte, jet and jet matte... and Dancing Beads has them! They arrived today, and they're wonderful. We'll have them packaged for sale next week in 10 gram tubes. Unlike other two holed beads the cost of these lovelies is quite reasonable.

There will be 80 colors after the first of the year. I'm looking forward to orange!

Imagination Required

...String Optional

from TED.com

"Janet Echelman found her true voice as an artist when her paints went missing -- which forced her to look to an unorthodox new art material. Now she makes billowing, flowing, building-sized sculpture with a surprisingly geeky edge. A transporting 10 minutes of pure creativity."

The video is a fascinating talk about the journey of an artist and a visionary. I'm inspired by the light, color, and technology.

Design Seeds

Have you ever found yourself at a loss for a color palette? It happens to the best of us. There's a great bead, but for some reason the accents aren't flowing.

When I need a little assistance, or a boost to get me outside my normal color choices I like to turn to the internet for inspiration.

Talk about inspiring...Jessica Colaluca creator of Design Seeds really gets my color wheel turning! Every day she publishes four images complete with a great color palette. They're fresh, sophisticated, and will get my creative muse going every time.

Color

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." Albert Camus*

The changing of the season, especially the transition from summer to autumn, seems to bring color to the forefront of my thoughts. This autumn has been particularly beautiful here in southern Oregon. We've had chilly nights followed by warm, sun-filled days. The sky has been intensely blue, contrasting the glorious spectrum of orange, russet, and gold.

My thoughts about color lead me to the Pantone site where I spent time looking at the colors forecast for Autumn 2010, and Spring 2011.

I found it interesting when viewing the two palettes how similar they are.  How refreshing to have colors that will work in more than one season.  I'm also enchanted by the names given to each color.  Some of them make sense, and in the case of the autumn colors for this year, some make me hungry.




In the next few days I'm going to print these two images, and take a tour around the shop looking for beads, and findings that will work with these new color trends. It will be fun to see what I can come up with... yes, I'll be sharing.



*one of my favorite quotes about autumn. I remember it whenever I see a spectacular tree.

It's Tuesday and I Don't Have Much

This morning my computer screen is as daunting as an empty sheet of paper. I want to write. I know once I begin, I'll find something to write about, but the ideas... they're not coming.

*waiting*

Nope, still not there. Perhaps taking the easy route might be the best thing to do today. I'll post some pictures.

This is himself... Rick the Cat.  He was determined to help out as the Czech seed beads were being processed.  Since seed beads love to run away, his task was holding them down.  He did a great job!

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Last night I received an email from Claire Kimble, one of the instructors at the shop. She'd attached a couple of pictures. The piece above is a herringbone bracelet with a little moon face she purchased on one of her first visits to the new store.

Isn't it amazing? I love her color choices.

Thank you, Claire for letting me share your beautiful creation.  Oh, and by the way, Claire will be teaching this technique on Wednesday, October 27th.  There are still a couple of spaces available.

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One of my favorite time killers (besides playing Bejeweled on Facebook) is stumbling. The stumble button up on my toolbar can get quite a work out depending on how much I need to check out.

I found the picture above while stumbling one night, and had to save it. That's my kind of crustacean! I have no idea if the image was Photoshopped, or if there is a creature as colorful as the one pictured. I'm going to opt for the latter, as it makes my heart happy. Mother Nature has a spectacular sense of humor, and whimsy.

Hmmm, looking at that picture again, and then looking at what I'm wearing today, the crustacean and I have something in common... we haven't met a color we won't wear!

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Last night I felt like goofing around in Photoshop. I'd come across the quote I used, and was struck by how very true it is! I hear all the time "I'm just not creative." "I don't have a creative bone in my body."

We're all creative. Some of us just won't trust it's real.

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Looks like I did have a topic after all... Color and creativity... and it only took until 3:30 to realize it!