Battle of the Beadsmith

So, where has this week gone? I have absolutely no idea. One of Tom's college buddies is coming up for the long weekend for fishing, and Tom is in panic mode once again about the state of the house. It's not that bad, even though the bathroom is in definite need of a little cleaning, and I have to do some straightening up in the finished basement.

But before that, there are three things that I need to finish writing for work, and my brain is completely backfiring on me. Completely. I'm hoping that if I do a quick blog (or two) over here that the words will kick my brain into gear and I can finish what I need to before my "vacation" next week.

A few weeks ago, I woke up one morning to discover that I had been invited to participate in the Battle of the Beadsmith on Facebook. I had some reservations at first about joining the competition, but after a much-needed talk with a good friend (you know who you are), I realized that it was probably just my hormones and my insecurities getting the better of me, and I decided to join the fray.

The competition works by elimination. Each artist who entered has been paired up with another artist for the initial round, starting July 10th. Votes will be cast, and one artist will be eliminated from each pair. The remaining artists will be paired up, more voting, and more eliminations, etc., until someone is chosen the winner.

Truthfully, I'm not planning on making it past the first round (!), but last night, I finally had the perfect idea for my competition piece. And I need to get started on it. Now. I can't go into details, I can't show you any previews, but let's just say that this is going to be something that is a little bit new for me. It definitely pushes the envelope when it comes to my beadwork, but I'm very excited about the possibility!

The only danger in this is that if I can't make this piece work, I'm going to be stuck. So I need to get playing with the ideas and the components NOW to see what works and what doesn't. June is an awfully short month, when you're at the end of May.

Steven Weiss, the organizer of this amazing collection of talented beaders, has been playing with the photos of our beadwork that he's been sharing with the group. I was totally delighted yesterday to see what he did with my Azteca collar!

Gotta love those iPhone apps, eh?

What else is on the agenda for today? A lot. Quality time with the camera, quality time with Colden, trying to fit in a little bit of beading time, and a lot of blogging and writing for today. Next week is going to be all about the beads, for sure. I've got some tutorials I want to get finished up and into my Etsy shop, including the eBook!

Completion of the eBook was delayed yesterday, for one reason. Okay, well, twelve reasons.

I finally figured out how to create a netted beaded bezel that wasn't completely ugly. And they worked up so quick (about fifteen minutes each) and the colors were so much fun that I just couldn't help myself. The pieces have all been joined, except for the last one that is to be used as a drop, and then a quick right-angle weave strap to attach the vintage Vermeil clasp, and I've got a necklace that looks like a combination of Sabine Lippert and Mikki Ferrugiaro! No idea where I'll ever get to wear this beauty, but boy, I better find someplace. Even if it's just to the farm to pick up our food this weekend.