...Candie Cooper's Blog...

True Confessions...

from a former garage band girl...

 

One of my favorite things about Rocker is his silhouette.  Tonight, when we were out for our walk, there were street lamps shining on our backs creating ultra bold shapes on this shed of a canvas or canvas of a shed..  So we did an immediate U turn back for the camera.  This is Rocker and Candie's the Scream.  Rocker's idea.

 

Photoshop.  What would we do without it?  Anyway, true confessions....I used to be in a garage band back in high school.  The Worms.  That was the name of our band.  I played the bass guitar.   Since moving back to Wabash, affectionately called, The Bash, I've seen a couple of old members.  But tonight, I got a random call, totally out of the blue from one of my old buddies who was also in the band. He's been living in Germany the past 5 years and it was so neat to catch up and talk about living abroad.  I haven't seen him in over 10 years so this was pretty surreal.  Thank you Nate-Dog for calling.  And thanks everyone for the loving emails and comments.  XX.

Seed Bead Loops and Links...

It's Sunday and my coffee cup is still half full as I write this.  I love a slow morning.  I was just looking back at the pictures from the wire wrapping workshop.  The kids made some great pendants that I want to share with you so I'll post pictures this week.  I really like this seed bead loopy loop embellishment (see detail above).  Must do some more experimenting with that back in the laboratory.  Speaking of, it's time to clock into my little work room.  I hope you're having a wonderfully creative weekend.  I'll see you tomorrow. 

Here's this week's Bead Blogger Links....

About.com Jewelry Making
So, you finally have a jewelry web site up now. But why don't you have any sales?

Art Bead Scene
Shakespeare inspires April's Challenge theme.

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie ponders acceptance, as well as rejection, as it applies to submitting beading articles to magazines

Jennifer Jangles Blog
Jennifer shows off a necklace made with her new ceramic beads.

Jewelry & Beading
How do you learn about designing if you didn't go to art school? Check out all these online resources and see how you can learn about the principles of design and apply them to your jewelry making!

Katie's Beading Blog
Katie wrote an article about vintage style for Craftrends magazine and it hits mailboxes this week. Are you a subscriber?

Make It Mine Magazine
Even jewelry-making gals need to fix their britches once in a while. Check out the videos.

Naughty Secretary Club
Wanna win a contest or host your own craft show? I thought so. 

Savvy Crafter
Candie’s been “wrappin’” with the high school kids this week to create wire and found object pendants.  

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Whoa! What have we here? Jim's "lightshow garden" and a pair of chandeliers!

The Impatient Beader Margot received a lovely hand crafted gift from her good friend Jean Yates, come see and hear Jean talk about the gift and the materials she used to create it.

Surpise!

I mentioned before that we were lucky enough to catch a tour of the guitar factory in Cebu.  But!  I haven't told you that one lucky reader of this blog won a surprise from there.  Congratulations to Jean, aka my mom, the lovely winner of a coco-lele as seen on the right of this video.  Surpriiiiiise!  A cocolele is like a ukulele, but it has three halved coconuts on the back side.  They played this little number and then when we said, "we'll take it!" an encore of Rock Around the Clock was played.  I love that kind of enthusiasm.  Velmer (if you listen to the video) was our driver/tour guide and.....hula dancer on the side.  They were a fun group of peeps.  I just hung up on the phone with Jean.  A little history; she has been playing the guitar since 3rd grade.  She owns all sorts of stringed instruments and teaches guitar lessons today.  However, I learned tonight that she is taking lessons again to learn how to play "lead."  Here's what she's working on at the moment-Proud Mary, Come Together and my favorite- Crazy Train.   If you saw my mom walking down the street, she is probably the last person you would expect to know the lead guitar part for Crazy Train.....and that's why we love her.  Can't wait to give this to you!   Hugs   :-) Candie

P.S. It's back to school tomorrow to teach the high school kids how to do wire wrapped found object pendants.  I've got to get to bed!  Stay tuned for pics tomorrow!

DIY Bedazzled-Motorcycle...

The other day I was with my friend Doveen in Hong Kong and we both stopped, jaws dropped when we saw this machine rocked out in studs and crystals.  Top to bottom, end to end, helmet, gloves, every square inch embellished and this was no mini-bike!  It was a lot of bling.   Shamelessly, I whip out my camera so I could show you all.

Those gloves were totally scary.  I later came across one of those silver index finger cover thingies.  Somehow, I just don't think it would have the same effect with my knit gloves from Nepal.  The rider loved the attention as he asked, "do you want to take my picture?"  I got a muscle power pose and I think Doveen maybe got a peace sign.   Dude, you are so cool!

Soup and Links....

It was a fast weekend.  My lease is up on the studio so on Saturday I moved out and into the spare room of our apartment.  Sad?  A little.  But, there are a few headaches caused by my landlords that I will not miss.  It got really cold here again and as you know we have no heat.  Marble floors, cement walls do not go well with not having heat.  I feel like I'm in a cooler.  What does go well with "no heat?"  A sweet little lap dog, a nice blanket, tea, and soup.  I tried a new cream of broccoli recipe after the big move---it was delicious and soothed the aches of the day.  You can get the recipe here.  Note* I may have done a hit and run on the recipe with a Kraft single.  ;-)

Bead Babe Blogger Links...

About.com Jewelry Making
Not feeling inspired to make any Valentine's jewelry? Tammy's got some ideas to get your heart jewelry going on.
http://jewelrymaking.about.com/b/2008/01/22/some-heart-jewelry-ideas.htm
Art Bead Scene
Art Bead Scene has the scoop on Spring jewelry trends!
http://artbeadscene.blogspot.com/2008/01/2008-spring-jewelry-trends.html
Jewelry & Beading
Deborah Kwitney is the featured artist this week on Jewelry & Beading. You'll be amazed by the wide range of styles that Deborah has mastered!
http://www.jewelryandbeading.com/2008/01/24/artist-profile-deborah-kwitney/
Katie's Beading Blogs
If you're going to the upcoming gem/bead shows in Tucson, don't miss Katie's workshops at the Swarovski Event!
http://katiehacker.blogspot.com/2008/01/swarovski-tucson-workshop-2.html
Savvy Crafter
XOXO! Love is in the air over at Candie’s blog as she kicks off the first installment of “Heartsy and Artsy”; Valentine Ideas for your Friends and Family. XOXO!
http://candiecooper.typepad.com/savvycrafter/2008/01/heartsy-and-art.html
Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean has a son getting married and her thoughts turn to wedding jewelry: specifically, one of her Party Dress Charm bracelets entitled "Marry Me". It is a dream all in white: Venetian heart shaped beads, Swarovski Crystals, white pearls, sterling, and a sweet special charm which is an "open heart": always let the love in!
http://prettykittydogmoonjewelry.blogspot.com/2008/01/so-happy-to-be-receiving.html
The Impatient Blogger
Going to a big tradeshow for some shameless self promotion? Margot has a little hard earned advice to share about how to maximize your time and energy.
http://margotpotter.blogspot.com/2008/01/show-prep-101-with-your-host-miss.html

Ring-a-ling...

I've been collecting big and funky rings since high school---essentially 10 years.  I find them in thrift stores, garage sales, boutiques, and many have been gifts.  Old and new, I love them.  This is my latest find from Pylones, one of my favorite stores on the planet. I have four Pylones rings now and I adore them because they are fun and cost friendly-my kind of style.  I think the collection of rings started because I wore a lot of vintage clothing from the thrift store.  With a love for jewelry, I was always picking up chunky bracelets or dinner rings.  The rings stuck and after all these years I have quite a stash.  I think Carrot Box's "before and after" is the best illustration of why I think big rings are so cool.  Check it out here.  Every time I see her photos, I think, "exactly!"  Check out her fabulous collection too!

P.S. Off topic, check out Ornamentea's Hearts page....some perfect valentines for your favorite jewelry maker.

Beads On the Beach...

Who doesn't love bead shopping on the beach?  Really!  What's better than having beautiful beads brought to your doorstep?!?!  Vendors at the beach walk around with their baskets of sunglasses, fruits, and my personal fav, pearls and funky shell jewelry.  The last time I was at the beach, I only brought home a few bracelets.  Not this time!  Check out my loot!

Needless to say, I stocked up.  I will stash a few pieces away for gifts and the rest I will cut up and use the parts.  Those green shells in the front are calling my name right now, "Charm bracelet, charm bracelet."

It's always fun to use beads that remind you of a place you visited.  I will associate these with the sounds of waves, the sandy beach, my friends, the cabin where we stayed and so on.  Even though they didn't cost a fortune, I know whatever I make with them will be a treasure of beach-side memories.

Doin' the DIY Shuffle...

Make that Crafty DIY shuffle.

Yesterday a friend and I hopped the 8:30 ferry to Hong Kong for a day of crafty shopping.  Mission accomplished.  We checked out the new Spotlight store, which reminds me of a JoAnn Fabrics Bed, Bath and Beyond fusion.  It was a solid hour of pouring over all things lovely and crafty.  Then we had lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen.  3 words.  Crunchy Thai Salad.  Awesome.

After lunch we road the MTR over to the DIY market in the Sham Shui Po district; several rows and blocks of craft supplies.....in bulk.  Yes, it makes your eyes bulge.

Do you know the scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory where Willy Wonka shows them the candy room? Yeah, it's like that.  The sun always shines on this place.

Bags, buckets, baskets, drawers, and more are loaded with beads and charms.  Reel after reel of ribbon and trim.  Countless bead woven creatures made with Swarovski crystals.  It is insane.

Here's a few of my favorite finds from there. If you are crafty and heading to Hong Kong, you don't want to leave this off the travel itinerary.  Give yourself at least two hours to take it all in....if not a day!