Bead Fest in Valley Forge

Bead Fest in Valley Forge each year is the largest bead show on the east coast.  We left Thursday the 19th and arrived early in the evening.  Kirsten, one of Red Panda's customers wanted to meet me, so we met at California Pizza Kitchen and had a nice dinner and an even nicer visit.

She surprised me with this cute snowflake ornament.  She used Swarovski crystals to create this glittery treat!  Thanks Kirsten!  How can Bead Fest not be great when it starts out this nicely?

Their sign in the parking lot is low key ~ a banner affixed to the side of an empty semi trailer.

Once inside you see that they still have room in some of the  classes.  I did not take any this time, perhaps next time.

The sights were stunning!  There were 250 vendors!  I was able to make some very good contacts and in the weeks ahead, I'll be adding new products to my inventory.  As I add each one, I'll post a new blog detailing the items.  Stay tuned........

The weekend was not all beads, we went horse back riding. This is a beautiful horse that was there.  It was very pleasant weather and we really enjoyed the ride.

Since I've been full time Red Panda, I've been walking four miles a day.  I wear only Brooks shoes and have quite worn out my shoes in these four months.  I had no luck finding any locally.  Our hotel was right across from the largest mall on the east coast and believe it or not, I went 300+ miles to buy a new pair of walking shoes.  These were as exciting as the beads!

 Whenever we travel and leave Chewie behind, we always come home bringing him a new toy.  He is one very spoiled poodle!  LOL

You can see he loves his new toy!

Bead Fest was not only fun, but also a refreshing break and great inspiration for new things to come for Red Panda!

Happy Beading!

Betsy

Jessi

One of the newest Red Panda Beads customers is Jessi from Hong Kong.  

She does beautiful bead and needle work.  Below is a small purse that she made.

Look closely and you can see she added size 10/0 Delica Beads....

She used a pattern found in the Japanese book ISBN: 978-4-579-11292-0


Here is another view of the front of the purse

The beads added to the design really add texture

Here is a side view of the purse as it is opened

And finally the interior shot of the bag.  Look at the precise work that went into creating this cute bag!


Thanks Jessi for sharing.  I look forward to seeing the other things you make with all the beads you ordered.  Your business is appreciated!

Happy Beading!

Betsy

Unintended Consequences

Who knew that there'd be unintended consequences when I started my online bead business?  I guess there is the potential for unintended consequences in everything you do.  However, most times, these have a negative connotation.  I'm happy to report the exact opposite this time.  I've made many new friends all over the country and internationally.  One new friend, Ellie seems more like a long time friend than a new one.  She has been very supportive of my new endeavors and is always available for my emails.  She is also a very talented artist in many mediums. 

Here you see where she stitched together leather hide and incorporated a photograph to make a wedding gift for a very neat young couple.  She used a copy of a photo taken at the Pendleton Round-up in 2007 by Hubbell copied on to canvas photo paper.  The pillow is leather and all hand laced, no machine sewing at all!  If you look closely you can see that beads were added as an embellishment along the seams.... 

Here is the finished pillow.

Here is how it looks on the back side.  I'm sure this will remain a treasured gift for years to come....

Ellie is also an accomplished bead artist.  She made this bracelet. She used the Flaming Cuff pattern out of Bead & Button magazine for this one.

Below is some of her loom work in progress.  She used a pattern that I created using my Bead Creator software.  I just did this as an example of what the program could do and she loved the pattern.

And here is the finished bead work.  

She is leaning towards another pillow for the final resting place of this wonderful piece.  I especially like the shadow under the horse.

She also does wonderful off-loom work as well.  This Kokopelli amulet bag was made using a pattern by Theresa Flores Geary in her "Native American Beadwork" book.  It  features twisted fringe along the bottom.  Very nice!  

Here is an adorable Ladybug Amulet Bag!  She got the pattern from Dawn Dalto / Blue Bear Beads on the internet.  She made a change on the strap putting the ladybugs on every other diamond instead of a single red bead in the center of each diamond as shown in the original pattern.  This was a gift for her granddaughter who loves Lady Bugs.  I'm sure she loves the bag as well!

One of her upcoming projects is a beaded piece using this photo to create a pattern of this lovely rose.  She intends to apply this to a black leather purse.  I can't wait to see how it turns out!


Thanks so much Ellie for not only sharing, but also for being my friend!

Happy Beading!

Betsy  

Miyuki Triangles

The Miyuki Triangles come in 52 different colors in each size.  Many of the colors are available in multiple sizes.  My daughter-in-law's birthday was this past weekend, so as a gift, I made another bracelet using the Triangle beads.  This time I used size 5/0 Triangles,5TR1833 ICL Light Rose/Dark Rose to make another cuff bracelet.   Again I used the 3-drop Peyote stitch to make a very interesting texture in this cuff.

This time I used one of the Red Bronze clasps, since it complimented the red Triangles so nicely.....

Here is the whole bracelet...

This time I added matching earrings using the size 8/0 Triangles and Red Gold earring wires.....

Here is the complete set.

I have yet to be disappointed with any of the Miyuki Triangles and any application I have attempted.  I just can't seem to get enough of these Triangles!  LOL

Happy Beading!

Betsy

  

A Look Inside Red Panda

When Red Panda Beads started selling beads just over 3 years ago, it started out really small.  Over the months the business grew and after a year, we realized that we needed dedicated bead space.  LOL!  So after evaluating, we decided to convert our living room into my bead office.  We never really used our living room anyway, so it is a much better use of the space.  We began by clearing out the furniture and tearing up the carpet.  We installed hard wood floor (much harder task that we thought it would be).

Here is a shot of my office.  It is much deeper than it appears in this photo.

Once you step into my office, to the immediate right is a book case.

When not in use, looms are stored in the center section of the book case.....

Here is a view of my desk top ~ this is where I blog.....  And when answering emails, this is where I'm sitting....

To the right of the desk is the L shaped measuring/packing station.  This quality desk was made in Canada.....

In the center of my office is a work table.  This is a good set up to photograph all the Red Panda Beads products.....

The table is also handy for bead projects....

Here is one of the Bead Smith Bead Mat Trays, these things are great.... I don't know how I ever survived without these......

To the left of my computer desk is a cork board with handy info.  Above that is a photo of my great, great, grandfather.

Here's a close up view of the measuring scale set up.....

All the various baggies are pre-labeled and waiting to be filled with carefully measured beads......

We also purchased specialty bead cabinets from Canada.  They work great to store all the Red Panda bead inventory.

Two of my son's prints decorate one wall....

And a treasured oil painting that has been in the family for decades is on the other wall....

And of course the photo that inspired Red Panda Beads.....

One pressing business concern persisted for months.....

When the office was new, Chewie was investigating everything and my husband put in him in the chair for fun - now he thinks the chair is his!

But I'm happy to report he has finally adjusted to life in his bed.....

He sleeps at the foot of the book case.

I hope you have enjoyed this peek into the world of Red Panda.  Now when you order beads, you'll know where the cabinets came from that store the beads, the scale that was used to measure the beads and the computer that was used to print the mailing label!

Happy Beading!

Betsy

8/0 Miyuki Triangles

Have I already said that I just love the Miyuki Triangles?  Well, it is worth repeating!  The colors are fabulous!  My latest experiment with Miyuki Triangles used size 8/0 Triangles.  I love this green color

The green really flashes in the light!  Again I went with my favorite 3-drop Peyote - but I mixed it up a bit this time.  

I found these lovely spacer links....

I bought both the topaz and green ones.  Here you can see the topaz ones.  There are two holes on each end of the link.  So I did two strands of the 3-drop Peyote to connect the spacers.

Here is the underside of the spacer.  You can see where the beads go through the spacer holes.

I chose to use the Triangle beads to make the clasp this time.  Here is the toggle....

You can really see the light sparkle in the Triangle beads.

Here is the loop end....

Here is the closed clasp.....

This was a fun pattern to create.  I knew I had to use the flashy spacers and it just came together so easily.  I love all three pieces that I've made with Miyuki Triangles and can't wait to get going on my next project.  The Triangles have such a nice texture to them when used in Peyote and the colors are so gorgeous, I just can't resist their call.....

Happy Beading!

Betsy 

Abalone Focal Bracelet made with Miyuki 10/0 Triangles

Miyuki has three sizes in their Triangles.  The largest size 5/0 was used in my last cuff bracelet.  The next smaller size is 8/0 and the smallest triangles are the 10/0 triangles.  I chose these to use in my latest project.  Another cuff bracelet in done in Peyote 3-drop.  

I chose 10TR1830 - it is a rich blue that sparkles in the light.

The width of this bracelet is 7/8ths of an inch.  I chose an abalone pendant as the clasp that is the same width.  It came pre-drilled with a hole at one end.  I used my trusty Dremel to drill a second matching hole at the other end.

I attached the bracelet to one hole with more of the 10TR1830 triangles as spacers.  Then I used matching 8TR1830 beads to make a triangle to use to secure the clasp.  Here is a side view of the pendant as it is modified to be a clasp.  

Next I added a loop at the other end of the bracelet to complete the clasp.

This bracelet is designed to wear the clasp on top, where the  beautiful abalone pendant can be appreciated.

I love these colors together.  The abalone pendant makes a very nice focal piece for this bracelet.  The Miyuki Triangles, in all the sizes are proving to be versatile and the rich colors are a definite must have when designing jewelry!

Happy Beading!

Betsy