BeadCruise

Welcome Aboard Bead Cruise 2009

A few short weeks into registration Bead Cruise 2009 is sold out! You can click here to be put on the waiting list. All of this is possible with a lot of hard work and planning by Heather Power and the generosity of our Sponors.  Bead Cruise sponsors can be found on the sidebar to the left. We are looking forward to another adventure on the high seas in 2009.  Welcome aboard Mateys!!

Bead Cruise 2009

Sailing Dates: March 1-8th

Ship: Spirit, Norwegian Cruise Line

Sailing from: New Orleans, LA

Ports of Call:
Cozumel
Santo Tomas de Castilla
Belize City
Costa Maya

Classes:
http://www.beadcruise.com/wst_page2.html

Along with the classes we'll gather together for a Under the Stars cocktail party, 2 nights of Bead Bazaar shopping, opening beading sessions and more!

Early bird registration opens May 9th at 12am!

General registration begins May 12th.

Prices and complete details will be posted on Memory Cruisin' website by tomorrow. www.memorycruisin.com

If you plan to arrive the day before the cruise, Beverly will be hosting a bead trip to Ponchatoula's Turquoise Coyote or can go sight-seeing in the historic French Quarter.  We'll gather together for dinner at the world famous Mother's restaurant.

We have space for 55 participants.

Hope you plan to join us for our next adventure!

Bead Cruise 2009!

How did our 2008 adventure go?  It was a huge success and so much fun!  Here are what a few of our reviews:

"The bead cruise was absolutely the best time I have ever had and I can't wait for next year's. The teachers were fantastic and next years sound even better if that is possible. All the planning it takes to make all this work, you have to be commended, I can't think of anything I would have changed, it was all wonderful, I met the best people and the teachers were incredible." - Sandy V.

"I'm one of the newbie's I had a FANTASTIC time, looking forward to
next year. There were so many ideas and techniques to be shared." - Lola F.

Registration for 2009 will open soon.  Sign up for the email list to get updates and news delivered right to your inbox.

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Interview With Rachel Nelson-Smith

If you cruised with us last year, you had the pleasure of meeting Rachel Nelson-Smith.  For those who signed up for her classes this year you are in for a great time. Rachel is a wonderful teacher and her designs are intricate and colorful. 

Here is my interview with Rachel.  Enjoy.

1.What inspired your project for the bead cruise.

Both the Sea Star Bangle and O. Bersten Component were born out of the 2005 piece Ootheca Cuff in which right-angle weave and tubular even-count peyote stitch come together. In each of these two new projects, two of the endless possibilities manifest into these structures where right-angle weave provides the base architecture and tubular even-count peyote covers the form.

Now, the extreme nature of the Sea Star Bangle in orange measuring about 2.5" from the wrist when worn was inspired by an outgoing New York beader named Suzanne Golden who extends beading limits in her work. From the very beginning, the piece was going to be extreme. The turquoise-colored sample was created to show the design in a more subdued, less time-intensive setting.

When the O. Bersten Component came into being, it was an adventure. Initially, the goal was to make a button using the RAW and peyote combination. When it did not work into a button, it sat for several months as something I could not yet identify--incidentally, in the exact form it is now taught. Shown at a local bead nite, the component dazzled long-time bead friend Mary Fraser as we mused over what the piece was. A button face? A cover for a wine bottle stopper? Eventually more were made and linked together and it was finally apparent it was a component, meant to be used with other components.

Is this your first bead cruise? 

No, this is my 2nd time around with www.beadcruise.com. What a great idea!

Share a bead adventure.  Something fun about a class you taught.

The first original beadweaving class I taught was named Rachel's Netted Necklace by the owners of 3 Beads & a Button where I worked at the time. It was a tubular even-count 5-drop netting piece uniquely finished with two 8mm glass beads and wire, and featuring a heavily embellished tube of peyote which served as the centerpiece and slid over the 5-drop netting body. With the first class in session, during a break in the instruction action a question was asked. Nancy, the student to my right, inquired where the inspiration of this design came from. I explained the design began nearly over a year previous as I was working in the bead store. A customer came in with questions about how to work a beadweaving project she had going at home. While describing it abstractly she realized I could help her if I had the directions and that I'd also benefit from knowing how to create this stitch. Now, this was before it was widely know that photocopying and sharing directions was unethical. So, the customer promsied to return bearing directions. At home with the stitch on my mind that very night, the Rachel's Netted Necklace was born. When she returned with the directions, she was please to find immediate assistance in finishing her project. And, at this, in the midst of class, Nancy who inquired about the origin of the project we were now working on, excitedly exclaimed with a smile, "THAT WAS ME!"

4. What is on the horizon in your bead world?

I'm hoping to have the continued opportunity and inspiration to design with seedbeads and wire, as well as the opporunity to teach and travel. Future designs and bead advantures not yet drempt of are always something to look forward to. Very exciting is the inclusion of my work in Masters: Beadweaving set to release in Fall 2009. It is a book of eight to nine page beadweaving artist profiles curated by Carol Wilcox Wells. In addition to offering the talk "Evolution of a Design: merging stitches" to the Bead Society of Greater New York and San Diego Bead Society among others, I look forward to offering it to other bead societies and groups around the country. Every day and with each bead, a new adventure presents itself that either previously seemed out of reach or simply had not yet materialized.

You can see more of Rachel's Designs at her website.

Interviewed by Beverly Herman

Free Project - Marcia DeCoster Earrings!

Tesserae Earrings is a right-angle weave project that was recently featured in Step by Step Beads magazine. 

Marcia DeCoster is teaching two right-angle weave classes on the Bead Cruise.  Learn from the master of this technique as she teaches how to focus on making smaller components to create larger pieces of jewelry.

Want to learn the basics of right-angle weave?  Here is a PDF from Bead & Button with directions to get started.

25 Lucky People

Will you be one of the 25 lucky people joining those who have already registered for Bead Cruise 2008?   Find the registration information here.  That's right, only 25 spaces left!

Want to see photos from the Navigator of the Seas?  Visit this flickr page.

The Bead Cruise has a flickr group, join us in sharing your photos from past cruises or jewelry that you've made from the classes, instructors kits or just your island/cruise inspired jewelry. 

Class Spotlight: Eni Oken

Class being offered by Eni Oken.  There is one spot left in each of these classes, sign up today.

Ocean Blue Coiled Bangle

Class Description:  Learn how to make this intricate woven bangle using more than 20 feet of thin wire, which is carefully hand coiled to hold decorative beads together. The results are well worth the time!

Technique: Wire-wrapping

Skill level: intermediate/advanced. Familiarity and previous skill with wire absolutely required. Familiarity with "herringbone weave" desirable.

Fisherman's Net pendant

Class Description:  This lacy netted cap is created with hair-thin 28 or 30 ga wire worked over a coiled bezel on a flat pear briolette. The effect is amazingly airy and delicate and can be used to create pendants for necklaces or earrings.

Technique: Wire-wrapping
Skill level: Intermediate/advanced.

Familiarity and previous skill with wire absolutely required.

To learn more visit the Bead Cruise website.

Bead Cruise Class Update

Beverly Herman's Garden by the Sea class is sold out! 

Classes are filling up quickly.  We only have 33 spots left on the Bead Cruise, is one of them yours?  Don't wait to register, we don't want you to miss the boat!

Bead Cruise 2008 Registration

Registration opens at 12 AM (EST) July 20th!  Don't miss the boat, this is going to be our best event yet.

Classes are now listed on the Bead Cruise website. 

Questions?  Email me, I'm more than happy to help you with more information.

Bead Cruise Etsy Treasury

Just for fun, a Bead Cruise treasury on Etsy.  These are items that remind me our fun adventure!

Bead Cruise Instructor, Beverly Herman, has kits listed on Etsy.  Here is her shop.