Making Resin Beads

When Cindy and I were at the Milwaukee Bead Show, I found some Ice Resin, used for making jewelry. For a long time I wanted to try this product. We put the Ice Resin on fabric shapes, stamps and princess stickers. It has to dry for a few days, so I will blog more on this when we get back from southern IL.

Milwaukee Bead Show

On Saturday June 12th, I flew to Milwaukee to meet my sister and to go to the biggest consumer bead show in the world. It was definitely overwhelming with over 1200 vendors! Cindy and I decided to start at one side of the Midwest Airline Center and walk up and down the aisles to view all of the vendors. I had also made a list of my favorite vendors that I wanted to visit. After walking and shopping for three hours and getting about 1/3 of the way through, we needed to take a break and have some lunch. Then, we decided to hunt for the remaining vendors whom we had not seen that were on my list. Of course by then, we were tired and out of money. Here is a photo of some of the beads I bought. I will be posting photos of the items I make with these items.

The Parrot Necklace

In my Thursday, May 20th blog, I wrote that DeWayne, who lives in FL, sent me a box of beads that he found at a garage sale. In that box, there were 14 of these wonderful bone pendants and Mother-of-Pearl buttons. I got inspired yesterday to make this necklace using those bone pendants and the buttons. I thought it needed just one more "extra touch" and I remembered the brass parrots that my sister sent me. I added the parrot and the oriental coin that I thought gave the necklace that "extra touch" it needed. I had intended to put this on my website for sale, but I like it too much and might have to keep this one. :-)

THINK POSITIVE THOUGHTS!!!

On Thursday June 10th and Friday June 11th, I want EVERYONE to THINK POSITIVE THOUGHTS that my sister Cindy will win first place when the artwork is judged for the National Learning Congress 2010. This event for the recipients of organs received through LifeQuest and the donor families will take place on November 3rd and 4th this year in Grapevine, TX. There will be a Gallery of Hope of original pieces of artwork displayed at the National Learning Congress 2010 (NLC2010). My sister painted this watercolor painting with Cavan, the two organ recipients, DeWayne & Michael, and me in it to be displayed in the Gallery of Hope. The first place winner of the original artwork will be flown in for the NLC2010. The winning artwork will be displayed on all Donation and Transplantation Community of Practice document headers, signs, meeting materials, medal of honor medals and certificates and displayed in the Gallery of Hope at the conference. So, PLEASE think POSITIVE THOUGHTS that Cindy will win!! Thank you!

Peace, Love & Flowers

On Tuesday May 18th, I blogged about a friendship bracelet I made that has peace symbols and silver flower beads on it. When I went to the Renaissance Bead Show in Grapevine, I saw this yellow peace symbol and I thought that would make a great pendant on a necklace to match my bracelet. This will be for sale on my Etsy website, providing I don't sell it in IL at the jewelry yard sale or to family and friends we will be seeing there.

Triangles Times Three

This is one of my beading projects that I was going to take to Illinois with me to make when I'm visiting my sister. I got bored today, so I decided to get out the beads and make this necklace. I bought the blue triangle dichroic pendant at a bead shop in Tulsa. I decided to buy some triangle connectors and a triangle toggle clasp to complete my necklace. This will be for sale on my website, providing I don't sell it in Illinois. Cindy and I plan to have a jewelry yard sale and we also plan to sell our jewelry to the female family members.

Menopause The Musical

A couple of girlfriends and I went to see Menopause The Musical at the Majestic Theater this afternoon. It was hilarious to say the least! Since March 2001, Menopause The Musical has entertained and inspired women from coast-to-coast and internationally. Menopause The Musical is the work of writer Jeanie Linders. This uplifting 90-minute production includes parodies from the ‘60s and ‘70s and ‘80s. It culminates with a salute to women who are experiencing The Change.

Set in a department store, where four women with seemingly nothing in common but a black lace bra meet by chance at a lingerie sale. The all-female cast makes fun of their woeful hot flashes, forgetfulness, mood swings, wrinkles, night sweats and chocolate binges. A sisterhood is created between these diverse women as they realize that menopause is no longer The Silent Passage! It is a stage in every woman’s life that is perfectly normal!

Menopause The Musical has entertained audiences across the country in more than 250 U.S. cities as well as internationally in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea and United Kingdom. Women of all ages and stages find their spirits lifted by the show’s light-hearted look at menopause. It is estimated that nearly 11 million women in 14 countries have attended a performance since the show’s opening in Orlando, Florida, in 2001.

Menopause The Musical encourages a healthy dialogue about issues of aging and women’s health and provides a unique opportunity to raise awareness with female audiences. Recognizing the show’s great potential to engage and educate women on health issues, writer and producer, Jeanie Linders, took the show on the road as Menopause The Musical Out Loud™: Breaking The Silence Of Ovarian Cancer. The 2005 – 2006 tour raised nearly $500,000 for ovarian cancer research and awareness. The 2008 – 2009 awareness tour visited more than 50 cities on the cross-country tour. A portion of the proceeds are slated for local and regional ovarian cancer chapters across the U.S. to raise awareness and educate women about ovarian cancer.

For all of you women out there, if you haven't seen Menopause The Musical yet, find out when it is playing in your city and don't miss it!