Some Like It Hot!!

My son, Justin, daughter, Shawna and my brother, Bob, are all chili heads. They like EVERYTHING hot, hot, HOT! I am not kidding. I've seen Shawna put hot sauce on popcorn. And she wouldn't think of eating mashed potatoes without cayenne in them and more hot sauce poured over the top. So, with that thought in mind, and the fact that I just happened to have some tequila....LOL....here are some South of the Border spiced pecans!

4 C Pecan halves

Tequila Glaze
6 T Tequila (I don't need to tell you to not use crappy tequila, right?)
3 T Unsalted butter
1 T Brown Sugar

Spice Mix
3 T Sugar
1 T Kosher Salt
1 t Cinnamon
3/4 t Ground Cumin
3/4 t Ground Coriander
3/4 t Cayenne (less of you're a bit timid...more if you're a freak like some of my family members!)
3/4 t Garlic Powder

Follow instructions below for Rum Spiced Pecans.

Rum Spiced Pecans

They are amazingly addictive. I usually need to make 3 batches so no one feels deprived!

4 C Pecan halves

Rum Glaze

2T Dark Rum

1T + 1t. Vanilla (try to use the real thing as imitation gets bitter when boiled)

2t Brown sugar

2T Unsalted Butter

Spice Mix

1/4 C Sugar

2t Kosher salt (the large crystals work nicer, if you only have table salt reduce the amount)

1t Cinnamon (I always heap my teaspoon cuz I love cinnamon!)

1/2 t Cloves

1/2 t Allspice

Mix together Spice Mix in a medium bowl and set aside.

Toast pecans in a preheated 400° oven on a lined cookie sheet for 7 to 10 minutes or until they smell nutty. Rotate and shake the pan half way through.

Bring Rum Glaze to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stirring well.

Using liner (parchment paper works best) as a funnel dump toasted nuts into rum glaze stirring well to coat. Continue to stir over the heat until all the liquid is absorbed and the nuts are shiny.
(lean over pot and take a deep breath! It is amazing!)

Dump into bowl with Spice Mix and stir well to coat. Transfer back onto cookie sheet to cool and air dry.

Now make another batch to share with someone as you've just eaten most of this one!

Thanks Santa!

Dear Santa,

Thank you for the time off! I made some beaded leaves. The process
was more about enjoying the colors than what the final outcome
would be, but I had beautiful dreams last night on what I can
do with these leaves, so they may end up becoming a piece of jewelry.

The therapeutic process of beading never ceases to amaze me!
I've shared with many of my friends in the beading community,
the story of my Grandmother beading. It fits here so well.

When I was young I would spend my summers with her. My parents
both worked full time and it was easier to just send me to stay
with her. I didn't mind. She taught me so many crafty things
as well as how to cook with bacon grease! ;o)

She knit, crocheted, did paper quilling, made knick-knacks out
of seashells, made apple faced women, made toilet seats out of
resin with seashells and other inclusions, whittled, you get the
picture, right? But most of all she beaded with seed beads!

It was when she would pick up her seed beads that I would notice
a calm come over her. As is evident from all the crafts she dabbled
in, her mind was restless and she was always striving to occupy
it with busy work. It was only with the beading that I would
notice this change in her.

So, being a curious eight year old, I asked her once, "Nana,
how come when you play with your beads you get so quiet?"
She called me over to her side and said, "Look down here
at these beads. See those little tiny holes?" I remember
leaning over her arm and looking down as clearly as if she said
this to me yesterday. She had on a blue shawl and I can still
smell her if I close my eyes and breathe deeply. I nodded and
said, "Yes, I see the little holes". She said, "When
I am beading, I climb inside that little tiny hole and there is
no room in there for anyone else, or anything else. It is just
me and the beads, nothing to bother me or worry me, no noises,
no cares."

It was at that very moment that I fell in love with beads and
my love has only grown as I've gotten older. There was no greater
gift she could have passed on to me.

And now, when my life becomes too stressful, I reach for my seed
beads. I sprinkle them into a dish, gaze into the little tiny
holes and climb in. There is not another place more peaceful
and comforting to me.

To me it explains a LOT about why beading can be so addictive. Who wouldn't want to find that place of peace!

Thank you Nana!

Dear Santa,

Can I please have a day off? How about 1/2 a day?

I am feeling over worked, under paid and frustrated. That is no way to enjoy the holidays!
Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love the colors of my tree (Burgundy & Gold), the food, the smells, the smiles on my families face when they open a special present. But right now I am just feeling stressed out. I need that feeling to go away!

Maybe I need to bead! Yes, that is what I need to do! I think I'll go to work this morning and get the ball rolling and then just sneak out and head back home. Maybe build a fire, put on some comfy slippers, make a cuppa tea and BEAD! If I accomplish this wish, I'll post my results!

In the meantime, I hope your holiday season is much less stressful than mine!

Autumn Inspirations

I absolutely LOVE Fall!

I love the colors, the smells, the sounds, the angle of the sun and the way it lights my yard in the morning and at dusk. I love the foods of autumn, rich stews, warm soups, baking bread and pies. I love building a toasty fire and settling into my chair to bead while I listen to the fire crackling and warming my home. I love sweaters and scarves and boots!

And most of all I love how all of these things inspire my beadwork. It seems every Autumn I am overwhelmed with beady ideas. It is like my Muse just awakens completely when the weather changes to a slight chill in the air. And I always head for these shades of beads:

Here is a bracelet and accompanying tutorial I created inspired by this image:

And a few years ago, I created this necklace, also inspired by that same image and also beaded in the Fall:
I ended up making this project into a kit and it has sold very well for several years now. But just recently I looked at it again and thought it would be fun to make similar leaves (and maybe even in those same colors because they are so freakin' beautiful!) and make a new necklace...maybe a lariat style with the leaves falling down one side that twines around the other side?

I think I need to get a pot of soup on...maybe a nice crusty loaf of bread in the oven? Light a crackling fire and GET THOSE BEADS OUT!

Bay Area Bead Extravaganza!

The BABE! show is just around the corner now! I love this show! I know I am partial because it is in my own backyard, but even still, it is an amazing show. The show organizer, Trarie Kottkamp does a fabulous job of selecting her vendors. She strives harder than anyone I know to ensure you get a fabulous selection of product to shop from, plus the Studio Artisan's are heavily protected in that mass produced Chinese lampwork beads are not flooding the show floor competing with these highly skilled artisans in this venue.

All that work on her part pays off in the long run not only for those of us who have the honor of vending there, but also for the attendees who get the cream of the crop in beady related vendors to shop from.

I try to thank Trarie often for the energy she puts into this, as few shows go to these extremes. You can thank her, too, by attending this year! You'll always find her out and about on the show floor, she's the redhead!

There is also an amazing lineup of classes offered at the BABE! show! I'll be teaching my Intro to Fine Silver Metal Clay again, it seems popular enough each year to repeat once again, and I certainly LOVE teaching this class. I'll never tire of the amazement I see on peoples faces when they see the magic of Metal Clay.

And this year I have a brand new 2-day class, An Intro to BRONZclay & COPPRclay! You'll get to learn how to create with both of these new great mediums in one class!

I hope to see you at the show!

Beadwork from Bead & Button 2009

Well, another year has come and gone for the Bead & Button Show. Even with the economic issues, it was a good show for us this year. Attendance certainly seemed down, both on the show floor and in the classrooms, but those who did attend were buying beads and learning new techniques and sharing their beautiful beaded creations just like always.

I had a great time! And I really enjoyed seeing all of the entries of beadwork this year, too. The Bead Dreams competition, the ISGB Convergence, and entries from the ToHo competition were all on display.

I sent Shawn off with the camera, and while he managed to get an image of every single item in each of the glass cases, I am not able to retrieve everything off the disk. =o(
However, I did get a lot of them! Some with the artists name included in the photo, some without. Sorry about that! I guess I didn't send him off with explicit enough instructions. LOL

Please enjoy these lovely creations! And if you know who created something that does not include the name, let me know and I'll add a credit to them by the photo. (Click images for an enlarged view)

High Caliber Collar by Rebecca Starry

Created by Tatiana Van Iten

A collaboration between Heidi Kummli & Sherry Serafini!

Created by Maria Thresa Ferreira of Portugal

Trippy transposed image with Shawn's hands and camera. There are a couple of these from the cases where he needed to face the incoming light from the windows.

The images below are part of the ISGB Convergance. If they do it again, I think I'd like to play!

The above is titled Pahoehoe Pools

created by
Pamela Wolfersberger & Tracy Van Niel

And last....but most certainly not least, this beaded box from Japan. Just the mere thought of the stress of having this piece of artwork shipped over here for display! I thank, Satoko Toyoda, of Japan for doing that so that we could all see it in person!