Bead Show Now – Bead Shop Now – Online Bead Show Now – Share Where You Shop via Social Media

I am a big fan of shopping in person for handmade beads, strands and tubes of beads, lapidary items, tools and findings. If I can support a brick and mortar store or a bead show vendor so they can cover their costs, I will!

It used to be really easy to open a bead magazine and see ads for upcoming shows about 10 years ago. With the influx of social media and internet shopping I find that I am buying magazines less, and wanting to find out where shows are, but often experience: Darn! I just missed that show.

As a bead show vendor and a patron of bead shows and shops, I thought it would be great for people to use social media to help us figure out where we can find each other. Why not give it a try?!

Bead Shows and Bead Shops where you can physically go and shop are the main focus of these posts #BeadShowNow and #BeadShopNow

STEP 1: Go to a bead show or a bead shop and take photos of cool beads (you may want to ask the shop owner or bead show vendor if it is ok, and what their social media handle is).

STEP 2: Log into your social media platform and post your photos, making sure to tag the shop or vendor with their social media handle, use location for where the show or shop is, and make sure to use the #BeadShowNow or #BeadShopNow hashtags.

An example of what you would write attached to your photos may be:

Check out the awesome @MarshaNealStudio beads being sold at the #InnovativeBeadsExpo in Edison, NJ #BeadShowNow this weekend!

The @Name is the vendor/bead shop social media handle.

The #BeadShowNow is the subject you want to file this under (as of March 2018 Instagram shows up to 10 hashtags in your original post only).

If you are a vendor or bead shop owner, please DO post your own photos showing off your fabulous beads! And if you are lucky enough to have a customer come in and show off their beautiful finished piece with your beads, ask to grab a photo, get their social media handle and use #BeadShowAndTell or #BeadShopAndTell

If you have made something with beads from a bead show and want to show them off, please use the hashtag #BeadShowAndTell or #BeadShopAndTell to give us a peek and tag the artist/vendor/shop to help support their efforts!

For those of you selling through the internet or social media (Facebook Groups, Websites, Instagram, etc) use #OnlineBeadShowNow so you can post pictures of what you have and where you are going to be selling.

Please try to keep the hashtags clean so people can actually find what they are looking for and it does not become a complete mess and pointless to use.

If you want to create your own images or use these to help distinguish your post, please take a screen shot here or via Instagram. Change them however you want or make your own.

I used the Word Swag App to create these images and thanks to my friend Diane Hawkey for helping me with the #BeadShowAndTell hashtag (because Bead Show Bling – is just not where I wanted it to go…).

2018 Bead Shows

I LOVE BEAD SHOWS!!! Don’t you?!

Shopping at a Bead Show is the perfect time to hang out and shop with your friends that are into beads as much as you are (leave anyone at home that does not like to walk all day bending over looking at beads – they will thank you for it and it will gain you sanity).

If you go alone, you will be able to experience the bliss of shopping for exactly what you want all day!

 

I sell my beads in person at few of the larger bead shows every year. You can find my friend Darlene of D7 Studio selling some of my pieces at her beads show tables here in the Northeast US.

Here are the 2018 shows I have lined up so far!

April Spring 2018 Innovative Beads Expo at the Expo Center in Oaks, PA 

Classes & Shopping.

Shopping Friday & Saturday, April 7 & 8, 2018: 10am-6pm.

Sunday, April 9, 2018 10am-5pm.

Go to the Innovative Beads Expo website and register early to avoid lines and use their coupon code: SIBEEC18 to get 50% off your weekend show pass. If you are taking a class (register online) you get FREE expo entrance all weekend!

You can also save this image, print it at home and bring it in for 50% off show admission:

 

June 2018 Bead and Button Show at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, WI 

Classes & Shopping

Tuesday, June 5: Moonlight Madness (Hyatt Hotel Ballroom) 9-11pm

Preview Night Thursday, June 7: Registered Attendees (Convention Center) 4-8pm

Public Show Hours: Friday, June 8: 10am-7pm. Saturday, June 9: 10am-6pm. Sunday, June 10: 10am-4pm.

 

August 2018 Bead Fest Philadelphia at the Expo Center in Oaks, PA 

Classes & Shopping

Shopping* Friday-Sun. August 17-19, 2018.

*Show details will follow when the bead show website is updated.

 

Ceramic Art Bead Market Artist Showcase July 27 & 28, 2017

It has been quite a while since I’ve done an online Facebook Group show (maybe a year?). So it is about time to get my photos updated and new beads ready to find their homes!

You have to join the Ceramic Art Bead Market FB Group in order to bid on any of the pieces I am going to list in the next two days. I usually do only BIN (buy it now) listings, and some MTO (Made To Order). When a bead is listed, the first person to write BIN gets that listing. If you are really wanting a similar piece, just write MTO in the comments – or take a screen shot and send me a FB message to see if I have more or can make another close to it. I have had people even request for me to make them a focal bead that goes with a set of earrings, and if I can do it – I will because I love to make beads!

Here are some photos of my recent work, most of which will be posted in this group.

Some ideas for making earrings out of my ceramic bead pairs:

I plan on stocking up again for Bead Fest Philadelphia, where you can meet me in person and buy my work from me.

Zig Zag Beaded Bracelet

UPDATED May 2021:
Here is a link to my Marsha Neal Studio YouTube Video for this Zig-Zag design.
Here is a link to my Marsha Neal Studio Etsy Shop for all my DIY kits.

One summer I happened upon a friend of mine making a bracelet from a kit, which in turn I discovered through other friends, that the zig-zag design was from my friend Lesley Watt (she gave her design out to the creative world and left it up to people to figure out their own creativity). So here is the simply ingenious design using my Marsha Neal Studio ceramic disc beads.

In my Zig-Zag bracelet kits there should be enough materials to make a bracelet to fit up to a 8.5″ wrist. A 30″ piece of 1mm round leather, (75) size 6 round seed beads, (70) 6mm twisted jump rings, and one of my Marsha Neal Studio ceramic disc beads. Also helpful: good lighting, a bead mat and scissors.

DIRECTIONS:
First put one size 6 bead on the leather. Look at the disc bead to decide which side you want to show, and put both ends of the leather through the disc bead, with the “showing side” up against that size 6 bead.

Secure the disc bead to the mid-point in the leather by tying a simple overhand knot under the disc bead.

Start by stringing a bead onto one leather. Then a jump ring over both. Then a bead onto the other leather. Then a jump ring over both. And so on.

As you work, slide your beads to the end by the disc bead.

I find it is easiest to work in about 1″ sections, sliding the beads to the end in a loose group a few at a time, and double checking that you are not skipping in your pattern, and untwisting the leather so it stays flat.

When you get to within an inch of how long you want your bracelet to be, you need to think about how large your disc bead is, and how much of a gap you will need to leave between the two closure knots as this will be your last inch or so in your bracelet.

These knots are simple overhand knots that are tied pretty snug. This is 1mm leather, so please do not pull so intently hard as the leather may break – just use a snug slightly firm knot. Keeping your fingers close to the knot when you are tightening them helps.

I like to put an odd number of beads at the end of the leather and tie another knot. Cut off any excess leather that sticks out too long (make sure you leave about a 1/4″ tail of leather after the knot).

2021 UPDATE: Duo Bead Color Kits:

I am getting ready to release some kits that have 2 bead colors in them, and wanted to show you some samples of how to add the beads to create some different looks. The only thing that differs in the directions is putting a specific bead color on a particular side of leather. You can take this and do whatever pattern you want. This is just a starting point.

Best Pumpkin Pie

Sometimes I surprise myself. One Thanksgiving I decided to give making a pumpkin pie a try. I picked up a can of Libby’s 100% Pumpkin and looked at the label and picked up my ingredients. I had most of the seasoning at home, but needed the pumpkin, a pie crust and evaporated milk.

Well. The pie crust I grabbed was a graham cracker pie crust. I just wasn’t thinking too much in my rushing around. And guess what? Pumpkin pie tastes so much better with that crust! And I bet if you were to make a ginger snap cookie pie crust – that would be amazing too! There is something about those spices – Yum!!!

I follow the directions on the can but also add 1/2 tsp of nutmeg and use the 9 oz graham cracker pie crust. If they only have the smaller pie crust, grab that one and a 6 pack of the mini pie crusts to use up all of your pie mix.

My father-in-law refuses to eat any other Pumpkin Pie, so I make sure that he has his own (and as a joke this year, we put the small one up front in his refrigerator and hid the larger one behind).

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream of your choice. I also recommend something warm to drink while enjoying this dessert or breakfast dessert if there is any leftover.