Shows, shows, shows!

Indoor show this Fall!

Outdoor show this Fall!

It's been a busy year for shows and I have 2 more to go. I've learned so much this year and hope that next year my booth and business will really sparkle & shine. Last year I started out with a partner and she helped me get my feet wet. This year I've been on my own, more or less, and it's been a true learning experience. Being a very small business owner has its' advantages and disadvantages. Thank goodness that it is my only job! I couldn't handle a real career on top of crafting and showing! Lucky for me, my husband helps me with the heavy lifting and setting up. He stays throughout the entire show and handles the credit card transactions, too. I think he enjoys the whole process. Someday he'd like to retire from his full time career and we could travel across the country in an RV and do one show after another...

New Year Hopes...

Gosh, the holidays have come and gone... thank goodness. So much to look forward to this year... a trip to Hawaii, a new direction for my Etsy shop, craft shows to line up, new classes to teach at East Street Beads, new friends to meet through beading, etc. I'm super excited to share this with my readers.

After much thought and reflection, I've decided to focus my creative energies on Kumihimo braiding. Anyone can string beads, but I love finding a pendant with that "WOW" factor and then creating a complimentary Kumi braid. I just ordered two beautiful lampwork glass focal beads on Etsy, one from Norway and the other from Israel! I'm super excited to get them in the mail and start a Kumi braid for each!

Kumi, Kumi... I'm hooked on braiding! First you find that special focal piece that touches your heart and/or releases your creative energy. Then you start to visualize the braid that will most compliment it. Do you want the braid to accent the piece or the piece to accent the braid? Or both? Next you start to think about matching up the colors and deciding what material to use. That's the fun part of Kumi braiding... you can use fiber and beads! Mix it up, try something new... Satin cord, yarn, wire, silk, waxed linen mixed with... seedbeads, semiprecious stone chips, fire polished Czech glass, Swarovski crystals! I could go on and on because as I tell my Kumihimo students, the skies the limit! Don't be afraid to try a new fiber or a different bead or stone. Unleash the Kumi Queen or King and you'll be creating great pieces, too.

I use a simple foam disk for creating my braids but someday I'd love to try the Marudai Table, the original way to make a braid that is centuries old in Japan. I'm not a Kumi expert and I have lots to learn. That's so exciting! So if you've been thinking about trying a new skill this year, try Kumihimo Braiding and soon you'll be hooked, too. I still love stringing... every once in a while I take a Kumi break and go back to my roots. But my true love is Kumi.

Tis the Season!

With the holidays only weeks away, I've decided to give my online shops a real facelift! Over the past year I've been so busy working, teaching, and getting ready to do craftshows that I let both of my shops, bizeebeecreations.etsy.com and bizeebeecreations.artfire.com fall into disrepair... Shame on me! But online shops are a lot of work and something had to take the backseat. Now I'm happy to announce that, Ta Da,.... (I'm doing a drumroll) "I'M BACK!!!! " Bigger, brighter, and better than ever! Check out my shop! You'll see a few familiar items that didn't sell last year, but I'm headed into a different direction. Still the same high quality, though.

I need to add another dimension to my shops and I've noticed that shops with an additional line of products that compliment jewelry seem to do well. So what should it be? Hats, purses, soap, vintage buttons??? Hm, buttons sound great. I went to a bead show this past weekend and purchased some lovely vintage Czech glass buttons... But maybe that's not the right avenue for me. Big fluffy scarves seem to be everywhere around peoples necks these days... Paired up with the right necklace and/or earrings, they look very stylish! I need to be able to offer another dimension to my jewelry shop, to attract cross-over buyers. Something different than other shops and it has to be handmade or vintage. I'm brain-storming, but in the meantime, check out my Great Christmas items in both shops!

Christmas...Oh Christmas!

Can you believe that it's almost Christmas??? I just finished making my last Christmas present this evening! I am so ready for the big day...Christmas! The presents are wrapped... the cookies are baked... the tree is decorated... the stockings are hung... and the eggnog is chillin' in the fridge! YAY! Oops... Guess there's one more itty bitty detail... the Christmas cards! Yikes! Got to get on that this very weekend... after work! My scaled down budget had two major advantages... LESS SHOPPING and LESS WRAPPING! YAY! I can't believe how much I saved this year by really sticking to my budget! In years gone by "the budget" was just sort of a nice idea but this year it's solid as a rock! And I feel GREAT! None of that deep pitted anxiety that I spent way too much... Nope! My husband & I agreed not to buy more than a few small stocking stuffers for each other and that saved a bundle! Each of the adult kids will have one present to open and their stockings. Afterall, they told me that the stocking is their "main event" so I couldn't skip that! So bring on Christmas cause I'm full of good cheer and mighty glad that the year ended so well for me and my family! Christmas ... oh Christmas!

For all of you late last minute shoppers... I still have many Super Deals in my Etsy shop! Come and take a look! www.bizeebeecreations.etsy.com

Fall Collection Teaser!

I've been a bizee bee creating my Fall Collection this week and I wanted to give you a taste of what I've done so far! I finally got the camera out and did a mini photo shoot which is always a challenge! I am definitely photo challenged but I tried my best to capture the right light to compliment the Fall colors. It's difficult, OK? But I think I got off to a good start. If I could afford to, I would hire someone to do the photos and listing work while I spent my time creating the jewelry, but **sigh** like most entrepreneurs... I must do it all on my own...
So take a look and see what you think! There's a whole lot more to come so stayed tuned. This bizee bee gal never sleeps!

Greetings From BizeeBeeCreations

Creating beaded jewelry is the best part of my life right now. Sitting down at my creativity desk and looking through all my colorful beads to get inspiration is fun and exciting! But trying to learn what vehicles exist to get my creations noticed and appreciated is a different story. Blogging, twittering...What's that ALL about? I feel like a tiny dot on a big page....... Somebody please notice me....... Oh, well....... THIS is challenging and I love challenges! I'm starting a blog today! WOW! Me... a blogger!

My goals:

1. To be creative everyday
2. To discover new ways to promote my product
3. To share my Ups & Downs with other Crafters
4. To share my discoveries
5. To learn new beading techniques
6. To become an interesting blogger
7. To get myself ORGANIZED

OK, first of all I need to consider my possibilities and get myself organized for the day. Will I order more supplies for beading? Create something new? Rearrange my bead drawers so that I can find what I need more efficiently? Guess I need a "PLAN of ACTION"! I need a big wall calendar. I will set a list of goals for each day and then check them off as I go. A checked off list makes you feel powerful and that you're truly accomplishing something.

So, I need short term goals and long term goals... check. Now let's get started!






Here's my latest bracelet made from Venetian Glass beads




Visit my shop for additional necklaces, earrings, and bracelets