TGIS !!!!!

(This is my friday, okay. Bear with me.)

I am freeee. FREEEEEE~ Oh vacation, blissful and lovely and oh-so-awaited, you are mine at last.  And we will do amazing things together. Yesssssss.... So many beautiful and amazing things...

....Through I have three of my five hops cleared out already. Yipes. Im like that. XD; Well, I would if the weather allowed me to take decent pictures, which it doesn't. Rain and thunderstorms and HAIL (!!!!) oh my ! I've been trying to send the rain to Colorado all week and it seems like it's finally listening...

My assistant is not a fan of this weather. He dislikes thunderstorms - they're scary and noisy. So he spends most of his time hiding under my dresser, under my desk, or huddled up safe in mommy's arms. (Though I don't think he would ever admit the latter willingly, proud furbeast that he is.)

Right now, he has taken refuge in what I have lovingly dubbed the box graveyard. Were boxes go to rest a bit before they are re-used. (I really ought to just shove them in a closet or something...)

I-is this over finally ? >;w;<

Today I finished my work shift (it was slow as shit. You know how it goes. Drip by drip by drip... TORTURE !) then went to the festival briefly. It is a festival mostly centered around dance from all over the world, some cuisine (the tacos are to die for... oh my god) and a space for handmade artisans to sell their wares.

Guess for which reason I go there.

(The tacos help, through.)

It was really a different experience to go there as a crafter rather than someone who sits back to enjoy the shinies. And buy the shinies. (My budget was a lot smaller this year. Wonder why... <<; )

The treasure mall was a lot smaller than it was the last few years, and there were many less artisans this time around. I believe the relocation is partly to blame - less space to go around - but a few of my old favorites were missing. There was an amazing woman from Montreal who made her own lampwork beads out of recycled glass. I planned to get her info and take a lot of pictures.

Well, I ran into two problems.

1) Lady was not there. Sad :<
2) My phone was DEAD.

Smart, Audrey. Smart. So sadly no pictures of the actual fair. There were some interesting things indeed, but most notably there was a vendor who was never there before, Josée Paquet. I chatted with her a bit while trying hard to pick up a piece to buy. She was very nice, and extremely friendly. I could have just sat there and watched her work until the festival closed. Seriously. She gave me the address to a bead store I was not aware of (an actual bead store... full of beads... and jewelry supplies... Google-fu tells me that have an online store as well. Amaaaazing. This should help me out a lot. Less money on shipping = MORE SHINIES. Truefax.)

Eventually I did pick up a piece. The piece that initially caught my eye... But there were so many lovely things. It was an hard pick... But in the end gut instinct won out.

Isn't her packaging lovely ? (As always, don't mind the desk. I forgot to put paper down this time. This desk has seen things like you wouldn't believe...) It's a cardboard triangle and is held closed by ribbon - different colors of ribbons representing different price ranges. When folded on the other side the cardboard shapes serves as her displays, and then she just needs to fold them the other way to close it up ! Isn't that amazing ?!

And oh, you ask, but what was inside ?

Wellll...

Sadly I lack the skill to turn it completely display-side up... But isn't that a lovely focal piece ?? (And yes... I know... Blue... im predictable, okay ??) I really like the dangling chain... It adds a very nice touch. Everything is attached by lobster clasps, so if you want to take the chain off, you can. If you want to take off the two bottom stones, you can as well - and end up with a more simple piece. Josée works with stainless steel chain, and I believe her wire is stainless steel as well.  And those lampwork beads... Yum. Yuuuuum. Very delicious, aren't they ?

Here's a better look at this piece for you...

I came home to put it on a chain right away... Well, I tried. The coming home part, not the chain part. My bike was apparently as eager for a vacation as I am - the bearing on my back wheel died on me. Whoops. No harm done, aside from the fact that my pride was a tiny bit bruised as the heavens started to happily pour down on me, and I had to call my daddy to come pick me up.

Moral of the story - no matter how old you are, your daddy always remains your hero. <3

Do You Know How Hard It Is ??

B'Sue has asked a rather important question.

Which of the videos she has made in her 2 years of recording is your favorite ?

My answer to this runs more or like along the lines of 'Do I have to just pick ONE ???'

Oh man.

For people not familiar with B'Sue and her videos, please go to her channel and check them out. I have sat there over the course of a few weeks and watched them all. B'Sue is a force of nature, and I LIKE that her videos are not scripted and that she shows us the mistakes rather than cut them out and retake. It makes it a little easier to connect with her, and well... Woman's dang good and hilarious. <3

It is mostly because of B'Sue that I can kind of categorize myself as a mixed-media artist. Dang if I knew what the heck I was before that. XD

I think it all comes down to this, and maybe this is considered cheating in some spheres - but while I can choose favoriteS, I can't chose A favorite. Please don't ask me. I can't. Double dog can't.

So here it is - my list of my favorite videos B'Sue has recorded.

Spectrum Noir Pens and Metal :

I've already blogged about the mini revelation this video caused in me, but it's worth bringing back to the fore-front. I still need to go pick myself some spectrums before I suck my poor copics dry, oh my !

The Craft Room Tour :

We get to see the ever-elusive Rob in this one. The video makes me fell better about my mess of my bedroom (which looks more like a craft room that happens to have a bed in it at this point). Also many lol-worthy moments at the start of the video. "You're getting FIRED today !" "Uh oh." XD

Patinas On Metal : Swellegant :

I was VERY interested in the line before seeing this thanks to Sandra, but this is the video that truly sold me on the line and made me buy ALL OF IT. Eep. I can't help it - im so visual, so videos makes it so much easier for me to really understand things.

ICE Resin and Bezels, Oh My :

This is a very good and informative video on ICE resin, and I learned how to actually use open back bezels while watching this. The only thing I would add is that letting your part A rest in a bowl of warm (not boiling, just warm) water for 30-40 minutes before you mix will help the part A flow a lot more easily and so you can avoid the great big blobs. It also helps with reducing bubbles.

What I Would Like To See :

• More Meep ! We know the little rascal sleeps on the job instead of packing orders... Catch him in the act on camera ! Maybe that will righten his ways... ;D
• More business 101 videos. The one on shipping is very informative and useful, and I've learned quite a few things from it in spite of having been shipping internationally for years now.
• I would like to see a direct link of the components you use in a video into the video's description. I often see pieces I like in the videos and when I go look for them... Either it takes me forever to find them, or I can't find them at all ! Having direct links in the description would be very handy, I feel.
• I've love to see more start-to-finish videos. These often are great muse kick-starters - watching B'Sue work on something will often give me an idea of how to put a similar technique to use, but with my own twist to it.
• Did I mention more Meep ? More Meep is important. But that might be the crazy cat lady speaking.

And The Winner Is...

If we do something like this...

1. R. Kuhlman
2. Dyanne
3. Leah Curtis
4. Sherri Stokey
5. Dragonfly Close
6. Kimberly, Bakin' Goddess
7. Clarity Of Purple Sage
8. Stepha
9. Jessica
10. Marla
11. Katherine at Terra Beadworks
12. Tammie
13. dreaminofbeads / SAS Jewelry Designs
14. Pine Ridge Treasures
15. min
16. Tumblestone Handmakery
17. rockcreekcreations
18. Manik Jawa Inc
19. Here Bead Dragons
20. pepita
21. Lorillijean
22. Spun Sugar Beadworks
23. Ginger Bishop
24. Isolina Perez
25. KayzKreationz
26. AWJewelry
27. Beti Horvath
28. gite
29. windbent
30. Marianne Baxter


Then something like thatttt~...

Tah Dah ! Spun Sugar Beadworks (not 100% sure who you are on FB, fail on me !), please message me on facebook or email me your address at maverickrain[at]gmail.com.

Thanks for entering, ladies ! That was really fun, and I had a whole lot more people than I thought I would get ! I am definitively doing this again eventually, so keep an eye out ! :>

Come On Ladies... Time To Spill.

((Don't forget that I have a giveaway going until June 24th, midnight EST ! If you havn't entered yet, please don't forget to do so ! <3))


I woke up to to the fact that a gnome sneaked balloons to my work chair. (The gnome looked oddly dad-shaped.... Hmm.)

And to my assistant trying to bat the whole thing down, but anyone who is owned by a cat knows how that goes.

(Don't mind the mess. Im good at chaos theory)

Im old.

Yikes.

I kid, mostly, but there are certainly days where I feel like a 50-something in a 20-something's body. GOD DAMN KIDS GET OFF MAH LAWN. Ahem.

But that's not the point of this post. There are a few things I would like to talk about, as well as a question to ask :

First, I attended a very swell party on friday. A virtual party. Wait, what ?

The lovely Jenny of Glass Addictions held out a 3 hours long blog party where she gave away very nifty door prizes as well as put many lovely beads for sale. We exchanged drink recipes and I made out like a bandit.

What's my loot, you ask ? Glad you asked~

This one is from her aptly-named Alien Skies collection. It was love at first sight. There's really no other way to explain me and this bead. It went up and I couldn't reach for my paypal account quickly enough ! I am not exactly sure what I will do with it yet... But nonetheless. MINE.

And this one is from her Nightmare Insomnia line. Isn't that GORGEOUS ??? It looks like a tiny little nebula encased in some alien bottle ! Ow, right in the muse. The clue fairy was quick to chime in as well. I had to buy it, for the good of mankind.

So I did. And if I am lucky, the third bead I was eyeing will make it to etsy and I can yoink it on my next paycheck... <<

Which brings me to my question. Even as there are some components we can do ourselves (I fear I am getting addicted to resin and bezels... Uh oh.) there are still things we cannot make ourselves. Either we don't know how (lampwork, for me), or we tried and found we have no talent in it howsoever (Oh, polymer clay... Something should be done about our love/hate relationship).

We all have our little insider secrets. Our favorite haunts. The shops we go back to, again and again and again. It might be seen as giving out trade secrets... But I don't care. XD  Here are my haunts, for your enjoyment.

Beadaholique - This is where I get most of my tools, and the silk ribbon that I dye with markers. The shipping to Canada is actually very very low, which is amazing for bigger tools and parts I might not be able to get locally. They have a wide selection of well, EVERYTHING, and the instructional videos are very through and easy to follow along. The free designs section is also an amazing muse kickstarter, and they have weekly sales that tend to fall right when I need to stock up on something. XD Subscribing to their newsletter will give you 5$ off your first order.

B'Sue Boutique and The Backroom - Some people are meant to be forces of natures. I believe B'Sue is one of those people. She reminds me to my aunt, who sadly passed away last november. The same kind of attitude, the same kind of sass... I bawled through my first video and then it actually started feeling good. That aside, B'Sue is such an incredibly helpful and talented person. Her tutorials are very helpful AND hilarious. I love her humor, her sass, and how she will actually show us things go wrong when it happens. I get all my brass stampings (she made me love metal focals. True story.), my Swellegant and my sari ribbon from her. Also, free candy. You can't go wrong with free candy.

Mixed Mayhem BEADs - Bee's bead/kit/supplies shop. Which she has yet to fill. See how polymer clay and I do not get along ? She's my crack dealer. Or would be if she actually filled her shop with shines. So I could probably buy it out. HINT HINT. <3

Shakti Beads - Sharon has a little bit of everything, which definitively comes in handy ! Her orders always make it to me at light speed, and her beads are so lovely and very well priced for the quality. I definitively recommend buying from her ! I love her focal/bead kits, in particular.

Gemalicious Beads - This is my go-to for pricier gemstone, or if I need utter flawless quality. The gem gals never fail to bring out the bling and the shines. Once you buy once you get a 10%off coupon for your next order, and there's always a freebie in your package !

Lytha Studios - My go-to for findings and tierracast components. Can't beat her prices for those, and her service is excellent. Also a freebie in every order.

Tea House Treasures - Treasure is right. AMAZING beads, for very, very cheap. She has a wide selection of natural materials and things I havn't seen anywhere else. Go pay her a visit ! You won't be dissapointed.

Cabcabana and Balibagus - This is where I get all of my bone components, and some of my gemstone focals. Be sure to check both shops !

Unkamen Supplies - Jump rings. Lots and lots and lots of jump rings. This is where I get my seed bead mixes, my tiny little drops, and where I got my amazing travelling pouch. Also, mystery boxes are my kryptonite. SIGH.

Metal Me This - THOSE CLASPS. Oh we will make magic together darling <3 And while I am pretty well-stocked in patinas, I can't wait for the launch of Color Me This - there are a few of Lisa's colors that I ADORE and I certainly wouldn't mind getting my hands on them... Ahem~

Donna Millard - I pimped out her lampwork once. Allow me to pimp it again. One day I will win the lottery and I will buy everything. Oh yes, I will.

Fall In Love Gems - Local is awesome. Getting your goods two days after you brought them is awesome. Just saying. A wide variety of everything <3

Now you know what they say... Sharing is caring ! It's your turn now. Show us your secrets !

Bead Soup Blog Party : Meet My Partner

((Don't forget that I have a giveaway going until June 24th, midnight EST ! If you havn't entered yet, please don't forget to do so ! <3))

As many of you know, the partners list for the Bead Soup Blog Party went out yesterday. After getting my partner, I would like in introduce you with her and her fabulous work.

Internet, meet Milla Hope of LB Creative Art And Crafts !

I've saved some of her amazing work to share with you...

Holy $/"%?, right ? XD I could never, ever, EVER do bead-weaving. At all. I do not have that kind of patience. And look at how good Milla is at this ! Wow... Just work. I can only hope my tiny little newbie self can send you a soup worthy of your talent, Milla !

Color Surprise Challenge, Summer Lovin', and what's in a name ?

((Don't forget that I have a giveaway going until June 24th, midnight EST ! If you havn't entered yet, please don't forget to do so ! <3))


The Bead Soup Blog Party partners are going out as I type this ! Again, I need to tip my hat off to Lori for her dedication to this swap, and all of the effort she is putting into it... You rock, lady. What a superstar <3

As of today I am one week + a day (I work next saturday. BOOOO.) away from my vacation. And oh lord do I need this vacation. The east coast has been good and toasty and humid for the last two week and here up north is no exception, so I am poooooped. I also do not take any vacation in the winter, so I have more or less been working non-stop (with a looooot of overtime, thank you flaky co-workers) since last august.

I am certainly due. And I have a whole month off work coming to me. WOOOOO !

I will keep busy, of course. Im not a big traveller - I don't drive, which doesn't help there - and depending when my brother does get his vacation, I might not go anywhere at all. That means loooots of biking, looooots of pool time... and a lot of beading !

Certainly nothing wrong with that, no sir.

I am currently taking part in three other challenges, two of which involves kits. I got the kit for the second one today, so I figured I would slide in a word about them, through sadly neither kit challenges are still open for more people. I believe the written blog hop is still accepting people !

The first blog hop is a simple one. Shelley of Fabric Of My Life wants to know - what's in a name ? The name of my blog, of course ! Now, im keeping my lips zipped on this - no use giving away the punch ! But I will simply tell you that the answer is a little more personal than one might think.

Shelley is still taking participants and the posting date is July 17 - her birthday ! Come play with us ! <3

Then next...

Lisa of Pine Ridge Treasures came up with a fun way to run a destash - turn it into a challenge ! The Color Surprise Challenge is aptly named because each one of us brought our kits blindly - knowing roughly what we would get, bead-species wise, but not what color we would get ! I got blue, which is... kind of funny, because I was so afraid I would end up with yellow and not know what to do with it. Doesn't that focal look yummy ? And that turquoise ? Oh, yes. I will do yummy things with that delicious set indeed. It will be glorious.

The reveal for the Color Surprise Challenge will be July 21 !

And finally, for now...

This is the Summer Lovin' challenge, held by Amy of Amybeads Sandra was the one to find this, and well... look at that focal. I did not need much convincing at all to leap into this <<

I have a few ideas already.... I fear my piece will not be very summery.  BUT ! It will be lovely. It will be lovely indeed. Yummy silvers and golds and... lucite ? That's all you're getting out of me. 8D

The reveal date for the summer lovin' challenge will be August 1. See you all on these dates !

GIVEAWAY !!!!

[/exit pre-scheduled mode]

Holy shit, ladies.

Holy shit.

Four. Hundred. (I believe the blog post still shows 397, but Lori confirmed we broke 400 on FB)

My assistant and I are both very proud of the record-setting numbers for this bead soup blog party, and feeling for poor Lori. If sugar pie could ship well, girl, I would send you a dozen of them.

What I can do, however, if keep you busy while we wait for our partners ! That's right. Welcome to my first giveaway !

And what am I giving away, you ask ?

I have a not-so-secret obsession with keys and bottles. I have collected knick-knacks in bottles on necklaces and bracelets for ages now. Then... Eventually... it did dawn to me that I could actually do my own now.

The world might never recover.

In this set there are 5 bottles. Each can either be wire-wrapped along the rim or hung from an eyehook. (I will send you an eyehook for each bottle in a separate baggie, so you can decide weither to use them or not)

Going from left to right :

- bottle with blue and green seed beads (The cork isn't glued on this one, so if you want to change it up, feel free)

- bottle with black iris/metallic seed beads (ditto) 

- bottle of orange and red seed beads set in resin + red and gold glitter (the effect on this one is very funky. The bottle almost seems to glow in the right light !)

- bottle painted with vintaj patinas (the cork is glued on this one... sorry ! Didn't think about it)
- bottle with a red and white feather set in resin + red and gold glitter. (Phoenix Down, anyone ?)

I am also sending you three blanks that I've stamped and etched with my big kick. Two darling little keys (earrings ? Hmmm~) and a bird. To top this off, there is also a full length of ribbon that I've dyed with copic markers. There is enough ribbon here to make a very long necklace, or a necklace AND a bracelet !

And there might also be other surprises, too. Because I like surprises.

So how does one enter to win this ? Well, you don't need to be participating in the bead soup blog hop. Love is free ! Simply leave a comment here, on this post, and let me know what kind of ideas you get from this set ! (this will have no bearing on who wins, since I am simply going to randomize a number from the comments... But I am curious ! I think that blue bottle would fit quite well with a little drink me tag... Too bad the alice blog hop has passed !)

The giveaway will be open until midnight on June 24. Why ? Because that's Lori's target date to have the participants sent out, and well, it's my birthday and i'll give things away if I want to. ;P I will roll the winner on the 25th after I come home from work.

I am also willing to send this more or less anywhere, so I don't care if you live in timbuctu - get enterin', ladies !