The Artistry of the Etsy Beadweavers

One of the members of the Etsy Beadweavers put together this deliciously beautiful montage of works by nearly every member of the team. My Shades of Grey necklace appears near the beginning at the 26 sec. mark. Thank you, Christina, of Good Quill Hunting for making this lovely video. Now, when I need inspiration, I'll just watch the video !

Bead for Life@ Green Festival

Bead for Life@ Green Festival (PixUp), originally uploaded by ambrosianbeads.

Yesterday I went the the Green Festival to perform with my band at the end of the show. There were hundreds of vendors promoting green products and services, and as I was making my way through the booths, I found one of my favorite organizations, Bead for Life. This organization helps women in Uganda produce beads and jewelry made from recycled magazines. The sales of the jewelry help the women with individual and community projects in their towns. I rushed right up to the booth and started shopping. It's always so hard to choose just the right piece, but I ended up selecting two simple bracelets. The ladies kindly allowed me to take a photo. I hope they had some good sales at the show.

Beading in Red, White and Black...Batala Hey !

I love living in the Washington, DC area for all the cultural opportunities it offers and in the last 5 years, I have gained close friends in the Bulgarian, Finnish, Ghanaian and Brazilian communities through music (visit my fiber art blog to read more). Since last year, I have been a member of the USA's only Batala band, which is an all-women Brazilian percussion band. Our band is in high demand in DC for parades, fundraisers, soccer halftime shows, honorary dinners and many other events. We have a visual identity that employs the colors red, white and black and right now, I am in full production mode for a supply of jewelry for our upcoming art gallery fundraiser. One of our members is a graphic artist and has invited other artists to paint portraits of band members as we play which will be auctioned off at the end of the party. I'm looking forward to selling lots of jewelry to band members and friends.