NYC Trip !

I just got back from a three day trip to New York to be a part of the annual "Lavagem da Rua 46" which is a Brazilian parade based on the "Lavagem do Bonfim" in Salvador, Bahia in Brazil. The festival and parade took place on 46th Street which is known as Little Brazil. I went as a member of my all-women percussion band, Batala Washington and marched wearing all white as is traditional. The excitement was unbelievable as the famous Brazilian musician, Carlinhos Brown , led the parade and performed afterwards. I never knew anything about him, but he is a fantastic entertainer. I'm going to download some of his songs. After the parade, I was walking down 6th Avenue and discovered several bead stores. Treating myself to a few goodies was the icing on the cake to an excellent day which included samba and caipirinhas !

Quick Earring Display

Quick Earring Display, originally uploaded by ambrosianbeads.

Last month, I whipped up a whole bunch of Batala themed jewelry (red, white and black color scheme) for a Batala fundraiser. I wanted to display the earrings on a wire form, but didn't want to spend any more money on fancy earring cards, so I tried out an idea. I took some free twisty ties, folded them in half, taped them to the back of the earring cards, folded the loop over into a small hook and voila ! Easy hanging earring cards :-)

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.