Three Cheers for the Bead Cruise Sponsors!

This post is dedicated to all the sponsors of
Bead Cruise 2010. This year their generosity
was unbelievable. Heather makes up these special
booklets that every person on the cruise gets. Its
packed full of ads, designs and instructions and its
just a treasure all on its own.

The Bead Cruise Book. And this coming soon for
purchase (as a download item). When its available I
would get one...really, its a great "book".

A glimpse of the inside.

You'll find all kinds of information inside too. A trend report.

Its a bead book all on its own. And yes, those earrings are mine.

Heather surprised me with these and I totally love them.

Glass Beads from Sue Beads, little sand dollar charms from

Every Heart Crafts. Design by Heather from Humblebeads.

A cloth gift bag from Ornamentea held a pendant from

Summers Studio Pottery, handmade glass beads made by Sue

and a pendant from Ellen Ray ( you can get them at Ornamentea).

A beautiful pendant from Off Center Productions,

Earthenwood Studios, and one from Marsha Neal Studios.

We have Jangles, Paloma Antiqua and a button from Terri

at Creative Impressions in Clay.

A huge sampling of beads from C Koop Beads. She has a

way with enamels. Lucky for me Bella Modo our on board

bead shop had lots of her items for sale too.

Seed beads from Foxden Designs, and Charlene's Bead shop.

Some crocheted beads and faceted rounds from Halstead Bead.

A beautiful shell pendant from Gaea, sand dollar from

Every Heart Crafts, and a pewter charm from Green Girl Studios.

There was this beautiful bird from Humblebeads.

This was ONE door prize. I also got a book by Kate McKinnon.

There are so many more sponsors to name. Rings and Things,

Soft Flex, Vintaj, Tierra Cast, Hint(Beth Hemmila), Mary Harding,

Sova Enterprises, Bead Trends, No Easy Beads (Beverly Herman),

Margie Deeb, Barb Switzer, Expedition D (Lynn Davis),

Tracy Stanley, International Gem and Jewelry Show,

Artbeads.com and me...2ndhandrose.

My humblest apologies if I forgot anyone. But you guys are

the greatest and I will make sure that I support you in every

way possible. You are so very special. Thanks!

Bead Cruise Part Two

First on shore adventure I went on was shopping in St. Thomas.

We left the boat and were herded like cattle onto these shuttle

bus/taxis. Of course they try to squeeze as many people on as

they can.

Beverly and our new international friend Hennie. She flew all

the way over from the Netherlands. Hennie was an absolute

sweetheart and we all were amazed at her designs. She made

some of the wildest necklaces.

Her fish one was made from fish found at a children's toy

store. Loved it!

So about half way to downtown the drivers pulls over to

the side of the road. I think he was dropping people off to

the beach, but it felt like if you didn't pay you were gonna

be left in the middle of nowhere. Joke on us, people got

out, he took our money and drove us on to town.

Main street was full of all kinds of jewelry stores. If you

wanted diamonds you were at the right island. There were

camera stores, ( I got a nice new one at a good price), and

lots of liquor stores. But we got directions to the island's

only bead store. You just turned down an alley (that in any

big city in the state I would avoid) and you found all these

little shops.

And yes we found the bead store. We Americans are so

spoiled. There was mostly Venetian glass and few odd beads.

We have so much more variety to choose from, so lucky!

Tomorrow a tribute to the sponsors of the 2010 cruise. They

really rock!

Dreaming of Bead Cruise 2010

Well the weather has definitely taken a turn to the cooler side.
The leaves are turning, mums are everywhere, and I have my
load of pumpkins bought for decorating outside. I noticed the
days are getting shorter. So with all that happening, I've been
daydreaming about Bead Cruise 2010. This will be my fourth
one and all I can say is they have gotten better every time.
Heather puts in a lot of time and effort to make this an experience
to be remembered. I'm sharing some more of my pictures from
2009.

Blue skies and sunny days in Belize.




Warm sands and turquoise waters in Costa Maya. Oh yes,
and Mojitos too!



Chance to make lots of new friends and meet great teachers.



Great food. I love sushi and this was the best I've ever had.

My Mom went to Mexico....

And all I got was this stupid hat! And she has the nerve to put it
on me so she can show other people. But I'll tolerate it, because
that's the sweet dog that I am. And I do look kind of cute, even
if I'm not a Taco dog.

Yes Bailey does hate hats. But I love to dress her up.
Finally I got some pictures done. I still have loads to do,
But I thought I should share these now before its ancient history.

Our ship the Norwegian Spirit. One of the smallest ships I've been on.

Leaving the port in New Orleans. That day was as cold as any
winter day in Michigan. Pretty nuts. I remember going outside
on the deck later in the evening and slowly feeling the temps
warm up. What a relief that was!

First night out we got our name tags and gift bags. Heather had Lorelei
as a helper. I finally got to put a face to the name of Lori.
She was so quiet...didn't she post about how she cusses and talks
all the time? That was far from the truth. She's a sweetheart and
I really enjoyed spending time with her.

First stop Costa Maya. The dancers were so colorful and looked like
they were having fun. I wanted a twirly skirt like the women were
wearing. Lucky for me and everyone else around I couldn't find
one. I have no shame when it comes to making an idiot out of myself.
Do you know you can look really scary in one of those bright red
table clothes? That's all I got to say about that!

Santo Thomas de Castilla

Altuna Ha ruins in Belize. One of the coolest places to visit.
Amazing to think that you are walking in a place built thousands
of years ago. Image what it looked like back then...all fresh
carved stones, they had a market place in the center of the temple.

Cozumel, Mexico
I have many more things to share. Please come back and look.
Check out my Flickr page, there will be lots more there.

Feeling Froggy

Would you believe this is the only picture out of 300 that I

managed to get to Adobe? It has been a wonderful, wild two

weeks and I am still trying to get myself together. Work wants

to punish me for leaving it alone for so long and I am playing

catch up there.

Lucky for me I did get to stay an extra day in New Orleans with

my sister due to fog and plane cancellations. I came home to

my little girl Bailey, Geary had picked her up from my sister's

house so I could have her home that night. He even gave her

a bath...first one in all her 8 years for him. She must have

thought her world was coming to an end!

I am also sitting in front of a beautiful full screen HD monitor.

Geary was so excited about getting it. I have to admit it is a

beautiful thing. Really it is great to be back home.

Going away is fun, but the coming home is always so

much better. I beleive my husband really missed me this time!

I am STILL rocking and rolling from the swells we had at sea.

I wonder when will it go away, or if it could be something else

like an inner ear problem. More than anything, it is an

annoying problem.

So over the weekend I will get through the pictures, put most

of them on my Flickr page, and share the special ones with

you all. I promise I won't be boring, cause you've probably

seen a lot of them on other blogs.

I just want to add another thing. Heather puts on the

BEST cruises ever...that girl makes them better every year.

This year was especially great with all the sponsors who sent

stuff for the gift bags. They were SO full of great goodies.

It was like Christmas in the Tropics.

I loved seeing my old friends and making new ones.

The teachers were spectacular, Mary Hettsmanberger's class

was very inspiring and loads of fun. I made the best clay beads

Heather's class. Not as good as hers but I don't want to be...its

more fun getting them from her!

Well shut my mouth, PEEPS!

What do you give the girl that has everything for Christmas?

You give her plush peeps. I love Peeps, I wait for Easter to come

because I know I get to treat myself to those pure sugar confections.

Its like eating sugar from the sugar bowl. Sometimes my Momma

buys them for me, isn't she special? I only buy one box, honestly.

My friend Tammi gave them to me, Bev pointed them out to her

on a shopping trip. Thanks Tammi...that's so SWEET. I also got

2 very cool pairs of fingerless mitts that Bev made me,and she gave

me a bead mat that folds up to hold your seed bead projects.

Beads from Heather...yummy. A digital picture frame from

Hubby that I have been begging for...everybody gave him

suggestions and this was one year he really listened!

Geary has this thing about not giving me something that I

might know about. An apple pie from Amiee.

A candle from Jerusalem that my mom got me.

AND I've had lots of time to spend with my family.

Beverly heads back to New Orleans today. Its sad, but I know it

won't be long and we will all be sailing the Seven Seas on the

Bead Cruise. We made a trip to the bead store yesterday and all

made a bracelet when we got back. Its fun to sit and bead with the

whole family. Amiee made her first bracelet ever and Heather was

finessing her Ndebele techniques.

I'll take more pictures later for show and tell.

My Treasures

Okie Dokie...I promised I would show my goodies

I got at the Bead and Button Show. I didn't take many
pictures while I was there...my hands were too busy

touching all the beads on every one's tables. IMO I

didn't think there were many people there. But we

were there on Friday, maybe the weekend was better.

Bev and I hung around Melanie at Earthenwood Studios.

She did demos at Vintaj using a combination of her

beads and their brass. Beautiful things!

I love the "earthy" qualities of her beads. Probably how her

business got its name. Dah! Anyway we had a lot of fun

visiting with her. She is such a nice person.

I found a few great looking strands of pearls. Speaking of

which Art Bead Scene's monthly challenge is called

"Pearls of Wisdom". Check it out and if you have a design or

two to enter, you should do it. They have great give aways

to the winners.

I guess this time around I was pretty cautious about

how I spent money. I think I finally have enough...NOT!

I met a lot of people, especially from Michigan. In fact

one from the South Haven area. A PMC artist from around

Three Rivers. We are gonna get together for some beady

fun this summer. I'm excited...

We also met a woman all the way from Australia.

She flew 14 hours just to L.A., how nuts is that?

She was shopping for her business. There was another

woman from Ontario who lives at the very far end closest to

the North Pole, raises Icelandic sheep.

Another fun thing that happened was Bev and I went to

talk to people about sponsoring the Bead Cruise 2009 and

there happened to be the last three women who signed up

standing there. One was going for her birthday and she

talked her two friends into going with her.

Bev was wearing The Queen of Denial necklace that

she's teaching. It just made it seem more real and

exciting to the women. All in all, I had a very good time.

There was even a tornado in Milwaukee, but no one

knew and just kept shopping. Nothing can stop us

bead shoppers...didn't even hear the sirens going off.

To top the evening off Beverly and I went a spent a

little time with Dona Anderson. She has some great new

beading projects going. Handle It is a really nice bracelet.

She is a special person and I am blessed to know her.

So that's my trip to Milwaukee...more pictures are on my

Flickr page. I'm off to put the inspiration I was bombarded

with to some use. Night!

Tropical Delight

Well boy howdy! I've finished another of the projects

I brought home with me from the cruise. This is Bev's

bracelet design/kit. It's a twisted ndebele bangle that

had my brain twisted trying to figure it out! But once

I got it, it went really fast. I really like it cause it feels

substantial.

Today was one of those perfect spring days, it almost

reached 65 degrees. Open the doors and windows please!

Bailey and I were in and out all afternoon, just enjoying

the day. Can't believe it will be Monday. But I'm sneaking

off Tuesday for a haircut and a day at the Fredrick Meijer

Gardens to look at the butterflies. It is such a beautiful

place to visit. Lots of things to do. They have an

outdoor concert area and in June Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

is going to be playing. Lots of art and of course the gardens.

Fun, fun, fun!

Quadrille Medaglia

Another Bead Cruise project finished! This is Marcia

DeCoster's bracelet. What a beauty it is too, and an easy

project, unless you don't watch what your doing and sew

things together backwards...yes, that be me. Marcia's

going to be teaching at the Bead and Button show this

year. But sadly I have to tell you this class is sold out.

She's a great teacher though, so check out her other classes.

I can't hardly wait for B and B. Its just crazy fun to look at all

the beads for sale, and all the beautiful pieces that people

wear.

Triton's Daughter

I am moving right along on my bead cruise

projects. And yes, I am rather proud of

myself too. I usually let things sit and forget

about them. This year though the projects

from the bead cruise were so much fun I just

have to finish them. I only have 3 bracelet,

2 necklace kits and the cute earrings that Rachael

had to offer. No pressure there!

Anyway this is Beverly Herman's design. It uses

art beads from Earthenwood Studios and all of

Bev's favorite colors of beads. A really beautiful

necklace, lots of soft colors. I'm gonna enter it

in the Art Bead Scenes contest and maybe I'll win.

I'm feeling lucky....and Heather would be proud,

cause I did the neck asymmetrical. It was easy.

Top o' the mornin to ya!

Happy St. Paddy's day! Don't forget to put
on the green. I love the Irish, even though
there is a lot of Italian blood in me, I always
felt that I should have been Irish instead. Maybe
somewhere back in our history I was, there were
a lot of Romans in the Isles at one time. My dream
is to one day go to Ireland...while I'm young enough
to enjoy it. I'll drink a pint of Guinness here instead!

OK, so amblin' on to something else...I finished a piece
from our cruise. This is Marcia DeCoster's Colorful Kelp
Lariat that she taught on the cruise. Lots of fun to make
and really colorful for summer. Thanks Marcia!

More of Bead Cruise 2008

Here's my rendition of HumbleBeads (Heather's)
necklace that she taught on the cruise. We all had a

great time in her class. Siren's Song is a very special

piece, I just love it! Thank's Heather for pushing me

to another level of beading...I am so anal !!! LOL...

A view from our cabin waiting for our turn to leave the

port. In the background is Fort Lauderdale and a

Carnival Cruise ship.

Heading out to sea...followed by the last ship in the dock.

Bon Voyage Beverly!

One Pina Colada and looked what happened to me...

Bead Cruise 2008

I am back from my cruise and I think I'm almost

back to being normal. I had the best time, met the

nicest people, had the best instructors for our bead

classes. This week is going to be spent finishing

the projects that I started and starting the new kits

that I bought. Which I think I got one of everything...

I'll be busy all summer. Heather did a great job of

seeing that we all enjoyed ourselves. Heather Powers

and Beverly Herman, Marcia DeCoster, Eni Oken and

Rachel Nelson-Smith taught the best classes. Here's

just a couple pictures...I'm gonna do most of them

on Flickr this week.

So check back daily if you're curious!

Heathr Powers and Bev Herman two of our

class instructors.

Marcia DeCoster

Sharon a bead buddy and Rachel Nelson-Smith

Yours truly and Annette from Las Vegas.

Beverly and Pat from California.

This was our last dinner of the cruise, so if we look a little

crazy, we were! Lots of fun in the sun makes you look wild!