Over the last few weeks, I’ve been out making local Calgary deliveries of lots of Suzie Q Studio Treasures: BEAD STEW and "Little Miss" bracelet-making kits, Rare & Retired Glass Trollbeads, scrumptious sterling silver “Box Clasps”, tools, etc… It’s been a very busy time, thankfully!
After dropping off the last of my packages on a recent delivery adventure, I pulled into a parking lot to run a quick personal errand. A big truck pulled up into the stall next to me, and I happened to notice that there were a couple of masks hanging from their rearview mirror. My initial reaction was wondering if this was such a good idea, germ-wise, not to mention it being visually unappealing. It also begged the question of what to do with a mask when you’re not wearing it?
The visual of the masks dangling from the mirror of the truck, stayed with me for a couple of days, and then I had a wonderful —> I • D • E • A <— to experiment with!
I was aware of “mask chains” being available to purchase that let you suspend your mask from your neck while not wearing it, like sunglasses, BUT I got to wondering… Are there enough beads in a BEAD STEW Bracelet-Making Kit to make your own, unique “mask chain”?… After all, when donning a mask, you may as well wear it in style, right?!
I decided to dive into my BEAD STEW, mask chain experiment, but first, which mask to choose? My sister, Rita, who lives in Kelowna, and I’m so very lucky to have as my Website Wizard, is a terrific seamstress, amongst her many other talents, so I chose the mask she made for me in some of my fav colours: bright orange, pink and red :-)
The next task was to decide on which BEAD STEW kit would coordinate with my FAB mask, so I chose “Tropical Sherbet”… Doesn’t it look yummy?
EUREEKA!… As you can see, mission accomplished. You can indeed create a "mask chain” from the beads in a limited edition BEAD STEW kit… YAY! (with alternate finishing components, instead of the "memory" bracelet wire, of course).
Here’s the “mask chain” in action… Doesn’t it look totally FAB?!
Hey… Would you like some added versatility?
As I began experimenting with creating a “mask chain” I had another “LIGHT BULB” moment! I decided to size the length of the bead stringing wire, so that my BEAD STEW “mask chain” could also be worn as a necklace AND as a multi-wrap bracelet. Isn’t this totally cool?
BTW… I’ve never liked having my picture taken or made a habit of doing “selfies”, but in this age of COVID I had to push my self-consciousness aside and step into the role of “model”… Yikes! I guess we all have to adapt, in all kinds of ways these days :-)
So, how can you create your very own BEAD STEW “Mask Chain”? The Suzie Q Studio “BEAD STEW” Shopping Page has been changed to accommodate YOUR CHOICE of making a BEAD STEW “Bangle-style” Bracelet OR a BEAD STEW “Mask Chain” by clicking on the appropriate button.
BTW… ONE BEAD STEW Kit will make ONE of EITHER of these two projects!
When you choose the BEAD STEW “Bracelet” option, you’ll receive “memory wire” to make your project.
When you choose the BEAD STEW “Mask Chain” option, you’ll receive “Softflex” bead-stringing wire, PLUS, two lobster-style clasps, crimps and crimp covers in the colour of metal that coordinates with your chosen BEAD STEW Kit.
Head over to the BEAD STEW Shopping Page by Clicking on this >>> LINK
Do you love the look of having your BEAD STEW “mask chain” coordinate with a bangle-style bracelet? Simply purchase TWO of the same kit, but remember to choose ONE of EACH of the “bracelet" and "mask chain" options… Easy-peasy :-)
VISIT the Suzie Q BEAD STEW Shopping Page! <<<<Choose your Mask Chain and/or Bracelet Kit Here!
While Serendipity BEAD STEW Kits have FAB combos of hand-selected, high-quality beads, as well as the appropriate finishing components, the tools needed to make a bangle-style bracelet OR “Mask Chain” aren’t included, and isn’t it the worst to sit down to create a project, only to be missing a tool or two?
To be prepared, please take a look at the image above, or the tool lists below, and check to see which tools that you already have on hand, or if you’ll need to add any of them to your order of BEAD STEW Kits. BTW… All of the required tools for both of these projects are basic, essential jewelry-making tools that can be used for oodles of other projects and techniques.
BEAD STEW BANGLE-STYLE BRACELET:
• BEAD MAT or other working surface, so your beads don’t run away!
• HARD WIRE CUTTER, to cut the excess “Memory” bangle wire. PLEASE NOTE… You can also use a heavy duty wire cutter from your household tool box, but DO NOT use regular jewelry wire cutters because they’ll be ruined by the hardness of the bangle wire
• ROUND NOSE PLIERS, to make a round loop at the end of the bangle wire to stop your beads from falling off when your bracelet is finished
BEAD STEW “MASK CHAIN”:
• BEAD MAT or other working surface, so your beads don’t run away!
• SOFT WIRE (POINTY) CUTTER, to cut bead stringing wire that is comprised of 49 strands of nylon-coated, stainless steel wire. This cutter can also be used to cut up to 20 gauge thickness of wire and headpins to make earrings, dangles, etc.
• BEAD STOPPERS, which are used to clamp onto each end of bead stringing wire to prevent your beads from sliding off… It’s a total drag to have the design you’ve spent hours working on, slip away, and worse yet, loosing some of your beads that bounce onto the floor! Bead Stoppers are one the best jewelry-making inventions, ever!
• CRIMPING PLIERS, used in conjunction with “crimp tubes” (which are included in your “Mask Chain” Kit) to securely attach the clasp to your bead stringing project. Some people just flatten the crimp tube with a pair of pliers, but you run the risk of having the end of the wire slip out of the crimp and have your beads flying off, sometimes at the most inopportune time!
• CHAIN NOSE PLIERS, are used to close “crimp covers” (which are included in your “Mask Chain” Kit) into a round bead that cover the crimp tubes on your piece… Crimp covers give your project a clean and professional look. You can also use any flat, smooth-jawed jewelry pliers to close your crimp covers, such as: FLAT NOSE PLIER or BENT CHAIN NOSE PLIER.
During these stressful and uncertain times of COVID-19, it’s super-important for your well-being to distract yourself once in a while, and engage in creative activities such as baking, sewing, knitting, listening to music, jewelry-making — although I might be a bit biased on that one!
As well nothing takes your mind off of more serious topics than having a good laugh, don’t you agree?
One of my many guilty pleasures is watching the nighttime talk shows, and during the time I was working on the new BEAD STEW “Mask Chain", I happened to catch a “bit” on Jimmy Fallon’s show that I got a chuckle out of, especially because one of the “Aunts" was wearing a… “Mask Chain”!
Yup, it’s me again, wearing another FAB mask that my sister Rita made for me. She sure knows what my favourite colours are, and it even matches my BEAD STEW - “Tropical Sherbet” mask chain!
As a “Thank You" to my amazing, Web Wizard sister Rita, I’m going to make her a “Mask Chain” that matches her BEAD STEW “Basil Poppy Seed Dressing” bracelet… I hope she’ll like it :-)
So, are you ready to have some “Good Creative Fun” and make your own unique bangle-style bracelet and matching, oh-so-stylish “Mask Chain”? Then be sure to add some yummy BEAD STEW to your Suzie Q Studio Shopping Cart and get creating!
~ xo Suzie ️
YOU’RE INVITED!
Creating a BEAD STEW bracelet is perfect for a group setting because this project doesn’t require intense concentration, which means that you can still be social with your fellow participants, at the same time as creating your bracelet… Fun, or what?!
At every Serendipity BEAD STEW Class, both public and private, included with your purchase of a bracelet-making kit, you’ll receive FREE expert instruction and design help with the creation of your one-of-a-kind “Bangle-icious” Bracelet, plus it’s always great to be inspired by other attendees.
The next Serendipity BEAD STEW Bracelet Making Class is happening on SUNDAY, MARCH 15, 1-4PM, at A & B Fiberworks, with limited spaces available.
FOR MORE DETAILS, please continue reading below...
A & B Fiberworks is a retail store located at the Crossroads Market (which is where the BEAD STEW CLASS is being held on January 19), as well as a fibre farm and fibre processing mill that is located approximately 100 kms north and east of Calgary, near the town of Linden.
Shown above and on the right, is the owner of A & B Fiberworks, Anne Goodwin-Estes. Anne has been involved with spinning and weaving fibre arts since 1979, was an avid knitter before that time, and she enjoys all aspects of working with fibre, including operating her fibre farm for the last 20 years.
On the left is Anna, who is an extraordinary felting artist, and she also teaches and works part time for Anne at the A & B Fiberworks store.
In the centre of the photo collage above, is Ian, who is another felting artist featured at A & B Fiberworks. Every weekend, Ian demonstrates the art of felting, while making his whimsical, and very detailed, felted figures, bottle covers, dryer balls, etc., so be sure to check out Ian’s pieces the next time you’re at the Crossroads Market.
On either side of Ian, are PICs of some of Anna’s gorgeous creations… shawls, scarves… her colour combinations are fabulous, and wearable art pieces are exquisite!
So, meanwhile back at Anne's Fibre Farm, all kinds of fibre-related activities are happening!
Anne raises some sheep, with exotic-sounding breed names such as: "CVM, BFL and BFL cross sheep”.
I’m not sure which breed of sheep is shown above, but his name is “ABE”. Isn’t he handsome?!
Anne raises Alpacas too. She currently has approximately 65 of these incredibly adorable animals at her Fibre Farm.
Not all of them have names, but the cutie on the left is “Tarzan”. Anne tells me that they’re very shy creatures, but maybe not so for the curious one on the far right.
The sheep and alpacas are sheared once a year.
All of the fibre is then sorted, washed and processed in the fibre mill into roving and yarns, which are available for sale at Anne’s shop at the Crossroads Market in Calgary.
Anne also does custom processing for other fibre processing farms from all over Canada.
In addition to her own custom fibres, Anne also stocks cotton, tencel, bamboo, cotton chenille, linen and other fibres from a Canadian company called “Brassard”.
A & B Fiberworks is a dealer for the Canadian weaving equipment company “LeClerc”, spinning and weaving equipment by “Louet” and “Ashford”.
As well, Anne carries the supplies for both needle and wet felting techniques.
With all of the colourful yarns at A & B Fiberworks, I think it’ll prove to be inspiring surroundings to create a Serendipity BEAD STEW “Bangle-icious” Bracelet at my Bead Stew Class on Sunday, January 19, 1-4PM!
BTW… To register for YOUR SPOT in the upcoming Bead Stew Class at A & B Fiberworks, please see the details at the bottom of this Blog Post :-)
EASY-PEASY!
If you’re not already familiar with Serendipity BEAD STEW, easy-to-make jewelry kits, each “Bangle-icious” Bracelet kit contains all of the yummy ingredients you’ll need to make one bangle-style bracelet, including unique, premium quality beads made from various materials such as: metal, stone, glass, enamel, resin, crystal, acrylic and more. Each one-of-a-kind bracelet will have that ultra-cool look of multiple bangles stacked on your wrist.
Whether you feel that you have no artistic talent, whatsoever, or you’re a long time maker-type, Serendipity BEAD STEW bracelet kits are the perfect, no-stress solution for some good, creative fun, because no matter how you string your beads onto the bangle bracelet "memory wire”, you’re guaranteed to have fabulous results with our gorgeous, high-quality, unique bead combinations.
With our BEAD STEW Limited Edition kits, we save you the time and stress that can be involved in gathering your supplies (all supplies are included in every kit), plus making these eye-catching bracelets requires very little in the way of tools and, best of all, no experience at all!
To see how it's done, click this LINK to watch a VIDEO>>> “How To Do The Stew”
Want to get a better idea of just how easy it is to make a Serendipity BEAD STEW, “Bangle-icious” Bracelet? Check out this "How-To" VIDEO with Suzie Q Bead Gal, Lynn>>> She’s an amazing “Bead Whisperer”!
Need some BEAD STEW Inspiration? Peruse our NEW BEAD STEW GALLERY by clicking here >>> BEAD STEW GALLERY
And, for some more specific DESIGN HINTS, take-a-look at the following >>> DESIGN INSPIRATION TIPS
In addition to BEAD STEW Jewelry-making Classes at A&B Fiberworks, I’ll be adding other BEAD STEW Class venues, as well as offering “Private Parties” for all kinds of occasions: Birthday and Retirement Parties, Bachelorette Parties, Bridal Showers, Christmas Lunches or After Work Get-togethers, and lots more!
Hope to see you on Sunday, January 19, 1-4PM at A&B Fiberworks for our BEAD STEW Bracelet-Making Class.
Being creative feels good, and now's the perfect time to start making your holiday gifts!
~ xo Suzie
… For All The FAB Beady FUN!!!
A BIG Thank YOU to everyone who came to Suzie Q Studio for our Trollbeads Glass Artisan Event! It was truly dazzling to see rods of glass being melted, twisted and turned into miniature pieces of one-of-a-kind glass art... pretty amazing!
For those of you who also took advantage of some Super-Sweet Trollbeads SPECIALS, I wish you much enjoyment from your recent Troll acquisitions!
The oh-so-lovely Ms. Mariela came all the way from Trollbeads Head Quarters in Princeton, New Jersey to enchant us with her glass bead making skills. From the sounds of the “oohs” and “aahs”, everyone was amazed and mesmerized!
See Mariela in ACTION in this short VIDEO… WOW, right?!
Pictured here is Marie, having her custom glass bead created by Mariela.
Marie is one of my earliest Trollbeads collectors, starting way back in 2003 or 04, when my shop was located in a little bright orange and chartreuse house, off-the-beaten-track, on 10th Ave. SE in the charming neighbourhood of Inglewood.
Marie has also taken a lot of Suzie Q jewellery-making classes and has created all kinds of wonderful, handcrafted jewellery… There’s always lots of fun to be had when Marie comes to visit!
This is Liz G. Liz is a longtime, avid Trollbeads Collector. She loves her Trollbeads to be big ’n’ chunky, just like me!
Liz is from Argentina so she asked Mariela to create an over-sized glass bead in the colours of the Argentinian flag… very cool idea, Liz!
The bead Mariela made was on the large side, as requested, so it had to cool down slowly overnight in a special blanket. When Liz returned on Sunday to pick up her “Flag” bead, as you can tell from her expression, she was thrilled with the results!
Shown above and below are only some of the glass beads that Mariela made. Some of the beauties went home with their owners before I could snap a PIC, but the ones that I was able to take pictures of, are very unique, representing a different story for each person, which is one of the best things about individually, handcrafted Trollbeads, especially with the beads that Mariela made for all of us who participated.
Can you guess which one is mine?
As you may have noticed, A LOT of people requested oversize glass beads to be made and Mariela happily complied… YAY!
I’ve always been of the opinion that, “Bigger is Best”, so of course, the glass bead that Mariela created for me is the largest one shown in these pics, featuring two of my favourite colours: bright orange and light blue :-D
Rae Parry, Director of Artist Relations for Beads of Courage Canada was on hand at our Trollbeads Glass Artisan Event to explain the Beads of Courage program to attendees of the event.
Rae is an incredible glass bead artisan herself and created all of the beads in the necklace that she’s wearing in the above photo-collage, including the whimsical “sock-monkey” bead… isn’t it sweet?
To hear about the Beads of Courage program, and to see Rae in action with her glass bead-making expertise, please check out the VIDEO below.
The proceeds from the sales of the custom glass beads that Mariela created will be going to Beads of Courage Canada and I’m happy to announce that $850.00 will be donated to this truly amazing program... A big “Thank You” to everyone who participated and generously donated to such a worthwhile cause!
Beads of Courage Canada from Beads of Courage-Canada on Vimeo.
Thanks to everyone who entered our Trollbeads Glass Artisan PRIZE DRAW!
The WINNERS are as follows:
“Wishful Sky” Limited Edition Trollbeads Bracelet: Georgette F!
“Northern Lights” People’s Bead: Lynn Ann G.
Trollbeads Canvas Tote Bag: Liz G.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Suzie Q Studio is OPEN Friday-Sunday, 9AM-5PM... and there's lots of FREE PARKING too!
Hope to see you there this weekend.
~ Ho! Ho! Ho! Suzie Q
The Crossroads Market Ltd. is Calgary's "Hidden Gem" of Shops, with tasty eats, as well as unique and eclectic "gifty" items, including Suzie Q Studio, of course!
Amber from BT Breakfast Television takes you on a tour of a small sampling of what’s in-store for you when you visit the Crossroads Market, FEATURING a VISIT with ME at my shop… Suzie Q Studio! >>> Unique Holiday Finds at the Crossroads Market.
You can also find lots of yummy treats at the Crossroads Market...
Meet the Oh-So-Lovely, Crossroads Christmas Tree Gal, Elise! Because she's outdoors selling her beautiful 🎄trees🎄, she decided to keep warm in style with a Suzie Q Swarovski SPARKLE Toque... Get yours (available in various colours) before they're all all gone!
After doing your Xmas shopping at the Crossroads, you can visit Elise at the Crossroads Christmas Tree Lot to pick up your fresh and fab seasonal tree!
Every Saturday and Sunday for the month of December from 11am-3pm, The Crossroads Market will have Spin to Win outside the market office door -- maybe you'll win a Suzie Q Studio gift certificate!
The Crossroads Market also offers Kids Holiday Crafts every Saturday in December from 10am-12pm. Join them outside their office to make fun holiday crafts like: paper snowflakes, Christmas cards, button wreaths, ornaments, string art on paper plates & mini yarn toques.
Want more information? Check out The Crossroads Market website>>>
You can find all your last minute Christmas gifts and treats at The Crossroads Market in Calgary. It's Calgary's hidden gem... but maybe not for long.
Suzie Q Studio and The Crossroads Market are OPEN Friday-Sunday, 9AM-5PM... and there's lots of FREE PARKING too!
Hope to see you there this weekend.
~ Ho! Ho! Ho! Suzie
Get the early scoop on sales, promos and lots other juicy info by joining Suzie’s VIP Club!