AC Moore Appearance and My New Widget!

Avalon is hard at work on a project while Mom shares some basic jewelry making techniques
She made her first bracelet!
With Robin Beam at AC Moore in Middletown New Jersey

So here are some pics of our day at AC Moore. That’s the fantabulous Robin Beam, the new Director of Education for ACs! She’s the best friend a gal could ever hope to have. Seriously. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to figure out how I got so lucky to befriend Robin and our pal Rebecca Peck. They’re smart, funny, talented, genius women and I’m blessed to call them friends.

We had a great time at AC Moore in Middletown, New Jersey on Saturday. Huge thank you to Beadalon and Jolee's Jewels (an EK Success company) for donating product for the demos! The manager Diane was a huge help in getting us set up and making us feel comfortable. It wasn’t exactly standing room only, but jewelry making basics have a heavy initial learning curve so I was able to give some one on one to folks who really wanted to learn. It’s such a great skill to possess. How many times has your necklace broken or a clasp gone bad or an earring fallen off of its hook? Did you just toss that piece into a bag or a box? If you knew how to fix it wouldn’t that be cool? How about taking old stuff you’ve got stuffed into bags...that one earring without a partner, that horridly ugly necklace from the 80s with those really gorgeous glass beads, old costume pieces from your grandmother, things you see at thrift stores and yard sales and flea markets? What if you could easily turn that trash into a treasure with the flick of a wrist and a few basic tools and basic techniques? Well...you can!

I’m a stickler for technique. I believe it’s important to do it right, just smashing a crimp tube with a crappy pair of chain nose pliers isn’t going to make jewelry that lasts. Believe me as that's how I rolled for the first two years I made jewelry before I knew better. It takes a little effort and practice, but once you master the basics, you’ll start seeing things everywhere you can turn into jewelry. It’s fun...it’s easy...it’s affordable...why wouldn’t you learn how?! There are new components and tools coming out all of the time that make it even easier.

I got a fabulous acrylic pendant from the Plaid ‘fresh’ line on Saturday, made some slight alterations to it and created a really cool Halloween necklace for Thursday’s Terrorific Tuesday post. It’s very Mrs. Havisham meets Morticia Adams for tea and crumpets. I can’t wait to show you! I also made a sidebar widget you can add to your blog; if you so desire, that links directly to a feed that has ALL of my free Halloween projects. If you’d like to add the widget, email me and I’ll send you the code. Isn’t it fun?! I’m so loving Photoshop!