Other People's Stacker Beads.....Part 6

(Note: There is an issue with some formatting today, so I cannot present direct links through my text or make the end of it look particularly easy-to-read. Just check out my Etsy shop, which is listed on the sidebar, if you want to get a tutorial of your own.)

So my Stacker Tutorials have been selling like crazy, but I've been getting very few responses as far as follow-up photos by buyers. I suppose some folks just don't want to send pix for whatever reason and that's okay. Some may be taking their time to perfect it before they send them, and that's fine.

Well last week I received photos from a buyer who had received the tutorial less than a week prior. I thought I was looking at my own Stacker beads! I looked at them and marveled at how well she fine-tuned the technique in such a short amount of time.


This "she" I'm talking about is Marty McGraw, of Indiana. She says, "I sell my finished jewelry at Of Switzerland County in Vevay, Indiana (www.vevayin.com), The Artisan Gallery in Madison, IN, Shoppe on Main in Warsaw, KY, Arts-a-Poppin' in Indianapolis, and The Enchanted Sleigh in Centerville, IN. I used to have an Etsy shop, but it's currently not open. I don't have a very impressive web presence!" She may not have much of a web presence, but she does get her stuff OUT THERE where people can touch and feel and see it in person.

There are a couple of things that she demonstrates in the photos that is something I point out in Step 3. If you switch around the order of the 5 colors that you choose, you will get different beads. She also had some great feedback about some other steps. If you don't have the tutorial, these steps will mean nothing, but if you decide to get it, refer back to this.

~ In step 6, pretend the stripes in the ball are going from left to right, 90 degrees compared to the picture in step 5. That is the position that you will roll the ball so that you get the great long striped cone in Step 7.

~ After you cut and created 2 stacker beads, go back and continue step 6-8 with the remaining fat end of the cone. You will get more stacker beads that way. Any small scraps can be rolled into tiny balls to complement the rest, as Marty demonstrated in the second photo.

Thank you VERY much Marty for sending me your pictures and feedback! (And for the excellent feedback! I hope to edit the directions once my current stack of printed tutorials is sold out)

Right now my tutorial is on sale....as of posting this blog, I have 6 left at 20% off!

Beaded Boombox with a New Friend

This first photo is a picture of Kathy Brannigan. She is an artist from Visionaries and Voices, an art studio in the Northside neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio that provides a place for adults with disabilities to create and sell their original art.

Kathy is one of many artists who are being paired up with established artists of many mediums who are creating collaborative pieces of art to be auctioned at a gallery fundraiser on April 23. She is holding the finished piece that we made. I took one of her existing drawings, copied it exactly onto some heavy interfacing, then embroidered it with colored seed beads. I worked on it between 45 minutes-3 hours per day for 3 weeks.

This second photos is a picture of me and Kathy, taken about 2 weeks ago during a followup visit. I sat and embroidered the piece while she worked on other art.

Here is the first photo I took of the beading process. The boombox on the left is a photocopy of her original drawing. You can see on the piece on the right that I got about 2 beads on there.

This photo shows where I beaded the main outline. There are also some long waves of white beads on the white interfacing, which is kind of tough to see in this picture. I beaded the entire white background before I was going to start ANY color in the picture itself. I thought it would never end.

Here you can see where I started the red. She wanted the segments to be solid colors. I used small shiny dark red seed beads and shiny bugle beads in a broad horizontal stripe pattern. She was able to be confident that metallic corners would be nice, but I had to move forward on color selection due to some schedule conflicts. I always thought, "What would Kathy want?"

I did a LOT of beading between pictures. In this photo you can see the stripes in the red sections, the metallics in the upper corners, and the green center area and the handle. Notice how the antenna stops at the top.....it didn't stop there!

Here is the gold!

And here is the finished piece. I filled in the very round center with metallic silver and grey beads inside a blue-violet square. The antenna popped right out of the top and extended beyond the 6"x6" limit I imposed. It will be professionally framed.

Today (March 10) I dropped it off and was surprised at the small twinge of sadness I felt. It was so great to get to know Kathy during our visits and become intimately familiar with this drawing of hers. While she thanked me over and over for beading it, I had to thank her for drawing it. I plan on visiting her and hopefully doing some more collaborative work with her. Her drawings speak to me, so translating them into beadwork is a cinch.

I really hope to be invited to do this again. With the success of the piece combined with the new friendship with Kathy, I'm sure this won't be the last time! Thank you V+V (Nick, specifically) for inviting me to do this.

If you would like to purchase this piece, attend the Double Vision gala in April and be the highest bidder!

Stacker Beads from France!

Here is the first submission of photographs from a nice gal in Cournon d' Auvergne, France. Her name is Isabelle Sebillet, and she has a blog you can check out. She really uses color and shape in ways that I never have. Many pieces are just outright out-of-this-world! Thank you Isabelle for sending me photographs. I love to see what people do with them!

Click here to purchase the tutorial that Isabelle got on Etsy. Make your own, then send me photos!

Stacker Bead Tutorial now for sale

Hello there!

It's been a wild fall. Lots of crazy things on the personal, professional and spiritual fronts. Sorry I'm not so good at keeping up with this. I've spent the majority of my time working the day job, and filling in the rest of it getting amazing new work made for a big show I'm doing this Saturday in Cincinnati, in Clifton.

Anywhoo, I received many emails from folks seeking a tutorial on my Stacker beads. I responded by having one created by my good friend Aimee, a great artist and designer. Though the layout is simple, it explains how to make the beads, with photos that go with each written step.

I have opted to have it printed on real paper rather than just email a PDF, because I am including a couple of Stacker beads with the tutorial so you can have one in hand to study and hold in person. Any kind of craft like this is so tactile, and just emailing a file didn't seem like I was offering enough for the money. I want you to get a fun package in the mail and not just another bill!

The tutorial is $15, and it includes the printed steps, the beads, and the cost of shipping for customers in the US and Canada. International customers will pay $1 for shipping....which is less than it will actually cost, but will help defray some of my costs as well.

I am selling it through Etsy, though you are free to contact me if you want to order one directly. I accept Paypal, which you can use with your credit card or a check without joining. The tutorial is an affordable alternative to taking my class on the subject, especially for folks who can't get to Cincinnati!

Thanks for checking it out...

New Stacker Jewelry!

It's been forever since I made Stacker necklaces and bracelets. This summer has been so stinkin' hot that even the thought of trying to roll them out is enough to make me go jump in a lake. BUT I enjoyed some fan-nage and cold water and whipped up these pieces yesterday....and posted them on Etsy.

This summer is starting to bum me out, because I have stacks of ideas of things to do...new tools....and more Stacker beads, now that I used a bunch of 'em up!

Thanks to Cynthia for posting my chevron beads on Polymer Clay Daily today. It's always a great surprise to be on there.

First Barefoot Run!

Whelp, today was a pretty big day for me. I literally "stepped" into a new direction with running.

My brother is lending me the book Born to Run, and I'm almost near the end. Right before he gave it to me, he said it changed his life. So I'm almost through it, and I too am a new addition to many runners (millions in the world) who run barefoot.

There is one close park where I'm comfortable "getting my feet wet" as I learn the technique and allow my feet to adjust to the big bad world out there. Friendship Park is located on the east end of the riverfront in Cincinnati. It has a 1/2 mile helix-shaped cement/concrete sidewalk that winds through a beautifully manicured and landscaped park. Lots of gorgeous flowers and plants you just don't see all the time everywhere. The helix is rolling...but the ascents and descents aren't a big deal. The surface is very smooth...no cracks or crumbling areas that could pollute the rest of it. No broken glass, nothing except the occasional pebble (I stepped on one the whole time). In other words, if you run there in your bare feet, you won't leave with gashes and holes in your soles. I can't guarantee you won't stub your toe though!

SO, I've been pumping myself up for this for a few weeks. It's pretty nice out...cloudy, so the sidewalks weren't hot by 9am. I dressed in my normal running outfit, but with flip flops. Drove down to the park, left the flip-flops in the car and started walking. As soon as I realized how smooth it is, I started to jog. It was so nice...I haven't run outside in a few days. The flowers looked great, the birds sounded great. Almost had the whole place to myself. Earlier I had planned to switch between walking and jogging, just to be nice and safe.


After about a half mile, I started noticing some things that were SO different than when I run in my Asics.

~ Breathing:
WHEN I RUN IN MY SHOES, I tend to run faster than I should. As much as I try to slow down, it's hard to because it's uncomfortable. So, I usually end up huffing and puffing through, trying to keep up a nice healthy pace that I can maintain for a bit. But I find it very hard to synch my breathing with my pace...I have to force myself to do it.
TODAY, I didn't even have to think about my breathing. I just breathed what I needed to. Because I was running at a better speed that was coming naturally, my body just did it's thing. I could actually enjoy the colors and scents, all while keeping a careful and frequent eye on the concrete ahead of me. Today I paid closer attention to my body and what was happening to it, but in the future as it becomes normal, I'll probably spend more time paying attention to the world instead.

~ Posture:
WHEN I RUN IN MY SHOES, my back tends to hunch a little more as I lean forward. The cushions in my shoes make me work harder to propel forward, so I have to kind of push myself off of the bouncy cushioning and try to also be strong on my feet. My head seems to wobble more, too, probably because I'm going faster, bouncing around.
TODAY, there was an immediate change in my body's posture. My back was straight, chest forward (and for me, that means FORWARD), head was up, looking straight ahead. This made the whole running experience so much easier and more pleasurable. It felt so right.


~ Pain:
WHEN I RUN IN MY SHOES, my arches burn. (I had "corrective" surgery 15 yrs ago that gave me totally flat feet.) My ankles and knees get small twinges of pain. My right hip sometimes burns. My lower back also gets really tight and un-comfy. I get regular side stitches, too. The other day...like 3 days ago....I started getting shooting pains up the front of my left leg.
TODAY, the only discomfort I felt while running was some tightness in my lower right calf. Completely normal part of the transitioning to shoelessness. There will be a lot of aches and pains as I slowly re-train my feet and the unused muscles that have been "protected" by shoes for so long...and likely re-shape them into what they were before I had my central tendons cut. But most of the aches and pains today (it's been a few hours) are in my legs. I'll probably pop an OTC painkiller before work, just to take the edge off.


The way you land on your feet is completely different than when you are in shoes. Shoes allow you and encourage you to thrust your feet in front of you and land on your heel, which transfers a lot of shock straight up the leg and through the back, resulting in a plethora of potential injuries and health problems down the road. Barefoot running doesn't allow landing on the heel. The impact on the rest of the body is diminished because the foot is taking in the pressure. All of the pain symptoms I listed above didn't exist today. SO, instead of switching between walking and running for one mile, I ran a whole 1.5 miles straight, and could have gone farther. Having been warned by my brother than the day after is rough, I followed up with some hot tub, swimming some laps and the dry sauna at the YWCA around the corner from my apt.

I will likely buy a pair of Vibrim Five-Fingers (function over form, folks) so when I run in the winter or at Lunken or on trails while I'm re-training my feet, I won't get discouraged by rough surfaces on my soft skin. But I do plan on doing it totally barefoot as much as possible.


If this whole idea disgusts your or intrigues you or makes you want to try it today, I found this awesome site by an old-timer barefoot runner (who was the only one doing it in races in the States for decades). He has lots of great information, and answers to a lot of the questions that people have.

Another fabulous side effect of barefoot running is the money I will save by not replacing shoes and socks. ;)

Wow, so much.

It seems like every time I blog, I have some kind of "news" that I feel like everyone on earth (who cares about what I have to say) has to hear. Well, I don't have any news, but I know that I haven't updated this for a while. SO.....

Classes: You will just have to wait until I re-post about this, because I don't want to give out dates and times until the hosts of my show (the Forest Hills Community Education program) confirms the info on their own website. It'll come soon, don't worry. Hint: The three classes I'm teaching are Millefiori Cane-building, Stacker Beads, and Seed Bead Embroidery.

Fitness: Some of you who are on Facebook know that I like to talk about my fitness stuff. I love to talk about running and working out. Though I'm far from a skinny athlete, I'm almost 50 pounds lighter than I was last year (and the majority of my 30's). Some folks have asked me how I've done it. Simple: Eat healthy, Exercise regularly. Sometimes as I walk by a dark storefront and catch my reflection, I still don't recognize the shape I see. Yet I know I'm not "there" yet, and that keeps me motivated to keep going.

My exercise of choice (and most enjoyment) is running. Running is hard. That's why you have to start easy and slow. I recommend the Couch-to-5K program, which will turn a non-runner into a 5K runner in 9 weeks. Now, I've been wearing some Asics to help me become a runner. Asics are designed for running, and aren't available at Walmart or Target. You have to go to a running store to get them. Or online. Having someone who knows about running shoes and who can look at your form, helps in getting the correct shoes for you. However.....

I'm in the middle of reading Born to Run, a book that my brother is letting me borrow, and that I find hard to put down. In fact, as I write, I'm listening to Diane Rehm's program from last week about Running in America, which features the author of the book, and with an emphasis on barefoot running. I live in the city, and I don't want to cut myself on some broken glass. However, there are some great parks with safe sidewalks that I look forward to experiencing without shoes. I'll need something in cooler weather, too, at least since I'm starting and I probably don't have the thick skin that will keep my nerves from burning in super-hot sun. Lots of experimentation to be had. (And money to be saved!) When it comes to inclement weather, including cold, I will always have this option.

So much of the energy that I used to put into creating jewelry or art or whatever has transferred to physical exertion. I don't work out 7 days a week, but I do keep it consistent, with proper breaks between runs/weights/cycling. I do fit the art into my time, but not so much as a profession. Hobby-status seems to be a bit less pressure, and I like that.