The Loose Bead Society of Greater Milwaukee

Loose Bead News

The Next Meeting is...

September 26, 2011
Note:  This meeting is NOT the 3rd Monday of the month!

Royal Wedding Reception
(White gloves and hat optional)

The September meeting is a tea party!  There will be hot and iced tea, plus coffee for non-tea drinkers.  The challenge pieces turned in at the July meeting will be on display, and you can vote for your favorite.  The winners (judged and Members' Choice) will be announced.

While you enjoy refreshments and discuss the challenge pieces with other members, you can work on your own projects.  If you're having any issues with a piece, bring it in - there will be Bead Doctors on call to help you!

There will also be speeches by candidates for the Board.  Voting will take place in October.

There will be no Table Talk this month so the challenge pieces will get all of the attention they deserve!

Up next:

Kalmbach Thank You Dinner

August 31st, 2011

Each year our Corporate Sponsor, Kalmbach Publishing Co., invites Loose Bead Society members to attend a Thank You Dinner at their corporate headquarters.  This fun evening provides an opportunity to socialize with many staff members from the Kalmbach publication teams and provides Marlene Vail and the Events Marketing Team a chance to have a conversation with us about the Bead&Button Show.

This year's event will be held on Wednesday, August 31st at Kalmbach Publishing Company, 21027 Crossroads Circle, Waukesha (click here for the MapQuest map).  The start time will be 5:30.  Guests may start arriving at 5:00 with dinner at 6:00 and an approximate 8:30 finish time.  Dinner will be catered by Feed My Sheep, the company that catered the Master Classes at MATC.  The theme this year is an Italian dinner.

Out of courtesy to our hosts, responses after the August 22nd date cannot be accepted.

Fall Bead-In
October 15, 2011; 9:20a - 4:45p

Please join us for a day of Open Beading in the New Berlin Library Community Room!

Our Bead-Ins have become quite popular - a day of beading, chatting, lunch, and friendship - what's not to love?  There are classes, too!  See below for the class descriptions and a picture of the project.  The registration fee is $2 for members and $5 for non-members.   The optional lunch is $8, and there are many more choices from Great Wraps than we've previously had!

Bring your registration form to any of our events before October 10th or you can mail it.  Full information about the lunch choices and the classes, plus the registration form can be found in the following links:

Bead-In Registration Form (Word version)

Classes offered during the Fall Bead-In:

Basic Wire Wrap Techniques - Earrings Kathy Stuart 9:30 am - 12:30 pm $32 Kathy Stuart will be leading a beginner wire working class to create beautiful wire wrapped marble earrings. Kathy has been living and teaching jewelry making techniques in the Bahamas for the past 4 years. This class costs $32.00 and includes the kit with the supplies you need to make the earrings. Limited to 12 students. Students should bring the following tools to class: Round Nose Pliers Flat Nose Pliers with Nylon Jaws Wire Cutters Mat or Work Surface Task Light (optional) Magnifiers (optional)
Basic Wire Wrap Techniques - Pendant Kathy Stuart 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm $34 Kathy Stuart will be leading a beginner wire work class to create a beautiful wire wrapped sea glass pendant. Kathy has been living and teaching jewelry making techniques in the Bahamas for the last 4 years. This class costs $34.00 and includes the kit with the supplies you need to make the pendant. Limited to 12 students. Students should bring the following tools to class: Round Nose Pliers Flat Nose Pliers with Nylon Jaws Wire Cutters Mat or Work Surface Necklace for the Finished Pendant (optional) Task Light (optional) Magnifiers (optional)
Felted Needle Book Jan Falk 9:30 am - 12:30 pm $30 Jan Falk will be leading a class on felting that is open to all skill levels. This class is totally about embellishment. Layers of dyed wool roving are arranged for a cover, and adorned with a variety of embellishments: yarns, silk threads, Angelina (sparkles), lace, wool nubs, almost anything. The piece is wet down with soapy water and felted until it is firm. Students should have enough time to complete one felt sheet/double page for the inside. The finished “book” is approximately 3” x 5”. This class costs $30.00 and includes the supplies you need to make the book cover and inside page. Instructions will be given for the finishing of this project: drying and shaving the cover to bring out all of the design elements, pressing and stitching the “pages” and cover together. Closures are the artist’s choice, to be finished on your own. Embroidery or bead embroidery can be added. Limited to 10 students. Students should bring the following tools and supplies to class: Scissors Sponge Produce Size Plastic Bag Hand Towel Plastic Ruler – 6” or 12” long

The Last Meeting was...

Fun, Funky, and inFormative!

A Christi Friesen Weekend (+ Monday!)

August 13-15, 2011

If you've ever met Christi Friesen or seen her polymer clay work in books or magazines, you know that her personality is one of a kind:  bright, enthusiastic, and (most importantly) infectious!  The Loose Bead Society was thrilled to have her visit us in August to teach polymer clay workshops on Saturday and Sunday and to be our presenter on Monday. 

Here are a few pictures from the classes (click any of the pictures to go to the Facebook album to see all of the pictures):

Here are a few pictures from the Monday presentation:

Table talk was Polymer Clay.  Here's just a taste of what was brought in:

Kalmbach Magazines Online

Did you know that Kalmbach, our corporate sponsor, has a free member access section of their website for all of their jewelry magazines? If you subscribe to the magazine you get even more content. At the following websites, you can learn more about the member access content, sign up for an account, and sign up for their newsletters: Art Jewelry, Bead & Button, BeadStyle.

Facebook for LBS Members

LBS has set up a Facebook page to encourage communication between members. If you don't have a Facebook account yet, here's a site to help you get started. Facebook is a social-networking site that allows rapid communication. Many businesses such as Lark Books and Fusion Beads use Facebook. Worried about security? On Facebook you control your privacy levels and you can control who becomes your friend. Facebook - it's not just for kids.

You do not have to be a member of Facebook to see our pictures. Click any of the pictures from the program meetings or events to be taken to that album. You cannot comment if you're not a member, but you can see all the fun we've had!

We have another page for the Global Bead Society. Please check that one out, too!