Bead and Button Show 2012

I had the pleasure of attending the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the beginning of June. This conference is paradise for any jewelry maker or bead enthusiast. My mother joined me for a week in beautiful Milwaukee. We stayed at the Doubletree Hilton downtown which was different for us as we usually stay at the Hyatt. But we liked the location of the Doubletree better because even though it wasn't attached to the convention center, it was only a short step across the street to our classes and the Bead Show. The staff was nice and the room was clean.

Our first class was called Romantic Rosettes which was a bracelet made of beaded rosette flowers. Each rosette takes about 3 hours to complete (yikes!) and the bracelet is made up of 7 of them! Needless to say I have not finished this bracelet. Here is a pic of one rosette and a side project bracelet we picked up for fun.

The next class was a wire crochet class called Wild About Hearts. The teacher was awesome, Laura Timmons and the class was FUN. I really loved this class. It was easy and the possibilities for design are really endless with this technique. I finished the project in class and then bought a kit and made a second one for my Mom. I experimented with some beads I bought at the show later on. The first pic is the necklace I made in class, the second pic is my experiment. 

After that we attended the Meet the Teacher's Conference. This is where all the teachers can set up a booth or table to sell their kits, books, designs, etc. We browsed and met some of the teachers. I bought a kit for a class that was full when I signed up but have not had a chance to start the project yet. 

The third class was the Gran Bellagio Pendant. This project was a little complicated but the directions were very well explained and the teacher, Nikia Angel, gave us a lot of one on one help. The finished necklace turned out beautiful and I get a lot of compliments on it when ever I wear it. I definitely plan on making more of these, even though they are time consuming, the result is worth the time!

After the Gran Bellagio class the Open Marketplace of the Bead Show was open to class participants. The deals were Outrageous! I bought so many beads at $1.00 or $3.00 per strand and just amazing deals all around. I also designed this awesome bracelet as a gift for my guy at the T-Beads booth. This is a new type of bracelet called Regalize and the supplies to make the style are not widely available yet. So it's quite special and unique. He loved it! 

Our last class of the week was called Moonlight Rhapsody. This class was a bracelet design mainly in herringbone stitch with a few other stitches combined. It was a beautiful design and I haven't quite finished it yet but I will post it when I'm done. Almost there!

I left the show feeling very satisfied with a suitcase full of new beads and a head full of new ideas and techniques!