Monday, January 28, 2013

New 2013 Work and New Blog

Hello friends and fans!

   2013 started with a terrible creative slump.  The cold dark days and holiday recovery just really got the best of me.  I toyed with the idea of just scrapping Ovenfried Beads altogether.  Honestly, I didn't think that I'd ever really be moved by polymer clay again. 

   Then I installed some lights in my new basement studio.  This Thomas doubts no more that there has to be an endless spring of creativity that just ebbs and flows.  Sometimes it's a torrential rush that turns into compulsive creation....and sometimes it trickles so slow that it seems like adding something to mashed potatoes is a genius idea. 

   I've been digging out beads that were packed up for moving.  A trip to the craft store resulted in some new findings that I've been needing for a while.  Classical music on public radio, even during the winter fundraising, set the mood.

   SO, as I posted on my Facebook page this morning, my big liquidation sale ends Wednesday.  I have new work to post, so if you happen to read this before January 30, get your behind over to my Etsy store and save a boatload on everything you like there.  Don't forget to enter the promo code!  If you forget, you will pay full price.  I just really don't have time to cancel transactions, relist and have someone re-buy them so that they can get the sale price.

   Wednesday night I will be putting it all back to regular price so I can freshen it up with new work.  These photos are items that will be available for sale.  (After they're posted I plan on linking them to the actual ad. If I remember.)

OH, and by the way....just one more thing to tell you.  I have a new blog that has absolutely NOTHING to do with Ovenfried Beads or my handcrafted art.  Photography is another one of my hobbies, so if you like neat pictures of nature and urban stuff (lots of closeups), just hop on over to my new photo blog: A Very Pedestrian Snail.  It's pretty much just all photos.







Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Etsy Sale Just Got Deeper

Hey ya'll's. 

My Etsy Store liquidation has been on the slow path.  Perhaps starting it right after the biggest spending-money-on-others season wasn't the most strategically smart thing to do.

In any case, everything that is listed is 48% off the listed price IF, and only IF you enter the coupon code "OBEADS48" when you check out.  If you don't enter it, you'll pay the full price.  (Which would be really cool, actually.)  Valentine's Day is less than a month away, and Mother's Day will be soon after that. 

I still have room in my Stacker Bead class coming up soon, as well as the Polymer Clay Buttonmaking class.  The Fabric Coiled Bowl class is almost full.  Check out my previous blogpost titled "Winter Classes with Ovenfried Beads" to get the full details.

Have a great day! 

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Winter Classes with Ovenfried Beads

Hello!

Here is a near-carbon copy of my last class update from this past fall at Silk Road Textiles in Cincinnati, Ohio.  The classes are the same, but the dates and times are not.  If you can't make these dates, there will be others in March, April or May. Stay tuned!  You can also sign up to receive emails about class updates by clicking this link

**********************************************************************
Fabric Coiled Bowls
See those Stacker bead buttons? Scroll down...there's a class for those too.
Students will learn how to create a specific style of functional bowls using fabric and
rope. Good manual dexterity in both hands is necessary. I was featured on HGTV's "That's Clever!" in 2007 making this bowl, so if a TV network thinks it's cool, it's probably worth signing up for. The bowl you see above is a huge version of what you'll be making in a 3 hour class, but it gives you a good idea.

The lady behind the company Recyclabowls took my coiled bowl class and turned it into a business. Even though her technique is similar, she has turned it into her own "thing". In fact, her bowls are available for sale at Silk Road Textiles and at several stores in Cincinnati.

Class fee is $35, and students must purchase 3 cotton fat quarters from SRT. The rope, hot glue, string and needles will be provided by me.

Sat. 2/2 9am-noon

**********************************************************************


Polymer Clay Buttonmaking

These are some random buttons that I have made recently.
Yours will be unique...your own design.

Students will make handmade buttons using various techniques with polymer clay. To alleviate stress and work on the student's part to gather the many tools and clay needed for this 4-hour workshop, I am including everything in the package, so the class fee reflects the added expense on my part. I will cover some basic techniques in polymer clay (simple canes, marbling, and/or stamping, depending on the group) and students will create their own buttons.
Note: If a student has polymer clay tools that they would like to use, like a favorite blade, pasta machine, stamp or even colors of clay, they are free to bring them, but the class fee won't change.
Class fee is $65. 

Tue. 1/22 10am-2pm

**********************************************************************

Stacker Beads/Embellishments

Students will learn how to make Stacker beads, a polymer clay bead design that I perfected about 12 years ago. Stacker beads make amazing embellishments, so even though Silk Road Textiles is not a bead/jewelry supply store, students can learn this technique to embellish their own fiber art pieces or make them into beads. I will supply all the clay and tools needed.

Class fee is $65. 

Wed. 2/20 9am-1pm
Note: If you do not live in Cincinnati or can't take my classes you can purchase a PDF of my Stacker bead tutorial directly through me. It's $16 and I'll email it to you.  Email me if you are interested.  I accept Paypal.  (I normally have it on Etsy, but since I'm having a store-wide sale, it's not available there at this time.)

**********************************************************************
There are many other great fiber art classes being offered at Silk Road Textiles. If you are interested in learning more, visit their website or "like" their Facebook page (or both) to find out more.   The class list is updated on a roughly quarterly basis.

Etsy Liquidation Sale

Happy New Year, dear fan of Ovenfried Beads!


Click pic to see the Etsy ad!
 
  This is the 18th year I've been "playing" with polymer clay.  Well, technically it will be mid-June that I will have filled my life with such a colorful adventure.  Right now I'm at a point in my life where I am ready to slow down a bit and explore other/additional creative venues and re-visit outlets that I love but have ignored.  Though I do plan on continuing creating with polymer clay, it will be part of larger things.  Mixed media with fiber.  I don't want to give away too much information, but let's just say the "artist" in me wants to bump the "crafter" in me off to the side and take the wheel for a while.


Click this one, too!
  Therefore, I'm having a whole-store liquidation sale in my Etsy shop.  Everything in the store is 33% off.  Ideally, I'd like to sell it all off and start fresh.  There are an awful lot of great classic pieces in there that need homes.  Items in my Etsy store represent my best and favorite, work.


And don't forget about this!
 
  Please take a minute to browse the store and check out the great goods that are there.  Many people in the industry have told me that it's already reasonably priced.  The 33% discount does not mean it's second-tier.  I just need to move it out and get started on new things to post once the stock has whittled down.  If you want to purchase something, all you have to do (besides be registered with Etsy) is enter this coupon code when you check out:  OBEADS33.  That's it.  In case you haven't used Etsy in a while, you're now no longer required to pay with a credit card through Paypal.  You can pay straight through Etsy. 

  If you are interested in purchasing my Stacker Bead tutorial PDF, you may email me directly.  I accept Paypal and will email you the tutorial upon receipt of payment.  The tutorial is $16.00.  It's 4 pages with full-color step-by-step instructions. 

  Thanks for your time...next blog entry will be about my newest classes.  If you can't wait, visit the website of Silk Road Textiles' class page and click on the "More Fibers and Fabrics" tab to find out about my Fabric Coiled Bowl class, as well as the "Mixed Media and Embellishments" tab to get info on my Polymer Clay Buttonmaking and Stacker Bead classes.