Dream Keeper Vessel Ring

I'm very excited to be teaching this ring. Everywhere I go people fall in love with it. The directions are written and tested and this weekend it will have it's debut at the Beading Frenzy.



Also being debuted is En Pointe which is a bit of fanciful geometry.



The alternating points are joined with 2 mm crystal or for those wanting a little less sparkle, the join can be completed with size 11 seed beads. The join creates a raised ridge between components adding texture and emphasizing the architecture of the piece. The fussy bit on this, besides being size 15 right angle weave, is keeping the inner perimeter in the contrasting color.

And speaking of directions, I've been doing them in color. I've debated since once I go to kit on a design do I really want to write the directions to be color appropriate to the kit. This will be an extra labor intensive step. If I were to plan really well I could go in and recolor each illustration by changing the definition of the symbol, but right now that seems a little daunting to plan into the first set of directions. And color ink is expensive, but it does look pretty darn good.



My plan was to print them in greyscale, but that functionality seems to be buried somewhere deep in the current Word software. It used to be a straightforward option when you selected the print dialog box. Not anymore. So the full color version will be in class this weekend.

If you don't have plans why not join us? It's always a fun group at The Beading Frenzy. I've been teaching there for over ten years!

I'm flying up this morning so that Susan and I can attend the American Craft Council show at Fort Mason in San Francisco on Friday. The news suggests that if consumer confidence wanes and spending is held back a recession could become a self fulfilling prophecy. I hope to support an artist or two with purchases at the show.