First Metal Smithing Class!

I am so excited! While everyone else is worrying about last minute Christmas details, I am going to be taking my first Metal Smithing Class! I lucked up and was able to get into one at the last minute. I am going to learn how to make a forged folded metal pendant. I will try to post a picture of the finished product for you later. I couldn't learn it by myself though so I am dragging my best friend along for the ride. Weather we love it or we hate it, it's just exciting to learn a new technique and get out of my bead shop for awhile!

New Products

We have been getting tons of new products in this week at the store. As stated in a previous post, I want to be able to carry things that no one else in our county does. One of the new things that we got in this week are wooden bangles. These bangles come in all sizes and shapes and can be painted, wire wrapped, or you can add beads and embellishments to them. I love them because I have large hands and it is hard to find bangles that fit great. The bangles that came in this week come in small, medium, large, and x-large so that they will fit anyone's hands! I have a great idea for the first one that I am going to do so be sure to check back sometime this week for a picture.

I had a chance to peek into a box that came in yesterday and it had heat guns, Melt Art Pots, Ultra Thick Embossing Enamels, and some other suprises. The UTEE is a great way to make your own pendants or earrings as well as other jewelry projects. I am working on a class with them sometime in February or March.

My store is changing and I am so excited about it! I don't want to be just a store for regular beaders anymore. I mean it was great when it was just me but now there is another bead store in the county and they only cater to beaders too. I am going to cater to beaders, crafters, and alternative art crafters. I'm not going to do just bead classes anymore either. I am working on a series of classes for home furnishings that I think will go over great. I know people who love to bead but don't wear jewelry. They always give away or sell what they make. With the new home furnishings classes this gives them a way to bead and use what they make. I also have a few more suprieses up my sleeves if all the pieces fall into place. I am just going to wait a month or two and see what happens. Who knows what 2009 may bring!

Rain, Rain, go away!

Today felt like the longest day! With the rain, you couldn't get out and do anything! It was a great time to bead but I didn't even have the time to do that! We have been very busy at the store getting everyone ready for their christmas projects and getting the store ready for more great beads and findings. I am working with some new distrubutors who are sending me some awesome stuff! I am focusing on altered jewelry, personalized jewelry, soldering, and cold connection supplies. I want to carry stuff that no one else in the county has! I'm sure it won't last long though because someone always has to jump on the bandwagon!

Anyways, not only are we getting in some awesome new stuff but I have been busy working on some top secret projects for January and February. There is one that I can't wait for you guys to see!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

My life is beads but every once in awhile I try something new and I have to pass it on. Tonight I tried a new recipe for Broccoli Cheese Soup. If you like Broccoli Cheese Soup you will love this recipe.

Ingredients:
3 cans (14 1/2 fluid ounces each) reduced sodium chicken broth
2 packages (16oz each) frozen cut broccoli
1 small onion coarsely chopped ( I don't like onion so i left this out)
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1 1/2 cups dry Nestle Cranation Instant Nonfat Dry Milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup shredded chedder cheese
shredded chedder cheese (optional)

Heat broth in a large saucepan to boiling. Add Broccoli, onion, and garlic. Return to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until broccoli is tender. Remove from heat;

Combine dry milk, water, and flour in medium bowl; mix well. Stir into soup; season with salt and pepper if desired. Heat through. Add 1 cup cheese. Stir over low heat until melted. Sprinkle with additional cheese.

If you guys try this recipe, let me know what you think!

Beading Excursion

I love going to Bead Stores. Not only do I love looking at the beads but it gives me great ideas about how to display things, new project ideas, customer service do's and don'ts, etc. Well, Friday my friend Kim and I went on a bead store excursion and on the way home it gave me a really great idea. When I travel around to bead stores all over the state I am going to write a review about the store here on my blog so that you guys will know which one's to visit and which one's to skip. I will tell you about the store, what I loved about it, what was bad about it, and how their prices were.

On Friday we first went to the greatest eclectic stamping and paper store called Random Arts in Saluda NC. It was the cuttest little store I have ever been in. It had a great entrance and when you go into the store it is an artist's heaven. And the staff.....you can't get any nicer than these ladies! They knew how to run a store! They were very friendly and they had great product knowledge. They also helped to advertise other businesses on their block. They gave us some great recommendations for lunch and they told us about a few other businesses in their town. I love this because having a business in a small town, we have to help each other and advertise for each other. Word of mouth is the strongest advertising you can get.

From there we went to "My Garden Of Beadin" in Hendersonville. This is a really cute bead store that specializes in Vintage Beads and Findings. The store is small but they have a lot of stuff in it. They carry Swarovski and some chech glass beads. There prices are reasonable and the staff was nice. I saw a Montee ring that I loved and they allowed me to sit and make the ring while Kim was shopping. The only problem with the store is parking. There is a large parking lot at the end of the block but it was full and we had to drive around and wait for someone to leave so that we could get their space. Don't let parking keep you away though, because this is a bead store everyone should visit at least once.

I hope you guys enjoy this new blog idea. Also, be sure to check out my website at www.offthebeadedpathbeadstore.com because we have added a new contest for January! And remember, as of today there are only 17 more days until Christmas!