Child Hood Fantasy Coming True....Sort of...

New Kids Then....

New Kids Now...

Jordan Knight

When I was 9 and 10 years old I was in love with Jordan Knight of New Kids on the Block. In the early 90's if you were between the ages of 6 and 28 you had the one guy of the group that you thought was completely hot and that you were going to Merry! Well Jordan Knight was that one for me. I just knew that some day I would merry Jordan and life would be great. Sadly though at some point dare I say they become "uncool" and they kind of fell off the radar. Now, at the age of 27 I am going to be able to re-live a child hood fantasy. New Kids are back together for a reunion tour and they are coming to the Bi-Lo center in March. They were in Charlotte in October but at the time I didn't have the extra money to spend on the tickets. I have regretted it since then because I thought I would never get the chance to see them again. Well...tickets went on sale Saturday and I got floor seats for the March Concert. Now, I may not run away with Jordan Knight but I will get the chance to see a favorite Child Hood band with my best friend, who by the way, was a huge New Kids Fan too! Life is good!

Today was the big day!

Well today was the big day! I was on the "Your Carolina's" show with Jack and Kimberly this morning. It was a wonderful experience if nothing else! Jack and Kimberly were super nice! It was really neat to see how everything worked and came into being. It will be an experience that i will never forget! My sweet husband went with me for moral support and believe me...I needed it! Everyone who watched it said that I didn't seem a bit nervous but I was so nervous I thought I might fall down. Once It got started and I got to talking I was fine! But...Like I said if nothing else it was an experience that I can tell my children about one day!

TV day is coming up!

Ok...so I found out today that I can actually teach Jack and Kimberly how to make something on the show next week. I decided to teach them how to make a pair of Breast Cancer Awareness earrings using the concave loop making pliers. I got that self conscious feeling though that my hands looked terrible and that everyone was going to see how bad they looked. So, thinking this, I went and got some nails put on today. It is going to take a few days to get used to them but I really like them. Call me vain but it's not everyday that you get to be on TV you know! The producer also asked me if we had a website that they could send customers to. I decided right then that my video blog did so good this week that I am going to do a short video on how to do the earrings so that anyone who goes to the website can see. (I love having a husband who is technologically advanced!)

I was also really excited today because we got 17 new colors of 3.2mm drop beads. These beads are used in the wave ring in the current bead and button magazine. I brought some home with me and I am going to work with them and see what cool stuff I can come up with. I have an idea for a great pair of earrings but we'll see!

I am so excited!

I started something new on the store website today. It is a video blog! I sat down sunday and video taped it and then Sammy put it on the website today. I think it will work out great because this way I won't have to spend forever writing a long email and then you guys won't have to spend forever reading it! 2009 is all about making time for new things and this is a great start. If you would like to see it check out www.offthebeadedpathbeadstore.com

Life can throw u curve balls!

Well, for those of you who take the time to read my blog you are probably wondering where I have been for the last few weeks. Well....life has been a blur since Christmas. My holiday was wonderful. Even though Santa didn't bring me what I wanted I still had a wonderful Christmas because I got to spend it with my family. Gifts don't amount to anything if you don't have someone to share them with! My husband and I are extremely lucky because between the two of us we still have 3 grandmothers that are alive. This Christmas was a blessing because we still had them around to share it with.

After Christmas things started to get crazy. At the first of the year I get really excited and I try to think of all sorts of new things we can do at the store in the coming year. I try to come up with new classes, new demos, new give aways, and new contests. I also went into Valentine's day mode and started ordering new heart beads. So, as I was busy planning for the store a curve ball was thrown at me. As of this coming Tuesday I am officially going to be the new President of the Forest City Merchants Association. This is a big responsibility because you are over all of the events that happen in Forest City such as the Car Show, the parade, and the Carriage Rides. I am really excited about my new position and I hope that I can do a good job. I just want to see Forest City grow and get back to it's roots. A group of us are getting together to start to plan some new events for the town. We are really stoked and can't wait to see some of our idea's come into play.

While I was reveling over the Presidential position I found out some more great news. On Monday January 19th I am going to go to Greenville SC and be a guest on the Jack and Kimberly "Your Carolina's" show on channel 7. I am really excited! One of my great friends, Kim Campbell, was nice enough to send an email to the show telling them about us and the store. They decided to do a segment on us and invited me to come down. They are going to do a 6 minute segment on the show about our store and all of the things we do at "Off The Beaded Path." Most of you will be off work on this day so I hope you will get a chance to watch me promote the store and our great Down Town area.

I have also been anticipating the 17th. I am going up to Hendersonville to take a soldering class. As with any hobby when you start learning how to bead all you do is basic stringing, then you move onto stitching, then possibly wire working or PMC work. Eventually you just get into a rut and want to try something totally different. Well, I have hit my rut and on the 17th I am going to learn how to cut copper and solder things to the copper to make a one-of-a-kind bracelet. I am so excited just to learn how to solder with a torch. I know how to solder with a small soldering iron but I have never ventured into the world of torch soldering. I will let you know how this goes!

I have also been busy working on the February class schedule. We have some amazing new classes coming up and I can't wait to get them posted for you to see! Hope everyone has a blessed day!

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!