The Traveling Beadwench

Who is ready to join me the Beadwench on an adventure of epic proportions??
This crazy expedition will be sort of like a "Flat Stanley" project. Except The Traveling Beadwenches mission is to travel all over the United States to different artists. While visiting, participating artists will be required to feed the Beadwench with knowledge of their particular craft, show her around their area if they can, The Beadwench as you all know is a fun, loving, adventure seeker, so the crazier the better :)

To Participate in this awesome event THE TRAVELING BEADWENCH here are just a few rules to keep in mind:

-Shipping is required to send to the next person in line.. All participants must pay 3.00 for First Class US shipping to me the Beadwenchh via Paypal or Square. Shipping fees must be paid in full 48 hours before your she is due to leave her current location. I will then send the shipping fee off to the artist who currently has her... Currently open only to residents of the USA... however if your international and want to pay the shipping fee please send me an email and we can work it out!!!

- You may only keep the Beadwench for 3 days, more if there is a special place you want her to visit before sending her off to her next destination... please email me to make arrangements for more than 3 day visit..

- You must email me either during the stay or after with your  "travel journal" and lots of pictures

- The Beadwench is pretty laid back, she loves to cook and enjoys new recipes, hanging out with friends and family, meeting new people, dancing, shenanigans, and creating art... really anything

- Most importantly The Traveling Beadwench wants to introduce  you the world at large, so be sure to have her help with an art project of any kind and journal log it and take pics.... Let her get to know you as an artist... ( feel free to send any trinkets or goodies back to her home location if you would like to, its not required but some people like to send mementos, so email me for my shipping address if you need it)

- Take lots of photos, we love photos :)
- Most importantly HAVE FUN!!!!!

If you think you'd like to join  in and have the Beadwench visit please email me directly at
maidendesignsstudio@yahoo.com
subject line: The Traveling Beadwench Sign up

So who is crazy enough to show the Beadwench a good time??????

Beadwench Happenings!!!

I can not believe it is already January 22nd!!! Where has the New Year gone?

So with the New Year some changes have been made as well. As many of you may or may not be aware I am no longer an admin in any Facebook groups... okay one for the SRAJD Destash group but that's it. I took a retirement from it all, and decided it's time to pursue my dreams, reach some goals, have less stress, complications, and more time to create, learn, and grow.

I no longer post on the Maiden Designs Studio Facebook page, as Facebook likes to hide posts from anyone seeing them unless we pay for boosting which I and many others refuse to do.

My main Facebook page is where you can find me , my ramblings, designs for sale, show information when I have one going on, my LIVE broadcasts will be coming back soon, loaded with fun tutorials and some give aways... 

I just submitted 5 class proposals to teach classes at BEADFEST Oaks PA 2017 and am anxiously awaiting to hear back once they have their decisions. It's so exciting, and even if I don't get accepted I'm okay with it. I didn't have much time to prepare and three of those five were last minute things so we shall see what happens, there is always next year.

Now comes some  fun  stuff. I have joined up for the BEAD PEEPS 3rd Annual HOP N SWAP hosted by Linda Anderson. This year has an incredible turn out. If you would like to follow this fun filled swap n hop please be sure to head over to https://www.facebook.com/groups/beadPeeps/ and join the group. Alot of amazing artists are aired together, there are some fun new twists, and surprises.
With that being said this blog post will be used for me to answer some questions so that I can be paired with another artist so here goes...

1. My favorite things to work with are wire mostly copper, metal sheet, metal blanks, artisan beads, or components, chain, anything odd. I love a challenge, I love bold color pallets, I'm a mixed media queen and love that area.

2. My least favorite things are seed beads, acrylic, plastic, glass beads and the like.

Now for my new partner here is just some info you should know about  me....

Hi I'm Betony Maiden of Maiden Designs Studio aka The Beadwench.

I've been creating jewelry for 10 years, I'm a mom to 3 kids, 2 furbabies, a wife of 16 years. I've been an admin in over 20 jewelry groups, I love to have fun, I'm sarcastic, sassy, sweet, fun loving, down to earth, and am very passionate about my work and the people in the jewelry community.  I have a ton of blogs that you can learn more about me in, as well as my personal Facebook page. Let's see I've been featured in many blogs over the years, a few publications, I'm registered nationally with the SRAJD : self representing artist in jewelry design.. proud member #3896!!!

The Beadwenches Presents......

So who here enjoy's Facebook?? Well among my busy day to day life just like many other's,  I am on Facebook quite often. Being a jewelry artist and part of an amazing online comunity of other artists, as well as running a business, online shows, and general catch up with friends and family. Amongst all the updates, memes, pictures,  and news... there is a new world that Facebook has given to us....

FACEBOOK LIVE..

FACEBOOK LIVE was originally intended to only be used by celebrities, popular speakers, etc. However it gained so much popularity that it opened the door for so many people. Myself included... the days before FB LIVE I used to have to prerecord videos, then post them to youtube, share them on my FB page, and then answer questions one by one...

With FB LIVE it makes it so much easier to be able to show LIVE tutorials, as well as watch other FB LIVE broadcasts... and believe me there are soooooo many....

I've decided to compile a list of my favorite Facebook LIVE broadcasts. These can be watched anytime even  if your unable to watch while it's LIVE, you can go back later and watch it!!!

So without further ado here are my favorites so far...

1. Candie Copper- Candie is a jewelry designer and crafter, she is the author of various printed jewelry books. She has taught classes for many years all over the world. Currently she can be found LIVE each day @ 2:00pm EDT.
Her LIVES are perfect for beginner jewelry artist as she shows you many amazing techniques, in a fun fresh style. She can often be found using amazing beads, and components from her sponsors such as Jesse James Beads, Beadalon, Leather Cord USA, Sizzix and many more...
I've had the pleasure to both meet Candie and take one of her classes this past year at Beadfest in Oaks PA.
Her Facebook LIVES are a must see, she is super sweet, and hilarious to boot. You won't want to miss her fun filled, jewelry design packed LIVE shows

You can find her on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/candiecopperdesigns

2. Brenda Schweder- Brenda of Brenda Schweder Jewelry , goddess ,and creator of the NOW THAT'S A JIG & NOW THAT'S A PLIER is an amazing jewelry artist, Brenda has been to various bead and trade shows, as well as TV appearences, she is an author, teacher, and columnist. Brenda is also an amazing friend :) Her NOW THAT'S A JIG is an amazing tool for jewelry designers and her FB LIVE teaches you how to use it, new designs, and techniques. I own a NTAJ and it's the best investment I've ever made. Her LIVES are full of so much fun because Brenda is so much fun you just never know what she will do. She inspires everyone who watches. If your a wire wrangler, or someone interested in working with wire and incorporating other types of items, then you definitely want to check her out. .. She also shows many wonderful tips, tricks, and techniques on everything you need to know about working with wire.

Her FB LIVE is usually on different days and times. Please head over to her Facebook page to follow along I promise you won't regret it.

Her link is https://www.facebook.com/BrendaSchwederjewelry

3. Judy Menting- Judy is a self proclaimed jewelry artist with an amazing eye for design. She is designer of the DANCING TEACUP ALPHABET, used with the Now That's A Jig, Judy is an intelligent, sweet, funny, woman who captures our attention with her eye for detail and really teaches you how to use the NTAJ... she is currently teaching how to create different style earwires on the jig.

You can  catch her Facebook LIVE daily @4:00pm CST at https://www.facebook.com/judy.menting

4. Heather Powers of Humblebeads- I can't even begin to describe this fun, passionate woman, Heather is the owner of Humblebeads, an amazing artist, author, and teacher. Each Wednesday she does BEAD TABLE WEDNESDAY where you can get up close and personal with her amazing designs that any level of jewelry artist can accomplish.  Heather is known widely for her Polymer clay beads, and I can definitely say they are amazingly beautiful.... Heather is the brain behind the ART BEAD SCENE as well, they have monthly color challenges,  she recently had a MUFFIN TIN CHALLENGE... Heather is the author of some incredibly amazing books that sell out fast. She hosts an annual BEAD CRUISE, her FB LIVES will show you so many types of techniques, styles, and tips.

You can catch her here every Wednesday @ 2:00pm EDT https://www.facebook.com/humblebeadspage

5. BEADSHOP.COM- I can usually find Kate Ferrant Richbourg teaming up with this crew. Beadshop.com has a mission statement to guide you to create unique jewelry, a personal learning and shopping experience, an experience that gives beaded at every skill level the confidence and knowledge to create sundance-imspired jewelry (taken direct from their FB page) Their FB LIVES are perfect for all levels of jewelry designers. Fun filled and jam packed with amazing info...

You can find BEADSHOP.COM FB LIVES Wednesdays at 10:30am PST please visit https://www.facebook.com/beadshopdotcom

Here are a few non jewelry related Facebook LIVE broadcasts that I like to watch for various reasons, but you can check them out at your leisure :)

Spaceships and Laserbeams- I generally catch the cooking LIVEs here, which are fully , especially if your a parent :) the LIVES are here n there but the page is full of awesome things
Https://www.facebook.com/spaceshipsandlaserbeams

Life As A Rambling Red Head- this woman is simply freaking hilarious, however her LIVES are fun because she is spontaneous so I never know what she is gonna do, you can find fun , and humor here that are daily life of woman, mothers, and wives :)

Https://www.facebook.com/lifeasaramblingredhead

Cat & Nat- These Canadian mom's are totally fun and crazy..  their FB LIVES are totally hilarious, these mom's have just grabbed what real parenting is like at every moment. You won't be dissapointed...

Https://www.facebook.com/catandnat

And that my fellow friends concludes this segment of THE BEADWENCH.... please feel free to comment below and leave links to your favorite FACEBOOK LIVE broadcasts!!!