Dress Rehearsal

Though I have been known to tread the boards in my younger years,

Me. In the fine SJSU production of Goethe's "Stella." It was a REAL laughfest.

I have not been on stage for a while. Onstage=dress rehearsal and yesterday I had mine.


For this...

On Friday, July 26 at 11 AM PST I will be conducting a webinar hosted by Interweave Press. If you have the time (and inclination... don't you want to rivet and solder? I KNOW you do!) please join in. It's gonna be an hour (or so) of fun-filled instruction on simple riveting and soldering techniques.

The projects are based on the sampler sections from my popular book, Simple Soldering AND if you have not purchased my book yet, you'll get a coupon code for 30% off of the book when you enroll. Plus you'll get a couple of snazzy handouts, lifetime access to the recorded webinar and a chance to ask questions LIVE during the broadcast.

So... What are you waiting for? Sign up now and I'll see you on Friday!

Ready to Rock...

Popping in to say hello from Knoxville, TN. I am bustling around this morning, getting ready to go to the JTV for a 10AM (7AM PST) appearance on Jewel School.

Looky! That's me!

It's my favorite thing, really. I really like doing live TV and the gang at JTV is so professional and makes everything so easy and fun.

The best part is that I get to share my very favorite tools with you live on air. It's always a guessing game whenever I solder anything on camera... and soldering LIVE while the camera is rolling... well, let's just say that I always have a "What the heck do I think I am doing?" moment. But everything usually works smoothly. (I just knocked on my wooden desk!)

If you have just clicked over here after the show, let me say a big "THANKS" for watching and a "hello and nice to meet you." If you are looking for more information on soldering, check out the links on the left hand sidebar. That's the list of all of the great FREE classes that I teach online for Craftsy.com and Beaducation.com.

Okay, gotta run. I need to stumble onto some coffee before I am completely camera-ready. See you on-air!

Behind the Scenes at Beads, Baubles and Jewels

Many of you are familiar with the great PBS show Beads, Baubles and Jewels hosted by the talented Katie Hacker. It's the show to watch if you love making jewelry. I have heard from a few of you that you don't get it in your area. Not to worry. You can find all of the episodes right here online. They feature artists and projects from the bead and jewelry world and the episodes are informative and interesting.

So this past week I got to back my bags and travel to Cleveland, OH for a return trip to film segments for the upcoming new season. It was a quick overnight trip. (Two flights in two days... OUCH!) It was such fun. I always think it is interesting to see how things happen behind the scenes so I thought I'd share the highlights of my quick trip.

First, let me say that this is the most professional team ever. Working with them is such fun. I was sponsored by the fine folks at JewelryTools.com to demonstrate some of the tools that they carry online. (As their tag line says "EVERY tool you need, and then some.")

Here is what happend...

After a long (through Atlanta!) flight I landed and got my rental car. I was surprised to find not just any car, mind you. It was a house on wheels. Check out how fancy I was!

 I was driving in style.

Seriously. That stereo system was better than the one I have at home. (iTunes, kids!!) Sunroof open, I hit the road to the hotel, dinner and gabfest with friends (Barb Switzer and Jennifer Chatshow-Van Benschoten) who had completed their segments earlier that day.

After a quick sleep, it was off to the studio. Also filming that day were the lovely and talented Jean Campbell, Erin Siegel and Jill Wiseman. What great company.

Erin and Jill getting ready for their segments. Jean was already on set.

Erin's pretty projects all ready to go on air.

So I dropped my stuff at my prep table and perused the tools that JewelryTools sent for my segment. Now I always like to do something interesting for TV and this time was no exception. But really, who's idea was it to demo the rolling mill on live TV? (Okay, live to tape, but still... OH right! My idea.) For those of you who have never unpacked a fresh rolling mill, it's uh... messy.

There is no time like the time RIGHT BEFORE YOU GO ON TV to get your hands dirty. Thankfully they had gloves. My hands look barely passable at best most of the time, so an added layer of machine grease was not doing me any favors.

Rolling mill sorted and situated. Tools laid out and readied. Then off to the makeup chair.

My favorite part! Karen is a makeup whiz!

All prettied up and ready to go. Now it was time to iron my dresses. (Where were you Mary Cravens when I needed you? Oh right, making more dresses for my next teaching gig.)

All suited up and time for my closeup. All of my tools get carted out to the set.

My view.

Katie and I start off the segment with some hijinks...

and then get down to business.

Take two when the wire twister gives me a little sass. Note to self, all the practicing in the world and still tools have a mind of their own!

Really?

But we got back on track and filming went smoothly. Those camera guys really know their stuff.

Brett works his magic.

Look at that closeup.

Then it was a wrap. Some final fond farewells and I was off back home. Thanks so much BB&J. It was a great 24 hours. You can see the segments when the new season airs around December.