Category: BFAC

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Beading for a Cure Auctions are up!

I’ve been remiss in my blogging again. Guess I decided that spring break meant a break from everything. At any rate, I’m back now and I wanted to let you know that the Beading for a Cure auctions are listed now!

BFAC is a very special charity that was created in memory of bead artist Layne Shilling, who lost her battle with colorectal cancer in 2002. Each year, the proceeds from this challenge are donated to help fund cancer research. You can read more about it on their website.

I have participated for the past two years, and I am signed up for next year too. My entry for this year’s challenge is the cuff above. It is included in this week’s auctions, which end Saturday April 7th. I strongly encourage you to bid — not just on my piece, but on all of the beautiful entries. And if you’re not able to bid this week, don’t worry — there will be more listings every week through April 28th. You can view some of the other entries, along with the auction listing schedule, on the BFAC auctions page. There are some spectacular contributions this year. Please check them out, and consider supporting this special charity.

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Finished my BFAC project!

This is my second year participating in the Beading for a Cure project. I had all sorts of elaborate ideas, such as a beaded leather purse, an ornate headdress, or possibly another mask; but when it came down to it, I was in too much of a time crunch to be able to do any of those ideas justice. In the end, I decided to keep it simple.

The end result is the 5th bead embroidered filigree cuff in what will be a series of 6 (cause I only have one more of these filigrees left ;). I will probably continue to play with this style, since I really enjoy it … but as the components change, so will the overall look.

I really like this year’s colors — they’re sort of a mix of earthy and watery tones. To me, this blend feels playful, yet grounded. Interestingly enough, I use a lot of these colors in my work — but not typically together in the same project. I was pleasantly surprised by how well they work together

As to the shapes, I really loved the matte metallic swirly bugles — which is saying a lot, since I’m not much of a fan of bugle beads. I also really liked the Swarovski “lochrosen” (sequins, basically) that were included, but I was not as fond of the cubes or long magatamas. They were maybe just a bit too angular/odd shaped for my style of bead embroidery. Then again, I bet the geometric mathy types just ate them up! 😉


It was fun to play with colors and shapes that I might not have chosen on my own. I do wish that I’d used them in a way that pushed my limits a bit more, but again, there was that whole time crunch issue. As it stands, I’m satisfied that I was able to complete something for this special charity. I do hope it helps to generate a bit of attention and funding for this worthwhile cause!

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April happenings at Beadmask

Wow, I’ve got a lot going on this month! Some of the highlights include the Beading for a Cure Charity auctions, a  gorgeous new Fae Team Exhibit, vending at the Spring Fairy Festival in Auburn and of course, more school. Reading it back to myself, that list doesn’t look anywhere near as big as it feels… but regardless of how it looks, it’s enough to keep me hopping. Hopefully, some of this will be interesting and exciting to you as well 🙂

This year’s Beading for a Cure auctions have been live for a couple of weeks now.  There are several lovely item listings ending tonight, including a gorgeous bracelet made by my friend Nikia Angel, a beautiful beaded mask, an incredible beaded dragonfly wand and so much more!

The mask that I donated (pictured above) has been listed today, and the auction will end on 4/18. In case you’re not familiar with this charity, Beading for a Cure is an annual art challenge and fundraiser. Participating bead artists each purchase an identical kit and create something with the materials. They can create anything they choose, as long as they follow the same ground rules. Starting in March, the items are auctioned off and the proceeds are donated to the National Colorectal Cancer Research Association in memory of bead artist Layne Shilling, who lost her battle with colorectal cancer in November of 2002. It is an amazing gift of love and talent. This year’s participating artists went all out, so please visit BFAC’s eBay page and show them some love.

Annnddd, the new Fantasy Artists of Etsy (or Fae Team) exhibition is live! These exhibitions showcase the artwork of the team’s talented members, and they’re a real feast for the eyes. The theme for the current exhibition is “Faeries, Elves and Pixies, Oh My!”, and it is truly fabulous. Please take a moment to visit the site, and tell them that I sent you!

Last, but certainly not least, we will be vending at the Spring Fairy Festival in Auburn WA this coming Saturday, April 16th. The event takes place at the Green River Community College in Auburn WA — please visit the website for details and directions (cause I assure you that you never want to get your driving directions from me 😉 Besides an impressive array of talented vendors to shop from, there will be fun workshops, exciting performers, a kid’s corner and a costume contest! It promises to be a fun show — hope to see you there!

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Heading into the Last week of Beading For A Cure Auctions!

Are you familiar with Beading for a Cure? It is – in my opinion- one of the coolest bead charities out there, and so very worthy of your support.  Each year, I am amazed by the innovative beadwork that these artists create, and also by the love and commitment that the board members devote to making this happen. A fun aspect of this annual fundraiser is that you are able contribute to a very worthy cause AND potentially win a beautiful piece of bead art for doing so. Win-win, right?

If you’d like more info about this organization and its mission, you can click the link above, or scroll down for a description that I borrowed from their “About Us” page. If you trust me that this is an awesome organization that needs your support and you want to check out the super cool bead art RIGHT NOW, you should click here for a link to their current auctions. Please keep in mind that the current auctions end on May 2nd, and the final round of auctions for this year’s challenge will end on May 7th, 2010.

More about Beading for a Cure:

Layne’s Legacy is an annual beading challenge dedicated to raising money for the National Colorectal Cancer Research Association in honor of our friend Layne Shilling, who lost her battle with colorectal cancer in November 2002. The premise of the challenge is simple: participants purchase a kit which contains a variety of beads. Each kit is identical. At least one of each bead type must be used in the finished project and the beader can only add one other type of bead to the project (but as many non-bead items as they wish). The completed works are as varied as the beaders who created them. In the past we have had jewelry, sculptural work, and decorative items.
When the projects are all finished, they are auctioned off on eBay and all of the proceeds (minus operating costs) go to the NCCRA, donated in Layne’s name. This is our way of honoring the memory of a wonderful beader and good friend. Even those who never had the chance to meet Layne have joined into our cause. It’s a wonderful feeling to be able to use your artwork to help find a cure for something as insidious and devastating as cancer.
Our goal with Layne’s Legacy is three-fold. First, we want to keep Layne’s memory and spirit alive in all of us. Second, we want to raise awareness about colorectal cancer and the need to fund research to find a cure for it. Third, we want to raise awareness of beadwork as a serious artform, and beaders as artists with skill and heart. As well, we all want to have fun with this! While we’re doing this for a serious reason, we all love to bead, and it’s a great challenge working with beads that someone else has picked out. It’s very rewarding to see the various projects take shape. Usually, no two projects are anywhere near alike even though we all have the same beads!

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