katie hacker Archives - Candie Cooper

Katie Hacker and Artistic Wire Braid and Flat Wire

September 30, 2015 By candiecooper 4 Comments

This post brought to you by the Beadalon crew!Welcome to day 3 of the party where we visit with Miss Kaaaatie Hacker! Good ol' Katie Hacker at the Beadalon tent sale If you’ve been in the DIY jewelry world for any length of time, I’m positive you know Katie. She’s a good egg and one of my favorite people. She also hosts the popular television show, Beads, Baubles, and Jewels on PBS. Katie is the author of many jewelry making books and has been on the Beadalon design team for years. Needless to say, she is a pillar in the DIY jewelry making community and I’m honored to call her a friend.For the tent sale, Katie was showing off Artistic Wire in braid (above) and flat versions (below).Both wires come in multiple metal finishes. The wire is super sturdy so it holds and shapes beautifully. I especially love hammering it. Didn’t I mention yesterday on the blog that I wanted to hammer some metal links? It might be my next favorite technique next to fringe….if fringe were a technique that is.The wire wraps easily and you can use regular round nose pliers to make loops at the end of it. But! Have you seen Beadalon’s large bail making pliers? They have a consistent cylinder tip vs conical. Handy.When you have your piece formed, you can wrap it with more wire and the like. This will make it even more sturdy and add a little texture to the smooth surface.

I love texture.This is the class that Katie taught at the tent sale. She is masterful at designing projects that look like it took hours to make, but you could make in an evening. I love that kind of instant gratification.Did I mention all the classes were $25 at the tent sale?!? And it included all the supplies and then some!Katie and I flew out to Pensylvania together and first stop…Michaels Craft store for some last minute supplies (and a few treats for ourselves).

Enter the giveaway below for some surprise Beadalon swag! I’m picking 4 winners this time. Best of luck!
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Filed Under: Beads, Jewelry, Tutorials

Line Dancing and Jewelry Making with Beadalon

March 6, 2014 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

If you honked, you came to the right place. This is the second installment of this post with more pictures from teaching on the Country Music Cruise with Beadalon and Jewelry Television.

Remember I was with my buddy and fellow Beadalon design team member, Katie Hacker?

We were so excited to find Beadalon products, Artistic Wire and stringing wire at a jewelry making/gem shop in San Juan named Turquesa. I love the sound of it–Turquesa.

On the last day at sea, we taught the “Boot Scootin’ Bracelet” so students could learn basic stringing. Check out the photos from the class!

Our students were so delightful! It’s been neat to keep connected with them on Facebook.

There’s Katie working with two of our buddies!

And Christiane from JTV teaching—see the water right outside our classroom!? I still can’t get over teaching on a boat.

And yours truly helping a student size her bracelet. I loved getting to meet all of these wonderful women. They were so patient and kind. On another note, you should never wear a “shirtain” (get it? shirt that looks like a curtain) to teach jewelry making in. That fringe on the sleeves! Seemed like a good idea until it was dripping all over the table, getting hung up on tools, etc…

It was a good idea for line dancing though!

To be fully honest, I was in ballet from 1st grade until I graduated high school. From that point, I hung up my organized dance shoes. That is, until I hopped aboard the Country Music Cruise complete with line dancing instructors! It was fun to be the student and learn the different dances (of which I cannot remember one step now. Eeesh). It also reminded me how much I love dancing and hopping around to music. More of that in 2014, please!

We also met the amazing artist, Chuck Mead. His band, Chuck Mead and his Grassy Knoll Boys played many times on the cruise and we couldn’t get enough of their sound. Here’s a link to his playlist. We brought home his CD and would’ve brought home a t-shirt or three if they had them. We are official Chuck Mead groupies.

Before we knew it, it was time to head home! Our boots were made for walkin…well, flying with joy filled hearts from a great trip back to snow covered cornfields and our loving husbands.

So now, because we love all our friends and fans so much, Katie and I are giving away 2 Boot Scootin’ Bracelets! One from me and one from her with a very special thanks to BEADALON from us.

Enter below for a chance to win! And just for fun–here’s a song to jam to while you’re entering!

Love ya!

Candie

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Filed Under: Jewelry

Vintage button necklace…

May 2, 2011 By candiecooper 3 Comments

This is what you get after watching a night of royal wedding coverage. I'm serious! It all happened so subconsciously. A pretty vintage button, a few crystals, some nostalgia and blingo! And besides, anything to use a vintage button for jewelry, right? To make this I used a large Katiedid component, Beadalon gunmetal chain, button with round shank on back, Swarovski crystals, 3mm coral beads, and a Vintaj Arte metal leaf charm. Also, I sanded the Katiedid and put a coat of liver of sulphur on it….to antique it a bit, you know?

The button with a round shank on the back made it so I could string it just like a bead with the same head pin it's hanging from. Use a touch of tubing on both sides of the shank to center it—no adhesive required (jic you want to use your button for something else later on). Ok?

I've always loved vintage. If I was going to prom, I would wear this little gem. Or the Royal Wedding for that matter. Hey, a girl can dream!

Filed Under: Beads, fabulous, Friends, Jewelry

Beadalon & Katydids Beading Contest

April 19, 2011 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

Hello there! Ok, so ever since I had to get my driver's license last week, I've been thinking about how to smile without showing your teeth. That's the rule now—can't show your teeth in your driver's license picture because of photo recognition. How messed up is that? Whatever. Actually teeth has been the theme around here it seems. Strange. Over the weekend I bought a shoebox full of junk jewelry for $1, but in the mix of gems was also Grandma's bridgework. Yowza. I cringed when I saw the teeth and metal…………tangled in chains. These are the days of a jewelry maker's life. Crazy. Also, I've had Gaga's Teeth song blaring down in my studio. It's catchy. Believe it or not my aunt introduced me to it. Play with smiles and pictures over on PhotoFunia! Show your teeth…or don't–it's fun either way.

In other news, my girl Katie Hacker is having a beading contest. See those sweet little rings in the drawer? Those are Katydids! This is a fun, easy challenge to see what you can fill your Katydid's components with. Resin, clay, beads, paper, Mod Podge, you name it! Make it super simple or extra complicated. The winning loot Beadalon and Katie are giving away is worth a try, people! I know it's scary to put your work out there sometimes, but this is a chance to be brave. What do you have to lose? I started fiddling with some pieces this morning. Now I just need a little bit more time to finish up. 😉