Trudy and I have “almost” recovered from our trip to the Bead & Button Show in Milwaukee.  It was our first time to attend this show.  We went up early so that we could take classes from Joe Silveras on fusing Argentium, Beverly Gilbert on “Beads and Metal,” and Joan Babcock on Micromacrame.  We learned a lot and really enjoyed our classes.

Euro Tool invited us to join with them in their booth throughout the show so that we could demonstrate Wubbers.  We estimated that we demonstrated making copper S-Links with the Wubbers Medium Bail Making pliers more than 200 times.  There were S-Links in practically every nook and cranny of the booth by the end of the show.  I even found one in the laundry after I got home.

Needless to say, we are quite fond of Euro Tool products, so we had fun demonstrating their tools also.  You might keep a watch on our WUBsite over the next week because we have a lot of new tools that will soon be listed.  Also, make sure that you have signed up for our newsletter so that you won’t miss the latest promotions and sales.  We just received a large shipment of Lortone tumblers, and rumor has it that we will have a promotion featuring them in the very near future.

Thanks so much for stopping by and be sure to check out our calendar.  Wired Up Beads University is up and running and we have started listing more events and classes, with many more to come.  We look forward to seeing you!

Join WUB for a day filled with fun, fire, food, and beads.  We will be open to welcome you from 10:00 to 4:00 to show you around our new facility and introduce you to Wired Up Beads University (WUBU for short!).  Please click HERE for our address and directions.

Whether you are a bead collector, jewelry designer, or simply interested in the ancient craft of lampwork (glass bead making), you will enjoy the opportunity to view and purchase unique beads and handmade artisan jewelry.  There will be demonstrations showing how to make glass beads with torches.  Wired Up Beads will provide door prizes and light refreshments.  Members of the Grapevine Beadmakers’ Society will be showing their work and providing demonstrations.  They will also be happy to introduce you to their newest project, which is making beads for Beads of Courage, an organization that provides encouragement and support to children undergoing cancer treatments.

We have been working hard to establish Wired Up Beads University and we would love to tell you about our classes and activities.  WUBU will offer instruction in glass bead making, glass fusing, wire wrapping, wire working, chain maille, beading, and silver smithing.  We will also be host to the meetings of several organizations, including the Dallas Wire Wrappers, the Grapevine Beadmakers’ Society, and the Renegade Beaders.  There’s never a dull moment here in Wubberland, and there’s always something to learn and share.

Well, one little funny story to end your day with a smile.  I was hurrying around, gathering up what I needed as I prepared to leave Wubberland to go home last evening.   I turned the lock on the door to the warehouse, then suddenly remembered that I needed to set the alarm over in WUBU.  I dropped everything, shut the door, and went over to set the alarm.  When I came back, I realized that I had locked myself in the warehouse.  Now after a moment of deliberation, I realized that I could get myself OUT of the warehouse, but I couldn’t get back into the Wired Up Beads offices to get my purse and keys.  As I stood and pondered my situation, I heard a muffled phone ringing in the distance.  Then I realized that it wasn’t so distant, but rather just six feet away.  Oh my, it was MY phone and there was MY purse.  And strapped on my purse was my bundle of keys.  So, I happily let myself back into the WUB offices and was greatly relieved that I didn’t have to walk across the street to borrow a phone and confess my predicament.  I didn’t even have to tell my hubby.

Here’s wishing you a great rest of the week.  We hope to see you Saturday!

Creative from her head all the way down to her toes, Debbie Malone will inspire you to to create your own fun, bodacious masterpieces.  I met Debbie last year on Gallery Night in Fort Worth at the Stonegate Mansion.  I fell in love with her work and have hoped ever since to host her classes at Wired Up Beads University (WUB U for short).  Well, Debbie we WUB you and your work and can’t wait for your classes!  Space is limited, so be sure to sign up early.  For more information on the classes, please click the picture below.

Here’s wishing you a Wubbly Weekend!

We are off to Tucson and will be looking for lots of new goodies to add to the store!  If you see two women dressed in Wubber Wear with pink rolling bags monogrammed with Wired Up Beads logos, be sure to say hello.  Trudy and I hope to see you there!  Have a great week!

This week I received this beautiful photo of a gorgeous bracelet made by one of the very first Wubbers owners ever.  Christina Wright is the artist of this wonderful creation.  She has been so kind to send me photos now and then of jewelry that she has made using her Wubbers and some of our Wired Up Beads findings.  She said that she really likes the holding power of our Deluxe Headpins and Sterling Silver Jump Rings for a bracelet such as this.  Christina also wrote the following:

“I am sooooooo happy with my Wubbers. I would not trade them for any other tools. I have tried other nice ergonomic jewelry tools and they just do not feel good to me and I cannot do the same good work that I do with my Wubbers. I am so glad that I took a chance and bought them after I read the magazine advertisement ad. You may quote me on this.”

I especially enjoyed hearing what this bracelet means to Christina.  She said that it was inspired by the “color of the sun on the wet sand on the beaches…” and “the trees and sky and water during different seasons of the year.”

I think one reason that jewelry is so special is that it brings so much happiness to so many people.  It’s fun to create and fun to wear.  In fact, it’s fun to hold and look at too.  And most of all, it’s extra fun when it evokes a special memory.

Thanks so much for taking the time to share this special treasure, Christina!

If you want to SEE what happens if you eat too much during the holidays, just check out this picture of our cat Vernon.  He sort of hangs out of his bed.  Actually, it’s really Robin’s bed and he is just determined to fit into it–sort of like me being determined to fit into pre-holiday jeans!

Now if the camera gets a shot from the RIGHT angle, just look what a difference it makes!  He’s a mighty handsome cat in a very becoming bed!

The holidays were wonderful–filled with our kids, grandkids, brothers, sisters, and cousins.  Bradley, our oldest grandson had a constant admirer in his cousin Mikah, who is 16 months old.  Mikah loves for Bradley to carry him around and Bradley very graciously obliges.

Jake was happy as usual.  He always has a smile and a hug to share.

Mikah was delighted with his very own toy cell phone.

Here is is already talking on the phone and I think that is a lump of coal in his other hand.

Only a matter of minutes until Mikah has figured out how to talk and ride!  Uhhh, I don’t think that he knows that he’s talking to the BACK of the phone….

I hope that you all had some wonderful holidays and have the best year ever in 2009!

Goldilocks said it best:  “And it was JUST RIGHT!”  Only we’re not talking about porridge.  All of us here in Wubberland are talking about our new Wubbers Medium Flat Nose Pliers.  We are so excited– they are available to join your Wubbers tool collection right now!

After months of waiting, we have finally received the newest member of the Wubbers Classic family.  Just like the other Classics, the Wubbers Medium Flat nose measures 6.5 inches in length.  It offers the same great comfort, leverage, control, and versatility as the original 5 Wubbers Classics.  The new Wubbers Medium Flat Nose is especially well-suited for working with jump rings and holding onto coils as you wind them.  Whenever the Narrow Nose is too “skinny” and the Wide Nose is too “hefty,” just reach for the Medium.  The width is so perfect for so many metal working tasks, that they will hold a special place in your Wubbers collection!

We are also very excited to let you know that Wired Up Beads has very recently contracted with the well-known company, EURO TOOL, and they will be handling our manufacturing process as well as managing our wholesale program.  EURO TOOL has an excellent reputation for superb quality and exceptional customer service.  We are very excited and honored to have contracted with them to bring you Wubbers that are better than ever!  The new Wubbers have all the features of the old, but will sport improved padded grips that are form-fitted to provide even greater stability and a more sophisticated look.

One last bit of Wubberly news is that, as you have requested, we will be adding Baby Bent Nose Pliers to the Baby Wubbers Series.  We should have this cute new Baby within the next 30 days.  We will let you know as soon as they are available for adoption.  You will WUB them!

We had a cold front blow through here (the Dallas/Fort Worth area).  Well, it was sort of a cold front.  Actually, it was wind and rain, and the kind of weather that when you go out the next morning to get into your car, you might think that a jacket could feel nice, even though it still seemed way too much trouble to get it out of the back of the closet and really put it on.

So, since the weather has been no help in getting us into the pre-winter spirit, we decided to have a little winter in Wubberland.  Trudy, Donna, and I sat around the table in the front room here at the store and made snowmen out of cracked quartz beads, Swarovski Crystals, and sterling.  We added a cute little scarf with brightly colored wire.  Then, we couldn’t resist taking their pictures in a Texas-style snowbank (i.e., satin fabric from our local Joanne’s store).  What fun!  A whole herd of snowmen that will never melt!  After the glamor shots, we put all of the snowmen on a little strap so that they could adorn the cell phones and purses of some of our favorite friends.

Here’s wishing you a Wubbly day with the kind of weather that makes it oh so much fun to hole up with a couple of friends and make something happy, including some great memories!  And if you need a little inspiration, stop by open studio next Wednesday afternoon, find a comfy spot at our table, and make yourself a little snowman.  We would love to see you!

1.  Never let your parrot roost on top of your Christmas tree, not even if you have to get a ladder to get her down.

2.  Never believe your parrot when she tries to convince you she should be left out of her cage so that she can enhance the household decor.

3.  Never wear your potty-trained parrot on your shoulder for an hour and 25 minutes, then rush off to the grocery store for milk without checking your back.

4.  Never EVER let your bird play on the bathroom cabinet and in your make-up drawers.  You just might get a phone call from a favorite friend right as you finish brushing your teeth.  Then you might rush off to work because you’re late, grabbing your glasses, putting on your watch, and closing the drawer that you left open when you answered the phone.  It is possible that you will get to the freeway and suddenly remember that you forgot to feed the parrot (better known as “Pumkin”).  You might also start to retrace your steps and realize that you left Pum’kin out of her cage.  This demands that you speed home, run lickety-split to the bathroom, and panic when there is no parrot visible.  Check the ceiling, picture frames, and…MY GOODNESS!  The drawer!!!

The moral of #4 is that you might well end up with a mess like this!

You might also end up with a parrot that has a passion for Estee’ Lauder!

The donkeys are back! After a long summer with no donkeys, the owner has finally let them back into the pasture behind our property. Jake, Bradley, and I love to feed the donkeys. I love to take pictures of the boys feeding the donkeys. Bradley is so tall, he can reach over the fence now. He will soon be 10. When I stand at the fence and yell, “Donkey!!!” the male runs over to the fence and yells right back at me. HIs bray is so funny it always makes us laugh.

"Bradley Feeding the Donkeys"

Our six year old Jake is a bit more adventuresome. He soon ran out of leaves to push through the fence, so he decided to do a little socializing with the donkeys.

"Mimi, can I touch his nose?"

"Ouch!!!"

But not to worry, no grandchildren were harmed in the making of these pictures.

Here’s wishing you a day filled with smiles and hugs and the time to enjoy the small wonders all around you!