BLOG: Courting My Beading Muse - TONI MCCARTHY DESIGNS

TONI MCCARTHY DESIGNS

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Meet ANNIE, my muse. I photographed her on a sunny February day on our deck just up from the woods. She's sporting a tank, a my husband's tooled leather belt , a big silver buckle that my dad used to wear, and lots of new "cowgirl"-style jewelry. She's looks pretty good, right?

It all started with my "need" for a figure like hers to be the stage for the new western-themed jewelry I had in my head. Once she arrived, Annie seemed the right name (just enough sass), but she needed some clothing. Well, lo and behold, I found the perfect garment on Junk Gypsies website: "Well-Behaved Women Rarely Make History"--one of my favorite sayings.

Well, ever since I partnered up with Annie, my full-size (although headless and legless) jewelry model, I have found a wealth of jewelry ideas that just keep coming.

This is one of my FIRST BLOG POSTS from 2013. Several of my original posts are available below. Enjoy them. Things have changed, and I will add and update things soon.

Courting My Beading Muse

I think about beads, metals, and jewelry a lot.
Maybe not constantly, but almost.
So when my muse is with me, I must court her so she stays
and provides me with inspiration.

Destashing: The art of Finally Letting Go (first published 2013)

2/10/2020

I first published this in 2013 (slightly adjusted for 2020) on my first CMBM blog on my Beads & Threads website:
I love destashing. It gives me another chance to discover things I thought I'd lost, to reorganize, and to get ready to find new homes for those little babies I've been hoarding for way too long. I loved them in the beginning, but today my styles have changed just enough that I don't use the same beads and findings. But somebody can! And I have way too much stuff! (Is there such a thing where beads are concerned?)

I do most of my shopping on-line at favorite "stores." Thus I have accumulated some items that perhaps were not what I thought they would be. Have you ever bought way too many of the perfect bead and when it arrived it was NOT the chartreuse you thought, but lime green? In the destash basket. How about those clasps that are way cheaper when you buy a dozen, but you only ever used eight? The orange daggers that "came in" sets of five strands, but you only need three? In the destash basket. Or the chrome seed beads that are perfect for spacers, but you had no idea how much a quarter kilo amounted to? In the destash basket.

I do several DeStash Events throughout the year, so I periodically update my DS baskets and trays. Up through 2019, I attended the Portland Bead Society Beach Retreat in Cannon Beach OR. I'd get ready for days for the bead retreat where 75 women gathered to bead, take classes, learn from each other by watching and informal chats, and eat. Lots of the latter. But many of us brought things to "liquidate", shall I say, so if we sold something we often bring home other people's treasures too.

The energy is AMAZING for that weekend. I'd always take bead projects and spread out my tools, beads, findings, and light, but I'd get so distracted. I'd make a few things but I found myself wandering around the room several times per day to see what was being designed, invented, tweaked, auditioned, mulled over. Mostly the latter. And see what other people are liquidating. . . I wouldn't want my stash to get too small, after all.

Kim Baird

3/10/2020 06:34:00 pm

Soooo missed you and your destash this year at the PBS retreat. When I’m going through my stash, I say to myself, “Oh there’s a Toni find, there’s another find. OMG. I need to incorporate that glass skull into my next piece.

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About Me . . .
I am a beader, a designer, and a maker. And . . .
I love it. . . all parts of it: planning projects; buying beads and metal; accumulating tools; reading everything; organizing my studio; auditioning designs; researching other artists; collaborating in creative groups; working on my website and social media; and hopefully inspiring myself to continue courting my beading muse.

I have been designing and making handmade jewelry since about 1995, and always my focus has been on What Women Buy for Themselves (although I have LOTS of customers who are men too!)

My two "styles" are BOHO (mainly glass/gemstone beads in chunky designs) and MOJO (metal, chains, clays, and more in neutral designs). However, my styles have evolved throughout the years.

All pieces are designed and made by me in my studio here in Camas, Washington.
Czech glass in bold colors is one of my main "fabrics." In addition, metals play a huge part in my designs. Copper, brass, silver, gemstones, pearls, vintage glass, handmade lamp work beads, and wirework are mixed with metals, gemstones, pearls and found objects in one-of-a-kind designs.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some or all of the links in my blog posts are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission and we are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. As always, our heart is to encourage you to use what you already have and, when we suggest products, we only share supplies that we use and endorse.

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