Teaming with Walk to End Alzheimers

We're in the thick of it!   Yeah!

We're making Amethyst bracelets that will be sold at the Walk to End Alzheimer's events.  Kyla designed several bracelets, and the Alzheimer's Association Great Plains Chapter picked a design to be sold at their Walk to End Alzheimer's event.

Each bracelet will sell for $21.40 with 50% of the proceeds going to the Chapter.  We hope this spreads across the U.S. - a wonderful project for us and helping to fight Alzheimer's too!

Another really great event was Kyla's interview on NTV's the Good Life, Monday July 25th.  What a great piece; good information given on Community Action Partnership of Mid-Nebraska, the Walk to End Alzheimer's and what happening with this project.  To see the interview go to

http://www.nebraska.tv/story/15141155/beads-in-a-box

And the blessings keep on coming!  About an hour or two after Kyla's interview we had a surprise visitor at our administration building.  Marilee, a new resident of Kearney, happened to watch the NTV interview and dropped by to see if she could volunteer to help make bracelets.  Her father has been affected by Alzheimer's and she felt this was a good project to contribute her time to - it would both help us in our mission and help in the fight of Alzheimer's disease.

On the home front, we are gearing up for the fall/winter season.  We have several conferences scheduled that we will attend as vendors.  This allows us to raise money and to share our mission statement and raise awareness of Community Action and all of what our programs achieve.

We will have our fall show, the Holiday Splendor Craft and Trade show on November 12th.  This will be an exciting time for us.  Our plan is to have a bead trunk show and 3 to 4 classes to teach beading.  We are actively looking for instructors to help make this a success.

This is all from the home front for now -

Stay tuned -

                         Janice

Great news for Beads in a Box and Something For Everyone Jewelry! Alexandra Dillon, Associate Director for the Alzheimer’s Association of the Great Plains Chapter contacted Beads in a Box about creating a signature bracelet for their Walk to End Alzheimer’s coming up in Grand Island and Kearney. Kyla was given the task to create some sample bracelets, business cards and figure out packaging. She was shown a previous bracelet with beads and a forget-me-not flower charm on it. Purple is the signature color for Alzheimer’s. Other than the color purple, Kyla was given free rein with the design and price range.
After some research she decided to design these sample bracelets with the gemstone, Amethyst. Amethyst is a stone of the mind; it brings calmness and clarity; it helps you to get in touch with your intuition, your feelings, your spirituality and your values and dreams. It’s a healing stone that brings peace and happiness – all of these qualities and effects are sought after by the person afflicted with Alzheimer’s.
Completing the review and selection process, the bracelet selected will be Amethyst chips on memory wire with a forget-me-not flower charm. Supplies are ordered and the process has begun. Stacy Glock, team leader from Grand Island, already stopped by and picked up 20 bracelets last week and excitedly shared she has many more sold. These bracelets will be sold for $21.40 with tax included.
The first Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Nebraska will be in Grand Island on August 4th. At this walk, it is requested to have 100 bracelets available to sell. If our volunteers are unable to complete enough in time, the personnel will take orders. Beads in a Box will also be providing a signature, one-of-a-kind gemstone set to be raffled off at this event, too.
The second Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Nebraska will be in Kearney on September 8th. We are shooting for the same numbers to be completed and will also provide a raffle piece.
We are excited to see how these bracelets go over. If they are successful, plans are underway to offer them in other states besides Nebraska! Now the task at hand is to rally the volunteers and have a beading party in honor of the Alzheimer’s Association. If you’d like to join us for our stringing party, give us a call at 308-440-0153!

Toodles for now!
                            Kyla

April Showers & A New Concept

As I think about growing up and hearing that April showers bring the May flowers, I remember waiting for the flowers to bloom.  It meant I could be outside longer in the evenings, go without a coat, and play with the kids in the neighborhood.  Now, I am looking out on the "April rain" and overcast skies wishing for sunshine to brighten our day and lift our spirits.  

"Hooked on Words"

When we need to remain inside we think and dream about so many things.  What I seem to do is dream about creating jewelry that is unique and women want to wear.  So, my pondering lead us to what we are calling "bazangles."  Bazangles is our name for our new line of hand-created jewelry. 

"Old Ivory" Pin

Of course if it is creative I wonder how to make it into jewelry.  Thus, the idea to create limited additions and one-of-a-kind small pieces of wearable art.  As you may know Beads in a Box and SFE Jewelry are discretionary programs for Community Action Partnership of Mid-Nebraska.  A non-profit community based agency helping people and changing lives.  Check us out at http://www.communityactionmidne.com/  

Most of what we have created thus far is OOAK pins.  Kyla, Megan (my granddaughter), Karen (my SIL) and myself have enjoyed designing.  We continue to develop our individual styles as we practice and learn.  We plan to share with small businesses, museum gift and specialty stores to see if they be interested in our new jewelry concept.   

We will share more as we move along.  Thank you for your support and interest.

Until later ~

       Karen

Treasures and Time

We have organized & found places for our new "treasures"  from the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show -- I call it treasure because that's what it feels like when you look at the piles of wonderful stones we now have to create with. Remember when you were a little girl sneaking a peak in your mom's jewelry box - it feels like that, full of wonder and possibilities.

Now, trying to find the time to sit and create with this "treasure" while keeping up with your normal work schedule and personal life is a challenge.  Thank goodness we have a wonderful volunteer, Deb - what a blessing. 

She joined us several weeks ago and, in addition to enjoying the creative process of making jewelry, she is very excited about our mission.  We are doubly blessed in that she has a very good eye for color & proportions and has created some very lovely pieces for us.

We will attend the Equine Expo in the Lancaster Event Center in Lincoln, NE this next weekend, the 11th, 12th & 13th of March.  We have been stockpiling horse-themed jewelry and plan on having a great 3 days.  This will be a new event for us and we hope to make it an annual one.

In addition to a few other events, our Signs of Spring Craft Show is on April 2nd.  We will be the first craft show to christen the building and we plan on this being a huge event for us.  It's hard to contain our excitement!

We have so many new and exciting projects coming up this year - it's more than I can express to be associated with this group of passionate, creative women!

Keep tuned -

      Janice

And Here We Stay

We spent Friday night packing up the goods, organizing the car and picking up the house. Out the door at 6:00 a.m. My flight didn't leave until 1:00 P.M. which meant I was going to have to sit in the airport for five hours so Karen insisted that I ride home with her and Janice. We were also concerned about the weather in Denver.  I was able to see territory that astounded me. The desert can be quite beautiful even in the dead of winter. It was disturbing to me to see so many mountains with no snow on them; THAT changed in Trinidad. Heading east on Interstate 10 to Deming, NM. Then north to Truth or Consequences, Socorro and  Albuquerque. I never really thought about it before but it is all mountains. I thought we'd never get out of them and at the time of this posting, we still haven't. The last hour and half we fought snow as we made the trek to Raton Pass to make camp in Trinidad, CO.

Our hotel personnel let us know they were expecting three inches of snow during the night. We made plans to meet for breakfast at 7:00 a.m. and then take off. Karen and I packed all our goods and headed out. We were stopped dead in our tracks with the overwelming realization that we were in a full out blizzard. At least a foot of snow was on the ground and visability was pretty much nil. Travelers came to a halt and so did we.

Karen, our hero, geared up and trekked out to the car to get our beads. Might as well make lemonade out of the lemons we were dealt. We made camp in the motel restaurant pulling a table up to a booth and spread out the beads. We stayed there for eight hours beading and creating new pieces for Beads in a Box. It was fun showing all the curious snowbound travelers what we were doing. They were quite interested in our story. I adopted a little friend right off the bat. Ten year-old, Asia, daughter of the owners, was quite taken with the beads and ended up joining us for the whole day. I was missing my daughters and got my daughter fix by teaching her how to string. She had been snowed in all week and missed school. Boredom had taken over and the chance to do something different really excited her.

I guess tonight was the Super Bowl. Silly me, could have cared less. I finished my book and took the time to blog. Our new plan is to try again in the morning. If we don't get out in the morning, another front is coming in on Tuesday and the next chance for us to return will be on Wednesday. Can't do it folks. Need my family!

One thing for sure that we'll all agree on is the excellent service we've received from the Quality Inn here in Trinidad, CO.  Harry, Nemi and their kids Asia and Rog run a great  family-owned business with loyal, hardworking staff. Gary (a.k.a. The Hero) was the desk clerk when we arrived on Friday night, worked until 1:00 a.m. and was back at it early this morning. Greeting all the snowed in travelers, running the front desk and serving the guests in the restaurant, he was tireless. Then to top it off when he finally did get to go home, he made a special trip to the pharmacy across town to pick up my much needed meds and delivered them back to me. Kindness comes in all kinds of packages and it reaffirms that there still are great people out there in this crazy world. We greatly appreciate the hospitality given to us and hope you will stop here if you get a chance.

Tootles for now, Kyla

Defenseless against beautiful beads

Defenseless, sensory overload, pure bliss are just a few words to explain attending the Tucson Bead and Gem Show.  To begin to explain one might say that it is a world of its own. Picture the largest tent you've ever seen filled with vendors. Each vendor has around 20 8-ft conference tables heaping with strands of stones, pearls, crystals, lamp work beads, silver beads, findings and so much more.  Beads hanging from displays, equipment, anything you can imagine in the Bead and Gem Show world.

Now picture over twenty tents or more like this and large various hotels hosting this type of show throughout this large city.  Reading a small telephone book of advertisements to try and figure out what shows to actually go to is another challenge we face. Over the several years we've been doing this together, we've found our favorite shows and vendors to patronize.

You see hobbyists learning as they go, to experts buying in huge quantities. I think we'd fall somewhere in the middle. It feels good to be able to tell a fellow buyer the name of the stone they are fawning over when the vendor is clueless. Although in this world, I've found that there are many names for the same stone depending where it was mined, exported and the experience of the seller. Basically, we go by our gut feeling- if we love it, maybe our customers will too. The biggest barrier to get over in the gemstone world is to get beyond what we personally like.Think outside our box to buy what other people might like even though we may not.

Karen and I have developed a shopping system which sometimes can be quite comical. I'm systematic and she's all over the place. I don't want to miss a thing and go from booth to booth in a pattern careful not to miss a thing. Of course, that's not possible with the bazillions out there to see. Karen could easily jig jag around and be totally happy. If she spots something we might interest us, she hollers and I come a runnin'. It's my job to do quality-control. I feel the beads and check for any bad beads in the strand. This is also a true test of our stamina. We spend countless hours on our feet pulling our wheeled-suitcase filled with the goods, water, and snacks. Our hands get awfully dirty because, of course, one must touch all that is pretty! We take turns taking our "haul" out to the car to lessen our load. This year the weather deterred us from eating outside in the food court. Freezing winds drove us to sit in the car and eat our lunch, rejuvenate and hit the bricks again until we couldn't stand any more.

It took us three days to complete one show in this fashion but DID WE FIND THE TREASURES!!! Red Creek Jasper and dyed agates were the big thing this year. We are excited to show our customers our big-holed beads. We will create Community Action's version of the Pandora bracelet and the price will reflect it . We found some exceptional chains in many designs. Gun metal is new in the metals this year. It's been making a small appearance in the  past but this year made its grand debut. Sterling silver has become outrageous high priced and even the largest businesses are looking for ways to substitute its use.

A couple of nights we had enough energy to eat out, other nights we'd drag our sorry backsides back to the house with take out. Our evenings were spent sorting and putting our goods in containers so they would be easier to bring home in Karen's car. Janice was made several "Matchables" which we'll need for the upcoming Horse Expo in March.  Friday was set aside as our creating day.

After we returned from a hard days work Thursday night, Janice discovered that we didn't have water in the house. The frigid cold temps were very noticeable and frozen pipes were topics of discussion during the day but it never occurred to us that it might happen in the home of which we were staying. Karen took to the phones calling for help.  With the panic of not being able to "flush," Karen and I took off  for the closest grocery store to get water. While we were tracking down water, Janice received a call from the neighbor on the west. Apparently he noticed water gushing from the side of the house and came over to shut it off. We had broken pipes. The 23 degree temps are a stranger to Tucson and the town seemed to be in a small panic. The broken water pipes were wide-spread and the plumbers along with the city employees were working around the clock. Hundreds and hundreds of people without water soon sold out the water in the area stores. We were lucky to get what we did. Although the gallons were out we were able to make it thru the night pretending like we were "camping." (I'm forbidden to go into the gory details, but being a plumber's daughter did come in handy.) We spent the day creating to keep our minds off the bathroom and finally the plumber arrived at noon. His vehicle wouldn't start in this temp and he needed another battery. He needed more pipe wrap but the whole city was sold out, so he improvised by using cardboard and a bathroom towel.  It worked we had water Saturday morning after temps in the low 20's.

Time to call it a night, get out the snore spray and dream about beads.

Tootles for now,
                               Kyla

Happy to be in Tucson

After an uneventful flight to Tucson on Sunday morning, I was tickled to see Janice and Karen drive up at the airport. It was unusual that everything went on time. Their two-day drive went well.  Being the optimist that I am, I left my winter coat in the car in the airport parking lot in Nebraska as I dreamed of the sunny warmth of Tucson. Trips past, I'd always overdressed. This year I made sure to bring capris and sandles. Boy, have I been surprised with the weather with the highest temps in the 40s.

We are enjoying our adobe home in the foothills of the mountains in eastern Tucson. Finding the right home was an event worth reiterating.  "Margaret" as we call our navigation system took us to the wrong house in the dark, no less. Janice and Karen just got done investigating the back area in the driveway but it didn't seem right.  Karen told me that there was a very big doggie door in the back.  Sure that we found the correct house, Karen told me to grow a pair and  decided to sacrifice the young tender one; she sent me to the front door of the "correct house." So I carefully walked up the front step, unhinged the first iron gate to proceed four more feet. The front door was all barred as I noticed signs that made the hair on my arms stand up.  Dobbermans-Can you clear the fence in three seconds? We can! Cripes, I'm not going any further. I'll sleep outside in the locked car tonight, thank you!


After many minutes of frustration, Janice and I partnered as we walked up the steps of the neighbors' house to ask for directions. They were so nice and kindly told us that the house we were looking for was behind them. We were trying to get into someone else's house with Dobberman's no less!!! It's a wonder the police didn't come.


The magnificent view out to the north included the beautiful mountains. Monday morning Karen told me to listen to the morning doves cooing. I told her that my Grampa Tommy taught me to call them rain doves. When they cooed, it meant rain was on the way.  Within two minutes of our conversation, it started raining. "Your grampa was a smart man," Karen said.

It rained on and off all day during our first shopping excursion. We made it to Cherry Tree Beads at the Double Tree to see Bill and Adriana. They took great care of us escorting us around their booth showing us what was new for this year. It's always exciting to be recognized year after year being so far away from home. We will be working with them this summer to have our first bead trunk show at our Christmas in July Expo.


While I was salivating over the metals at You and Me Findings, Karen went to visit our friends at Guatemala Creations. Robert and Bobbi Lee spend nine months a year living in Guatemala running their exporting/wholesaling/retailing business. They employee women there at a livable wage to create beautiful beaded fashions. They are very insistant on fairness in this trade which makes adding their products to our mission even more heartwarming. Make sure to check out these masterpieces next time you shop with us.


Tootles for now, Kyla

New Ideas, Opportunities, and Challenges

Rough cut Citrine

As we begin 2011, Kyla, Janice, and I continue to discuss what path or direction do we need to move?  We decide that we needed to have different voices and views to help clarify what we do next.  It will require us to find 3 - 5 women who have the time and energy to listen to our story, hear about our dreams, and provide their thoughts and ideas to help take Beads in a Box, SFE Jewelry, and Untapped Potential to the next level.  It is exciting to dream, plan for and implement new concepts.  The difficulty is in the lack of people to take on a part of the dream and make it a reality.

Linda, our special volunteer, followed her heart and is in California with her guy, Gene.  We miss her and all she did for us.  We want to thank her for her hard work, dedication, and desire to help us reach our goals.  Volunteers are vital to the work we do in Community Action and we have many opportunities for people to become involved in the work we do!

 Kyla, Janice, and I will have time to visit, dream, and plan next steps as we make our annual buying trip to Tucson.  We will have a week to hunt for new stones, new cuts, and findings to create one of a kind jewelry for Beads in a Box.  We will be on the hunt for new styles in hand picked jewelry for our SFE Jewelry line.  We will also spend time discussing the business; we find that this time with little interruptions is a gift that helps us to focus on beads!  When we are in the office or a show there is a constant flow of people, problems, and changes that dictate what we do.  It expands what Kyla calls my "popcorn" approach" which is I  jump from one topic to another without warning.  Kyla has become a master at "jumping with me."  *smile* 

Semi Rough Amethyst

What I know each day is I am blessed to have many people that care about the work we do at the agency and what we are doing with Beads in a Box.  It is humbling to see the deep commitment and desire to make our vision and mission a reality.  I know that the opportunities are endless, the challenges bring new ideas, and the future is what we make of it.  I often share the following:  "whether you think you can or you think you can't ~ either way you are right."  I try to live my life by thinking I can, I know with the help of those who share our vision, our dream, we can continue to build Beads in a Box.  'til later, Karen

Off to Miami & Other Thoughts

Kyla and I will be leaving Sunday for the National Community Action Partnership Winter Conference in Miami.  I will have committee and board meetings to attend as well as the conference.  Kyla will set up tables with our jewelry.  We have enjoyed support from our Community Action family, who stop by to check our jewelry and find a few things for themselves, family, and friends.  We appreciate the support of our network as we continue to build our jewelry business. 

2010 was a good year for Beads in a Box and SFE Jewelry.  We increased our sales, traveled to more conventions and conferences, and met so many people to tell our story.  We were able to hire two staff to help with our jewelry business.  Janice remains with us and has created two incredible websites; www.beadsinbox.com and www.sfejewelry.com  We hope that our websites will grow with increased sales this year; while we continue to discuss ways to promote and expand.

One of the decisions this year came and went within a few months.  We decided to purchase handbags to add to our product line.  It gave us another venue to expand our business.  After a few months we realized that we did not have the space to display or store a large variety of handbags; so we decided to no longer carry an inventory.  We may consider purchasing small number of handbags for special events in the future.

2011 is filled with opportunities and challenges.  We leave for the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show in late January to discover new stones and shapes to create one-of-a-kind heirloom quality pieces for Beads in a Box.  We will also check out new vendors for our Something for Everyone (sfejewelry) jewelry.  We plan to establish an advisory group to provide guidance, support, and opportunities for our jewelry.

We want to thank all those who seek out and wear our jewelry.  Your purchases help us move forward in our plans to expand to include a wholesale business that will train and hire single heads of households working two or more jobs to support their families.  We are looking forward to developing our Untapped Potential line of jewelry; that will be sold to gift stores, museums, and small businesses.

As we continue our journey we hope that you continue to support us through your purchases of our jewelry, your promotion to others, and your suggestions for new venues to showcase our jewelry.

Wishing you all a Happy 2011,
             For Now,
                           Karen