Chicaboo Blog

Pewter is a malleable metal alloy, traditionally between 85 and 99 percent tin, with the remainder commonly consisting of copper, antimony and sometimes lead. Rest assured that the pewter beads and charms that we use at Chicaboo Designs do not contain lead. We are always on the lookout for new and different charms and beads to add to our selection of pewter, which we feature on our 4mm seed bead necklaces and our charm cluster necklaces. In addition to being much more affordable than sterling silver, pewter is very resistant to tarnish.

Pewter is also used in decorative objects, namely collectible statuettes and figurines, replica coins, pendants, etc. Certain athletic contests, such as the United States figure skating championships, award pewter medals to the fourth place finishers.

The word "pewter" may be a variation of the word spelter, a non-scientific name for zinc. Pewter was first used around the beginning of the Bronze Age in the Near East. The earliest piece of pewter found is from an Egyptian tomb from 1450 BC.

 

  July 11, 2009

Weatherford hosts the 2009 Annual Peach Festival on Saturday, July 11th. This year's festival features more than 200 arts and crafts vendors.  Come to the Peach Festival in Weatherford's historic downtown, from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.  You will find a children's area, a food court, non-stop entertainment, and of course sweet, juicy Parker County Peaches.  Beat the heat with Peachy treats of all kinds - Peach ice cream, Peach juleps, Peach smoothies, Peach cobbler, Peach jams, and just plain ol' Peaches to bite and let the juice run down your chin.  Admission is $5 for adults and FREE for children 12 and under.  There will be free parking from the Ninth Grade Center (1007 S. Main St.) Exit 408, Weatherford College (225 College Park Dr) Exit 409, and the First Monday Grounds (100 Block Santa Fe) Exit 409.  Free Shuttle services are available from these sites as well.  Free handicap parking and handicap shuttle from Weatherford Ninth Grade Center.  The Peach Pedal Bike Ride is on July 14th (visit www.peachpedal.com ).

Call the Weatherford Chamber of Commerce for more Peach Festival information:  Toll Free 1-888-594-3801.

  Saturday, July 4 and Sunday, July 5

Each year the Granbury Chamber of Commerce designs and manages this festival that brings over 50,000 people to Granbury and Hood County to celebrate our nation's independence!

The following activities are associated with this Celebration:

• Art & Craft Booths - Historic Downtown Square
• Delicious Food - Historic Downtown Square
• Hometown Parade - Downtown Granbury; Parade starts at Granbury High School at 10 a.m. and heads east on Pearl Street, around the square and west on Bridge Street to completion.
• Tom Ward Memorial Decorated Bike Contest
• Live Entertainment - Granbury Square Plaza
• Rockin' Rods Car Show - Home Depot Parking Lot (Hwy. 377 Bypass)
• Old-Fashioned Games - Shanley Park
• "Bulls and Broncs" Rodeo - Reunion Grounds
• Talley Amusements Carnival Rides
• FIREWORKS over Lake Granbury - one of the Top 5 Best Fireworks Shows in the State of Texas!

For more information, visit http://www.granburychamber.com/4th_of_july.htm.

"Millefiori," Italian for "a thousand flowers," is a glass-making technique dating back to the 15th century.  The millefiori technique of glass bead making was developed in Milano, Italy, but it was not used in the United States until the 1850s.

One traditional millefiori glass bead making method involves the heating and layering of murrine glass rods or canes. There are two basic techniques used to make these beads. One is with the use of a mold with a preset pattern. The heated or molten glass is put on an iron rod called a pontil, then the heated glass is dipped into the mold. The glass is cooled and the process is repeated over and over again, until the design is completed.

In the next step, the canes or rods are reheated and an iron rod is attached to each end this time, instead of just one end. While the glass is still hot, the glass has to be stretched and pulled; it takes two people to do this step, one on either end of the glass, each holding a iron rod.  The more bundles there are, the more intricate the design in the millefiori beads.

Another method for making millefiori beads is to gather a group glass rods of different colors which are then fastened together by a mold or wires, and then the rods are melted together to form one rod and the process is repeated until the desired design is achieved. Then the second step of stretching the heated glass is used.

After one of the two above millefiori bead techniques is completed, the canes are sliced and the beautiful design that has been created in the bead is revealed in the cross-section cut.

A very similar technique is also used today with polymer clays, rolling and combining polymer clay canes or rods instead of glass. 

While trying to dig water wells in 1951, settlers discovered an underground rock wall  Because of its man-made appearance, there has been much discussion about how the wall came into existence.  In 1854, the great town of Rockwall was founded.  In 2004, they celebrated their Sesquicentennial with a Founders Day Festival and the party has never stopped.  The city now hosts an annual Founders Day Festival every Spring.  2009 will be the 5^th year featuring an arts and crafts show, all day entertainment and an evening concert.  The focus of the celebration always has and continues to be a celebration to display and illustrate the growth and changes that have occurred in Rockwall since 1854.

Directions to Festival:  Take I-30 to Ridge Road in Rockwall.  Go north on SH205 (Goliad) until you reach the Rockwall town square.

We hope to see you there!

Nothing is more fun for us than the opportunity to display racks and racks of our products at local craft shows where we inevitably receive a steady stream of compliments and positive feedback on our pieces.  We can proudly state that we were accepted into every great craft show that we applied to in 2008, and in 2009 our craft show schedule will be busier than ever. 

Chicaboodesigns.com is a work in progress!  One of the biggest challenges we face in building this website is taking high quality photographs of our many lines of products.  We go to great pains to take photos that do justice to our designs, but unfortunately, it's never quite the same as seeing the pieces in person.  In addition to the products currently listed on chicaboodesigns.com, we have several other lines of bracelets, necklaces and earrings waiting to be photographed.  We hope to have a much more fully populated website by Fall of 2009.  Please be patient, and please check our website often for new listings!

We have a huge inventory of glass, crystal, wood, pewter, silver, and shell beads and pendants to select from in creating our designs, in addition to a wide array of cords, clasps, and other jewelry findings.  The possibilities are literally endless!

Our supplies come from the best wholesale sources we can find so that we can pass the unbeatable combination of quality and savings on to our customers.  We constantly hear from our customers that our products are unbelievably affordable.  One customer at a recent craft show actually asked, "Does that price include the pendant?"  Absolutely!  Our products are so affordable that little girls open their own little purses and treat themselves to a new necklace, bracelet or earrings.  And mothers love to buy multiples of our products so they have adorable, yet inexpensive gifts for relatives or their daughters' friends.

All of our products are handmade with integrity and careful attention to detail.  We stand behind all of our products and would welcome a return in the unlikely event that a product is defective in any way.

We love making children's jewelry, and we think it shows.  To our knowledge, no other independent jewelry maker has as many lines of products as Chicaboo Designs, with styles appropriate for little girls, tweens, teens and young adults.  Thank you for shopping with Chicaboo Designs!

Hello,

Thank you for visiting the Chicaboo Designs Blog, we hope that you enjoy your stay and contribute to our posts with insightful comments on jewelry, our shows, and much more. 

Best,

The Chicaboo Design Crew