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Foxy Squirrel
bead & boutique
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Foxy Squirrel is OPEN!
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(*Sunday: Away to Retreat*)
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Hullo, lovely Beaders and Makers,
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Were you able to make it to the Omaha Bead Affair this past weekend? I got to stop very briefly before the shop opened Sunday. The sun was shining and it was almost as lovely as the creations at the Omaha Beady Bunch booth! I was only able to peek at one "leg" of booths but what I saw **sparkled** and what I bought ✨shines.✨
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Since I got back from TX and MN last month, I feel like we have been preparing for royal guests to arrive with all the help there has been with pricing and packaging and painting and decorating and kitting and cleaning and stocking and restocking and even cooking! And, since we are talking about you, my most beloved Beader and Maker, I guess we were! From where I was looking, it was a marvelous experience. We had new students in our second ?annual? Omaha Bead Affair After Party. So much making and so much FUN!!!
I turned 50 last week and I have always loved my birth day and, with a proper mind set, this one was no exception. In fact, it may have even been my most favorite yet. Obviously, everyday I am the oldest I have ever been and the youngest I will ever be again. Since finding Beads & Beading & our Beading Community just a few short years ago, I have never felt more like a "kid" in this entire life. Do you identify with this? The vibes & feedback of Bead Shoppers tell me you just might.💗
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In the pursuit of nourishing this inner kid, Foxy Squirrel will not be open this Sunday so I may partake in the fun that is the Omaha Beady Bunch Beads In Bloom Getaway featuring internationally-renowned Bead Artist, Cheryl Erickson. Love her! And her designs! I understand that this will be the 4th time in a month or so that I have adjusted the shop hours. I interpret this as an indicator that I need to search for a hardworking Bead & Beading Community lover to keep the shop up and running when I am unavailable. Noted. Processing. I will keep you posted. When pondering the Bead Store venture, I jokingly asked my FIL if he would run the register for me so I could continue working at Baker's, he ended up developing and maintaining an entire marketing and POS, aka IT Department for the Shop! If I asked him again about running the register for real, I wonder what he would say? 🤔🥰
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I mentioned kitting earlier. Kits are now available at Foxy Squirrel for your Beads In Bloom Getaway retreat. When you bring your supply list from your registration for the retreat to Foxy Squirrel, receive a special 15% off your supplies, including your kit!
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So many new beads are available now in the Bead Shop including NEW 2-hole Daggers, Tiles, Bars, Lentils, and Super, Mini, Gem, & DiamonDuos. This week's Newsletter Subscriber special is 10% off 2-hole Beads! Just mention the special to me at checkout.
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Thank you SO MUCH for reading — and for BEADING!
xo,
Diana
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📆APRIL Beady Events
🍬SERIES: Oh, What A Charming Year 2026
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CLASS 4: Wire-Wrapped Spiral
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Try your hand at wire working! Use wire-working tools to create an adorable, personalized charm with wire you embellish! This is a great opportunity for beginning Beaders or aspiring Wire-Wrappers to meet other enthusiastic makers and to learn something new in a supportive and relaxed space. No previous experience in any of the previous Charm Classes required. Learn something new every time!
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WEDNESDAY APRIL 22• 6 TO 9PM
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Instructor: Rhonda Berman
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*Remember to bring your supplies list & registration for 10% off all regular price, in-stock, non-consignment merchandise the day of your event.
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o 20-gauge wire, in color of choice
o 26-gauge wire, in color of choice
o Other 2mm embellishments
o (1) 10mm Lobster clasp
o Standard tool kit, i.e. assorted pliers and cutters.
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🤝OMAHA BEADY BUNCH MONTHLY MEETING
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THURSDAY APRIL 23• 6:30pm at Foxy Squirrel
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FRIDAY APRIL 24 TO SUNDAY APRIL 26
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3-day retreat featuring 4 Exclusive CLASSES taught by Fabulous Beading Designer Cheryl Erickson. **NOTE**: Details and registration here: Beads In Bloom Getaway
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Instructor: Cheryl Erickson
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Retreat-goers will receive a special event discount when they bring their class list to Foxy Squirrel to purchase items for the retreat. Remember to bring your supplies list & registration for 15% off all regular price, in-stock, non-consignment merchandise on your RETREAT Class Supplies List.
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Retreat Registration Includes:
--2 nights of accommodations at Bloom Haven in Syracuse, NE
--5 meals: Friday evening dinner, continental breakfast & lunch on Saturday and Sunday
--Two beading classes of your choice (see class flyer for detailed descriptions)
--Early check‑in at 10:00 AM Friday, April 24th | Check‑out at 3:00 PM Sunday, April 26th
--A dedicated personal workspace, featuring a 6-foot work table, OttLite table lamp, electrical wall strips with USB ports, a comfortable rolling chair, & drink/garbage holder
--Use of a wagon for hauling supplies in and out
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**TEMPORARY HOURS CHANGE**: Foxy Squirrel WILL BE AWAY Sunday, April 26 to partake in the Beads In Bloom Getaway
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THURSDAY APRIL 30 • 1PM until past close until 9PM or so
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$5 saves your spot and can be used towards purchases the evening of the event. Save your spot(s) HERE
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After dinner with my parents last night, they inspired me in all kinds of ways. One of which was gathering nuts of helpful tidbits from all of you and giving credit where due.
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What helpful hints would you like to share? Share with the shop and if I share your hint in a Newsletter, I will share something else with you...First & foremost: Recognition & Praise! Second: Your choice of item from the Button & Charm Bar. Cool? Cool! Sharing is so very good for all of us. (A little more Kindergarten wisdom for us)🦊🐿️🥰
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Also, after dinner with my 'rents, we talked about how time picking up Beads is time spent not Beading. LAME. Then, with my belly full of Luigi's in Bellevue & my heart just full of my parents, in general, I was excited to get home to work on this Newsletter and to move my Beads back into my teensy-bit-cleaner Bead Room. I went home, put my bags in my newly, but-only-slightly-cleanish Bead Room, went to get my Beads from the bedroom, and dumped them. Twice. There were tears, (it was late and I was tired, again, not unlike a kid!) but there was also an opportunity to try what a customer suggested: Using pantyhose on the vacuum hose to trap and reclaim your spilled Beads. Hmm. I don't own any pantyhose (thank you, Goodness) but my daughter had some tights she let me borrow. So, I tried it! (Again, twice.) I should have taken a picture of that little bag of Minky Fuzz (which will likely never go all the way away) and Beads that resulted from the first attempt. It felt hilarious! soft, bumpy, squishy, dimply. I made my daughter feel it, too. She giggled, too. The Minky fuzz was easily blown away and the Beads salvaged! Who knows how I ended up dumping the Beads the second time. But the resulting black tights bag of salvaged beads was my reward. So Foxy Beader Tip #1: DIY vacuum filter with pantyhose! (If you're reading this, marvelous and brilliant Beader who gave me this tip, IOU a trip to the Button & Charm Bar!)
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Here are Foxy Beader Tips #'s 2, 3: Use a Bead Mat so your Beads don't roll away and use a rimmed tray (think shoe box lid, cookie sheet, Bead Board, so many possiblities!) to keep your Beads corralled if they should accidentally get tipped.
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After emptying the salvaged Beads onto my Bead Board, I accidentally discovered Foxy Beader Tip #4: Bead Mats allow your Beads to escape from debris that gets mixed with them. I gently blew away fuzz and started to separate my beads so I could take the picture of the intended Foxy Beader Tip and noticed how effortlessly this separation of debris from Beads occurred specifically because of the wonderful surface of the Bead Mat!🦊
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Foxy Beader Tip #5: Use tape to clean junk off your Bead Mat. VERY GENTLY use the sticky side of any handy tape to VERY GENTLY lift debris from your Bead Mat. No need at all to press and risk making a gooey or sticky mat. I used packing tape, but was hoping to use painter's tape, (Meh. Tape is tape.) The result is a BEAUTIFULLY clean surface on which to take my intended picture of Beads + Needle.🐿️
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And now for my intended "Did you know"...I told my mom, who hasn't been Beading because of vision issues, that getting beads on a needle goes way faster if we skip looking for the hole. Instead, Foxy Beader Tip #6: Pile up your Beads on a Bead Mat to pick up Beads! (see also Foxy Beader Tips #2 & #3) With your Beads in a pile on your Bead Mat and holding your needle at somewhere between a 25 and 45 degree angle, gently stab (oxymoron?) or scoop your needle into the pile to either get your one Bead onto your needle or to load your needle with Beads! 💗
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