I am sure you have heard similar stories from other teachers/designers before, so you probably won't be surprised to hear I am having problems with obtaining supplies for Tropical Jazz. It is a design that has been around for almost 5 years and is still requested a lot, but I am now having trouble getting the original embellishments. The stitching threads are all still available, but not the trims and some of the beads. Among other things the design started with a flat braid with attached sequins and it was available in several different colors. When they were discontinued I bought up any supplies I could find, but now..... all gone. Here are several threads and a trim I have found to use instead. Painter's Thread Ric Rac Can you see where they will be used? The Ric Rac can be couched down in place of the sequined braid. The Silk Boucle can be used instead of the Rayon 3-ply thread that as been ruched. And, the Metallic Braid can be couched as is, or stranded, as you can see below and used added to other threads.
Painter's Thread metallic braid Stef Francis silk boucle
Now the final item that is no longer available, that I am able to determine, are the resin beads used in two areas in the original design. I am now preparing for two February workshops that will use up final supply of these resin beads. So after these are finished, I will no longer be offering complete thread kits. Beginning March 1st, marked canvases, instruction books, and the basic thread kits will be available here......just no beads or embellishment kits. If I have any embellishment kits remaining after these last two workshops I will post them on the Tropical Jazz page here.
It is interesting when one looks at the evolution of a design and it does seem that 5 years is about the average for availability of materials if anything other than our group of "core" threads is used. Of course, other new things come along.....as is evidenced by the new threads shown above, so we must learn to be flexible and just think of designs as "Revisited".