Sammi J. Justice by Sigrid Wynne-Evans   If you like to dress up your pens with beads then Sammi has some terrific patterns for you! What a great gift for Christmas, Birthdays and any other special occasion! If there is a theme you would like, don't hesitate to ask Sammi to come up with a special pen design. If anyone can do it, it is Sammi!.

Sampling of Sammi's Designs:
Click on an image to view the pattern information.
 
              

Sammi was born in Flint, MI, in 1974 and grew up in Flushing (a town just outside of Flint). After graduating from High School in 1993 she attended the University of Michigan at Flint. Sammi graduated in 1997 with a BA in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication.

Sammi met her husband, Jason, at UM-Flint and married in 1996. After college, Sammi worked for EDS in customer assistance until her son (Travis) was born in 2000. In 2003, her daughter Caitlyn was born. Sammi says that Caitlyn is becoming a bead freak just like her mommy! Presently, Sammi is a stay at home mom.

Sammi started beading in 2003 when she helped a friend get ready for her first "big show". From there, Sammi helped her more and more in her beading business of craft shows and such. In 2005, Sammi started "Designs by Sammi Justice". Sammi is completely self-taught.

Sammi is especially proud of her "Ribbons Pen Cover" that is listed on Bead-Patterns.com & Sova-Enterprises.com. The pen cover was how I got started with designing for Bead-Patterns.com. She made that pen for a sister of a friend that survived breast cancer. Sammi told Rita about the pen cover. Rita said that she thought it would be a big hit. Sammi decided to list it for free, due to the "warm fuzzy" aspect of the piece. The first day it was listed, it was downloaded 50 times. Sammi couldn't believe the popularity of her design! That was in October of 2004. That first month it was downloaded almost 1,000 times. Since then it is downloaded on average of 150+ times each month. Dave and Rita used this piece at the Tucson Bead Show this year as a handout to get people to come to Bead-Patterns.com. It will also be featured in a beading calendar for 2007.

Sammi says that her ideas for beading usually "just kind of "pops" into my head. . . usually after quite a dry spell! LOL I'm not nearly the designing machine that some designers are. I so seem to have a thing for pen covers. I think because my first peyote piece was a pen cover. They work up quick and the draw a lot of attention."

Sammi likes working in her faith in Christ into her pieces. Not all, but many have a "spiritual" side to them to some extent.

Sampling of Sammi's Designs:
Click on an image to view the pattern information.
 
          

Sammi works in a spare room in her home. It used to be her husbands office until he didn't need it anymore. The L-shaped desk now holds the computer on one side and her beads on the other. Sammi recently discovered "Bead Tool" and finds it to be very helpful. Before that she was filling in circles in Paint Shop Pro.

Sammi says "I had no idea that I would be doing what I'm doing now. . .being featured in calendars and getting mail from customers who like my designs. I'm anxious to see how God uses me in the coming years. To see who I will meet, and what doors are opened as my kids get older and I have more time to devote to beading!"

When asked "What have been your biggest personal (not necessarily bead related) challenges, and accomplishments?" Sammi responded:
"My parents were older. . . my dad was 72 when I was born and my mom was 39! Because of that, I grew up really fast with lots of worries that most kids don't have. My parents were often times sick. My dad died when I was 16. My mom when I was 25. God used those trials to make me who I am today. I give Him all of the credit for whatever I "accomplish" in Him.

Sammi's final words of encouragement:
"If you're a "newbie" . . . be patient! I had no idea of the learning curve when it came to beading! Just when I thought I had it figured out, I found out that there are 7 million different kinds of beads, threads, wires, tools, techniques, etc. . . and then the whole world of copy rights! oy vey! But, if you're persistent, you'll become fluent in the "Frog Stitch" and hopefully not have too many "flying beads" in your work area!"