TGIF!

See Little Horse?

Sleeping soundly in these temps this morning?

That's because he was Weeping Pony last night.   All night long.  :(  We have had him for a month and a half and he is still not comfortable being inside the house at night.  Don't think he had ever been inside a house prior to coming home with us.  Such big changes to get used to.  If he wasn't a digger or thief, perhaps we could trust him to spend the night outside at night.  But not yet.

I'm told it takes rescue dogs a good 90 days to become fully comfortable and let their whole personality show.  So we're half way there.

And really?  No questions?  At all?  

Does that mean I'm just such a fabulous blogger I answer all your questions in every post I write?  

Or does it mean you don't give two flips about what I have to say and you just want to see pics of beads and Little Horse?  

I'm trying to tell myself it's the former and not the latter.

I should be on the torch tomorrow morning for a few hours.  Hoping to have as productive of a time as I did last weekend.  Although I think 87 beads is probably a record I won't be exceeding any time soon.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Big Hollows

These are big hollows that I have hoarded.  For months.  Some, maybe years. 

I just love their shapes.  And colors.

This is the largest one and can just barely be concealed in my palm if I make a fist.  I used ivory glass and a glass heavily laden with silver, which turned into gorgeous blues, greens, golds and lavenders.  LOVE!

This is a smaller, ivory hollow with lines of khaki reaching around the bead in arcs.  I love the outlines on each of the khaki lines.

This bead was on the front of our Southern Flames annual post card in 2008.  It was made on a quarter inch mandrel, so the hole is much larger than normal.  I used ASK-104 glass on this bead and adore these colors.  I have very minimal quantities left and hoard them most defensively.  If you come into my studio and look at them too long, I might have to give you a little nudge to move along.  Making custom beads with those colors gets mulled over for hours before I decide if I will make them.

And this is my favorite.  The color is this beautiful, metallic caramel.  Depending on the angle, there are great mother-of-pearl purples to be seen and the black wisps appear navy blue.  The background reminds me of Klimt's the Kiss.

On another note, while I'm thinking up new blog posts.....is there anything you would like to see?  

Do you have any questions for me to answer?  

Personally/emotionally/professionally/artistically?

Is there a step-by-step process for any of my beads that you're interested in seeing in pictures?

Or a video?  I could make a video.  Of what, I don't know.  But I could make one :)

Next week, I will take one post (or more, if you folks go nuts with questions) to answer everything.

Orphan Sets Coming Soon

LeAnn was nudging me this morning to pull together some orphan sets of beads for my shop.

I dug through my box of orphan beads and picked 70 beads to turn into seven sets.

I also pulled out some hollows and other focal beads that have sat in my box for I won't say how long.

I will say that I think I am now ready to part with these babies.

I think.

Here is a snap shot of what will be going into my Etsy shop after I finish cropping the pics I took and will try to get them all listed tonight.

A Metallo Bianco Giveaway!

Check out Cassandra's giveaway of her gorgeous Bliss necklace!  

All you have to do is go HERE and leave one comment about your favorite piece of jewelry.  She is choosing a random winner after the contest ends at midnight on Friday, February 26th.

New Beads and Random Thoughts

Here are all of the beads I made on Sunday when I was rockin and rollin at the torch.  Eighty five made it through the cleaning process.  I had to toss two of them when the dremel either cracked a hole or split one open as I groaned.  I hate bead casualties.  They make me think about the time/glass that was suddenly wasted while making them.  Lots of purple nuggets.  More raku eggs.  And some teal and purple cubes with raku swirls.

I buy larger containers of heavy whipping cream than is needed to make the cream sauce for pasta so I can later drink out of the carton.  My actions are totally premeditated.  And I'm okay with that.

Here are the Raspberry Chiffon beads named by Pearl & Pebble in my November naming contest.  I finally got them listed here in my Etsy shop.  Finally.  At least I got the prize of free beads shipped out promptled to Ms Pearl & Pebble.

Dylan likes to sleep under the cypress trees in the backyard.  I suppose it is cooler under the trees where he has pushed aside the woodchips to lay directly on top of the mud.  I wonder what he is thinking as he steals a bag of my son's Pokemon cards to scatter over the backyard and he eats the plastic ziploc bag.  Or eats markers.  Perhaps he is another artist in the family.  His front paws are now black and teal from the markers he ate yesterday.

Our warm temps in the 60s from the weekend have disappeared and been replaced by gloomy skies and low 50s.  Come back 60s!  How I loved you so.

My husband and I had more fun than the kids when we toured the Alpharetta Police Station last week.  Although Chloe liked trying on the police vest and teasing the K9 with his tennis ball.  I was worried she was going to have her fingers removed as he snapped at the ball....the dog meant business!

These are my new favorite beads.  It was therapy squashing them into cubes.   I love the swirls of raku working their way up the bead from one hole and slowly turning into the transparent purple or teal.  Still deciding if I will make more of these in different colors.  I really like these jewel tones.

I made lots of purple nuggets and have two sets of regulars and two sets of etched to get listed.  I like both.  I think I'm nearing the end of my nugget phase as I have used most of my transparents.  I know I have another set of blues in me and perhaps another green set left to make.  But that may be it.  After that, I'll make them as special orders or when the mood strikes.

Cleaning out junk and re-organizing spaces makes me insanely happy.  This weekend my sister-in-law took away more of her boxes that were in our garage.  Then I spent and hour and a half trashing/recycling/reorganizing the garage on Sunday afternoon.  Now when I take stuff out to the recycling bin or need to leave the house, I get a big stupid grin on my face over the immense amount of space on the other half of the garage.

I wish my table saw had wheels or casters to make it easier to pull out and use.  I really need to build the shelves for Owen's room already.  The boy has stuffed animals and books all over one corner of his room.  I know it will only take me 3-4 hours to build the shelves and then another two hours to paint them, yet I continue to drag my feet.  Perhaps having a cleaner garage will motivate me to get out there and saw and nail away to get them finished.

My 25% off sale will end on Sunday.  After that, I think I will dismantle those bead sets to either make new ones or return the beads to my box of orphans.  Thank you to all of you have already taken advantage of this sale.  I hope you have gobs of fun creating with your new beads!

Snow to Shorts!

This was last weekend.  We got three inches of snow Friday afternoon and through Saturday morning.  It was a winter wonderland that Atlanta rarely sees.  The kids loved it.  We made a snowman as tall as me (which isn't saying much, considering I'm a shorty.  but whatever).

And this was this weekend before lunch time. It got up to 65. Thank you Spring for giving us a taste of your warmth so soon after a snow and weeks of temps in the 30s and 40s!

This was a humongously tall tree outside the hospital where my Grandma landed herself this weekend. Apparently they didn't give her a strong enough antibiotic last Tuesday for her bladder infection, so she came back severely dehydrated and feeling all-around wretched. I love this tree. I do not love the smell of hospitals or their handsoap. I was reminded of this as the smells hit me before I even walked through the front doors. Hospital smells churn my stomach and amp me up for crisis mode. She was released this afternoon and is so very happy to be back home and feeling better.  After I snapped this picture, I high-tailed it down to my monthly Southern Flames meeting and watched Caitlyn Hyde demo one of her special techniques.  I also had the pleasure of meeting Mallory, also known as Rosebud101 at the meeting.  She flew down to Atlanta for Caitlyn's class and came to the meeting.  Don't ask me why I didn't pull out my camera to snap a pic of the two of us.  By 9pm, my mind was really shot for the day and I just wasn't thinking.  :(  I was so excited to meet her and thrilled she was just as genuine and sweet in person as on her blog!

Here are the kids making good use of the box for our new ottoman (which I love!) that doubles as a fort and a grass sled.  Mine are on the left, sporting their new soccer duds which they purchased earlier in the morning when Todd took them out to Sports Authority to buy the shin guards and soccer balls.  They were so excited about their new gear they had to wear it all day!

These are the roses that Todd gave me last weekend for Valentine's Day which I realized this morning have been the cause of my allergies and complete inability to breathe for the last week.  Dangit, I thought it was only lillies and other beautifully smelly flowers that shut down my nose and sinuses.  So these are out on the back porch now.  :(  I'm slowly starting to breathe better, but I expect it will be a few more days before the house is cleared of their presence.

And yesterday, my husband was a love and let me sleep in while he took care of the kids.  I made it until 8am before I got up, but that's a good hour and a half after I normally get up on the weekends.  He took the kids out of the house and gave me loads of time to enjoy some peace and play with fire.  Here are the 87 beads I made yesterday.  I had the best time on the torch!  The glass was flowing exactly like I wanted and new ideas were coming to me like they haven't in a long time.  FUN!  

I even got all of the beads cleaned & photographed today.  Now I just need to go through and crop all the pics so I can share the beads with you and get them listed in my Etsy shop.  Woot!

More Nuggets!

I made almost three dozen new nuggets this weekend.   I used pale and dark aquas and then etched half that came out.  All of them flew out of my Etsy shop today with the exception of this set.

We got three inches of snow on Friday.  It was enough to make a snowman as tall as me.  With the exception of the snowman, all of the snow was melted by Saturday evening.  It was a gorgeous winter wonderland in our city.  And enough to last me for another ten years.  :)

Customer Appreciation Day

Did you know that it is your comments and feedback that boosts my days?  It is.  So in honor of my most recent customers and your lovely comments on purchases from my Etsy shop, please check out their blogs, Etsy shops and designs!

Gunilla Bäck's gbkoru blog and Etsy shop.  Gunilla lives in Finland and currently has four sets of my beads making their way across the Atlantic Ocean to her.  :)  She made these pieces using my beads, although I don't see them in her Etsy shop.  Beautiful, yes?

Kat has several pieces that use my beads in her Jewels by Kat Etsy shop, like this bracelet she has on sale.  

Keirsten's Cerebral Diletante blog and Lune Designs Etsy shop.  She highlights one of my egg beads in this necklace. 

KJ's Silver Parrot blog and Etsy shop.  I'm not seeing any of her pieces in her shop using my beads, but don't let that stop you from visiting!

Lorelei's blog and Etsy shop.  She has this bracelet currently listed on SALE using nothing but my lampwork beads and her wire wrapping with a little pewter charm.

Marsha Neal has countless sets of my beads, but I think she may still be hoarding them as I haven't seen any pics shared of her jewelry designs.  I know she has a newborn and is also chasing her toddler around, but I'm still leaning towards the hoarding excuse.  Either way, you can check out her blog and Etsy shop.

Tari's Pearl & Pebble's blog and Etsy shop.  She has this bracelet currently listed and uses my lentil beads in her design.  Love how she matched up all the colors!

Happy Valentine's Day to you, if you choose to celebrate it.  I've got a date with my Owen boy tonight that I am looking forward to with our one-on-one time together.  Todd is supposed to take Chloe on a date to a father/daughter dance that should be fun.

I hope everyone has an excellent weekend!

25% OFF SALE!

I'm having a 25% off sale in my Etsy bead shop on selected sets and focals. 

These are all good beads, but they have been in my shop for quite some time.  They are really ready to be shipped out so they can grow up and become parts of your beautiful jewelry designs.

Click here to see them all :)

More Nugget Beads

These are all of the nugget beads I made over the weekend.  I had fun playing with my ambers and topaz colors.  The lighter ones looked just like honey to me.  I etched this first set for a smooth, satin finish.

This is how they looked before they got etched.

Here are the green ones.  I used several shades of transparent green over white.  These were etched.

And these were not etched.  I think I like the green better un-etched.

I'm not sure if I will get any torch time this week after the kids go to bed. We seem to have plans on the calendar for every night. But I will definitely get time on the torch this weekend. I'm excited. I want to go through the rest of the color palette and blues are next on my list. :)

How My Weekend Was Made

While I did run many errands this weekend, went to a rollerskating birthday party for a seven year old and zipped around the rink clicking away on my camera, the highlights were really bead related.

First:
Keirsten Giles of Lune Designs posted about my beads that she received as the surprise tundra recipient.  She had already emailed me her reaction in chronological ordered steps.  I LOVE this! 

1) (get package) mild bewilderment (what did I buy?) 2) (look at return address) deeper bewilderment (I bought that?). 3) (open package, read note, drop jaw.) Get out. GET OUT!!! OMG!! GET OUT!!! 4) (open box, look at beads) SCORE!!! I SCORED!!! SCORE!!! (stand up, do a little dance) 5) (sit down again) Awwww!!! She likes me! She really really likes me! 6) O. M. G. 7) (very) brief moment of stunned silence. 8) dawning admiration for sly and very effective crack dealer marketing scheme. 9) bead fondling. 10) Repeat #9 as necessary throughout the day.

Second:
Between the two days, I made over four dozen new beads. The sun peeped out on Sunday, which allowed a little photoshoot. I got more than a handful of new sets listed last night. Lorelei scooped up the nuggets before I even got them all listed.  To make sure no one else could snatch them out before she got them, she had me change all the listings for nuggets to RESERVED just for her.  :)

Third:
Lorelei left this feedback for me in my Etsy shop on these beads:

When I opened this box of beads, the bright and beautiful colors just about knocked me on badunkadunk. Gorgeous beads, one of the best lampworkers on etsy. thank you for your fast shipping and your willingness to create custom work. I thank you from the bottom of my beady heart.

Lorelei has been one of my regular customers from the very first month I opened my Etsy shop over a year ago.   Her blog and jewelry designs using my beads have most definitely generated extra traffic to my own blog and shop, as well as new sales (so cool!).  In the process of doing business, we have become friends.  She makes me laugh and I count on her as a sounding board for ideas and honest feedback.  Her feedback enthusiasm was part of what inspired me to sit down at the torch to make dozens of new nuggets this weekend.  But it also meant alot to me to hear that my beads were valued by a good friend.

Fourth:
I booked the hotel room for BeadFest 2010 in Philadelphia this August.  It will be filled with the major talent of Lorelei, Cassandra, Nancy and myself.  I'm so excited and CAN! NOT! WAIT!  I booked my flight and am waiting on Cas to book hers.  I'm hoping she can get the seat next to mine because her company on the planes will be FUN.  She's already talking about stuffing our pockets with earrings to use as bribes so people will move for us to sit together if that seat is taken when she books her flight.  A weekend away!  With GIRLFRIENDS!  AND BEADS!  WOO FLIPPIN HOO!!!!

Check Out Summers Studio Bead Giveaway!

Go comment on Summers Studio's blog here to enter for your chance to win these beads next Friday!

Mad props to Lorelei for creating this cool billboard pic. She's so creative :)

Things That Make Me Smile

One:

I follow Karen Russell's blog because I think she is a fantastic photographer.  I love the pictures she takes of people, specifically her children.  I love that her husband is included in many of the shots.  She shows their life as they are living it with not much sugar-coating that I can see.

This morning, I read this post and it made me tear up a little that her husband carries on this Friday ritual every week.  Year after year.  I am excited for her to get all gussied up for her date tonight.  And I am smiling because she has butterflies.

Two:

I talked to an old friend/coworker this morning.  I have known her for eight years.  Her strength inspires me to the point I normally have tears sliding down my cheeks as I think of what she has been through.  Especially over this last year.  She has survived breast cancer.  She found and married the love of her life.  She has been challenged by her two strong-willed teenagers who struggle to find themselves and the right path to walk down.  She was in a motorcycle accident two weeks ago with her husband when someone else ran a red light.  He broke 3 ribs, shattered his wrist and elbow and has gone through surgery for repairs.  She broke her wrist, cracked her sternum and dislocated her collar bone.  

Yet she still smiles.  She is not bitter.  She is full of hope.  I can hear it in her voice every time I talk to her.

Three:

Dylan.  He is such a sweet boy.  He snatches the kids toys to keep him company in the backyard during the day.  He likes to throw the toys up in the air over his back.  He sometimes growls at the toys after he has thrown them, like the toys are misbehaving.  And then he dashes off as fast as he can move to come back in the house and find something else to snatch.  Dylan draws my honeys to him for affection throughout the day when Todd works from home.  In my office, I smile to myself as I hear him drop his voice to talk sweetly to Dylan.  Sometimes slipping into baby talk as he rubs Dylan's ears and scratches his back.  Today is the beginning of week three for Dylan being in our family.  He still cries himself to sleep at night, which makes me sad and wonder what life did he leave behind and how long until he trusts this is his forever home and he is safe.

Four:

Our home.  This May, we will have lived here four years.  Rarely does a day go by where I don't give thanks for our house or how much I love it.  I worked hard right from day one to get color on the walls, pictures hung, mirrors made and shelves built.  It feels like home to me, in every room.  It makes me feel safe.  I hope our home makes our children feel safe and that they have many years of wonderful memories to look back upon.

Five:

Three Beautiful Things.  Mallory participated today and linked to the 3BT blog.  I love reading through the random things that the writer considers beautiful each day.  It reminds me that it really is the simple things in life that are the most important.  It is a reminder I try not to pass up because it truly refocuses me.

I am hoping for more time on the torch this weekend to make new beads.  I also need to sit myself down to make some new jewelry.  It's been too long since I have made jewelry on a regular basis and I miss that.  I'm ready to put new things together.  

I am ready for the weekend.  It has been a long work week and I have fallen asleep every night on the sofa around 10.  That is so unlike me.  We have a roller skating birthday party to attend and soccer registration for the boy child.  Valentines cards and receptacles must be made.  Laundry seriously needs to get done so I can leave my house shamelessly.

What are you doing this weekend?

New Beads

I love these little blue beads. They are not that exciting when they are being made. The blue glass starts off as a very dark, transparent blue. Almost so dark that it appears black. Then I crank up the fuel for a big, yellow flame and it turns the little black beads into beads with oil slick, metallic appearances. See that little bebe bead hidden in there towards the left? That's the size of the bead before I start wrapping clear around it to make the final bead. That's also the same metallic finish it has when I start melting clear on top. And that's when the metallic, oil slick turns into these dreamy blues.


More raku eggs. I just love the creamy-ness of these little beads!

And some rosy, gold eggs. Depending upon the angle and the light, they can look very pinkish rose or more amber, gold.

I will try to get all of these into my Etsy shop later today.



on a side note, I saw on my tracking information that my surprise beads are officially in the tundra as of last night. I am hoping they will be delivered today. if they are, the recipient better be in the office today! :)

Etsy Seller - Phat Straps

I just love Jo's shop Phat Straps on Etsy. She has the coolest, hippest fabrics and the quality of her products is outstanding!

My Mom bought me this camera strap for my birthday last year. I love the brown and pink combo and I really love the minky backing. It feels so much softer and comfortable (read as: it doesn't cut into my neck leaving those lovely, red marks like the factory camera strap).

I also like that it is lengthened with these extender straps. This makes it easier for me to hang my camera over my body in a messenger-style, rather than just around my neck. Nice to have my camera hanging next to my hip instead of in front of my stomach or chest. And if you like to coordinate camera accessories with your outfits (apparently there is an need for this, based on interchangeable camera bag covers I see online) you can buy multiple straps and easily change them out with these quick release buckles.

Jo also makes huggies or protective bags for camera lenses. This pic shows a couple of different sizes, but she also makes custom-sized bags based on your lens measurements. I have a few of these bags and they make me smile. The fabrics are the ones I picked out (she doesn't make the huggie until you pay for it and specify which fabric you want) and fit my lenses perfectly.

Jo isn't giving me any free products and didn't ask for my opinion. I just wanted to share her shop with you all because I think her items are fantastic and I love the bright fabrics. :)

Good Bye My Lovelies

Safe travels my babies!


These are headed up to NY now. I had fun making this special order for Lorelei and can't wait to see what she does with them. Now I want to make more in other colors!

These beads are on their way up to the Tundra as a surprise for one lucky person.
And these earrings are on their way to a neighborhood about a mile from my Dad to a classmate I just reconnected with on facebook recently. Not without a little stomach churning in the process. I was notified of the sale Saturday night, which was a wonderful surprise to see who bought them. I first met her in 4th grade and her Mom was one of my 5th grade teachers. We were in chorus together for a few years before she went to a new high school that opened our 10th grade year. I love that facebook helps reconnect friends after so many years have passed!
But here is the stomach churning part. When I went to package up the earrings so they would be ready to mail out on Monday, I found they were missing. MISSING! Oh, my stomach dropped. Where the heck did these earrings go??? I really have no idea. I tore my office and studio apart. Yes, down to the desktop with all paperwork filed and they weren't even hiding under all the papers.

A good two hours of cleaning, filing and searching, but to no avail. I no longer have the original frit (the smashed up glass that makes the speckles) and haven't found a replacement for that cool batch I bought at the bead shows in Tucson two years ago. I did have some larger and lighter-colored green frit that I used to make the replacement earrings and she liked those. Sigh. I really hope she loves them in person.

I have had a couple of beads disappear on me (read as snatched up by the sticky fingers of a seven or five year old), but never any jewelry. I always have my jewelry stowed away safely and still feel awful. Ok, enough sniveling and banging my head.

I have more pics to edit and then post later this week to show you more of the beads I made this past weekend. It felt sooooo good to be back on the torch again after almost a month off it. I can't wait to get back on one of these nights to make more beads! I also figured out an easier way to re-size my pics so I don't have to go into PhotoShop on every picture to re-size the image before posting in Etsy. So that was an exciting new thing for me, since I tend to drag my heels on getting stuff listed because it just takes soooo loooooong.