Thursday, December 30, 2010

I Just Couldn't Resist!

I was in Michael's yesterday and bought some knitting yarn on sale, and loved it so much that I had to go back again today and get more!  Don't you just love all the luscious colours?  I'm not sure what I am going to make - I may just put them in a bowl and get inspiration from the colour combinations.


I used a flash to take the picture, so it turned out a little brighter than the actual wool - but not by much!

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Building up Stock

I have been working on steadily building up stock for the re-opening of my Etsy shop on January 10.  Here are a few more new items.
Ribbed Terra2 - mini set.

Raku Mosaics


Tropical Rounds - mini set


Thanks for looking!

Sunday, December 26, 2010

A Few New Beads

I made these before Christmas - getting ready for my Etsy re-opening in a couple of weeks.  I will be going out to the studio after lunch today to make a few more beads.  I have all kinds of ideas rolling around in my head.






Have a great Boxing Day!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Merry Christmas!

Everyone always laughs at our funny little Christmas tree, with it's oversize ornaments and slightly wonky star.  However we love it, and refuse to get another one.  It is actually the top one third of a much larger tree.  We decided one year that we just didn't have the room to put up the whole tree, and so just used the top one third - and that is the way it has been ever since.  At the end of the year, we just put a large plastic garbage bag over the whole thing, and consign it to a shelf in the basement for another year.  Works for us!

I hope you all have a very Happy Christmas with family and friends all around.

Friday, December 17, 2010

A Rare Occasion


Now everyone pay attention, because you won't see this until next year at this time - LOL.  I very rarely bake, but I spent most of yesterday and this afternoon baking.  Cheese crisps (at the top), chocolate ginger cookies (on the left), whipped shortbread (on the right), and 5 dozen spicy oatmeal cookies that are not in the picture.  Phew, for me that is a marathon!


Thursday, December 16, 2010

Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!


I love watching the annual "Charlie Brown's Christmas" cartoon each year.  So after seeing it this year, I decided to make a bead with his famous "Christmas Tree" on the front.  I added some sparklies to the inside (hard to see on the photo), and some snow at the bottom.  It is kind of hard to see, but there is a little star at the top, and a large one on the back.  The photos were really hard to take, and this is the best of them.  I'll try and take a photo of the back later if the lighting is better.
I have made one for myself and one for my sister.

Hope you all have a great weekend!


Saturday, December 11, 2010

Bead Bouquet


I had fun yesterday playing with lots of different silver glasses - trying all kinds of techniques to get a variety of colours.  When I took the beads out of the kiln this morning I thought they looked like a bouquet.

Enjoy your weekend!

Friday, December 10, 2010

Love That Silver Glass



I have been trying out a new technique (new to me) with a couple of Double Helix's silver glasses.  I love the multiple colours that have come out of this "experiment" - I'm off to make more!  These two new sets can be found in my Etsy shop (link to the right).

Monday, December 6, 2010

For Me


I decided to keep one of the "Organic Formations" for myself.  I have wire wrapped two of them in copper, and added a little danglie beach stone which I purchased from this Etsy shop.
 (http://www.etsy.com/shop/lhsblack?ref=pr_shop_more).  Hmmm - wish I knew how to change the words for her shop link to make it look less technical.  I guess I need another lesson from my daughter.
Anyway - I am going to antique the copper and hang it from a lovely copper chain that I have.  I will only keep one, and the other will go into my stock for the upcoming Spring craft/markets that I will be attending.
I have also listed several more organics in my Etsy shop.

Thanks for looking, and have a great week.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Organics







I have been having a lot of fun lately making what is known in the lampwork world as "organic" style beads.  I'm not sure how to define organics, other than to say that they are not flowers, trees, or any other type of decoration that is recognisable as "something" - hope that makes sense.

The photos show the front and back of each of three beads.  These beads can be found (sorry, were) on my Etsy.  However, I will be making more of them, as they are a great excersize for me, as I tend to be a bit anal about everything havng to be symmetrical, and have to work really hard when trying to make asymmetrical beads, necklaces, etc.

Hope you all have a great week ahead!