Mediterranean Splash - new beads.

I have some new beads in my Etsy shop.  I really like this new abstract floral that I have been making lately - perhaps I should make a few focal beads to match?

Mediterranean Splash

Ladybug Garden

I hope the week is going well for you.  I am off to get my toenails done today - my bad back no longer allows me to stay bent over long enough to deal with cutting and painting my toenails.  I tell you, getting old is not for the faint of heart!!

Ladybug, ladybug . . . . .

How does that old childhood rhyme go?  Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home, your house is on fire, and your children are alone.  Kind of gruesome don't you think?
Anyway, I like ladybugs and so have made some more - this set can be found in my Etsy shop.

Ladybug Garden.

I hope you all have some great plans for the weekend.  My sister and I are going to Saltspring Island Market - it is one of the best!!

Little Miss beads

I have some more Little Miss beads in my Etsy shop.  Lots of other new beads too!

Little Miss Emily

reverse side

Little Miss

reverse side

 I hope you are having a good week.  The weather here is great, 24 or 25 Celsius most days.

My Sister Wants to Know . . . . . .

I got a call from my sister a few minutes ago, and she wants to know  "Were you really thinking about Julie Andrew's dancing around a mountain meadow?" (In reference to a recent set of beads posted here)

She wonders if the stories I sometimes tell about my beads are real or if I just make this "s##t" up? LOL

So for all of you wondering where it comes from, here is the scoop.  While I am making my beads I let my brain just free associate (I think that is the correct term).  I don't have on any music or other distractions, so I try to come up with a name for the beads, by just letting my mind wander where it will.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

In the case of the Alpine Meadow beads, I thought that the flowers looked a little like Edelweiss flowers, which led me to mountain tops, which led me to mountain meadows, and the scene from Sound of Music and on to Julie Andrew's.  The blue colour helped a little as well, because I thought about the sky in the background, and if I remember correctly, she may have been wearing  blue dress?  Maybe I should cease and desist with the stories - I think they may make me sound like a bit of a sap sometimes! lol

But on to the question as to whether I make some of it up . . . . . .  possibly, when I am stuck for a name, shhhh.

Sorry, no bead pics today - this is one of the Spring flowers in our garden.
I think I showed it earlier in the year - but it is pretty.

Do you remember "The Sound of Music"?

As I was making this set I kept thinking about Julie Andrews dancing around that high mountain meadow in The Sound of Music - so the name Alpine Meadow seemed appropriate somehow.

Alpine Meadow

Alpine Meadow - reverse side

This set can be found in my Etsy shop.

Have you got some fun plans for the weekend?  Tomorrow I get together with my Vancouver Island Fireflies buddies to talk glass and eat lots of good eats.   I'm not sure what Sunday has in store yet - maybe some more torching.

It's Strawberry Season!

To me, strawberries are the quintessential symbol of summer.  I have made a couple of cute little sets with strawberries, ladybugs and flowers.

My Strawberry Garden.  Two ladybug beads, one strawberry bead,
and assorted supporting cast.

This set has one ladybug bead, one strawberry bead, one strawberry
flower bead, and assorted other beads.

Get your little dose of summer in my Etsy shop.

Once Upon a Lime

I love these fresh colours - lime, aqua and white - very summery.

This set can be found in my Etsy shop.

Wow - I actually won something!

Fabulous bead maker, Heather Davis of Blissful Garden Beads, has been having several "give aways" on her blog.  So of course I entered, and you could have knocked me down with a feather when I saw that I had won one of them.  Her beads are exquisite!

I not only won the sweet little pair of floral beads, but also the
gorgeous copper coloured heart (I think her husband makes those -
but I'm not positive).

Thank you so very much Heather!

New Autumn set

The name is a bit over the top "Autumn's Royal Robe" - but I love how these beads turned out.  It is not at all how I thought they would look - I figured they would look a lot lighter, but I really love the dark plum colour.

These beads can be found in my Etsy shop.

I hope you all had a great weekend - my sister and I took out 49cc scooters out for a spin today - fun, fun, fun!

Tropical Ocean beads

I don't work very often with transparent glass - and when I make a set like this (that I think worked out so well) I wonder why I don't.
This set was made with transparent aqua with twisties in shades of aqua and green and then decorated with dots and stringers to make a sort of underwater garden look.

Tropical Ocean bead set.

reverse side

As usual, this set can be found in my Etsy shop.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Colourful Guardians

After making the three sets of the black and cream "Guardians" beads, I had a craving for some colour.  So I decided to see how the Terra silverglass would react with some coloured glass - I love the result!  I'm really pleased with the colour I was able to coax out of the Terra.

"Summer Guardians"

As usual, these beads can be found in my Etsy shop.

The Guardians

I have discovered something about myself - I like limitations.  When I limit myself to just two or three colours, I find I can be much more creative, and the ideas seem to flow.  Much more so than when I look at the whole range of colours in my glass shelf - I just get overwhelmed with all the choice.

These beads are not a new design - I made them earlier in the year, and loved them so much that I have re-visited the design.  Just black, light and dark ivory, opal yellow, and Terra.

The three sets can be found in my Etsy shop.

Guardians (set a)

Guardians (set b)

Guardians (set c)

Thanks for looking!