Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner

This year the menu was:  ham, 3 potatoe scallop (yam, sweet and regular), sprouts in parmesan lemon sauce, and the peas and carrots were supposed to be squash, but the squash was all watery and pale so we had to make a last minute substitution.  Dessert was pumpkin cheesecake with caramel pecan sauce and whipped cream - YUM!!!!

Good thing there are left overs for tonight!

Pacific Reef - side 1

Pacific Reef - side 2

This is one of my Pacific Reef focal beads.  This bead  is 1 1/2" across - a biggie!  I managed to get this one done before the concentrator collapse.

Bye for now.

Arbutus Beach & Co.

A few of the beads that I was able to make before my concentrator started acting up on me.

Arbutus Beach

Ghost Tree

The Ghost Tree was really difficult to photograph because of  the reflective surface.  It was made with a Double Helix odd lot silver glass, and is really shiny.

A calamity - and new beads.

I was busy in my studio yesterday (finally a day without vertigo),and noticed the flame on my torch was kind of strange.  I played around with the settings on the propane regulator and on the concentrator, and nothing seemed to work.  Finally I figured out that the concentrator is not playing nice!  I had to take it to get fixed which is about an hour away, and of course they will not be able to get to it until Tuesday because of our long weekend.  However they were nice enough to let me have a "loaner" for the weekend.  Sure hope they can fix it!

Anyway, here are some new beads that I have cleaned, strung, photographed, and will be listing on Etsy today.

Hope you all have a great weekend, and happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends!

          Sand, Sea & Sky

Scallops and Seaweed

Flower Girls

I haven't been able to get too much done lately - suffering from some sort of vertigo.  I think it has to do with allergies.  Anyway, enough about that! 
At the recent Island Fireflies meeting, I sold a few of my Little Missies, so I had to get a few more done for the upcoming show.  I wanted to do something with a little more "flair" for the dresses, and came up wih the dot style flowers.  I am pleased with how they have turned out, particularily the one with the ruffle at the hemline - but I'm not sure the little girl thinks the same, as she looks quite worried. LOL.

Have a great day!

Good Friends and Good Eats!

Today was one of the "almost monthly" meetings of the Vancouver Island Fire Flies - a group of glass beadmakers here on Vancouver Island.  We always have a blast, and lots of food - everyone brings something to eat - I am the sandwich "Queen" - ha ha.  I meant to go back and take a picture after the covers were off the food, but got talking too much and forgot.  We talk about glass, glass and more glass.  It is great to get together with like minded people to discuss our obsession and trade ideas, techniques and so on.

This is a picture of our hostess's studio - I don't think I have ever seen such a clean work space.  In case you think it is just like that because we were coming over, I can assure you that it isn't.  She is one of the tidiest people I know -  certainly not like my studio (see an earlier post) LOL.

We always have a bead exchange.  Those that want to participate, bring a bead, place it on this numbered board and then we draw numbers. 

I hope you are all having a great weekend.

Fairy Village

This little "village" of mushrooms - shaggy manes I think - has popped up along the side of our driveway.  I can just imagine little fairies living inside.  (My mother always said I had too much imagination - LOL.)

I have been getting geared up for the upcoming craft fair season.  This October I have a bead show, and then in November I have two craft fairs.  The two necklaces below are examples of some of the things I have been working on.  Hope you like them.

Have a great day!

Juicy Smoothies

I love making these "Juicy Smoothies".  Whenever I pull them out of the kiln, my mouth starts watering.  The colour is so berry-like, a cross between raspberry, strawberry, cranberry with a touch of frosted blueberry thown in.
Have a great day!

Beachcomber Beads

Three sets of "Beachcomber" beads, ready for the upcoming Fraser Valley Bead Show in October. 

I have been out in the studio today working on some new tree beads.  I can't wait to see what the kiln fairies give me tomorrow morning.

Studio Pictures

I thought you might enjoy seeing a couple of pictures of my studio.  It started out life as a barn for the horses.  However we haven't had horses for a few years, so it's now mostly storage.  My husband converted two of the box stalls into a long shop - 1/2 for me and 1/2 for him - but I seem to be "creeping" over into his half - LOL.

I thought about cleaning up my table before I took the pictures, but then I thought that that just wouldn't be "me" - so here you see it, mess and all!

I LOVE my two big windows, and this past spring I had a robin couple raise a brood of babies right outside my large window - it was great!  I hope it happens again this next spring.

Have a great weekend.

My Friends

These are my "best friends".  I gave up trying to get them all together in one photo - just wasn't going to happen in my lifetime!  The top photo is the two boys who are best buds.  Jackson is the English Pointer, and if you know anything about pointers you know that they take themselves quite seriously - so he wasn't too happy about having his picture taken, and wouldn't look at me. The little guy is a Miniature Schnauzer, called Jack (don't ask about the two similar names - it's a long story - LOL), and he is a bouncy, barky ball of energy.  He was my Dad's dog, but he found he was just too much for him to cope with in an apartment.  So now Jack lives here with us on 5 acres - he's in heaven.
The second photo is my old girl Alley, another English Pointer.  She is 10 1/2 yrs old, and has been blind for about 3 yrs now.  It is amazing how she gets around - her sense of smell is really something! 

Today I am going to clean all the beads I made in the last couple of days, and maybe get a little time in the studio at the torch.

Hope you have a great day!

A Bit of Whimsy

This summer I took a week long class with glass artist Melanie Moertel.  One of the beads she taught us how to make was her "Fairy" bead - it is a bead with a little girl or fairy on the front.  This is my interpretation of that bead.  Instead of putting the girl on the bead, I have made the girl into the bead - does that make sense?

I am quite pleased with how the faces worked out, but the "dresses" need some work.  I will take some time today to work on them - along with a whole list of other beads that I have to make for the upcoming show.

Have a great day!

Misty Cedars

These are some of the tree beads I made the other day - I think they have a "scrimshaw" look about them, and they are very popular at the local market.  I make them in black, red and a muted green, but these ivory ones always turn out the best - maybe because the ivory glass reacts with the silver and gets a mottled appearance.

They are meant to represent the Cedar tree - which grows in abundance around here.  We have lots on our property, and I think I am allergic to the pollen!

I am supposed to be at the Friday market today, but I wimped out - it's raining - so I am going to have to do pennance and get out to the studio and make beads (some penalty - LOL).

Have a great weekend!

Autumn is Here!

Although I may be wishing summer was still here, I love the Autumn colours.  This Virginia Creeper in our back garden is beginning to show its fall splendor.  In a few more weeks it will be blazing crimson.

I was out in the studio today, and made about twelve of my tree focal beads.  They are in the kiln, and will be out tomorrow morning.  Then comes the part I really don't enjoy - cleaning the bead release out.  I will try and get some pictures of them in the next couple of days.

Ideas for Show Display

I have been accepted as a vendor in the Fraser Valley Bead Show on October 22, 23 & 24, 2010 at the Cascades Casino/Convention Center, 20393 Fraser Hwy Langley, BC.

In preparation for the show I have been going through all my display items.  I am finding that it is one thing to display jewellery, but quite another to display just beads. 

Soooo, I guess there is quite a bit of work ahead of me - good thing there is lots of time yet!