Signs of Spring

I was looking around our home this morning, and realized that I have lots of lovely little flowers coming up all over the place - a sure sign of Spring.

This sweet little white flower just appeared about 15 years ago, and
keeps spreading - I think it is called a Woodland Rose, or something similar.

We have several large heather bushes - they keep spreading, and
the bees just love them!

Bluebells - remind me of my birthplace - England.  When we were young
we used to go for family walks in Bluebell Wood.

The black current is in bloom - the birds seem to get to them before
we do though.

I can't remember what this one is called - Japanese something or other.
I think the common name is Lily of the Valley shrub - maybe.

I can't remember what this one is called - it has really large leaves and
tall flowering stalks with these gorgeous coloured flowers.

Sweet little Violets

I believe this has the most unfortunate name of "Lungwort" 

The chives are about to burst open.

The Day Lilies will be opening soon too.

And of course the ever present daisies all over the place.

I hope you enjoyed the little floral tour around my garden.

Mixed Metal Mimi has a give away!

Mixed Metal Mimi has a very generous give away - a cute little silver starfish necklace.  check it out here 

Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to transfer the photo, so you will just have to pop on over there.

New Beads in Etsy

I have just finished listing a few new focals in my Etsy shop.  Grab a cup of tea/coffee/hot cocoa and have a browse.

Folk Art Style Marsh Bird

Folk Art Style Marsh Bird

Some New Spring Beads

After my last post with the little blue birds, I decided to make a chicken pendant in the same style.  I love how she turned out!

Black chicken stacked pendant.

I also made a couple more of the Cherry Blossom Bonsai beads, one in the regular opal yellow colour base, and then one in a lovely sky blue opalino colour.

Cherry Blossom Bonsai bead with opal yellow base.

Cherry Blossom Bonsai bead with sky blue opalino base.

Then I decided to make some more of my bellflower head pins.  This time though, I added a center and some outer leaves at the base.

Bellflower head pins with a center and some outer leaves.

I hope you all have a good weekend!

Spring Birds & Flowers

Spring Birds & Flowers is the title of our bead challenge for the next meeting of the Vancouver Island Fireflies glass group.  I decided to make some little birds and add some disc type flowers and other spacer beads and turn them all into pendants.  I'm quite please with how they turned out.

Little bluebird sitting on a flower with colourful
spacers, and a dangle of a leaf and a glass bellflower.

This little bluebird pendant doesn't have a dangle, instead
I wired everything right on the bellflower (yellow) wire.

Sorry the photos are a little fuzzy at the bottom - something to do with a small depth of field on my macro lens.

I hope you are all having a great weekend - I am 'cause I just finished doing up my income tax return - woohoo!

Cherry Blossom Bonsai beads

These beads are for a custom order.  My customer wanted one on the grey/brown background, so I made that one, and then decided to give her the choice of the paler background too.
I also made a couple on a black background, but they were a failure - I forgot that the rubino glass that I make the flowers with "fumes" and shows on the black leaving an oil-like slick all over the background - grrrrr!!!  It's too bad, because I was really pleased with how they turned out (apart from the oil slick look).  I am going to see if using another glass will make a difference - perhaps try making the flower cane from white encased in either red or orange transparent.  I will let you know how my experiment goes - but first I have to get my taxes done.

Cherry Blossom Bonsai on Canyon d'Chelly background.

Cherry Blossom Bonsai on Opal Yellow background.

The peach flowers were made with opal yellow encased in rubino, then pulled into a thin cane.

New Necklace Display

I have been having trouble trying to figure out how to display long necklace/pendants.  The T bars that are available for purchase are just too short, and not exactly what I have been looking for, and even the larger neck busts are not big enough.  So for the last few months I have had my thinking cap on. and finally the other day the idea blossomed.  The picture below shows what I came up with.  It's nice and simple, it's sleek, it's lightweight, it's secure, and it can hold  all those long chain necklaces.  Best of all it was cheap and easy to make!

The necklace display is clamped with c-clamps to the risers
that a friend and I made for our booth.  We made 2 long risers and
two short ones.  What is great is that they have a space in the back for
all those things you need at a show, like cash box, bags, pens, etc.

I am really pleased with the new long chain display, and if I run out of long chains, I can always put my felted scarves on it (if I end up with any that I am willing to sell).

New Beads & Felted Pieces

Misty Cedars - Side 1

Misty Cedars - Side 2

A couple of these beads are for orders, and the other I will either put in my Etsy or will set it aside for a show in May.

I don't seem to be getting very much time in the glass studio - I think I must be taking this "semi-retired" to heart!  Between day trips here and there, and a day or two in the basement felting, it doesn't leave a whole lot of time in the week for torching.  Don't worry, I have no intention of quitting - I love it too much.

Below are a few pictures of the felted pieces that have been taking up my precious torching time.  I think one of the reasons it takes so much time, is that I am still learning, and that always takes so much longer to do anything.  Felting isn't 2nd nature yet, and everything has to be planned and thought out thoroughly before I tackle a project.

A black sack style purse I made for myself - wet felted.  It is lined and has an internal
pocket.  I still have to put some sort of closure/clasp on it.  I felted the
front piece and then separately felted the black part.  I then sewed up
the black into a purse, sewed on the front decorative panel, lined it and
put the handle on.

Side 1 of a VERY bright small sack style purse - wet felted.  I have yet to line it and
put the handle and closure on.  Unfortunately, when I was cleaning up my craft
 area earlier this year, I gave away all my fabric stash (not sure what came over
me|).  Anyway, now I have to go fabric hunting for suitable pieces for lining these
purses.  It's a tough job! LOL.

Side 2 of above purse.

This is a small decorative panel that will be made up similar to the black purse above.

I hope you all have a great weekend!