Before I Forget, Today I Want to Remember...

how I felt when I took this bead off the mandrel and photographed it.

I felt:  very pleased. 

I saw: a blending of colors and patterns that only gravity could make.

I heard: a satisfied sigh slip from the depths of my artist's soul

I touched:  the smooth surface and felt the cool temperature of this bead.  I felt the moisture from the water in which it had been soaking.

I smelled:  the vinegar I had added to the water bath that would attack and destroy the bead release for easier removal from the mandrel.

I tasted: glass when I licked this bead!

Yes, this is what I want to remember today.

The Good the Bad the Good

The Good:

I have been enjoying my new Zooziis Extra Large Bubble Press

The Bad:

I made a bead that I just loved and was hoping to sell it until I saw

THE CRACK

in it.

The Good:

The bead is mine now!!!

I'm happy!

Betty's Bead a Symbol of My Celebration of Her Life

My friend, Betty, died last week.  She was 99 years old.

I met her when she was 79.  We've been friends for 20 years.

I will miss her dearly.

To celebrate her life, I made a bead.

I wore this bead to her wake and to her memorial service.

This is the bead I made to memorialize Betty's life.

I won't go into the symbolism only because the decorations are reminders of our friendship,

and that I want just for me.

This is the finished piece.  I love it, and it will make me always think of Betty.

Miss you, Betty!

New Beads and Stuff in my Etsy Store

I've been adding glass items to my store again!

Yahoo!

I'm torching.

Take a look!

Fire Opals!

I can't believe these didn't sell.  I had to renew them!

They are beautiful!

Hungry?

How about these popcorn beads?

Grab them while you can!  No calories!

Like Organic?  This focal is only $10.

It's located in this section:  10 dollar sets/focals

This is a section for lampworkers.

It's called:  Murrini/Shards/ Frit,

or something like that!

This silvered ivory murrini is in that section.

I hope to be adding more shards and murrini soon.

Headpins!

That's the section you can check!

These are called 

Rosebud's Lampwork Headpins.

Not real creative, but it works!

So, stop by for a visit!

I'd love to see you.

If you are a returning customer use the coupon code

IMBACK

for a 10% discount on your order.

Beads That Do Their Own Thing

When I make my lampwork beads,

I try to control the flame, the heat, the flow of the glass, the shape of the bead, the colors of glass.

Most of my beads have a specific shape.

The ones I'm going to show you certainly do.

These beads, however, felt compelled to do their own thing.

I added glass.

I swirled a bit of the glass.

I let gravity take glass where it wanted to go.

(I did not plan for any of the beads to do the things that they did.)  

I put it in the lentil press to shape each bead.

I have to admit,

that part worked.

Now, let's take a look at the beads,

and

You tell me what you think.

On this side of the bead, I see a butterfly lifting up, into the wind, ready for its flight.

 On this side of the bead,

I see an iguana perched and ready to pounce on the first insect it sees.

(I don't think the iguana saw the butterfly on the other side of the bead.)

On this side of the bead, I see a sea dragon.

On the other side of the bead, I see an octopus rapidly swimming away.

On this side of the bead, I see a cat.

 On this side of the bead, I see the mouse.

I love the results of this type of bead.  They are totally unplanned by me.

Free form to a point, yes, but controlled.

What do you see in these beads?

Do you see things that I don't see?

Let me know!

I can See a Bead Made Out of this!

It's a bit long for a video, but it really is sweet. I can see a lot of beads made out of this!

If I could Love you More

It's not always easy to love
or to find love,
It's not always easy to give love
or to take love,
It's not always easy to see love
or to let someone see you love,
but
If you could love more,
You would find love,
You would give love,
You would see love
In all that you do
In all that touches your life,
Love,
Pure Love,
Only Love,
Peace, Love and Joy!

And the Winners Are!!!!!!!!

Well, there were two winners for this blog give away, and I need for them to contact me, please. If for some reason the link doesn't link, contact me either on Etsy or post on this blog. I need to get your snail mail address.

There were two prizes. One is the pint jar full of nubs and the other prize is a bead made from nubs. See the photo below the nubs.













Moon Katty Studios was the first to post, so you will get first choice as to whether you would like the nubs or the bead. Let me know in your reply. Congratulations and thank you for entering!



The second place winner is:
Lori Anderson of Pretty Things!
Thank you for entering! I have more nubs if you would like them rather than the bead. Just let me know, Lori!


Again, thank you both for entering!

I need your Help, Please!

I need your help. When it comes to making jewelry, I really am not very creative. I made some beads today. I would like to put these together in a necklace to wear this weekend. I have 10 different combinations of beads. I plan to use spacers and other beads to make this necklace, but I want these gorgeous chalcedony beads to jump out. I had a hard time striking this glass today. However, the reds that came out of this glass, give the beads a rich, organic look.

So, let me know what you think. Which combination of beads do you like the best? Do you have any suggestions to make this necklace beautiful? I'd really appreciate the help. Thanks.
I want to work on this tomorrow. That's why I'm post it today.

Here goes:
#1





















That's #2 ----------------------------------------->

















This is #3-------------------------------------------------->
























#4 --------------------------------------------------------->





















#5 ------------------------------------------------------------------>





















#6 ------------------------------------------------------------->


















#7 -------------------------------------------------------------------->























#8 --------------------------------------------------->
















#9 -------------------------------------------------------->






















#10 ------------------------------------------------->




So, what do you think? Do you see any combinations that might work well?

Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Just playing around and melting glass--Again!!

This is a bead I made using chalcedony and denim blue. Both glasses come from Gaffer, of course!
I think, but I'm not sure, the dark blue in this bead is a reaction between the chalcedony and the denim blue glass.















Here's another view of the same bead.























I call this one Zulu! It reminds me of a zulu mask.
Isn't the mottling great?





















This one I called Mottle.
Isn't the webbing gorgeous?






















Now, the question becomes, what to do with them? What do you think?

Before I forget, this is the last day to register for the blog give away. Assuming I don't forget, the winner will be announced tomorrow!

On Oak Trees and Acorns

I've said it before, I am ready for a change of season. The next season we face in Minnesota is Fall. It usually very beautiful here during the autumn season. The trees change colors. The pods form on plants. Seeds mature and ripen. Squirrels begin to snatch the ripening acorns that have fallen to the ground and bury them for their winter food.

I've never really thought about an acorn much. I knew it fell from an oak tree, but did you know that an oak tree does not produce acorns until it's 20 years old? Did you know that oak trees can live up to 200 years? (Think of all the people who have stood under the oak tree and fell in love, married, and were buried under those strong branches.)

If you want to learn a little bit more about oak trees and the humble acorn check out this page. It's full of interesting facts about oak trees! You never know when this information might become important to you!

In the meantime, go ahead and visit my Etsy store. This acorn is listed there.

Wouldn't this make a wonderful bead?

I find the most interesting things around my house. As I was cleaning the deck off today, I turned over a small plastic stool, and look what I found!












I don't know if it's a hornet's nest or a bee hive, but look at the wonderful possibilities for an awesome organic bead.

















I never realized the colors in the nest until I saw the photo. The colors remind me of some type of stone.

















What do you think? What do you see when you see this nest? Do you see a bead? Do you see a photo? Do you see a drawing? Let me know. I'd love to hear.

The Vessel that wanted to be a Lily

In the most recent issue of "The Glass Bead," which is a quarterly publication of the International Society of Glass Bead Makers, or ISGB, there is a wonderful tutorial written by Margie Shanahan on how to make a Calla Lily Bead. The tutorial is well written and illustrated.

I decided that this project, a calla lily bead, would be my next challenge on the torch. For whatever reason, I didn't take the magazine downstairs with me as I began to torch. I had read the tutorial and looked at all the pictures, right? Taking the magazine down would not be necessary, right?

Wrong. I did visualize and follow the steps in the tutorial. The problem was two fold, 1) I used a hollow mandrel and 2) I skipped steps 3 & 4. Ooops! Luckily, since I used a hollow mandrel, when my flower collapsed because I had skipped steps 3 & 4, I was able to save the bead and blow a simple vessel from the molten glass. Cool!
I do like the vessel, but it wasn't a calla lily.

All right, next day, take the magazine down and refer to it as I torched. This time, I still used the wrong type of mandrel. I used a hollow mandrel with a small hole in it for blowing hollow beads. oooops! One quick save with a dot of glass over the hole, just in case I missed a step again, but this time, it formed. I made a calla lily bead. Take a look at it! It's in my Etsy shop now. I added some crystals and seed beads and strung it on a choker. Love it! Thank you, Margie Shanahan for sharing this bead!

At last, my vessel became a bead!

To Etch or Not To Etch

The debate rages on: Do you etch your beads or not? Some people feel that every bead they make should be etched, at least, given a light etch so that the bead can be photographed without a glare. Others feel that not a single bead should be etched. Some feel that the only reason to etch a bead is to save it.

For our non glassy readers, to etch a bead means to put that bead in a solution or rub it with a cream to take the shine off of the bead.

I used to be a person who felt that no bead needed to be etched until...I had a bead that might be saved if it was etched. I did, and it was beautiful!

Now, there are times when I do like to etch a bead. Organic beads, I feel, look good etched. See the little orange and ivory nugget on the top right and bottom left. I do like the look of the organic etched. See the two beads where the white is encased in a transparent color? I think that etching makes the bead appear to glow from the inside. I like that look. See the blue bead? That little nugget seems to have an inner glow. I like the look better than the unetched beads on the upper right.

What do you think? To etch or not?

The Fish That Didn't Get Away

This photo doesn't do this fish justice! It's really one of my favorite fish ever! It's a base of white encased in transparent green accented with teal, sky blue, and medium transparent purple.

I was getting ready to list this fish. I had wire wrapped it, added pearls, and a bit of sparkly glass crystal. A steel choker turned the pendant into a necklace.










Then I saw it! The reason why this fish is the one that didn't get away.
















See the crack that runs from his lips to his tail?

I know, he just didn't want to leave home! When you're pooping pearls, you have to be happy!

Sometimes, you just have to call it what it is.....

If I stood out in the rain and got soaked, I'd call myself WET.

If I lay in the sun way too long, I'd call myself BURNT.

If I walked into a wall because I wasn't looking where I was going, I'd call myself TOOPID.

If I dropped a hammer on my foot, I'd call myself, HURT.

When I play with colors and shapes and frits, and this is the result, I call the bead
UGLY.

What else can I say?