Candy! Candy! Candy!

Yesterday, I had so much fun!  I went shopping for candy!  Why would I go shopping for candy?  Well, I joined another exchange on Lampworketc, and it's a candy exchange!

The rules are simple.  Buy candy that is not ordinary.  Fill a small flat rate box with the candy.  Include a candy bead or beads that you have made.  Be sure to mark the beads as beads so that no one tries to eat them accidentally.  I do think that is important.  te-he!  The photo is the stash I will be sending to whomever my partner is on Thursday or Friday.  And they do look delicious! 

The colors aren't very good here, but they are chocolate covered cherries!

This should be fun!

Another Exchange on Lampworketc

I decided to participate in the You Pick 9 lampwork bead exchange on Lampworketc.

Again, what we each must do is submit a photo to provide inspiration for our beads.

Each participant in our group has submitted a photo. 

I wanted to show you my favorite bead so far.

This is the photo that was submitted.

Isn't this cute?

Now, so far, this is my favorite bead.

I also think it will make a great bead for Beads of Courage.

Here's the bead.

I think this puppy is cute!!

Now, this one...

I love the photo, but I cannot make a bead I like to go with it.

This is my 5th attempt at a bead.

I still don't like it.

Any suggestions?

I don't know.

However,

the exchange is fun and does awaken even the groggiest muse!

The bead for this photo will come.

It might be the last one I make for the exchange, but it will come.

I've joined another Exchange on Lampworketc!

I've decided to take a slight detour in my bead making journey.  I've decided to slow down.  I'm only going to participate in one 1 bead show this year.  I have a lot on my plate, and I need new inspiration.  One of the things I've decided to do is to join more exchanges on Lampworketc.  I used to have a great time participating in exchanges on that site!  I'm looking forward to having fun interacting with other bead makers and exchanging beads.

For this beach themed exchange, I've decided to make some fun fish.  What do you think, so far?  I need to make one more fish and one for Beads of Courage.

I'm glad that Irene decided to ask us to include a bead for Beads of Courage.  It's my privilege to participate!

Working On a Dime

I joined another exchange on Lampworketc,

and this exchange proved to be a very challenging one!

The goal of the Lilliput Exchange was to make beads that would fit on a dime.

That sounds easy enough, but two beads had to fit on a dime and they couldn't just be simple spacers,

they had to have some decoration to them.

Yikes!

That was extremely hard to do.

I knew I could make spacers that small all day, but they had to have some kind of decoration on them!

OMGoodness!

Anyway, this is what I will be sending in to Amy!

 

These two Tiger Beads fit on the dime.

These four Tiger Beads fit on a dime!

Now that's small!

These two skulls fit on a dime.

These skulls fit on a dime, too!

These four skulls fit on a dime!

Now, here are the beads that aren't going to Amy.

They didn't have the detail that was needed!

Neither did these, but they did fit on a time.

This exchange forced me out of my comfort zone.  I'm glad about that!  I learned to appreciate these teeny tine beads and the people who make them well even more.

When have you been pushed out of your comfort zone?

Do you think it helped you to grow?

I know this exchange helped me to grow!

On top of that, it was fun!

Finally, Getting Serious about The Exchange!

SuzyQ aka Susan Sheehan

started a murrni exchange on Lampworketc.

I joined, and, truly, I have been playing with murrini making because I wanted to develop my heat control skills again after being off the torch for so long.

Well, it's finally time to get serious about this because it will be getting time to mail those babies pretty soon.

Well, actually, I have plenty of time, but, if I don't get serious now, I might miss the deadline!

So, I'm finally getting serious about this exchange.

For those of my non lampworking friends,

murrini are small bits of glass that are shaped and formed in the flame and used to decorate lampwork beads.

Here's a sample from my shop.

These murrini are made from glass encased in silver and dark black lines on the side.

I won't be using them in the exchange unless I make more.

Murrini is made from cane.

After you form and stretch the glass, this is what the cane looks like.

The nippers are what I use to slice the cane.

You apply small chips to each bead you decorate with murrni.

This is a head shot of the cane and what the pattern looks like before it's cut.

Here's a shot of another cane that I made.

The ends are irregular.  I usually keep those chips for me.

Once I begin to nip the canes to make chips, the shapes become more regular.

It's amazing some of the murrni that people are able to make!

If you search Etsy, you will find some amazing works of art!

Mine is much more simple.

Here are the blue murrini chips.  They look better shaped as I cut into the cane.

I don't know what to call them.

What do you think?

These green ones have a little more of a pattern.

What should I call them?

Anyway, I am serious now.  I want to get this exchange finished and mailed to Susan before the end of September.  I sure hope I can!

This really has been fun!