Chameleon Designs

Interviewed !

2012-01-25T17:30:00.000Z

My "interview" for the Frit Happens team blog is online today ! A great reason to pop over there especially if you haven't been there before, there is lots of information about the team including the member interviews, great insights into the design processes of members, tips and tutorials for putting together jewelley and of course lots of eye candy !

Pattern and Glass

2012-01-22T14:19:00.000Z

How is 2012 treating you ? So far, I am really really excited by 2012, I have set myself some targets and Im working hard to achieve them, some are quite quick and easy, some are a little more in depth. The first completed one has been on my list for a little while, experiment with the patterns I have been working on and combining them with glass.

I finished this little beauty yesterday and Im really pleased with how it came out, it is a 20cm x 20cm x 3cm dish and I have etched my pattern into the iridescent surface of the glass.

I am finding as soon as I finish one piece Im overflowing with ideas for variations and experiments so I think I might end up having rather a lot of these !! To that end I have set up a new Etsy shop BeckyFairclough - Pattern and Glass where I will be selling the fruits of my experiments. I look forward to sharing more of these with you as and when I get chance to make them and hope to be able to share some exciting lampwork related news soon too !

2011-11-13T13:50:00.001Z

Its that time of year again, making for Christmas events. I have a few new pieces that Im really excited about, some are still work in progress but I have a couple of new flower pendants (Which would look super stunning with a little black dress... hint hint) to share -

And a prototype of a new design, this one I made for myself to test it out, but it is an interchangeable pendant you can swap the drop between a range of glass or semi precious drops and/or the bead for different big hole lampwork beads, so it can be mixed and matched with your outfit or mood.

If you are out and about looking for some unique handmade Christmas presents then Im going to be at some great events in the next few weeks, including Guildford Craftacular on Saturday 3rd December and the We Make London Christmas Popup Shopping Experience on Saturday 10th December so do pop by and say hello if you can.

Flame On 2011

2011-11-03T16:07:00.000Z

Hello, hello, yes Im back. Im sorry I have been quiet since my return, I have been rather busily running about trying to put the house into some sort of order having spent the run up to flame on charging around like crazy and as a result turning the house into a scene of chaos reminiscent of my bedroom as a teenager with piles of stuff everywhere !!

Im finally getting to the point where there are work surfaces visible again and life is returning to something approaching normal so its time to sit down and tell you all about the Flame On. I shall try not to end up with an epically long blog post but I feel it is only fair to warn you that I have made myself a hot drink (Vimto if you are interested, having just rediscovered it) in order to write this so you may wish to get a brew yourself and settle down in order to read it !

The trip did not get off to the most wonderful of starts as on dropping the cats off at the cattery her spottyness decided to take a great dislike to being "abandoned" and started to create and play up awfully shrieking, growling and hissing constantly at which point i apologised and scarpered quickly !!

We decided to take the ferry over to The Netherlands so we could take the car and himself decided that Harwich to the Hook of Holland was the best route involving the least driving on the "wrong" side of the road. The ferry was surprisingly nice and we had an excellent meal, all the lovelier as we were not expecting it !

Our first night hotel at Hoek van Holland is worthy of a mention for the sheer amazingness of the breakfast. With a "starter" of fresh warm croissants with fresh strawberries and cream, followed by a whole host of warm breads, meats, cheese, fresh fruits, boiled eggs and even fresh made pancakes !! and there were yoghurts and cereals too but we didnt get that far !! (Should you find yourself in the area we stayed at the Hotel Noordzee)

There were also curious little boxes of "sprinkles" very similar to hundreds and thousands, for bread. My inner child was delighted, and when we came across a supermarket I had to buy some to bring home with me ! I can confirm that despite being very messy to eat they are very nice. ( I cant read the label as it is in dutch so I remain blissfully unaware of how many e numbers they may contain or how much sugar I consumed :) )

Anyway.. we got to Oosterhout without incident, had a very good coffee in a lovely little shop we found, which was served in fab little bodum double walled glasses (another thing to add to the must get list !)

Thus revived we went over to the hall where the Flame On was to be held we were introduced to Joyce who has been co-ordinating and organising and started the setting up process, amid a certain amount of chatting with the other stall holders

That evening Joyce cooked us a lovely dinner at her home where we got to meet the other demonstrating artists Anouk Jasperse, Mauro Vianello and Michou Pascale Eliane Anderson, and also to meet her partner and their lovely cats.

They day of the Flame On dawned with some nerves from me as my demo was to be first and despite having made the beads I was demoing many times I did get a touch of the shakes, however everyone was very kind and said that it was not very noticeable ! After my demo I relaxed a bit and was able to enjoy the demo's of the others. I dont have photos of the demo's but there are some excellent photos of them in Mauro's facebook album .

I do have some photos of work that the artists had bought with them to sell so without further ado -

Michou's beads -

Mauro's sculptures -

Anouk's Beads -

It was lovely to meet everyone who came to say hello and great to see some old friends too ! I was very lucky and got to do some glassy swaps with some of the other stall holders so I will take photos of my haul of beauties and share them with you soon ! For now I must go and unearth the rest of my house but hope you enjoyed the pictures so far !

British Bead Awards

2011-10-15T20:19:00.000+01:00

Ive had a lovely day today. I have been to the Big Bead Show at Sandown racecourse as I had a set of beads in the finals of the British Bead Awards.

Im very pleased to say that they got 2nd place !! What a lovely start to the day !

I have spent the rest of the day drooling over pretty shiny things and talking to friends and must say a huge thank you to Sarah of Flame Force Five for letting me use her stand as a "base camp", Judith Johnson and Hazel Crompton for being their usual lovely chatty selves, it was a pleasure as always ladies, and to my lovely man for chauffeuring me about.

One of the best moments of the day was getting to meet my first bead soup partner Niky of SilverNiknats you know when you have been talking to someone online and you have built up an idea of what they look like etc ? Well it was great to meet Niky finally and her lovely daughter.

Ive also been gathering supplies for a special project idea I had, inspired by the bead soup swaps, which I loved being involved in. Stay tuned for more on that very soon !!

Preparations ..

2011-10-11T18:21:00.000+01:00

Mainly pictures today, Im currently working on preparations for the Flame On and also getting some gallery orders together. These give you an idea of whats lying around on my bench today awaiting my further attentions ...

New Toppers for interchangeable pendants / rings

Manga Ladies

Ear Bobs - a -glueing

Spacers. Spacers Everywhere. All need cleaning. And turning into things.

All photos taken with Hipstamatic and the new Susie lens.

Visual Merchandising

2011-09-25T10:52:00.001+01:00

With the festive season approaching there are craft fairs on the horizon. Following a discussion at the recent UK Handmade Surrey meet-up I have been doing some online research on display or "Visual Merchandising" for crafts and fairs, I found these articles quite interesting and Im going to use some of the advice in my new displays -

Back to Basics Visual Merchandising

Display your Craft to Sell

Meylah's Tips for great booth displays

(There are also a number of other articles on display in the Meylah learning centre)

I am currently building my new display set up so I have no pictures to share at the moment but I will pop some pictures up as I get my display sorted for my upcoming fairs.

If you are looking for table eye candy thought, have a look at the Show Me Your Booths group on Flickr !

Bead Soup - Reveal day

2011-09-17T00:01:00.001+01:00

Yes, it's that time, its reveal day !!! You can see the ingredients I was sent by my partner Jana on this post here.

Jana said that she sent me these pieces to challenge me to push my boundaries (one of the main points of the party) and I'm sure you'll have noticed that the stunningly bright green focal she sent is certainly different from my usual colour palette. I wanted to do something a little different with the focal and have made it up and taken it apart again a couple of times, trying echoing the shape in beads, and also making a rather complex net type idea (which it should be said may have been interesting in principle but was a complete disaster in actuality lol) then out of the corner of my eye I saw it lying about on my desk with some of the other pieces and the little dragonfly was sat almost on top of it ....

As a result, may I present to you the "Flight of the Dragonfly Necklace"

I decided to work with some wire and try to create "flight pattern" shapes, random flitting about type trails and I was quite pleased with them but decided I needed something else to bring a bit more colour and the jade beads Jana sent seemed perfect so I strung them separately to sit just under the focal. I liked the two elements together but I thought they needed something to make them a little less disparate so I redid my flight pattern links including a little jade bead on each link.

I didnt want the flight pattern links all the way round the necklace as I though they might be a bit uncomfortable on the back of the neck so I continued with sections of jade beads and linked all of them together with the little square links Jana sent, finishing it off with the little flower clasp that was also in my ingredients from Jana.

I have also made these dinky little earring with the swarovski butterflies Jana sent, very simple but cute !

Once again I have thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the Bead soup party, thanks for visiting and looking at my bead soup creations, please do check out the other participants creations, you can find the full list on Lori's blog here.

Keys to my heart

2011-09-03T18:14:00.000+01:00

I made these earlier in the week, Ive been wanting a pendant that was a bit special to show off my Dinky Sari Hearts and this is what I came up with. Simple & pretty.

Most of the rest of this week has been commissions and sculptural work, none of which are currently ready to share, but watch this space, there'll be more soon :)

Soup ingredients

2011-08-30T08:01:00.000+01:00

The soup I sent to Jana has arrived so I can share pictures of what I sent her and what I received.

Jana sent me -
A zingy bright green Jasper focal, Jasper, Jade, Pearl and Mother of Pearl coordinating beads, a sterling clasp and lots of silver plate findings and two cute little swarovski butterflies ! Im really looking forward to getting started on making with these !

I sent Jana -

Flat square wooden beads, freshwater pearls, swarovski crystals, lampwork twist beads and spacers, a vintaj clasp, and a choice of things to use as a focal - a vintage button, a lampwork cabochon and a lampwork focal bead. Cant wait to see what she makes :)

The Road Less Travelled

2011-08-20T07:59:00.000+01:00

Very exciting news this morning, following a series of chats with the lovely Kirsten Miller (who incidentally makes the most adorable miniature creatures from Polymer Clay, do take a look at her website) I have been featured this morning on UK Handmade's "INSPIRE: The Road Less Travelled" spot.

For anyone who hasn't come across it yet, UK Handmade is a fantastic website full of useful and informative articles from profiles on types of crafts and makers, helpful business articles looking at marketing, accounts and legal aspects to a lifestyle section with tutorials, recipes and reviews. All this plus the beautiful UK Handmade online magazine which is published quarterly and a great forum !

Time for some soup

2011-08-18T18:22:00.000+01:00

Yes its that time again, Lori Anderson is running another Bead Soup Blog Party !

I loved being involved with this last time so I couldn't wait to sign up again, and this time I have been partnered with the very talented Jana Tarhala of Helmitarha, as soon as I found out I rushed over to have a look at her work (of course) which is absolutely stunning, seed beading always amazes me, so much patience needed but such beautiful intricate designs.

I cant share a picture of exactly what I have sent Jana (that would spoil the surprise !) but I can show a teaser so here goes.

As a bit of fun, the first person to guess correctly what one of the ingredients are I will send a little surprise to. (You need to be specific though, just saying beads isnt going to cut it, oh-no. Material and colour please :) )

Working it out

2011-08-08T07:05:00.000+01:00

Do you ever get that feeling, you know you have an idea, but its hiding from you, and you cant quite get it out of your head and into life ?

I have been having that itchy feeling for a little while and so I thought I would share how I have been working it out.

I wanted to "draw" flowers on my beads. but not just any old flowers, special flowers. With details. And fine stringers (because we know I have a fine stringer addiction right ?).

So, I started doodling in glass.

The first one I did is at the bottom, working through to the top one. Grotty arent they !!

They were intended as quick "sketches" in glass, checking how things look, how the glass behaves, how much it moves / distorts as you layer up the details, practising skills that will be needed to make this work. Althogh for quick sketches some of them took rather a lot of time to do !

By the time I got to that top one I was getting grumpy. I could see in my mind clearer now what I was wanting to achieve but it just didnt seem to be working in the glass. And then the brainwave hit.

I sat down with a piece of paper and drew what I wanted. Then I drew it again. and again. Messing with spacing, numbers of elements, fiddling around until, on paper, it looked how I wanted.

From a design point of view, this is called doing things back to front !!! But for me, I needed that technical information and feedback from working with the glass to get my idea out in the first place. The drawing allowed me to refine the details of that idea much quicker than I could have in glass.

And this is one of my new flowers on a cabochon

Im looking forward to making many more and seeing where the idea takes me !

Things that make me happy.

2011-07-30T14:13:00.000+01:00

Thing number 1.
My Moo order arrived this week, happy sigh, I do love it when stuff comes from Moo, the packaging is lovely and its so nice to see designs Ive done on the computer as "real" objects, stickers, business cards etc. And for anyone who has not seen them yet, there are new types of stickers. in different shapes. (Obsessed ? Who me ? Its Stationery, and personalised, of course Im obsessed.)

Thing number 2.
I came across some fantastic little magnetic frames that are the perfect size for Moo's square stickers (which I happen to have a new pack of....) so.... ta dah...
.....Customised magnets. Did I mention I love custom and personalised things ??

Thing number 3.

The apples on my discovery apple tree are ripe ! I have been watching them like a hawk (or maybe a hungry caterpillar) since I heard on the radio the other day that discovery apples were ripening ultra early this year. I can confirm that they are indeed, and very, very gorgeous do they taste too !

Thing number 4.
OCDVPDD. As christened by my very good friend Lizzie, "Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder-Very-Precise-Detailed-Dots". As may have been mentioned previously (cough) I have a tendency to be slightly detail obsessed. So you can imagine the happiness I felt making this ring topper below. Its approximately 18mm diameter and has delicious quantities of fine stringers and dinky dots. Heaven.

What has made you happy this week ?

Ooo and more oooo's !

2011-07-15T13:54:00.000+01:00

Ooo number one, look what my lovely postie bought me today -

Threadfishes from the lovely and very talented Rebecca Watkins aka ArtyBecca, (you can see her work on Flickr, on her Blog and buy it on Etsy). These are so adorable ! I have been stroking them since I unwrapped the packet, they are very tactile and I do love "touchy-feely" things.

Ooo number two, baking ! Mmm ! Yes I have had a little time out this week, and spent some of it baking. I made shortbread bisquits (with mixed success if Im honest) and I have just made a Banana Loaf, fingers crossed it turns out well, it smells divine !

The rest of my time recenty has been taken indulging my current beady obsession.

Im addicted to the bright and summery-ness of these and thoroughly enjoying making them. They make me feel all cheerful and happy, especially when seen in a group like this ! I hope the sun is shining where you are (and if not and you want a sunshiny bead to cheer you up, these are on the website now).

Have a great weekend !

Winner announced

2011-07-09T21:59:00.001+01:00

First off a HUGE thank you to EVERYONE for your donations in total £308 has gone to Macmillan which is fantastic so huge thanks for all your help

And drum roll...

The winner chosen by the random number generator is JOY FUNNELL. Congratulations to Joy, and thanks again to everyone for taking part and donating to Macmillan.

WIN a day of my time

2011-07-02T17:01:00.000+01:00

I am fundrasing for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Everyone who donates on this page on or before 10th July 2011 will be entered into a draw to win a day of my time.

It can be a days of me making beads for you (and I can make a LOT of beads in a day!), or you can come to me for a days lampwork lesson, the winner can choose.

There is no minimum on the amount you can donate to be in the draw, any and all donations are HUGELY appreciated.

Its a great opportunity for a great cause, please, give if you can.

Work in Progress

2011-06-23T18:44:00.000+01:00

I thought you might like to see what I have been upto, or at least one of the things that I have been working on. It will be a new framed piece and has a lampwork daisy and a dinky little torch blown vase to hold it in (and yes, I was very very pleased when the vase worked first time i tried it !)

I have been meaning to make this one up for a while as its a couple of months since I had the idea but as I had a request from Layne Rowe for more daisies for his blown glass pieces I decided to get it done while i was in daisy mode !

Here you can see it in the frame, Im still tinkering about with exactly how its going to all sit together and how many petals will be with it etc ...and given that i can occasionally be ever so slightly particular about these things (*cough*) this might take a while !!

There's something in the water in Surrey...

2011-06-18T10:39:00.000+01:00

Frit is something that I dont use very much, I never really have despite the fact I love some of the effects that I see people getting when they use it in their work. It is not that I dont have any frit, believe me I have no shortage of it (so pretty !) I just dont often use it. So I decided it was time I made a concerted effort to make friends with some of my frit.

I tried a few different techniques and found the results quite interesting, Although as you can see from the swirls on the ones below I couldn't help but add a little extra surface decoration, when I look at these beads they dont scream at me that they are "mine" in the way that my beads normally do (to me at least).

Then I was talking to Sarah, a fellow lampworker and friend who lives just a little way across Surrey and she was saying that she has also been playing with Frit this week, which is unusual for her too ! She's made some beautiful beads, like these below (more pics on her Flickr) and I love the fact that they are very "Sarah" beads, she has taken the frits and made them into beads in her own style.

It got me thinking of what makes up a persons "style"? I generally think that any style that can be ascribed to me is down to the fact I have quite a specific idea of what I do and dont like in the way of colour, form and pattern and that those preferences come across despite using a variety of techniques.

How would you describe artistic "style" ? Do you think you have a style of work and if so what would you say it is?

Evolution of a studio

2011-05-26T08:20:00.000+01:00

As my studio is now finished bar a few little details I thought it would be fun to share how far it has come from when I first started lampworking.

My very first "studio" was in the corner of our kitchen, with the things I bought at a taster session. I made one very simple (very bad) set of beads on this set up -

The set up was then packed away in order for us to move house. Once we were settled at the new house I took a couple of weekend classes with the very lovely Diana East, whilst I was away on the first one himself was busy in the garage building and I came home to this -

My kiln arrived shortly after and many happy hours were spent in there. We did decide however that a little more space was needed, so another bench was added to make an L shape -

There was then a jewellers bench added to the right of the picture, and I worked with that set up then until just before Christmas last year. That was when we started the renovations and added more benches to make benches on 4 sides and I had a move about, setting up both my torches on the new bench. Then a couple of weeks ago the builders came and built me a new wall, added a ceiling (the space was double height) and I spent a lot of time with pollyfilla and paint. My torch area now looks like this with the new wall behind the torches -

My bench is the one on the right and my glass storage sits to my right -

The rest of the studio is still needing a little work but as soon as it is all done I'll take some more pictures. It is a lovely place to work, very light and Im really looking forward to having it all sorted and indulging my ocd in organising everything !

Taking a break ..

2011-05-15T16:22:00.000+01:00

Having spent the last few days (Weeks ? - it feels that way) covered in pollyfilla and paint as the studio gets all its work done, yesterday we decided to take a day out. Himself was talking about the Horniman Museum mid week, which I had never heard of so I google'd it and saw the info about the "Bail: Dancing for the Gods" exhibit and mentioned that I would like to go, so yesterday off we tootled.

The Bali exhibition was fantastic, masks and costumes and shadow puppets and patterns, Oh the patterns !! I spent ages admiring the pieces and taking photos. There is also an amazing musical instrument collection and you can even play some of the instruments (great fun, although I bet the security man who had the job of watching that room turns the volume down !!). But what stole the show for me was the Jellyfish.

Yes Jellyfish.

I hadnt realised there was an aquarium when I looked at the website, having been a tad engrossed with with Bali pictures, but when we got there and the ticket lady said there was an aquarium I had to see (Entry is free to the museum but the Bali exhib and the aquarium you do have to buy tickets for).

The Jellyfish were magical. Despite taking lots of photos, they mostly turned out terrible. These were transparent jellies as you can see in the picture above, and they were so graceful moving about in the tank, visible where the light caught them but almost invisible when they moved out of the light. I was fascinated.

Himself took this short film of them -

So, amazingly, Im now liking Jellyfish (amazing considering when I was little I was stung by one and strangely enough haven't been very fond of them ever since) and Im thinking its quite possible at some point Im going to have to try and make one in glass. Maybe I'll just need to pop back to the museum for a bit first...

Hipstamatic

2011-05-11T16:40:00.001+01:00

I have mentioned before that I have a total addiction to the Hipstamatic app for the iphone, I love taking photos with it and do so rather a lot. I also love to look at other peoples Hipstamatic shots and today I saw these photos by Jason Wills and was blown away, I really really love the idea (so simple !) and how well its been done (not so simple lol !) and had to share, you can find Jason's "gridstamatic" set on flickr here

Torch withdrawal symptoms

2011-05-09T15:21:00.000+01:00

Im starting to get torch withdrawal symptoms, it seems like so long since I have been able to melt some glass. I know in reality it hasn't been that long, it just feels that way.

The reason for lack of torchability ? ... that would be because of the arrival of the builders, or rather the preparing for them, and then sorting out after them, they were actually here only for a fraction of the time I thought it would take and I have spent considerably longer sorting out than they were here for.

Builders ? Im sorry, I shouldnt tease, they have been to do the final bits and bobs on the studio and wow does it look different !! Its taking me a little getting used to at the moment, in part because it is not finished - I still have my bits to do, painting and suchlike, so my tools, the kiln and torches etc are all packed up which makes it look unfamiliar but also because the acoustics in there have changed (new ceiling will do that !!) so it feels kind of odd although Im sure once I have settled everything back into its places it will feel like home again in no time.

There will be lots of pics of the studio and its evolution shortly so for now im going to share something else I have been upto whilst out of torching, more polymer clay, this piece is a pendant, an i think it may be a "keeper" !

Polymer Clay

2011-04-28T08:13:00.000+01:00

If you remember as part of the Bead Soup Swap, my lovely partner Niky sent me some sculpey polymer clay to play with. Well I finally got it out and had a go. The clay is lovely to work with, but it has to be said that my first attempts were.... less than attractive !! However I thoroughly enjoyed making them.

I decided some research was in order, a short web search took me to the wonderful Polymer Clay Daily blog with its gorgeous eye candy, resulting in total inspiration, in fact probably over inspiration as I want to try everything ! I fell completely in love with Carol Simmons amazing kaleidoscope canes, bewitched as usual by details. So i decided that kaleidoscope canes seemed like a good place to start. So I found a tutorial and set off ..

Just really simple canes put together to form a rough triangle, then worked into a better triangle, then reduced into a cane.

Then made into 3 little kaleidoscope patterns, one for each point of the triangle.

Now I just have to work out something to do with them !!

Spring Sunshine

2011-04-21T08:31:00.000+01:00

It is gorgeous weather round here at the moment, we have been making the very most of it having dinner in the garden and even having the odd BBQ. Its been a great excuse to get the fire pit out as the evening cools off. I love fire, no shock there then from a lampworker, but I can sit and watch the flames for ages, and it appears, I take LOTS of photos of it !!!

It has been a great time for taking pictures in the garden at the moment, I am still hipstamatic obsessed and as my apple tree is in full blossom, giving me hope for more than two apples this year (it is only a baby tree!!) I have been taking photos of the blossom from bud to bloom.

Work ? Oh yes, Im working too, a little fragmentedly admittably having had the flame off and then been "up north' for a few days, but Im setting back into my routine now just in time for it to be disrupted with bank holidays. I have lots of ideas for new framed work that im gathering the components for and I have ideas for new beads too so I'll share those with you in due course.

Fingers crossed for some gorgeous weather for the bank holiday weekends, I hope you have a great time whatever you do.

New Gardens

2011-04-15T07:16:00.000+01:00

I have some new garden pieces I have been working on.

This one has a working title of "Stand Tall" -

And this one, Im thinking about adding some foliage in to it so its not quite complete, is called "Night Garden"

No, I have not vanished

2011-04-01T09:52:00.000+01:00

off the end of the world never to be seen again !!

Sorry for my absence, I am having one of those argh-how-many-things-can-one-person-realistically-do-at-once times. The UK Flame Off is rapidly approaching with just one week to go and as usual Im sharing a stand with Sarah of Flame Force Five and Sabine of Little Castle Designs so Im busy busy busy making things to put on it !!

As well as the transfers, this year im going to be selling tool rolls for lampwork tools. I have really enjoyed working these out, having decided ages ago I wanted one for my tools for when I take them to classes and visiting friends, I have made a couple of changes to the initial design and I'm now really happy with it. The making has turned into a family affair as my mum has also been making them up for me to my design and I'm really excited about being able to offer them.

I also have work in the auction that the collective are holding to raise money for Japan following the earthquake and tsunami. I have a set of beads included and there are some gorgeous pieces on offer not just beads but textiles and jewellery too from amazing artists from around the world, including the pieces shown below by Lush Lampwork, Hattie Rae, Izzy of Flame and Glass, Joy Funnell, Lisa Pidgeon, C-Urchin, Jo of Daisychain Designs, Moogin Beads, and Mich Yasue as well as many more.

This weeks to-do list has also included beads for the website (I'm on it ladies, I promise), a couple of gallery orders and some tests for a new idea I have so I hope you will forgive me my lack of recent communications.

And the Winner is ....

2011-03-21T08:14:00.001Z

No 7, NESS, Congratulations Ness !! Please email me so I can sort out your prize.

Thank you to everyone who took part in the survey, it is very interesting to look through the results, a quick summary of which -

Of the people who filled it in the majority are jewellery designers / makers, but from all different corners of the world which is amazing and fantastic (to me anyway !).

By far the most important thing for you in reading a blog was that you like the artists work, with good quality pictures and style of writing drawing for second place.

Artists inspiration and the design process came up tops as the topics you were most interested in and Blue and Purple were far and away the most chosen favourite colours.

A big thank you again to everyone who took the time to do the survey and especially to those who left comments and questions which I look forward to answering soon !

You could WIN ... if you fill out the Survey

2011-03-12T18:10:00.000Z

Ok, so gratuitously attention grabbing title !! The reason for this is I have noticed that following some of the recent events, blog hops etc round here, there has been quite an increase in the number of people reading and following the blog, thats so great, THANK YOU all !

As a result I have put a little Online Survey together to get to know a bit more about who is reading the blog and the sort of thing that interests you.

Now I know not everyone is like me (I *love* surveys) and enjoys filling them out so I thought as an incentive we'd have a giveaway. To be in with a chance of winning it you need to fill out the survey (Its anonymous) then come back here and comment on this post to say that you have done so.

The prize will be your choice of either a set of beads and matching focal, or a Pendant and matching Earrings. I will keep the survey live until Sunday 20th March then on the Monday I will draw someones name to win from the people who have commented on this post.

The picture is some new beads, purely to have something pretty to look at, I will post a picture of the prizes next week when I have made them ;o)

World Book Night

2011-03-05T22:03:00.000Z

What a lucky girl am I ! You may have been hearing about World Book Day recently, or if you have been watching the TV this evening you may have come across World Book Night, an exciting and ambitious project to give away one million books.

Well I am very excited to say I am going to be getting one of those books, I will have a copy of Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell and with huge thanks to the lovely Mary Kent of Nemea Designs who is one of the people who was selected to be a "giver" and distribute copies of the book of her choice from those in the project.

Part of my excitement (other than new reading material to feed my book-worm habit) for this is that the books all have a unique identifying number on them, so that once I have read my copy I can pass it on to someone else to read who can log on the website that they have read it and then we can follow the journey of the book !! I think that is soooo cool. Once I have my book and have read and logged it I will share the number so you can follow it too.

If you want to get involved with this project then you can find all the info via the links above or register for World Book Night 2012 here.

Spring Garden

2011-03-04T16:55:00.000Z

I have been busying myself with some more framed work, I got all over excited with an idea and decided I had to follow it through to a finished piece. I had been doing some research for my little pattern project making some drawings and doing some initial work based on some photos from a trip to RHS Wisley when I decided I had to try the shapes I was drawing in glass (now there's a surprise...), with patterns on in the same way as I pattern my dragonflies. And this is what I came up with

It is in a white frame, just photographed on a black background (hoping for chance to have a proper "photoshoot" with it next week) but im sure you get the idea !

As you can see its not just glass, I have been playing with metal clay, fine silver and sterling silver too. Great fun as it has been a while since Ive had chance to use metal clay and I really enjoy the different effects you can get with it.

I think this is my favorite bit (dont tell the other flowers that though !!) I think Im going to make another flower in this style and work it up into a pendant. One of the best things about doing this has been all the other ideas and tangents it has generated that are now crowding around in my head. I cant wait till next week and some time in the studio to work on them.

Bead Soup - Reveal day

2011-02-26T06:00:00.022Z

How exciting is this, its reveal day at last ! You can see all my soup ingredients from my lovely partner Niky on this post and I have to say a HUGE huge thank you to her for her generosity for the amazing selection of pieces she sent me.

To recap, everyone was paired up and you had to send you partner a focal, a clasp (not just a lobster clasp) and some co-ordinating beads. You have to use the focal and clasp but the rest is optional.

So far I have made two pieces, one with the focal and clasp, teamed with some of the turquoise beads Niky sent me, some greek ceramic spacers and some cotton thong. I loved the silver focal and turquoise together and though these were idea to make me work outside my usual comfort zone and following a visit to Westfield decided to make something that went with the current trend for denim and the modern cowboy type look that was in all the shops there. Very simple but I love how it came out, and its not something I would have come up with normally !!

My second piece, I just knew I had to make when I saw the fabulous Laura Sparling lampwork beads that Niky sent, I put Laura's beads with one of my Loney Hearts Club Ladies, some titanium rings and some sterling and Im really really pleased with the result.

I still have lots more pieces to work with, some I have started and I look forward to sharing those with you soon. In the meantime please do check out the other wonderful participants and take a look at all their fabulous creations !

1. Lori Anderson, Pretty Things

2. Kitty Durmaj, Perles and Life

3. Michelle Heim, Life In the Bead Lane

4. Lisa Petrillo, Lucid Moon Studio

5. Anitra Gordy, Leelu Creations

6. Paige Maxim, Paige Maxim Designs

7. Marianna Boylan, Pretty Shiny Things

8. Cheryl Roe, BeadRoe

9. Heidi Post, Ex Post Facto

10. Cindy Wimmer, Sweet Bead Studio

11. Terri Gauthier, Blooming Ideas

12. Rachel Walsh, Balanced Crafts

13. Marian Hertzog, M's Place

14. Mary McGraw, MK's Musings

15. Sarabeth Burke, Chronicles of Sarita

16. Deci Worland, Gem Trails

17. Erin Prais-Hintz, Treasures Found

18. Laura Zeiner, Stick Lizard Designs

19. Kristin Latimer, MJM Jewelry Designs

20. Cathryn Brooks-Williams, Chile Cats

21. Holly Westfall, Silver Rose Designs

22. Janna Harttgen, Palima-Lim

23. Libby Leuchtman, Libby Leu

24. Rebecca Anderson, Songbeads

25. Deb Hunter, Living On Air

26. Diana Ptaszynski, Suburban Girl Studio

27. Jennifer VanBenschoten, VanBeads

28. Margot Potter, The Impatient Crafter

29. Cyndi Lavin, Beading Arts

30. Courtney Breul, Beads by Breul

31. Stefanie Teufel, Stefanie's Sammelsurium

32. Patricia Gasparino, My Life Under the Bus

33. Tari Khars, Pearl and Pebble

34. Kristi Bowman-Gruel, Kristi Bowman Design

35. Jayne Capps, Mama's Got to Doodle

36. Becky Fairclough, Chameleons Designs - YOU ARE HERE

37. Evie and Beth McCord, EB Bead & Metal Works

38. Lynne Bowland, Islandgirl's Insights

39. Barbara Lewis, Painting With Fire

40. Lorelei Eurto, Inside the Studio

41. Stacy Hartis, Sissy & Jack's

42. Jennifer Cameron, Glass Addictions

43. Marcie Abney, La Bella Joya

44. Johanna Rhodes, Fire Phoenix Creations

45. Nan Emmett, Spirit Rattles

46. Melissa Mesara, One Eared Pig

47. Amanda Davie, Articulations

48. Cherin Poovey, Lanyard Lady

49. Virginia Joste, ViviBijoux

50. Andrew Thornton, The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
51. Lori Dorrington, Lori's Glassworks

52. Melanie Brooks, Earthenwood Studio Chronicles

53. Kate Gardenghi, Tropical Blonde

54. Serena Trent, PinkIce Jewel's Blog

55. Malin de Koning, Beading by Malin de Koning

56. Shai Williams, Shaiha's Ramblings

57. Francy Inman, 8 Second Studio

58. Amy Freeland, Copper Diem

59. Lisa Liddy, Joolz By Lisa

60. Sandi Lee James, Do Be Do Bead Do

61. Mary Harding, Mary Harding Bead Blog

62. Stacey Curry, Star Hitched Wagon

63. Leslie Gidden, Mad Maggie Designs

64. Elisabeth Auld, Beads For Busy Gals

65. Niky Sayers, Silver Nik Nats

66. Linda Djokic, Lutka and Co.

67. Tracy Bell, Copper, Glass, and Recycled Trash

68. Laurel Steven, Rue's Daftique

69. Ingrid McCue, Wrapped In Silver

70. Birgitta Lejonklou, Create With Spirit

71. Diana Hawkey, Diana Hawkey

72. Norma Turvey, Moonlit Fantaseas

73. Jeanette Ryan, Jeanette Blix

74. Jackie Ryan, Silver Lodge Gems

75. Jean Yates, Snap Out of it Jean, There's Beading to Be Done!

76. Debbie Goering, Prairie Emporium

77. Valerie Norton, Hot Art

78. Jana Trupovniece, Stories of the Secret Garden

79. Amy Severino, Amy Beads

80. Emma Thomas, Fred Beans Nook

81. Karen Zanco, Everyday Gypsy

82. Suzann Sladcik Wilson, Beadphoria

83. Janet McDonald, Singing Woods

84. Dana James, Dana's Jewelry Designs

85. Kristina Johansson, Wild Roses and Blackberries

86. CJ Bauschka, CJ Bauschka

87. Angela Barribea, Re: Angela Rae

88. Marcy Lamberson, Studio Marcy

89. Tanya Floyd, Glass Migrations

90. Lisa Kavanaugh, Beading Bliss

91. Sue Hodgkinson, Hello Gorgeous

92. Jenni Connolly, Jenni's Bead

93. Nally Parfyonova, Nally's Creations

94. Karyn White, Releases By Rufydoof

95. Emanda Johnson, Artemisia Studio

96. Sandy Richardson, Sandy's Coloring Box

97. Cindy Dolezal, Cindy Dolezal Designs

98. Stacie Stamper, Park Avenue

99. Mallory Hoffman, For the Love of Beads

100. Linda Landig, Linda's Bead Blog and Meanderings

101. Nicole Valentine-Rimmer, N. Valentine Studio

102. Jacinta Meyers, Jamberrysong's Creations

103. Charlene Gary, Gray Girl Studios

104. Rubiee Hayes, Glitter and Keys Galore

105. Marge Beebe, Rock Creek Creations

106. Elizabeth Freeman, Turquoise Sky

107. Shelby Foxwell, Sundown Bead Designs Rhetoric

108. Lynda Moseley, Diva Designs

109. Grace Danel, Grace Beading

110. Lois Moon, Que Onda Quitman

111. Agnes Shapiro, Beader Bubbe

112. Terry Carter, Tapping Flamingo

113. Judy Glende, Judith B. Designs

114. Mary Ellen Parker, Bee Tree By Me

115. Barbara Bechtel, Second Surf

116. Charlene Sevier, The Bead Dreamer

117. Alice Craddick, Alice's Beads and Baubles

118. Cory Celaya, Art With Moxie

119. Ronda Adams, The Ravished Heart

120. Sandi Volpe, Sandi Volpe Designs

121. Anna Lear, The Laughing Raven

122. Susie Hibdon, Vintagesusie & Wings

123. Amanda Austin, Sea Shore Glass

124. Jennifer Velasquez, Jen Judd Rocks

125. Hazel Ward, All Those Things

126. Brenda Salzano, Salzanos

127. Dee Gordon, Runako Designs by Dee

128. Anna Denisova, Anita-M

129. Margaret Saari, Mags-Jewelry

130. Genea Crivello-Knable, Genea Beads

131. Penny Neville, Copper Penny

132. Angela Blasingame, Hopemore

133. Helena Fritz, Beadwork by H's Blog

134. Stephanie LaRose, Confessions of a Bead Hoarder

135. Stephanie Haussler, PixyBug Designs

136. Diane Cook, Rosa & Josies

137. Maryse Thillens, Glass Bead Art

138. Jennifer Pride, Jewelry by J.P.

139. Shannon Chomanczuk, For My Sweet Daughter

140. Lisa Godfrey, Bead Happy

141. Heather Pyle, Welcome to My Muse

142. Regina Santerre, Regina's Writings

143. Liz DeLuca, Creative Arty Facts

144. Sig Wynne-Evans, Beaded Bear's Nonsense

145. Loretta Carstensen, Loretta's Boutique

146. Raida Disbrow, Havana Beads

147. Amber Dawn, Inventive Soul

148. Shelly Graves, Stars Dance With Me

149. Jess Italia Lincoln, Vintaj Blog

150. JJ Jacobs, Coming Abstractions

151. Carrie Tahquechi, Carrie T

152. Staci Smith, Staci Louise Originals

153. Katarzyna Kwiatkowska, Quiet Area

154. Ema Kilroy, Ema K Designs

155. Magdalena Sikora, Poranna Gazeta

156. Nicole Keller, Nicki's Reef

157. Ann Rishell, My Critical Eye

158. Noemi Baena, Fire, Metal, and Color

159. Christa Murphy, Adventures of One Beady Woman

160. Barbara Blaszczyk, Labotorium Flory

161. Collette Collins, Firefly Myst

162. Carola Greiser, Polymer Clay Shed

163. Joanna Kopijczuk, Bizuteria z Filcu

164. LeAnn Weih, Summers Studio

165. Cassandra Watsham, Design by Cassandra

166. Anna Motz, Stunning

167. Shea Zukowski, Gr8findings

168. Susan Kennedy, Sue Beads

169. Lisa Boucher, Lisa's Clay Happenings

170. Hope Smitherman, Crafty Hope

171. Alison Crenshaw, Beads by Earth Tones

172. Dorcas Midkiff, Wondrous Strange Designs

173. Melissa Rediger, Sea of Glass

174. Marina Dobrynina, Savon Feutre

175. Julie Nordine, Julie Nordine | Credit River Art Glass

176. Menka Gupta, Menka's Blog

177. Patsy Evins, Patsy Evins Studio

178. Cherrie Fick, En La Lumie're

179. Suzette Bentley, Ellie's Bijoux

180. Molly Alexander, Beautifully Broken Me

181. Lyn Foley, Lyn Foley Wearable Art

182. Tara Plote, The Newbie Beader's Blog

183. Natalie Schuetz, Natalie S Perlen

184. Kim Hutchinson, Running on Ink

185. Haley Frank, Wide Eyed Smilin

186. Grace Caputo, Suddenly Last Summer

187. Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp, Skye Jewels

188. Erin Siegel, Erin Siegel Jewelry

189. Janea McDonald, Organized Chaos

190. Kristi Evenson, Colie Bug & Co.

191. Linda Inhelder, Must Haves Jewelry

192. Hilary Frye, FryeStyle

193. Whitney Lassini, Whitney Lassini

194. Nancy Schindler, The Rabbit Muse

195. Pam Brisse, The Blue Between

196. Beth Bricker, Vintage Sweets

197. Ruthie Stickney, Rose Works Jewelry and Gifts

198. Rose Noble, Lady Noble Designs

199. Karen Williams, Baublicious

200. Claire Maunsell, The Next Bend

201. Christine Damm, Stories They Tell

202. Kerry Bogert, Kab's Creative Concepts

203. Wendy Blum, Sand & Sea Designs

204. Juli Cannon, Julsbeads

205. Jenny Robledo, La Dona Boutique

206. Krista French, French Elegant Jewelry

207. Pam Krinski, Ewa Beads

208. Melissa Meman, Melissa Meman, Art, Life, Love

209. Dana Jones, Dana's Jewelry

210. Shirley Moore, Beads and Bread

A huge thank you is also due to Lori Anderson for organising, I have really really enjoyed participating.

The next party's sign ups begin August 1-3, 2011 at Lori Anderson's Blog. Don't miss it!

Spring is in the air

2011-02-24T11:08:00.000Z

Its creeping in slowly but surely, sometimes in a one-step-forwards, two-steps-back kind of way. but you can feel it in the air. The sun is shining, the bulbs in my garden are starting to poke their shoots through the ground, even the kitties are starting to go outside more frequently to play, Spring is on its way.

Spring, like Autumn is one of the seasons that I find has a tangible effect on my work, its not a deliberate "oh, I must make spring like things" but a hankering to use brighter colours, designs that remind me of warmer days, things blooming and a general feeling of freshness.

I have been thinking about this for a few days as I have been working on a new framed piece, so far im really pleased with how it is coming together, and to me it feels very much like spring. Want to see a sneak-peek teaser ? Just a little detail ? Ok, here goes -

Do you find the seasons have a direct influence on what you make ? I would love to hear if it affects you, how it affects your work ? Do you find you use different colours ? Or even a different technique or media ?

And the winer is

2011-02-17T13:56:00.000Z

Sarah, of La-De-Dah. Congratulations Sarah !

Huge thank you to everyone taking part in OWOH, it has been great to visit lots of new blogs and "meet" new people I have thoroughly enjoyed it. A particularly special thank you to everyone who took time to comment on my post too !

Lonely Hearts

2011-02-14T14:30:00.000Z

I hope that you are having a lovely day and the sun is shining where you are as it is here, after the grotty overcast and rainy day we had yesterday its so lovely to have bright sunshine today. I decided that it would be fun to do something for valentines and this appealed so I hope you will go and take a look at the Chameleon Designs Lonely Hearts Page and say hello to Lola, Betty, Ginny and company and help to make them feel loved.

Its over a year now since I went on the class with Claudia Trimbur Pagel and I had lots of ideas following the class for beads that I wanted to make, amongst which was a manga style girl and, well, as you can see its take a year to get there but then last week I finally got round to attempting it and I was quite pleased with the results of my first goes, despite there being some obvious room for improvement !!

Beads in order that they were made - top first

While I was making them something clicked in my brain, a switch somewhere flipped or something and I remembered a souvenir my mum bought me back from a holiday in Greece, a plaster ladies head, very pretty, in a 1920's style, all black and white, and we called her Tallulah after one of the characters in Bugsy Mallone. So I decided to make some 1920's (ish) ladies, bobbed hair, big flowers in their hair or hair bands, and "all that jazz". Meet "Lola" -

You can see the other ladies on their page on my website or on my flickr.

One World One Heart 2011

2011-02-09T20:47:00.000Z

Hello and Welcome to Chameleon Designs, I am Becky Fairclough, a lampwork glass artist based in the beautiful Surrey Hills, UK. My passion is working with hot glass, finding inspiration in the things around me. I also enjoy photography and have a fascination for patterns. I live with my wonderful Man and our 3 kittie-monsters.

Im very excited to be participating in OWOH and along with so many other bloggers worldwide, and very thankful to my Bead Soup partner Niky, whose blog introduced me to OWOH.

For a chance to win one of my heart pendants like the ones below, please just leave me a comment on this post and I will draw a winner on 17th Feb 2011.

A new adventure

2011-02-01T10:06:00.000Z

I have been fascinated by surface pattern for a long time. Im not sure where the fascination came from but I had a brief brush with Surface Pattern Design at my first uni and have had a nagging itch to get back to it ever since.

Card by Rachael Taylor, Website, Folksy

So I have decided to have a little adventure and try to teach myself more about designing patterns and hopefully make some exciting patterns of my own along the way. I thought it would be fun to treat it like one of the extended projects we did at college so Im starting at the very beginning, Im doing research.

"Flora" pattern by Julia Rothman, Website Flickr

Research ? Yes, research. I know I love patterns, but exactly what is it about patterns that I love ? Is it the big bold patterns, lots of colour and simple block shapes ? Or maybe the really intricate ones with subtle colours ? When I say pattern am I meaning "wallpaper" pattern, something that repeats over and over or am I meaning simply any decoration of a surface ? I need to work out what style and elements of patterns are the things that make me go "Oooo".

Pattern by Amanda Dilworth, Website

So, my first stop is Bowie Style's book "Print & Pattern". (Which immediately gets a big "oooo" !!) The book is a collection of wonderful surface pattern designs from some amazing artists and just flicking thorough it Im already excited about this project. (All the images in this post are by artists whose work are in the book whose work I admire) I have already some seedling ideas what I like and what sort of work I want to produce so look out, there may be some tentative shoots of patterns sprouting round here soon...

Time to get cooking

2011-01-25T18:23:00.000Z

My bead soup ingredients have arrived ! My partner is the lovely Niky of Silver Nik Nats and she has sent me a fab range of goodies to play with.

This is what came out of the envelope, and Niky made it herself, but, not only that it co-ordinates with the contents !! And you know I love things that are matched, and it doesnt end there -

See, she even matched the tissue paper to the turquoise beads !! I have to confess to squeals of excitement at this point ! And it gets better !!

Niky made the pendant herself and that along with the clasp are the piece that I have to use as part of the bead soup challenge, not that it will be a problem, nor will using everything else she sent either let me tell you !! Im totally in love with the piece of titanium by Holly Gage that Niky sent, the colours are mesmerising and I have lots of ideas of things I would like to do with it. And there's more....

Totally spoling me, Niky sent Laura Sparling lampwork beads too !! (Am I not the luckiest swap partner ever ? It certainly feels that way !) Along with Turquoise, blue goldstone, and crystal beads too ! And still there is more...

Now isnt he just so cute !! I think something really fun and quirky is called for here !

I was very curious when Niky said she had included something I might not have used before and was therefore delighted to find this -

I have been watching the new Polymer Clay thread on Frit Happens with great interest so I cant wait to get some basic tools and have a go with this.

A HUGE and most GIGANTIC thank you to Niky for such a wonderful parcel and for taking such care and attention to detail with the packaging. I feel very pampered and very very inspired, Thank you Niky !!

If you would like to check out what other people have been sending and receiving there is a flickr group you can check out. I'm going to go now and take my over excitement and multiple !! away and find some dinner before I get any more hyper !

They're done.. drum roll ..

2011-01-21T20:57:00.000Z

Yep, its time, I promised I would show you and I think Im ready ...

Im pleased to share with you my new framed dragonfly pieces.

These particular ones are no longer "work in progress", although as a concept the range is still in the early days and very much at the new and experimental stage. These particular lovelies are done and I am quite pleased with how they have come out. I have been wanting for a while to make sculptural pieces but the pieces I love making have a tendency to be very delicate and therefore not very practical to transport about. Then I thought about framed work. So these are my first tentative steps in that direction. I would love to know what you think ?

I dont know about you but I do find with new work I like to live with it for a while, so frequently I have a piece in the studio for a couple of weeks or so while I decide what I like, what I dont, what needs to be improved. These are a change to that as they ended up being rather last minute so I have kept one of the initial 4 (two of which are above) to sit in the studio and do just that. Im very excited about where this journey is going. So much so I have bought a mahoosive frame for a really, really big piece ... watch this space....

Bead Soup Blog Party & new earrings

2011-01-16T13:39:00.000Z

Yey, the partners for the bead soup blog party have been announced, I am super excited about taking part in this, I have missed the deadline to sign up on the previous occasions but loved watching the proceedings and seeing all the lovely things people made. I have already started to put together some bits and bobs but wanted to wait until I found out who my partner was before I decided for certain so Im going to have lots of fun putting the final bits and bobs together in the next few days !

I spent the last couple of days of last week trying to unearth our office (there is actually carpet in there !! and 2 desks!! ) and it is amazing the things you find. As it meant that I didnt spend any time at the torch I made sure to do some glueing and finishing of a few pieces including a new pair of earrings for me.

These hoops I made following the fab tutorial that Diana posted on her blog. They were fun to make so Im raring to make some more now although with only 1 mandrel in this size it might be a little while before I have many !

My other work in progress is still not completely ready to share but I can give you a teaser ...

I will have more to show you soon...

eeek where is January going ?

2011-01-13T19:54:00.000Z

Two minutes ago it was new year ! It seems 2011 is racing along already, maybe it's because I have so many ideas at the moment that I want to try out, and due to having to sort accounts and other paprerwork-y things out I seem to have little time actually at my torch ? either that or the kiln fairies have become time goblins ?!?

I have made some new cabochons, more of the nebula style ones in reactive soft glass some of which have turned out very "flashy" and Im really pleased with, and one in particular is talking to me asking to be made into something (it didn't specify what unfortunately) and it would be the one that despite doing the exact same process again I cannot get close to the effect of.

My other current project needs a few little adjustments and then I will be very excited to share that with you too, I will give you a clue, it will mean more changes to my website ...in the way of a new category being added ! Very exciting for me as it involves a different set of skills but dont worry, Im not going to stop making beads or cabochons. In fact I have some ideas for both that I cant wait to try out next week when I am back at the torch again.

Happy New Year

2011-01-04T10:37:00.000Z

How is 2011 treating you so far ?

Im thinking the year is off to a very exciting start, my first new beads and cabochons of the year have been made and the cabochons particularly I was really pleased with.

Im full of ideas for lots of new pieces I want to make and raring to get back into the studio. To further add to my excitement the voting has opened for the 2011 Craft and Design Selected Awards and I am included in the makers featured. The website is full of pictures of amazing work from a wide range of makers across a variety of media including Glass, Metal, Wood, Ceramics and Textiles. The winners are chosen from the finalists selected by the public vote, so please if you like my work visit my page and vote for me, and while you are there why not take a minute to look around at some of the other talented artists represented.

Tree time

2010-12-19T10:45:00.000Z

Its nearly Christmas, which i dont think has escaped anyones notice, although I am feeling singularly unready for it. I think it is the snow, it has put me out of whack somehow. We braved the trip into town yesterday and I can imagine there were lots of unhappy retailers, the last saturday before Christmas and it was dead. Not completely deserted but people were few and far between and given the state of the roads hardly surprising but it just didnt feel like Christmas because of it.

However I have been sorting out Christmas trees, our tree in the living room looks much as it did last year but this year i did a little tree for the studio too (which will move inside just before Christmas day).

I got a bit excited about the idea of having this mini tree in the studio and so I decided to put handmade decorations on it. This is the tree I used to have as a teenager so it does have some bits (paper garlands, bead strings and a cute little string of brass bells) that I want to keep on it from then, but as far as baubles go I wanted to make my own. I have made blown glass baubles in the hot shop before but there is no way this little fella would hold that kind of weight so I made lampwork baubles.

As I have had a (very very lovely) surprise early Christmas present this week in the form of a sandblaster, which my lovely Himself decided was too big to wrap up or hide anywhere, I had to include a little sandblasted disc too.

And simply because I have one, and they are gorgeous I had to include this adorable little ceramic button by the terrific Tan of course.

Im thinking I may have started another little Christmas tradition and that it would be nice to make at least one new ornament for it each year and (hopefully) see my skills in this area improve or at the very least see how they evolve !

Now Im off to make some mince pies and hoping that the smell of them cooking wafting around the house will make me feel more Christmassy.

2010-12-15T09:41:00.000Z

Its that time of year, things are getting Christmassy, the mornings are frosty, and I made Penguins.

"So, erm, do you come here often ?"

So far I have made 22 penguins and I managed to get some pictures of some of them last night before they put on their new outfits and went out into the world as phone charms. I love making penguins, I love the fact they are all different, the expressions it is possible to get on their faces. They were so cute that I had to keep one for me.

Is there anything that you love to make near Christmas, something that makes you feel all festive ? Feel free to comment or leave a link to a photo, Id love to see.

Make

2010-12-06T15:38:00.000Z

If you havent noticed it, scroll down a ways and have a look at the badge down there on the right, yes thats it the reverb10 one, have you had a look at the site yet ? There are daily prompts to reflect on 2010 and lots of participants, some of whom have shared their blog details if you want to follow their responses each day.

I signed up at the beginning of the month thanks to noticing it on Ali Edwards blog. I had already decided to do some form of photo diary for December and this fitted in quite well so I have been joining in, in a digital format, pairing photos with words in Photoshop each day. Todays prompt was about making which was perfect for me at the moment. So out came the sewing machine again and off I went, inspired to action.

6/12/10 photo, taken with the iphone hipstamatic app

I have been wanting to make myself a tool roll for my "essential" lampwork tools, the ones I take with me when I go to classes or meet ups, so, I did. And Im quite pleased with how it turned out.

Have you dusted off any making skills recently and made something in a media you dont usually work in or used a technique you havent tried for a while ?

Link-Share

2010-12-02T07:12:00.000Z

I have decided I need to make some changes and improvements to my website (you may have noticed that for me my website is an ever evolving creature, which, like my glass work, I keep trying to improve) so I have been reading about ways of writing better product descriptions, and I thought that might be interesting to you too, if like me you occasionally struggle to hit the right note

Christine Gierer's Handmade Results - Handmade jewelry descriptions

Meylah - how to write product descriptions that tell a story

Karon Thackston's 7 step process for writing enticing product descriptions

1st December, advent calenders a go...

2010-12-01T16:40:00.000Z

The countdown to Christmas has begun today, despite my best plans I am so not organised and ready !! I think I am now going to be doing lots of internet shopping of necessity due to the snow, as in true British fashion a little sprinkling and everything has come to a halt.

Its not that we have that much snow, maybe 3" tops, but there are roads closed and few or no trains !! The view from the studio window is rather picturesque though -

The picturesque-ness does not extend to the inside of the studio which is freezing, I have been torching practically sat on my heater ! However it was a productive day and commissions and presents have been worked on.

We have had a sudden influx of birds visiting cat tv (the bird feeder) so I have also taken some nice photos of them today which Im thinking might make nice Christmas cards if I get my skates on and get them printed, then there might even be time to "embellish" the cards before sending them.

I hope you Christmas preparations are going well ? Are you the organised type or a last minute dasher ?

Ice Burst Pendant

2010-11-27T12:50:00.000Z

What a lovely surprise, I got a message from Jess to say that she has featured my Ice Burst Pendant in her weekly wow spot on her blog Handmade by Jess.

Im in great company with a pair of Lynn Davy's gorgeous sparkly earrings !!

The finished beads

2010-11-26T17:54:00.000Z

This is what the two sets of beads look like once they have had their masking removed and been cleaned up.

Ice Stars -

Frosty Daisies -

The beads have a core of one colour and a thick coat of enamel, they have been masked off with a resist and then sandblasted to give this finish. I let the sandblast eat quite deep as I like that effect, but tried to keep smattering of enamel to keep that frosted feel.

Its a dirty job..

2010-11-26T11:05:00.000Z

I thought it might interest you to see some pictures of what I have been working on whilst I have been very quiet this week. So I thought that I would share some work in progress pictures..

Can you guess what I have been doing ??

How about if I give you a bit more of a clue, one step further along the process -

Any guesses ? Answers on a postcard please,.. well ok then in the comments !! I'll share the pictures of the finished pieces soon.

Handmade Christmas - Tree Decorations

2010-11-21T16:07:00.000Z

I love decorating my Christmas tree, its something I look forward to every Christmas and I love collecting new decorations. All the garden centres locally seem to have put their stocks of Christmas decorations out now to tempt me so I have been investigating the handmade alternatives.

This beautiful blown glass ornament is by Cane River Glass on Etsy, I love the colours in this, it would look so fab on my tree...

Lace Snowflake ornament by Embroidery Impressions on Etsy. So delicate and so pretty !!

Delightful turned wood ornament by Holz fur Haus on Etsy, isnt this gorgeous ?? The contrasting colours of the wood work so nicely and the shape is lovely.

Porcelain Snowflake ornament by D Hergt Designs on Etsy. I think it is the delicate use of colour in this that draws me to it, a lot of the other ones I saw had the texture or a colour but I love the way this has both working together.

I found it quite interesting that as I was looking around online for handmade decorations, I was struggling to find them with the search words I expected. As you can see Etsy did eventually come up with some delights but I was surprised at how little I could find in general. What words would you choose if you were looking for tree decorations ?? And please, if you have any you have found that you love do share a link.

Craft Fair

2010-11-20T18:01:00.000Z

I have spent a lovely day today doing a craft fair and sharing a table with my friend Sarah of Flame Force Five. It was great to meet people, renew old friendships and make new ones. I know I have been a little quiet recently so I though I would share some of the new pieces I took with me.

I was really pleased with this necklace, it is quite delicate looking but has a really nice weight to it and a subtle sparkle.

This one I originally made for me (now there is a surprise seeing how much grey it is...) It's of a moody, dark and gothic feel with the lavender and grey and I call it my twighlight necklace as it makes me think of the vampire books !!

And this one is the opposite, I didnt originally make it for me but have had the beads for a while faffing them into different arrangements and I have totally fallen in love with them, so this one went to be sold but came home with me !

The beads are made with Bullseye glass (unusually for me) which does have the most amazing Dichro, much more sparkly than the standard Effetre stuff, and I cased it with Bullseye's colour shifting Rhubarb glass which goes from a deep pink to a gorgeous green !! The doodles are silver paint I drew onto the beads and fired on.

Now, I think its time to put my feet up with a nice cup of tea (and fondle my new necklace....).

Some days, you need a bit more..

2010-11-19T13:28:00.000Z

And its even better when you make it in your favorite glass espresso cup.

Normal service will be resumed shortly !

Handmade Christmas - Cards

2010-11-07T08:50:00.000Z

For the run upto Christmas I thought I would do a weekly post on handmade Christmas things. Im hoping to buy handmade (or swap, trade or make my own) as much as possible this year and thought it wold be fun to share what Im looking at and maybe inspire you with some ideas too (and do feel free to share links to things you like too !)

As Im trying to be more organised this year (aka, not do everything on the 24th December), I have started looking at cards and these are some of my favorites. Im feeling all excited by typography at the moment and these cards are hitting that spot.

From The Green Gables these cute all colourful cards.

From Storeyshop on Folksy, handcut and personalised cards.

From Typoretum, bright and cheerful this one is antique wooden type printed.

From RockPaperInk on Etsy, lovely Letterpress design.

If you are feeling all inspired but like to design your own you can always upload your own desing and get them printed with MOO. Hmmm.. now how much time was there before Christmas ..

Blog Tidy

2010-11-06T14:54:00.000Z

I know it isnt spring but (unless you read through a RSS reader or similar) you have probably noticed I have made a few changes to the blog and had a bit of a tidy. I have been thinking quite a lot recently about what it is I like about my favorite blogs, why is it when I see there is a new post (I use safari's built in RSS reader) from certain people do I rush to read them before others. And I have been looking at some of the plentyful online resources about blogging and trying to decide where I want to go with this blog.

I have come to really enjoy sharing things on here but I realise I am rather random in my witterings !! So if you have any thoughts on posts you have enjoyed, topics you like to read about (or ones you dont like) then I would be delighted if you would leave me a comment. Im planning to make a few changes, to be a little more focused in my approach and hopefully you will enjoy reading as much or more than you do now !

One of my new pendants

...and for anyone interested my current favorite, rush to blogs, at this very minute are The Noisy Plume and Brandi Girl... I let you know as a discover new favorites, its one of many things Im thinking I should share more.

Nelli Rees "Glass Bead Jewellery Projects" Book

2010-11-03T19:12:00.000Z

I am most excited today to have received my copy of this book. It seems like ages ago Nelli said she was writing it, (and to be fair with publishing times etc it probably is). I have always admired Nelli's take on tombo dama beads and as a result have been greatly anticipating the arrival of the book and it definitely lives upto expectations.

I love the book cover, it is a soft back book and has a matt front cover that has ben spot laminated over the pictures (aka the pictures are glossy the rest isnt) which is an effect that I love - I have been trying to source a company who does spot laminating on photobooks for ages but that is another story- and it makes a great "oooo" first impression.

I havent had a chance to sit and read cover to cover but I have had a good nosey through the book. It has been split into sections for different abilities and each lampwork tutorial is then followed by a step by step tutorial on a piece of jewellery made with those very beads. I am always intrigued to see how different people use beads and I think this format is a great idea especially for those who are new to lampwork. I know when I first started making beads, having made anything i liked i had to immediately make it into jewellery so i could wear it and show it off. Looking back at the things i made then its rather clear to see i was as new to wire work and stringing as lampwork and a bit of guidance would have been very useful ! So congratulations to Nelli on a lovely book which I am looking forward to sitting down with a brew and reading thoroughly.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T17:21:00.000Z

Cabochons a go ....

2010-10-27T10:28:00.000+01:00

Im very very pleased to say I have got a new section on my website, may I introduce you to my cabochons -

I have been making cabochons for quite a while and mainly using them myself in my own jewellery with a couple of exception that escaped out into the big wide world to other jewellery artists. I decided a few weeks back to put together a range of cabs for sale and have been experimenting and investigating what I like and what works ever since.

The cabs are a complete mixture in style and there are some boro ones as well as soft glass. Im still going to be experimenting with these for a while yet so expect to see more variety yet, some which may turn into proper ranges at some point and some that will definitely be one offs !!

Autumn Colours

2010-10-25T10:19:00.000+01:00

Well, I still havent managed to have a day out and about with my camera (a treat I was promising myself last week) as I have now had to send it back to the repair folks again as its not happy. However due to the wonderousness that is my iphone all is not lost !

Himself has been most patient in putting up with frequent requests to "stop the car, now" while i get a picture of an amazingly coloured tree.... and waiting for me when I lag behind as I found a pile of leaves just needing to be recorded ... and .. and..

I love autumn, I love the colours, the bright sunshine, the blue skies, the briskness to the air. I love the way it makes me want to play with colour.

I have been making autumn inspired Rocks, I love these because having settled on a shape (and what a lovely organic and tactile shape it is too..) I feel free to just play with colour, mixing and matching to my hearts content.

All of the Rocks sets have some silver glass in them producing its characteristic mother-of-pearl type shine, perfect to remind you of autumn sunshine on frosty mornings !

Do you like autumn or hate it ? Does it inspire you ? If you have made something inspired by Autumn feel free to share a link in the comments section so we can come and see it.

First Frost

2010-10-21T18:49:00.000+01:00

Brrrrrr... Its been freezing here today ! Quite literally ! This morning saw us waking up to the first frost of the year and the end of a number of my plants in the garden which is now looking very sorry for itself ! I spy a weekend filled with gardening, digging plants up to put them safely away for the winter. Did I mention I love gardening ?? (yep, even in the cold !).

I had a visit today from the lovely Kay of West Beach Beads who kindly braved the arctic (ok, slight exaggeration, but the heater really didnt seem to be making much impact on the cold out there) temperatures in my studio and bought some of her gorgeous beads to show me. All the kitties introduced themselves to her (sorry Kay !) and, apart from one mouse, behaved themselves !

I have high hopes of what went into the kiln today and hope to be back tomorrow with pictures and an exciting announcement ...watch this space !

Autumn

2010-10-20T11:26:00.000+01:00

Gosh, nearly a month since I last blogged !!! What a bad blogger I am !

It has been a very busy few weeks, we have been to Barcelona (wonderful, I love Barcelona, the weather was amazing and we indulged in lots of spanish hot chocolate. Heaven.) I have started teaching a glass after school club locally and last weekend I gave my very first lampworking class !

I wont bore you with hundreds of photos of Barcelona, (and as usual there are 100's !!) but will sum up by saying I took lots of photos of patterns -

Sampled lots of cake shops -

And got quite addicted to a new iPhone photo app that takes interesting panoramas -

My class last weekend was hosted at Fire Works studio in Bristol by the lovely Georgina Black and her husband. They were great and made everything run smoothly and trouble free and John even cooked us a wonderful lunch on Sunday !!

I had a great group of students, and we covered working with transfers, various ways of making cabachons and things you can convert cabachons into like buttons and pendants.

As all the beads and cabs were still in the kiln on Sunday when we finished I havent seen finished beads first hand (Pictures would be great ladies, hint hint lol) but Georgina did put a few pictures up on Frit Happens. It was a great weekend which I thoroughly enjoyed and Im looking forward to seeing what everyone makes with what they learnt.

Im now busily getting back to "normal", filling some gallery orders, making beads and preparing for my next class in Cheshire next month.

I will be back much sooner this time with pictures of new beads !

Rocking again

2010-09-28T07:11:00.000+01:00

Its been a little while since I made Rocks and so I decided it was time for some, partly because I found a string of orphan rocks in my clearing out, and decided that I really liked the look of the thickly encased one therefore I needed to make some more, so I grabbed some silver glass and set off in search of that lovely mother of pearl shine.

My clearing out is part of the new studio plan ... work has currently come to a halt on the studio from a building point of view but I have been having a BIG sort out / clear out trying to get all bead / glass / metal / jewellery related things from their various locations around the house and outside into the studio. You would be amazed at some of the things I have unearthed !! .. or maybe shocked lol ! It has had the added benefit of me actually listing things in my Etsy shop again as I have decided for the time being to use that as a Sale area for all the bits and bobs I have unearthed.

Torch was poorly yesterday but Im pleased to say is better now (huge thankings to my lovely Himself for fixing it) so Im back off out there to melt some more glass and who knows there may be even more rocks soon !!

Lace bead

2010-09-24T20:10:00.000+01:00

I have had an idea for a bead running around in my head for a while now, I love lace (although I prefer mine not to be the frilly variety!) and lace patterns seem to be calling out to go on a bead. I started out by getting pieces of lace and looking at how they went together and thinking about the type of lace I needed for the qualities I wanted the bead to have - a delicate pattern that would, like lace itself, let you see through it to what is behind just slightly veiling. I drew out numerous designs and had several sets of transfers made up but none have been quite right. I finally got some I was happy with and set about having an initial go at putting it all together as I imagined it to be and this is the result -

I am pretty pleased with this as a first go although there are areas that need work so I think you will be seeing several more of these in the non too distant future !

And the bead goes to ...

2010-09-23T20:34:00.000+01:00

Comment Number 8 - Rustyhammer !! Congrats Sharon :o) I will get you your storm coloured bead made tomorrow and on its way to you asap.

Huge thanks to everyone for taking the time to comment and take part !

Change is as good as a rest..

2010-09-22T18:08:00.004+01:00

And on my day off I made -

Please excuse the fact thy have not yet been cleaned, they are all big hole beads the big one is 12mm hole and the little ones 5mm, they are only very simple beads but I had such fun making them !! Very definitely "Happy Beads" I love the colours together and they make me smile just looking at them so Im thinking these are keepers to be make into something for me !!

Do you have colour combinations that make you smile ?? Do share please, Im in a happy mood and feeling like sharing it so if you post your colours I'll pick one person at random and make you a big bead in your colours...

I had a day off.

2010-09-21T07:17:00.003+01:00

There I said it.

Yesterday, I took a day out of my making time, I still went into the studio and I still lit my torch but I had FUN, I played. It was important for ME to take a break, and a change is as good as a rest they say, so that is what I did, I had a change, I played and messed and poked about at my glass, and do you know what ? I didnt make a single saleable thing all day. !!

I know I should probably be telling myself off right now, after all what a disgraceful, frivolous, and downright unsensible thing to do but you know what I feel great. It was what I needed to do, today Im all geared up to make lots of exciting things, get the website and etsy updated, do some photography, finish my to-do list and basically aim for world domination lol.

Sometimes you just need to give yourself some time. Since I have been beading full time I have been getting a bee in my bonnet about spending all of my time making things to go online. I have been productive, and it does feel good getting lots done, but my "work / life balance" (to come over all corporate on you) was getting out of sync. I do this because I love it, and I want to keep it that way.

Things were getting rather too much like the second verse of this poem, I want to enjoy the journey and take time to see the real butterflies not just the ones that come out of my kiln....

SLOW DANCE

Have you ever watched kids

On a merry-go-round?

Or listened to the rain

Slapping on the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?

Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

You'd better slow down.

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

Do you run through each day

On the fly?

When you ask "How are you?"

Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done

Do you lie in your bed

With the next hundred chores

Running through your head?

You'd better slow down

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

Ever told your child,

We'll do it tomorrow?

And in your haste,

Not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch,

Let a good friendship die

Cause you never had time

To call and say "Hi"?

You'd better slow down.

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere

You miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry through your day,

It is like an unopened gift....

Thrown away.

Life is not a race.

Do take it slower

Hear the music

Before the song is over

Mangobeads New Studio

2010-09-13T16:34:00.004+01:00

What an amazing weekend ! We are home, somewhat tired but definitely feeling the love (and the cheese ) following a most fabulous weekend in Devon at the opening of Mangobeads gorgeous new studio.

(Picture of Manda Demoing in her new studio - isnt that the most gorgeous picture on the wall behind her !?!)

For a lot of the time as most of you know I spend my time in my garage on my torch, and as Im not exactly Miss Sociability this suits me down to the ground. It does mean that when the chance for a get together comes up it is quite a big thing and I have a tendancy to get rather over excited !! This weekend was no exception and was one of the nicest glassy get togethers I have ever been to, with so many lovely people there the only shame was in lack of time to talk to everyone I wanted to talk to for hours and hours each. There were demos to watch, both "formal" and impromptu and lots and lots of beady swapage going on and I think I can safely say a great time was had by all.

I dont have a lot of pictures (Got carried away with the talking...) but there are some on Flickr here for those that are interested.

As well as all the lovely glassyness we did discover on Saturday evening a (slightly surreal) carnival of pipe bands in Bideford !! Not, I have to confess, what I was expecting in the very south of England but fantastic to watch and listen to non the less.

Further down the road from where the bands were marching there was a funfair !! At which point I rather made up for the lack of photos I didnt take during the day funfairs being one of my favorite things to take photographs of !! I wont bore you with all of them, just a couple I particularly like -

All in all a fun filled and fantastic weekend with lots of lovely people, now I just have to work out how to settle back into my routine .....

Chameleon Designs now on Facebook

2010-09-04T11:14:00.003+01:00

There is now a page on facebook for Chameleon Designs, and if you pop over and take a look you will see details of a competition I have just set up where you could win flutterballs, all you have to do to enter is "like" the facebook page (which is, I understand in my limited knowledge of facebook, like becoming a fan). The competition is running until next friday 10th September when I will choose a winner at random from all the people who like the page, pop over to facebook for the full information !

Busy busy bee

2010-09-02T08:40:00.002+01:00

Where does the time go.. well for once I actually know. It has been a very busy but fun filled time, I have been at Stourbridge on a masterclass with the amazing and very lovely Gianni Toso, pictured below blowing a glass bubble on the end of a home made glass blowing tube !!

It was a completely amazing and awe inspiring class, there are a few photos on Flickr if you would like to see more.

There was a days "rest" - think running about meeting friends and blowing glass - on the friday before the Glass Market in Stourbridge on Saturday. A HUGE thank you to everyone who came along to say Hi it was lovely to see you all, and an extra special thank you to those of you that came along to introduce yourselves as you are taking my class soon.

For those of you who were wondering about just after lunchtime you will have seen the little band that struck up on the corner just opposite us in period costume, well I couldnt resist some shots with Hipstamatic, it just seemed to perfect for it

Now of course I am home again, back to my garage and my torch, I have a few orders to be getting on with but Im really really looking forward to some "playtime" and practising the techniques that Gianni showed us ... look out for some photos soon !!

My Camera's back

2010-08-14T05:30:00.002+01:00

I am so very very happy to report the return of my camera, the poor thing had to go to the repair shop to have its shutter replaced ...having taken considerably over 20,000 pictures !! But now it is home again so I had a little celebration and went round taking photos in the garden of how the flowers are coming on.

Looking forward to taking lots of beady photos very soon... once I finish making the beads !!!

2010-08-12T19:03:00.002+01:00

I know, unheard of, two posts in one day !!! I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to everyone for the comments and emails about the Experimentaballs, and the flutterballs in particular. The response has been fantastic so many of you have been in touch and I cant tell you how amazing it has been. I am in the process of making some more but it will be next week before I have any online due to the amount of work that goes into them - those little babies have 3 goes in the kiln as well as the cold processes and of course the hand painting of the silver paint so please bear with me, there will be some available soon.

For anyone who is going to Stourbridge on the bank holiday weekend for the International festival of glass I have a stall on the glass market on the Saturday and I am hoping to have some focal flutterballs available.

In the meantime I have some sweet and simple disc beads that I spent an enjoyable time working on while I waited for some of the bits and pieces I needed for the flutterballs to arrive -

Bead and Beyond September Issue

2010-08-12T07:44:00.004+01:00

Hello and welcome to anyone who has found there way here from Bead and Beyond Magazine who have been lovely and featured me on their review page in the current issue (out today !!)

This issue also holds all the information for entering their Jewellery Maker of the Year competition which has lots of prizes up for grabs and the opportunity to become involved with the Bead and Beyond design team !!

I hope you enjoy having a look around and reading about what I do, up there in the top right corner you will find links to my website and other places on the internet where you can see my work.

Thanks for dropping by !

Experimentaballs

2010-08-08T09:27:00.002+01:00

I love round beads, there is something so gorgeous about the shape and it is so tactile so I decided it was about time i made some more as it has been rather a while. Then I decided to continue with some experiments I started a-g-e-s ago with dichro and these were some of the results.

Now Im not a huge fan of lots of dichro but I do love it etched, it glows almost like there is something moving inside the bead, a little bit of trapped sunshine or beam of light. So with that in mind may I present the Flutterballs -

And following on from another old experiment that needs more work I have another set - Sari, these are gorgeous they have been selectively etched so that there are glimmers of goldstone sparkling in places around which i have hand drawn gold sari patterns. They feel almost soft somehow and Im really pleased with the amount of detail I got into the size - they are only about 15mm. All that and a pink dichro core that is just stunning in sunshine... but you'll have to wait for a photo of that as currently its rather dull outside here.

I have lots of ideas for these little experiments and where I can take them, hopefully I'll have more to show you soon.

I made a treasury

2010-08-06T21:48:00.003+01:00

I was feeling like it would be nice to make a collection of pretties so I had a good root around Etsy and this is what I came up with

Lavenders blue dilly dilly...

2010-08-05T16:15:00.002+01:00

Ok enough of my singing virtual or otherwise !! The front of our house is currently covered in lavender, and (apart from making me come out in a rash of singing) its very very pretty and smells just divine, especially when its watered. The bees love it, we have gazillions of them buzzing and busying about out there just like this little one I managed to get a picture of -

The lavender is also invading my work ! I had a thought I needed to create some purple beads that were, well, lavender-y so here they are Lavender Rocks.

I frequently find myself creating things inspired by my surroundings, both from wandering around my garden to when I go on holiday, when I then spend lots of time trying to capture everything on the camera ! What do you find inspiring ? Does it have a direct influence on the things you create ??

Featured

2010-08-02T12:54:00.003+01:00

My paisley focal bead that is on sale on Etsy has been featured on the Frit Happens Etsy Team blog !

For anyone who has not come across Etsy teams they are made up of groups of artists with a common interest and I am very pleased to be part of the Frit Happens Etsy team as FHF (Frit Happens Forum) is a place I like to go and hang out when I have spare minutes and chat to other flameworkers and glass addicts.

If you would like to see the work of other team members you can put the tag "FHFteam 2010" into the Etsy search box which will bring up lots of gorgeous work for you, grab a cup of tea and take a browse....

Carnival dragonflies and a ballotini obsession.

2010-07-24T07:19:00.005+01:00

Ever since I went on a masterclass with Nick Mount at the International Festival of Glass in Stourbridge in 2008 I have had a "thing" about Ballotini cane.

Making Ballotini cane in the hot shop is great fun, the photos below show the (abriged) process from one of Nick's demos.

Having pulled some simple white-encased-in-clear cane you fuse 5 pieces of that cane together and pick it up on the end of a blowing iron, your assistant then pours hot motlen glass onto the top of your canes which pours down your canes, encasing them, then you add more molten glass to the sides of your canes building up the mass into a more cylindrical shape, the whole piece is now shaped into a cylinder and then another iron is attached and the glassblower starts to stretch the glass and starts twisting the pattern before handing an iron to the assistant so a long piece of cane can be pulled.

Now it doesnt look quite so impressive a making process on a torch but you can make equally gorgeous, if a tad smaller, canes. (Insert Blue Peter style "here is one I made earlier" - the picture shows the cane just as im starting to twist and pull it out, its diameter at this point is approximately 13mm)

I had a lightbub moment while preparing for Art in Action, needing to make some sculptural work to take with, and having been wanting for a while to make some sculptural dragonflies (It was August last year I first had a go, oops been a while) I decided Ballotini would be perfect for dragonfly tails so I have now another new obsession, dragonflies with Ballotini tails.

This one is one of 4 with a rainbow ballotini tail and I made them up into a bright Carnival theme mobile for Art in Action but unfortunatley it was too windy to display them.

I also have black and white varieties of dragonflies made so I guess when my "studio" is done im going to have lots of them hanging around the place !!

...and no I havent forgotten I said I'd tell you all about my studio goings on, and I will... later ;o)

How Fab ...

2010-07-23T16:51:00.002+01:00

Is this -

It was given to me by the lovely and very talented Charlotte Hughes Martin at Art in Action and I wanted to post about it separately as I thought it deserved its own special post, after all a chameleon engraved on a beer bottle is very cool. I have a special place in mind for it in my new studio... but more about that later this post is for the Chameleon bottle !!

:o)

Art in Action

2010-07-19T18:17:00.006+01:00

.....and relax.

Yep shows over, a slightly frantic whirlwind few days between setting up last wednesday and then everything packing up last night. Having visited Art in Action before to watch the demonstrators and look round it was quite odd at first to be on the other side of the action but we settled in ok and as there were two of us (Lou Cloke and I) both on the stand then it did mean over the weekend I got to have a bit of a look round in some of the other tents. We may (cough) have also found the belgian waffles and the home made scones too in our look round ..

One of the highlights of the event for me was getting to meet so many lovely people, not just the members of the public who came to say hello, as well as the customers and friends but my fellow demonstrators too as they were all unfailingly cheerful and friendly. It was great to look round at everyones work so without further ado here are some of the pictures I took

First off a picture of my cabinet with my work in it. I was quite pleased with how this looked but I do have some ideas Im keen to work on for some changes for future events.

Next up is one of Abigail Stradlings gorgeous jewellery pieces, these little treasures are liquid filled with tiny inclusions that all move around, great for someone like me who loves jewellery to fiddle with !

These next two have been engraved by Charlotte Hughes Martin and I think they are just fab

Ema Kelly of Duck in a Bucket had some wonderful quirky pieces but this little caterpillar plant support was my favorite, he's so cute !

I took lots of photos of Emma Cavell's work in progress as she had some very photogenic bowls of broken china and glass about and it was great to watch her assembling them into her work, so a couple of pictures here and I will pop some more on Flickr

Emma working-

and one of her finished pieces -

Neon artist Sarah Blood has something I want LOTS you can see it in the picture below of her working, yes that great big hunk of metal there is a torch, or to be precise it is a ribbon burner ! So it can be opened up to get a flame all along that egde ! Think of the possibilities !! and Sarah was lovely enough to let us look at it and not to complain about me drooling lol !!

And this is one of her pieces, neon antlers !!

Now this artist is someone you will all probably know, Sarah Hornick. I was spoilt for choice taking photos of Sarah's work which was as gorgeous as always and very popular with all the visitors.

I loved what Sarah did with this button to make a necklace -

The image below is one of my favorites of the fabulous fun pieces made by the very lovely Simone Bremner (queen of lemon meringue pie and pavlova making, so watch out for a future post on us going to stalk her !! :o) )

And lastly but far from least these are pictures of Zoe Garner's work. Zoe works with boro and makes some amazing things, including the start of the chain that you can see hanging up !! The bottom picture also shows Zoe's awesome torch a rather huge and fabulous creature from GTT. (Yep, more torch envy !!)

I hope you enjoyed that quick (ish) fly through the glass tent. I do have other news to share too so I will be back again soon.

Day 2

2010-07-16T05:25:00.002+01:00

Well I was full of resolution to blog each day of Art in Action but it didnt quite work out that way. We set up on Wednesday which was busy but also quite fun meeting the other people in the glass tent and I have to say everyone, Art in Action staff, and fellow demonstrators was so helpful and friendly that it was a great start to the event. A huge thank you particularly has to go to Diana East who was amazing and helped so many of us through lots of little (and not so little) panics.

Yesterday was quite busy and despite taking the camera I didnt get chance to get any photos so I hope to make up for that today and Im going to try and get some photos of the other artists that are demoing. Im sure that himself, who has been persuaded into coming along as a helper, will also get some photos of me demoing or of what I make so I will have those to share with you too !

If you are coming along to the even, we are in tent 30, right inside the "door" so do come and say Hi !

the preparation continues

2010-07-09T20:55:00.002+01:00

Im getting there, I have a list (and I know that does not surprise you) and I'm ticking everything off as I get it done. Some of the sights currently to be seen around the house (I have rather taken over, not so much as a windowsill is safe..)

There are Ear Bobs sunning themselves on the office window-

Mini Hearts awaiting painting in the kitchen -

A selection of my new business cards, tags and Bob cards from those lovely people at Moo in the back bedroom -

and...Oooo ... What is this ??? Something curious lurking in the vermiculite in the garage... Any guesses as to what it is ??

And here they are

2010-07-08T06:58:00.004+01:00

.. as promised following yesterday's excitement here are the beads. They are just over 30mm so you can imagine these are pretty tiny pattterns so I'm really pleased with how they have come out.

All the patterns are slightly different, and as you can probably see I'm still feeling Sari inspired and I really enjoyed doing these. So much so I decided to do some more complicated designs on the last couple -

These will all be coming to Art in Action with me next week as Im still on a mad crazy rush making lots of pieces to take with. Todays task is sculptural though and I have some fun plans for what I'm going to make so look out for more pictures tomorrpw.

Im so excited....

2010-07-07T17:00:00.002+01:00

I even have the "Im so excited, and I just cant hide it ..." from the Pointer Sisters song going round my head !! I have to confess this is down to beady things though before you get any ideas about it being to do with the rest of the lyrics of that song !!!

I have been painting beads again and *oh my* I am so so excited to see if they look the same when they are fired. I have done some teeny tiny ultra detailed little patterns on these lovelies so keep everything crossed for me that the kiln fairies are kind to them and I'll share them in the morning when they come out.

...Off to dance excitably round the kitchen...

You Could Be My Lucky Star

2010-06-27T19:20:00.003+01:00

Its all busy busy busy here I'm in preparation for Art in Action where I will be in the glass tent demonstrating on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th July. I have been expanding the Sari beads, venturing into Star shapes as well as hearts and im quite pleased with how they are coming on. Just need to make many more of them now !!

If you are paying a visit to Art in Action do pop by and say hello it would be lovely to see some familiar faces as well as meeting new ones.

Garden

2010-06-09T08:25:00.002+01:00

Ok, a little off topic but I hope you will forgive me...there will be lots of lovely pictures ..

We have been doing quite a bit of work on the garden recently both of us love tropical gardens and have been saying we should do something with our own for a long time (most of the 4 years we have lived here !!). So we made a plan ..and by this I mean more of a quick chat than a beautifully sketched and detailed garden design, and started work, much helped by my mum when she came to visit for the weekend. So slowly over the past few weeks it has started to come together and after much plant sorting and much faffing about over what was going where, we have the first couple of areas complete. Im not going to show you pictures of the garden itself but I wanted to share some of my favorite pictures of some of the plants...Im finding im building up rather a collection as most mornings when I go out there is something I *need* to take a photo of !!

Not a flower but a cheeky little madam who just as I was focusing on something decided to up and see what was going on -

There are more photos on my Flickr here

London Jewellery Week at London Glassblowing

2010-06-02T09:22:00.004+01:00

**Exciting news** London Glassblowing's Glass Art Gallery are having a mini exhibition of glass jewellery to coincide with London Jewellery Week next week, 7th - 13th June and I am having work on show ! So I am busily getting work ready to go and thought I would share some of the pieces I have so far.

Im feeling all summery at the moment what with the lovely sunshine and having been doing lots on our garden recently and I can see that its giving a real summery feel to my work, lots of perfect pieces for summer events and weddings or even lazy summer picniks.

As well as some new work there are some updates on some old favorites, you know I cant resist some silvered ivory now and again, and these beachy nuggests I really love -

There are a number of talented jewellers working with glass who's work will be on display, so please if you get chance do pop over to the gallery and have a look.

Where does the time go .....

2010-05-28T08:58:00.003+01:00

Its been so long since I blogged last and yet it seems like not long at all. Things have been busy here, with lots of different things going on to keep me occupied.

We have been working on our garden. I love gardening (does that make me strange ? ) and we finally decided it was about time we tried to do something with our garden which upto now was not that different from when the builders finished the house 4 years ago. So I have been busily painting planters and planting flowers ("aided" by the skitties) while Himself has been hauling litres and litres of compost about and building raised beds. We bought a gorgeous Clematis for one of the planters, and yes I did contemplate whether I could make a glass one (ha. not likely !! )

I have also finally got around to having a go with one of the techniques we did on Claudia Trimbur-Pagel's course - painting gold onto beads. So far I have just done a couple of tests but I do quite like this one, it has been gold fumed before being painted so it has a lovely shine / lustre to it and Im hoping to make a few more, as well as developing the technique to combine it with the transfers ...

Thats all for now folks, but I hope to be back somewhat sooner this time !!

Daisy, Daisy....

2010-05-09T17:27:00.003+01:00

I have been busy with a commission and thought I would share the photos !! So, very simply, these rods -

Were pulled into stringers -

Stringers pulled into petals -

and the petals attached to a yellow glass centre ..and ... ta dah...
Daisies -

These little sweeties are heading off to be parts in a much bigger glass piece by glassblower Layne Rowe. I hope to be able to share a photo of the finished thing with you very soon !

Tangled Transfers

2010-04-28T16:11:00.003+01:00

Now I dont know about you but I am one of those people who doodles. Pretty much on every available surface, and usually very boring stuff (I would love to be one of those people who creates mini masterpieces in 2 minutes on a serviette at a cafe but alas it is not to be) so when the lovely Julie Fountain of Lush Lampwork recently posted a thread on a forum I visit about a way of doodling called Zentangles I got a bit curious and had to check it out.

Now as some of you may know, on the odd occasional instance it has been known for me to be ever so slightly obsessive in my need for things to be straight and tidy so you can imagine the joy of finding a doodling "system" which encourages me to be as obsessive (or not) as I want and gives options for enforcing rules (this is my way of interpreting it, I am not saying this is the official way, for that, go read their website ;o) ) over my drawings.

Naturally for me the next step was to zentangle a bead -

So there you have it, a doodle bead !!

As Promised

2010-04-27T22:08:00.002+01:00

Here is a picture of what I was getting all excited about -

New flutterbies ! Following on from all the comments both at the flame off and online since, about the sample beads I made with the Flutter set of transfers I decided I had to make some of these to sell. I am really pleased with how they have turned out and Im going to make one for me too, when I decide which is my favorite colour, which might take a while !!

They are all two tone so I had lots of fun matching up glass to get the two tones to be two I was happy with for each bead, and the butterfly design is slightly raised to give a bit of a 3D which also nicely magnifies the pattern ! Im hoping to get them online on my website in the morning.

Oooo ooo Flutterbies ..

2010-04-27T12:55:00.003+01:00

they are out of the kiln ....

Oooooo

OOOOOOoooooooo

oo

and a little more OOOOOOOoooooooo

I think I am a *little* pleased with them .. I will photograph them so you can see and tell me what you think too ..

Flutter Sample

2010-04-11T07:09:00.003+01:00

This is one of the samples I have made with my "Flutter" set of transfers. The transfers have been applied, encased, and coloured in. I have added a little more glass to leave the butterflies slightly 3D.

The original image was this one -

This is the finished bead -

Transfer Kits

2010-04-09T20:38:00.003+01:00

Im all of a quiver and full of excitement, I have been busy busy busy getting ready for the Flame Off next week and Im pleased to announce that my Transfer Kits are ready to come with me !!

I have made 5 different designs, including some I have drawn myself which I am particularly excited about. I have put them together as a taster kit so people can try out the transfers with a simple set of instructions to go with.

Dreaming of beaches

2010-04-05T17:11:00.002+01:00

My mind seems to be stuck on holiday still, I have been on a mission to make some new jewellery for the website and everything is coming up beachy, now considering that its approaching summer thats not a bad thing but it does make me miss the warmth of the sun as it was on holiday, especially on our typically English damp bank holiday weekend !

This is "Beachcomber" a lovely dangly charm style bracelet with some gorgeous metallic lampwork twist beads, some swarovski rondelles, pearls, wood beads, I could go on and on... but im really pleased with it and it looks lovely on.

I have already a couple of co-ordinating pieces and more in the pipeline which I'll be uploading soon !

Inspiring Sri Lanka

2010-03-23T09:22:00.002Z

Hello ! I am Becky ...

Hehe I thought I had better remind you given that it has been so long since I blogged !! There is a good reason for my absence though, I have been to Sri Lanka. I wont bore you with all my holiday snaps on here but if you would like to have a nosey then I have the (very) edited highlights on Flickr here.

I have been making beads since my return, unsurprisingly inspired by Sri Lanka. This is one of the "rocks" sets I have made, all with colours inspired by places we stayed or visited. This set was inspired by the jungly Kandalama Hotel (picture below).

"Kandalama Rocks" -

These and the other "rocks" will be on the website later today.

Happy Valentines Day

2010-02-14T18:53:00.002Z

I hope you are having a lovely day whether you are spending it with a loved one or not !

Just wanted to post a little reminder that The Collective's auction for Haiti finishes tomorrow so please, if you havent already, do check it out. There are some gorgeous pieces available and for a very good cause !

Also I think a huge virtual 3 cheers needs to go to Mel of Kookie Designs who organised it all, for doing such a great job. Well done Mel, and thank you !!

Auction for Haiti

2010-02-08T19:47:00.002Z

Please take a look over at The Collective's new charity auction where all proceeds are going to Haiti. There are lots of stunning handmade items available to bid on from lampwork and jewellery to soft toys and cuddleables. The work has been donated by a collection of generous and talented artists and there are some seriously gorgeous pieces available. The auction is running until 8pm (GMT) on the 15th Feb.

I am taking part too, I have donated a custom glass pendant from my new etched range (shown below), the highest bidder will get to choose which colour and design they would like so please do go and take a look at all the lovelies on offer for this very worthwhile cause.

Lampwork in Heavenly Scent

2010-02-06T08:38:00.002Z

I decided not to put all the photos that I took on here as that would go on for pages !! However I thought I would share the pictures of the lampwork elements of the show.

As well as my mini scent bottles in my last post, I have contributed towards another piece in the show, I made the daisy for Layne Rowe's stunning blown and cut glass hand grenade.

And from other artists, there are two gorgeous lampworked bottles by Diana East -

and -

as well as some fabulous bottles from James Maskrey which combine blown glass and lampworked elements

details from the stoppers -

I hope you enjoyed looking at those, I will post a link to the photo album of all the pieces once it is online

Heavenly Scent 2010

2010-02-04T23:02:00.003Z

A very late night post from me so I'll keep it quick.

We just got home from the private view of Heavenly Scent 2010 at London Glassblowing. I have two perfume bottles in the exhibition, both wearable ones and I wanted to share pictures with you, there were "a number" of attempts before I had ones I was pleased with but Im happy with these. I did take some photos of the other artists work in the exhibition which i'll share soon ...once I have had some sleep !!!

Raspberry Scent Bottle

Aqua Scent Bottle

Both bottles are blown off the end of a blowpipe mandrel and have correctly sealing stopper so they can be used for perfume !

New Pendants

2010-02-03T12:48:00.002Z

Very simple. Colour. Pattern.

Pendants