New Beads Online

Yes, I have finally managed to get the new beads loaded onto the website :o) It has been a little bit of a fight as Im having a few issues with my computer today both with some new software and with the internet connection but they are online now and I hope you will think it is worth it :o)

New beads

Yes I have finally been back at the torch :)))) so I have new beads to share with you



Im really pleased with how these have worked as I have finally got to grips with a pillow press and I do love the shape its so elegant. Im hoping to have a couple more sets done and all online tomorrow evening :o)

Read all about ...

ME {gulp} Yes, Im in print !! You can find a whole 3 pages (Gosh I talk alot ) in the new issue (No 14) of BEAD Magazine



There are lots of pictures too, and I'm rather excited about it all :o)

Labradorite addict

I have always had a "bit of a thing" for Labradorite, going back to when I used to work for a gemstone supplier and a commission came in for a piece to be specially cut and this dullish grey rock turned into a gorgeous cab with flashes of stunning blues and greens. As I havent been able to lampwork recently I have been making use of my time playing with my rolling mill textures and what better excuse to pair up the silver with some labradorite.

My first attempt despite looking right in my head I wasn't entirely pleased with, something just wasnt right about the damask disc, it wasnt doing any justice to the labradorite and this is a gorgeous piece, it has so much colour with blues and greens and even some gold.



So i did what I usually do in these situations, I "lived with it" for a few days, that is it sat on the window sil beside me, catching my eye every now and then, just reminding me of its existance. Then I started to play with the piece of labradorite below, this is a stunner with gorgeous greens and golds and this one knew what it wanted, and just came together perfectly.



..and from that I decided to try the damask with a long piece of silver instead of a disc, I think it works beautifully, what do you think ? -



Am I the one person who does this, makes something and then lives with it and re-jig's it until it is "right" ?

Maybe I should change my header...

I know, I said (see the top of the page) "a blog about beads and all things glassy" but that isnt exactly what I talk about is it ?!? I find it interesting when I read other peoples blogs to hear about them and other non glassy things they do as well as beads and glassyness, which are, along with jewellery, what most of the blogs I read are about.
Yesterday I was reading Kab's blog and she was talking about the blog of Ali Edwards (this is going somewhere I promise) and I had a mooch around along with the blogs of a few other well know scrapbookers and then I took a trip over to Shimelle's Blog as I took one of her online classes waaaaay back when and I thought it would be interesting to see what she was upto these days and lo and behold she has a free online class starting soon called "this year" and im thinking I might have a go ...



Must apologise here folks, as I was a bit fuzzy last night and seem to have done something to this post that means I lost some of what i was saying, so to continue...

I like doing a lot of different creative crafty type things and used to do quite a bit of paper crafts before I started my degree and then found i had very little spare time, recently I was having a chat with one of our artists in residence at uni and she very kindly let me look through her notebook / sketchpad / journal / book that she takes everywhere with her. Have you ever had Journal envy ?? I did lol :o) I was like it was my idea of what a "perfect" artists journal would be, come to life. There are beautiful sketches of places in pencil and biro, there are pages of tiny photos of her at work, there are idea sketches for upcoming pieces there are random clippings from magazines and books all thrown in together ....what could i do, I ordered a journal.

Now Im not suggesting my journal is going to be anything like that, I already have a pad i take everywhere that has everything in from uni lecture notes to something i saw whilst walking through brighton that i thought would make great inspiration for some work but I want to expand on that and actually make the journal a piece of creativitiy in its own right so that is why i am considering Shimelle's class to kick start me in the right direction.

We'll see how it goes hey ??

:o)

my own, my precious...

I made my own texture plates to go through the rolling mill !! Im so pleased with them lol :)) I think this could get quite addictive ! I am rather on the dizzy side today so have only been able to photo the tests I did of the first one but I thought I would share those. So .... drum roll ... these are "Damask" tests, the one on the right has been oxidised and buffed back to a sheen and the one on the left has been polished


So, what do you think ?? am I right to be pleased or have I totally lost the plot ? :o)

New toys

Im sorry it is a bit quiet round here, there is however a reason for this ! I have been battling with the icky lurgy that seems to be going round everyone, and just to make life fun I now have labyrinthitis too, yes for those of you who know me, i know im always dizzy and that isnt something new !!

However I thought I would share some pictures of what I had for Christmas as I havent done so yet.


Yes, I had a rolling mill and to go with it I had these -


For anyone who doesnt know, these are a set of disc cutters making it much simpler to get a disc of metal than piercing it out by saw !!

Now the result of combining these two tools is these little textured gems -





these little stud earrings are made from my first experiments with making textures using the rolling mill, I am looking forward to making many more experiments as well as getting some of these ready to go on sale.

A sort of review

I have been looking through some of my pictures from 2008 and whilst I was browsing through the bead pics I thought it would be fun to have a quick travel through some of my favorite creations of the last year.

My favorite of my goddess beads, this little lady went off to france to live with Billie as part of a swap



The Bubble Flowers, the whole evolving collection of these were such fun to make and I still love the design of them


And this year has seen me start to play with boro too, this set i really loved so when no one bought them they got turned into a bracelet just for me :o)


and there really has to be a mention for "Iontaise"



It has been a busy year, so there were many many more beads than this but these I think were some of my favorite favorites :o) Do you have a favorite piece of work or a bead you really love ? leave a comment with a link to a picture so we can all see ?

Happy New Year

At this time of year, like most people I find myself thinking about what I have seen and achieved in the last year and also what I want to do in the year ahead. 2009 is looking like a very busy year for me with lots on the horizon and it is the final term of the final year of my degree and I am buzzing with ideas for things I want to try too !

I hope you have a wonderfilled 2009 and get to try all the things that you want to do.

And a little sillyness for anyone who didnt get to see any new year fireworks last night, have a look here to create your own now