Polymer Clay

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

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

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

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.