It's an Online Life and Yet...so Real.

Who would have thought when I decided to sell beads online that I would get so much more than a market?   I sold my first bead online in December of 2007.  I've sold more beads since then, but even better is the friendships that have been created.  These people encourage, inspire, challenge, listen, advise and sometimes even push or scold each other when necessary.  They check on you when you go missing for a day or two and if for some reason you just blow up and embarrass yourself, they shrug it off and welcome you back with open arms.

I think one of my "oldest" online friends is Deb.  Although younger than me, she was the one that told me my pictures were awful.  But with that also came the offer of help and beginning of a friendship that I think will stand the test of time and distance between here and Hong Kong.

Mexican Fire Opal

She's generous with her knowledge and skills and has some of the yummiest gems and even more gorgeous pieces of jewelry.   Right now she has a sale going on in her gems shop  CrysallisGems  but you should also wander into her CrysallisCreations  shop and see what she does with gems and wire and pretty pieces of glass.




Haven't done any beads lately, but have to admit this set in my Etsy shop are some of my favorites...

Bronze with circles  Handmade SRA Lampwork Bead Set 1288

Staying busy...

I have definitely been staying busy. I have been making beads, etching more copper and even playing with a bit of polymer clay.

My favorite listing on Artfire this week has to be this one

But this one that is listed at Etsy is also one that I really do like as well

I will show you some copper and polymer clay later. The pics are out on the studio computer and it's doing some maintenance stuff which makes it very, very slow.

No Snow Yet!

It's hard to believe we have no snow yet. I am not complaining and I am sure that it won't last long, but for now I am enjoying the days. I took the pick-up down to the body shop to get a new window and decided to walk home. I took the long way around as I did some banking, made an appointment to get my hair cut and just enjoyed being out in November without snow boots.

I had visitors to my studio last week. I have to admit that I don't always find it easy to let people into my work area. I'm beginning to feel a bit more confident in my ability to make a bead, so it's not quite so scary to have people see the good, the bad and the ugly....

Just a couple of pics today and then I must get some beads measured and listed...

Artisan Beaders...Fireball Beeds by Islandgirl

Another of our ArtisanBeaders is Lynne aka Islandgirl. Her shop, Islandgirl at Etsy is full of lampwork beads, so pop over and check them out.

Taking Care of Business

Are you like me? I love the creating part, but can quickly get sidetracked when working on photographing, listing, paper work. Any excuse will work if it means I can put off editing pics or trying to write descriptions.

And eventually, it all catches up and I have to get things done. So I've taken pictures, edited, done some listings and cleared off the top of my desk. Now I can get back to the fun stuff without feeling guilty.
















There is such a difference in feeling. The flowers are beads, but these dark and brooding ones are cabachons that I want to use in cuffs. I have gotten so addicted to making the cuffs. I'll get some pictures of a couple more posted soon.

Ever had one of those days?

Okay, it's been one of those days for the past week or so. Everything I touch turns to yucky, yucky, yucky and even my computer has been obnoxious. And of course it had to be the computer that had all the networking connected to it. Oh well, parts are ordered and it will be all that much better when it's fixed.

I finally made it out to the studio again. Seems like it's been forever. It was a warm day, so I had to slosh through the melting snow, but it was still nice. I played with the glass for a couple of hours, but I think my muse was out playing in the puddles. Knew it was time to stop when I ran my arm through the flame. Just didn't think and reached right through it. Quick enough not to burn myself except for the little hairs on the back of my hand.


These had been in the kiln for awhile, so I finally got them out and cleaned. Wonder why all my flowers seem to be pink lately....




I sold some of the tree beads so tried to make some new ones...boy, am I ever out of practice on them. But there will probably be more of them. I like making them.

What I do when I'm not playing with fire

Making beads is a huge part of what I do, but I also like to play with other things that involve the beads. I don't profess to be anything more than an amateur when it comes to making jewelry, but I enjoy it and find it very relaxing.

I used one of my florals in this necklace. It's very feminine, don't you think?

This is my first try at making a seed bead cuff. My friend, Nicole, known to many as Beadwright
has always inspired and encouraged me to play with the seed beads. Then there is Vicki of Orion Designs who inspires me to mix things up. Her mixed media pieces remind me to combine things to see what happens. The cuff still needs to be finished, but I learned a lot from this one and am excited to start another one.

And something that doesn't have any of my lampwork beads

Just some more flowers...and maybe a heart

I've been working on the end of the year paperwork and the traditional cleaning and organizing, but every now and then I have to take a couple of hours and play with glass. And as the weatherman predicts another 7-9 inches of snow, I am still making flowers, and throwing in a few hearts and shells just for fun.

2009...Ready or Not

2008 was definitely a year of ups and downs for me. I have no idea what 2009 will bring, but I am excited to see where I go with the creativity that is just a part of who I am. I know that the glass will always be a part of what I do, but there are so many things that intrigue me that I just want to try.

I think that I will spend the summer roaming the state checking out all the talent I know exists in my home state. Sounds much more fun that spending the summer recuperating from surgery like I did in 2008, don't you think?

Here's something you won't see often from me. But these were beads that I just had to see as soon as possible. Put on my coat, boots and gloves and trudged through a couple more inches of new snow at 2:00 in the morning over to the studio because I just had to see just the one bead. Teehee...such disappointment it was. Using sterling silver wire to form the initial D and using it in a bead worked. Might have been better if I hadn't put it in upside down. The raku up and disappeared as well. But on the positive note, I can use sterling wire instead of fine silver or copper.
It seems like the dead of winter is when I want to make flower beads, so I tried a few iris.

Sizing up Beads...

One of the comments was a question about if I had beads with 2.5mm holes. I had to look at my handy little chart to see where that fit in the mandrel range.

I'm not sure if this is just a United States thing, but why can't everything be consistent? I buy glass rods that are approx 5-7mm in diameter but 13 inches in length.
We give you the sizes of the beads like this....15x17mm but give you the hole size by telling you the mandrel is 5/64".
Widget Supply sent me a business card with my order. It's become dog-eared with use because on the back it has the inch and millimeter equivalent chart.

In making beads you will find these to be some of the common mandrel sizes.
1/16" 1.588mm
5/64" 1.9844mm
3/32" 2.381mm
1/8" 3.175mm
5/32" 3.969mm
3/16" 4.762mm
The mandrels are coated with a bead release which makes the hole size bigger, but how much bigger depends on how thick the coat of bead release is.

So to answer the question, I would say that if you are looking for beads with a hole size of 2.5mm you should look for beads made on 3/32" mandrel. Beads made one at a time by hand will always have variances from bead to bead, but that is the beauty of handmade lampwork beads...

New Beads in May

It's May and it SNOWED! Even for North Dakota, that is strange: very, very strange
I've not been doing very well at getting things listed lately. I am just not any good at writing descriptions. I mean there's a picture of the bead, what else can I say about it? Naming beads? HAH!
But here are some pictures of the beads I am going to try and get listed soon, but if you see something you like, you can always let me know and save me the frustration of trying to
describe it!

Moods....

It's very strange how my mood affects the beads that I make. Maybe it isn't really a "mood", as much as a feeling at any given moment. The beads that happen may happen just because of a thought, a memory or maybe a song on the radio.

It's not a day, but a moment. On the same day, there may be a dark organic bead sitting alongside of a light and airy floral...something like this.

and this may come out of the kiln
on the same day.

It's a whole different look and feel, but that's just how it happens when I go out and let the glass and whatever I'm "feeling" guide my choices.

GREEN WITH ENVY

The etsyBEAD Theme of the Week is "Green with Envy"









Do a search on etsy for green with envy and you will find all kinds of beautiful things made by a whole lot of talented people.





Here are the ones that I have listed so far, and we will see if the kiln fairies have been kind to me in the morning and I may have some more greens going up.




















Lately, it seems like I have been working a lot with transparent glass. I have no idea why, it just seems to be that is what I grab for when I am at the torch. Part of it may be that I have been playing with a lot of frits and I just love the way they work with transparents. I'm sure that it won't be long before I am into something totally different. That's what is so great about glass-there seems to be an endless list of things to try.

It's an Etsy thing

Wow! It's been such a whirlwind since this time last year. Lots and lots of firsts...my first sale, my first show, my first website, my first Etsy shop, and on and on....



I'm not sure where I first heard of Etsy, but I set up a shop and finally got up enough courage to list some beads in October. And "nothing" happened. The beads sat there and sat there and sat there and I had just about decided this was NOT a good idea when I got my first sale the middle of December. And while we won't be able to retire on the sales, it's kind of a nice feeling. One of my biggest thrills was when I got an email with pictures of what was being made with some of my beads. This rosary was made by Anne Madison of Atelier-Beads.


I just joined the street team, etsyBEAD, and am beginning to find my way around. So okay, I still get lost often, but I'm learning.

I'd still rather be making beads than taking photos of them or listing them, but until I discover a way to train those silly beads to sell themselves, I guess that is just part of it. I am looking at new cameras, but just can't make up my mind.

Time to get back to work...there is big pile of beads just waiting to be cleaned and photographed and they don't do that themselves either.