AUTUMN IS TORCH TIME !

Yep, it's that time of year when the cool morning breezes, falling leaves and the smell of autumn is in the air !   Which means - torch time for me !  In the early mornings, when it's the coolest temps I can take advantage and finally be at the torch again !  Which is what I did this past week !  Yay !  It also means the temps will keep falling (hopefully) and I'll be able to torch no matter the time of day.  Still, my most productive and favorite time of the day IS early mornings.   As far back as I can remember early mornings have ALWAYS been my best time of day. 

Since it is autumn I decided I needed to make some leaves again.  The set I made took me a few days to put together.  That's because I only torch no more than 2 or 2 1/2 hours a morning.  It's a HUGE set that can be divided.  Just need to figure out how big the sets need to be.  Anyway, I have made this set before and enjoyed it a lot so have wanted to make another set since.  Just never did it - til now.  Of course it's not exactly the same.  A remake never is.  Still, I like it a lot.  I'm putting up photo's of both sets to compare.  The only way I can compare since the first set is long gone.  :)  So here goes:  Photo #1 is the new set and photo #2 is the first set.  I used the exact same colors but used a little bit of a different technique in applying those colors.  Plus, the newest set does not have spacers.  I have given up on making spacers simply because they are a pain in the hand (and butt ! ) to clean !  Easy to make but a real pain to clean.  I have enough hand problems as it is without adding more !  :)  Anyway, there you go. 

So this morning, as I sit and type this post, I am thinking what I want to do today.  Specifically, this morning.  I have had a busy week up to this point with my typical "stuff" including torching but also including reading again.  Oh yes, reading some books that have grabbed me by my heart and won't let go !  lol ! 

OUTLANDER baby and if you haven't seen the show yet or read the books, I suggest you do !  If you like a great love story that includes a bit of "fantasy", romance, a bit of World History, war battles, intrigue, murder and everything in between than these books and the show are for you !  I am so badly hooked that, in a months time, I'm already on the 4th book in the series !  Yep.  I haven't read that much in DECADES !  I use to read ALOT back in my younger day.  lol !  And back then it was not novels so much as biographies and such.  The outlander series is a novel but also has a bit of history in it as well.  It grabs you from the very start, holds on to you and you don't care one bit !  lol !  It's soooooooooooo hard to stop reading.  And that is my "problem" these days.  Deciding do I want to read or get other stuff done ?  The reading has been winning out pretty much.  The nice thing about that is that it's a way to make up for waiting for the new season to start next year.  Yep, it's one of those shows that you literally have to wait a whole year to come back.  Much like Game of Thrones.  Another post for another day.  :)  Anyway, I highly recommend reading the books and watching the show.  The first season is on dvd with the second season soon to be released I think.  The show will begin it's 3rd season sometime in the spring on the Starz channel.  With GOT on Sunday nights and Outlander on Saturday nights, my weekend line up is complete !  lol ! 
  
A little something to entice you to watch Outlander !  :)
A photo that was the cover of Entertainment Weekly about a year or so ago I think and the second photo is the latest from the upcoming Season 3 out next year.  I found them online so figure I can post them here too.   

 

 

 

 

Thanks for coming by.  Come back again soon !

 

 

 

 

Keeping Up and Torch Time

Time to update here since it's been almost 2 weeks.  Why is it that with every good intention of keeping updated here that inevitably something gets in the way ?  lol !  Such is the way things go I guess.  At least there are the good intentions.  :) 

I did have quite a bit of torch time in these almost 2 weeks with a specific project in mind for several of those torch sessions.  Oh I did make some other beadies as well but the bulk of my time spent there was making glass leaves headpins/beads.  Yep, leaves and LOTS of them with more to come.  I think I need more anyway.  I really should start the project so I know exactly how many I need.  lol !  Again, the thought of good intentions.  Still, as you can see in the photo just below, there are LOTS of leaves in many colors. I need to decide which color(s) to go with AND - to etch or not to etch.  Hmmmmmm...............If I etch, the green leaves in this photo will not etch for some reason.  Some colors just won't.  Maybe if I tumble etch them ?  At any rate, I have made MORE leaves already (not pictured here) to bring the total up to about 80.  Once I decide what color(s) then I can move forward. 

As for other beadies made this past week, take a look below.   I so enjoy making beads with this technique.  Sometimes I just don't know how they will turn out in the end.  I love being surprised when I take beads out of the kiln.  :)  I did learn the original technique from a tutorial I purchased however I have changed it up a bit to make it my own and I love the outcome.   They're just fun to make. 

 

Another bead type I enjoy making is the one below.  No special name for it.  They're tube focal beads with a special no longer manufactured glass frit that is very reactive.  Fun to make and the outcome is always quite pleasing.  This one is etched.   

 

 

There are more beads from the past week but those are for another time.  No matter the time of year or the mood I'm in, being at the torch to make these glass beadies always, always makes me happy.  :)  In fact, even though it's only about 30 degrees this morning with it staying rather chilly all day, I'm going to be at the torch in about an hour.  lol !   So, I am outta here !  :)

 

Thanks so much for coming by.  Come back again soon. 

Come visit my Facebook page at:

 

ALL MY BEADS FACEBOOK PAGE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That Was the Week That Was

Last week was a week of no fun.  My hand (thumb area) is so painful that no matter what I tried to do crafty wise, it caused more pain.  So no pretties were put together, on the loom that is.  I did manage to take apart some older things but even that caused issues. 

No bead making either since it was too hot to do that.  BUT the mornings, at least, are getting cooler.  Down into the 60’s now so that means early torching sessions !  This is when I melt glass anyway.  I’m at my most “gung-ho” or should I say, constructive early in the mornings.  I try to start at the torch no later than 8:00 am and try to wrap it up no later than 11:00 am.  That’s a good long session for me and typically can get a lot done in that time frame.  Since I haven’t torched for any length for a very long time, it will probably take me a session or two to get back in the swing of things again.  lol !  Like riding a bike – almost.  lol !  I’m already thinking about what I want to make so that’s a very good sign it’s time to get to it !  

I got my seed bead order the other day too.  A whole bunch of new colors !  In all, about 45 !  I didn’t think it was that many !  Geesh !  lol !  It’ll be a lot of fun when I can get back to the loom. J  Not sure when that will be but it’ll come.  The project I began last week is still on the loom right where I left off.  I just couldn’t work it because of the thumb thing.  Hopefully soon.

Below are some pics of what I did finally finish up.  The beaded kumihimo bracelet sat on my desk for weeks unfinished so finally, I got it wrapped up.  Love the colors in this one.  Too small for me though so it will go in my Etsy shop.  The leaf beads were part of a necklace at one time that I never wore so it came apart and the beads will also be in my shop soon.  The leaf beads are made with a gorgeous silver glass.  So pretty.  The necklace I made a long time ago and THOUGHT I had listed it in my Etsy shop and never did !  lol !  So it will be going there over the weekend.  The decorated round beads turned out gorgeous.  A color that took me many years to finally get the true colors to come through !  lol !  

That’s it for this week.  It’s time to get my day started.  Thanks so much for coming by.  I hope you come back again soon !  

       

Bringing Autumn In

I can't help it.  It's been so hot I needed to think about the cool, brisk mornings and the changing of the leaves and all the color.  Ahhh, my most favorite time of year !  It's not so far off afterall.  :)  That said, I did play at the torch some and went in a whole different direction.  Nothing brand new but something I never spent a lot of time with - off mandrel leaves.  Fun.  I hadn't done an off mandrel anything in a very long time so it was time to give it a go and with fall arriving soon, what better way than with leaves.  :)  

Fall to me is like Spring to others, it gives me a brand new sense of being alive !  The cool air makes me "wake-up" out of the sluggish, hot, humid weather of summer. 

Working with off mandrel anything can be a challenge to those of us that don't do it on a regular basis.  My biggest re-learning was the loop that needs to be added.  No loop means there's no way to hang the pendant if that's the intention of the final object.  That was my intention.  lol !  Too little glass means a thin loop which can break easier.  Too thick and it looks awkward.  I got there but it did take a couple sessions at the torch.  lol !  In the end, it all came together and I really like what I ended up with. 

Pictured below are just a few of what I've made recently.  I think my favorite is the focal leaf at the bottom.  All the leaves shown are a mix of several colors in one leaf.  Fun.  The top set and the focal are in my Etsy shop now as well as leaves from last season.   

 

That's all for now.  Thanks so much for coming by !  Please come back again and see what's happening.  Next time, I'm pretty sure I'll be showing jewelry !  lol !