Beads - Beads - Sick (you know like, " Duck, duck goose ! )

I know it's the same ole' same ole' but it's what I do and love doing.  Still, the last week and a half it's been no beads, no torching I should say, nada.  Sick and more sick is the way it's been at our house.  Yuck.  Still feeling it but starting to ease up.  What bothers me is within 48 hours of going to the doctor, who INSISITS everyone MUST come in every 6 months whether or not we need to, I was sick.  Yep, went in healthy and 2 days later, sick.  This is just ridiculous.  I need a new doctor.  Hard to find one that's even likable where we live.  Anyway, that's the last time I do that.  It's happened before.  After going to the hospital once for a mammo.  Within 48 hours, sick.  It's crazy.  Doctors offices and hospitals are for sick people.  We need places to go to if we are NOT sick and just need an xray or bloodwork done, we can go and not have to worry about what strain of flu we're going to catch or when will the cold kick in - or worse.  No, I'm not a clean freak or sterilize everything freak, I just want to be able to go into a doctor's office and feel at ease that I won't get sick.  lol !  Yeah, I know, it ain't gonna happen.  Oh well............

I am getting a few things accomplished this weekend.  Finally getting my bead bowl cleaned out.  Have a nice little bowl going for BOC.  It's been a long time I sent in any beads and it's about time to get moving on it.  Back to making at least one bead each torch session for BOC kids.  I know they need them.  They always do.  It also means I'll get back into sculpting a little again.  I love to sculpt the little dino's I've done in the past and teeth.  Those are fun to make.  So that is my mission - at LEAST one bead per session for the kids.  :)  The few photo's below are what I have done in the past for them.  Fun stuff. 

I am anxious to get back on the torch.  So what's new right ?  lol !  Can't help it.  Looking forward to trying something I've never worked with before - gold leaf.  Have used silver foil, leaf and powder many times but never gold.  Mainly due to the cost.  That stuff is EXPENSIVE because it IS real gold.  And we all know how much gold is per ounce these days.  So, will be very careful about using it.  First, I'm going to "build" a little tool that will help me work with it better.  A fellow lampworker posted a free tutorial on how to make this tool on her blog here Hot Glass Chick's Blog .  It will hold the gold leaf in one place in order to make it easier to use.  That stuff just literally flies away.  This tool will keep it from doing that.  So if you're a beadmaker and have never seen this, check it out.   Well worth the pennies you'll invest in it.  :)  Thanks to Shawnette for sharing this.

 

Time for me to sign off for now.  Thanks for coming by.  I hope you come back again soon !   Have a great week ! 

Information Please

Hello to one and all !  This weeks post is simply put, all about information about this and that.  Probably not going to be very long post but hopefully some fun and info about my little corner of the world.  :)

First of all, I am hosting a giveaway over on my Facebook page.  Click All My Beads Facebook  to go directly to my Beads page and LIKE my page.  Once I reach 100 LIKES on the PAGE (not on a post) then I will be hosting the giveaway and will post what the giveaway prize will be and the rules.  Don't worry, the rules won't be a hassle to deal with.  lol !  Some fun little game or something.  :)

My Etsy shop listings are finally dwindling down.  Slowly but surely.  Just an FYI - If you want anything over there, please shop now.  As all of the listings expire, I am not and will NOT be relisting any of it EXCEPT for the hand dyed silk cords and bellflower beads/headpins.  You can check out my Etsy shop HERE or click on any picture to the right in my Etsy shop.

With the heatwave still in full force with temps in the high 90's and with heat index temps of over 100 degrees, I'm still unable to sit at my beloved torch and make glass beads.  sigh.   Even very early in the morning it's still in the 70's with 100% humidity (we live near a huge lake).  Just can't justify opening that window to draw in back up air and heat up my work area anymore !  lol !  With a kiln set at garaging temp of 950 degrees to 960 degrees and the heat of the torch PLUS humid outside air, UGH !  Really not worth the impending heat stroke it will cause me !  lol !  So, I sit and wait for the cool.  sigh.  It'll come.  :)

Still no inclination what-so-ever to make, design, create jewelry.  Not one iota of creativity either.  What's up with that ???  lol !  Usually summertime, when I can't torch, is the high point of my jewelry making.  Not this summer.

Very soon I will be updating some posts I've made in the past.  One in particular, tips and tricks for using the bellflower press.   If there are any other posts you'd like to see updated or revised, please leave me a comment below.  :)  It won't show up immediately but it will be posted.  :)

Below are just a few of my favorite photo's saved from the web. 
I don't know the photographer or even remember where I got the first photo but isn't the color amazing ! 

Just for fun.  I LOVE Snoopy.  One of my all time favorite characters.

Think Snow !  :) 

Ok that's it for now.  Thanks so much for coming by !  I hope you come back again very soon. 

 



 

Beads & DVD's

A strange combination I'm sure.  lol !   I've been torching some this week but it was limited and will be even more so now due to the heat and humidity.  Summer has arrived.  
First things first.  Got some leaf headpins/beads made at last and this time, made some that are the biggest I've ever made !  lol !  Just wanted to see how big I could go with no issues.  You see my results below.  :)  The bigger leaf is more like a focal.  The rest are good for whatever one can think of.  :)  All for sale.  Post below in the comments section if interested.  I like this technique I used for all of them really.  It's more "work" than using one color but worth the outcome.
I made lots of bellflowers as well however no need to show them here.  They're for a special project anyway.  lol ! 
The second photo is of the few beads I made.  The 4 similar shaped beads were more or less experiments that "sort of" turned out.  Was testing a bead shaper/marver I got a long time ago and never used.  Not sure I liked it.  It slid around alot while being used.  The other two were reactive colors that I really love using together.  That round bead is HUGE but turned out great.  I only wish I had used the darker cranberry color on top of the pink dots on the sides.  Next time. 

Onward as it were.  I feel the need to bring up another subject here.  The DVD's I've been watching.  Oh brother.  I never thought I'd sit and watch a CURRENT tv program on dvd but that's exactly what I've been doing.  I bought the first season dvd set of Game Of Thrones at Walmart about 2 weeks ago for CHEAP.  I had heard it was a fantastic tv series.  So figured why not try.  I wasn't that impressed after the first 2 "shows" on disc 1 but figured I paid for this set so I'll watch it.  Needless to say - I was HOOKED in such a major way I had to have the other seasons.  Only up to season 4 was available so I bought them all !  lol !  I've never binged watched ANYTHING before Game Of Thrones.  lol !  My husband even got into it and loves it !  He and I both binged watched it last weekend one day.  I just finished up watching the last of the 4 seasons.  Watching up to 3 shows each time I watched.  If you haven't seen it I won't go into details but I have to say - WATCH IT ANY WAY YOU CAN AND START FROM THE VERY BEGINNING !  You will NOT regret it one bit.  I have already pre-ordered season 5 dvd's.  I cannot wait for it to arrive.  The only complaint I have is there just aren't enough shows in the actual season but I can understand why.  It's one of the BIGGEST undertakings I've seen for a tv show.  Revolution was similar but I am quite sure that Game Of Thrones is even bigger.  Amazing show.  HBO finally got it right with this one.  :)   

Ok, time to get my day started.  Thanks so much for coming by.  I hope you come back again soon.  Have a great day and week.  :)

Go Away Pollen ! I Want To Torch !

I had a post nearly all finished about doing business online but deleted the whole thing.  Why bother ?  My opinions about online selling and buying are not important to anyone but me so no point.  Gonna keep my posts related to what I'm doing and the fun I'm having.  Yes, I know, life isn't all fun and games.  Believe me, I know all to well that point but on my blog, it's how I choose to keep it.  So let the games begin.....:) 

Since the last post here, I have been very busy !  Like everyone else on this earth I keep myself going sometimes too much and pay the price.  lol !  Anyway, there is so much to chat about that I need to choose one thing and just go for it.  So this weeks  post will be about making beads and spending time at my torch. 

I am only warming up with my torch time these last couple of weeks.  Only stolen "moments" a day here and there when it rains.  That way, the icky yellow and other pollens stay out of my house !  :)  When that's over I'll be able to spend more time making beads.  :)  In the meantime I have made a few more since the last bead posting.  I'm still warming up since I can only torch here and there.  Makes it hard to be consistent.  lol !  Still,  I have fun.  It's my first love.  I'm not a great bead artist/crafter but that's ok.   Lately I'm into the huge beads so that's been fun - good and not so good  !  lol !  Yesterday was a "not so good" torch session.  lol !  It happens and that's ok.  It was I wanna try something different for me day.  So because of that I learned a few things.  lol !  I'll get into that later. 

For now, the picture below is from the session prior to yesterday.  The one on the right has a ton of silver in it.  I LOVE the frit used as it's soooo reactive !  It's white before the heat hits it but then it can turn a very pretty blue and a golden yellow as well as staying white.  The one on the left also has silver in it but not so much.  They both took a very long time to make because of my torch but I still enjoyed it.  :)  That's the last session I had before yesterday. 

  
More eye candy since I only have the one current bead photo.  This second photo is from back in 2007.  I was into making little doll beads back then and enjoyed it alot.  I still have the little Halloween and Christmas dolls.  The others are sold or given away to family.   Can't quite remember.  lol !
 

Also a favorite of mine - a hollow puffer fish.  Can't remember when I made this one but he's in my faux aquarium still.  I love how this one turned out.  Made from a tutorial that was printed in one of the magazines long ago.  :) I did mainly sculpting back then.  Not a set maker at all.  lol ! 

 That's all for this week.  I'll be better about keeping up here.  Thanks so much for coming by and please come back again !  :)