I'm Late and Have a Good Excuse

Well, only by one day and really it's only because it took me longer than normal to get chores done yesterday.  And the reason it took longer, I burned my finger last week while at the torch.  Yep, and it's not just a minor burn.  Anyway, I haven't been able to do alot of my normal "stuff" which includes being at the torch.  The burn is on my first finger in an area that is used ALOT, usually bends alot and gets bumped alot in normal circumstances.  Plus, that area is exposed to alot of heat when making beads.  Something that doesn't feel very good right now.  lol !
  
At least before I burned my finger I was able to explore making blown beads and shards for the very first time, for a very brief moment.  I got one shard done, one blown bead done and one more blown bead partially done.  That last one is still laying,  glass unscathed, where I threw it on the table after burning myself.  :)  Just below is the picture of the blown bead I was able to finish.  I almost blew a hole in it but saved it and you can see that weak spot in the photo.  The bead is very odd shaped to be sure but I HAD A BLAST making it !  I am sooooo hooked and will be doing more.  I have ALWAYS loved huge, giant beads and this one measures in at about 30x35mm or about 1 1/4 x 1 1/2" !  I want bigger too !  :)

I can't wait to make more and in lots of colors !  A friend said she'd love to have a  necklace made with some so that gives me a great incentive to do my best.  It was so much fun making this one and even the one that blew out.  lol ! 


Of course I'll continue to make the butterfly beads for BOC.  I need to keep working on and perfecting those as well.  

      

I know in my last post I said I would talk more about photographing but that also has come to a stand still.  I'll get back to all the bead stuff when my finger is healed enough to do so. In the meantime, thanks much for coming by and visiting.  
Come back again any time to see what's up.  :)


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Weekly Musings

A busy week it's been for me for sure as I'm sure it's been for lots of folks.  Getting back to "normal" after the holidays - whatever normal is - can be a challenge for some, like me.  We get in that holiday mode and sometimes it's a little hard to get out of it.  We're in it for months BEFORE the actual day even happens ! 


Along with getting back into a "normal" mode, I've been back to the torch a couple of times and playing with my photography set up.  More of the photo stuff in a bit.  The torching was a bit of a challenge this week as I continue to try and get comfortable making butterfly beads.  It's going to take lots more practice that's for sure as I continue that effort.  My goal is to make the butterfly then be able to add decorations of all sorts.  Again a challenge for me but well worth it.  I USE to be very comfortable sculpting beads but that was nearly 2 years ago and I haven't done that since.  So again, it's back to the drawing board for me.  lol !  And that's ok cause no matter what I do at the torch, I LOVE IT !  :)  
Butterflies below !  

Of all the photo's I've taken, so far, this is the best one.  :)  As you can see there are funky butterflies but I wanted to show my progress as I go along.  The top middle blue one has burnt wings.  lol !  The orange and blue one on the bottom right was the very first one I've ever made.  See, I never made butterflies before this - ever.  lol !  The orange and blue one will definately be staying home with me and the burnt wings one, I MIGHT be able to still save that one.  We'll see.  I'm going to keep making these in the hopes I'll get better as I progress.  I want to do my very best for the families that will get the butterflies.:)




 I've been playing with my photo set up and it's been a HUGE challenge.  Or maybe a pain in the behind is a better way to express it !  lol !  Photography is not my strong suit at all.  Still, as you can see with the photo above I have alot of work to do !  All this will be the subject of my next post as to what's going on with that.  It deserves to be kept separate.  lol !  I LOVE making beads - HATE taking pictures of them !  lol !  So until next time........... 


Thanks so much for coming by my little blog.  I hope you come back again sometime.  I will post at least once a week from here on in.  :)       


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A New Year is Here.

Happy New Year to one and all !  I hope you had a safe and fun holiday season.
  
With the new year here at last, I've come to the conclusion I need to do something more  with my beadmaking.  I don't sell beads or jewelry any more and I plan to continue to make beads cause I LOVE IT !  :)  So, with that in mind I needed a plan as to what to actually do with all these beads that will eventually overtake my space if I kept them all.   I can only make so many pieces of jewelry for myself and  I can only keep so many beads for myself.  The best plan for me, is donating to Beads Of Courage.  Follow this link to read about this wonderful organization.    http://www.beadsofcourage.net/
When you're at the website, be sure to watch the CBS story.  Just wait for the picture to scroll thru and click that link.  And you can donate money as well by purchasing beads.  There are tabs across the top in the pink you can click on and read.   


They are always in need of beads so what better way to do something with all these beads I have and will have ?  Plus, I'm learning to make butterfly beads.  Something I've never made before.  The butterfly bead is a very special bead as it is given to the family of a child that has lost their battle with the illness they had.  Sad to be sure but the butterfly is a  lovely remembrance I think.  How can I not give them all the beads I can make ?      


So yesterday I tackled a couple of butterflies.  They are still in the kiln this morning.  The bad thing is when I was at the torch yesterday, I went to reach for something on the table and put two fingers right thru the flame of my torch !  lol !  It happens to us all, that's a given.  Sometimes we just "forget" we are playing with real FIRE !  lol !  So I ended up only making 2 1/2 butterflies yesterday but at least it's a start.  :)  I did make one the other day but I'm not sure I'm brave enough to show that one.  lol !  Anyway, I'll get the other 2 cleaned up today and take pictures of those and some other beads I made a week or so ago and post ASAP.  


In the meantime, here's a picture of a glass ring bracelet I won on Ebay a week or so ago !  Yes, it's all glass that has been melted into those circles !  I LOVE IT !  It is done in Boro glass by the fabulous glass artist Pipyr.  Boro is hard glass and very different from the soft glass I use.  Here's a link to her website   http://www.pipyr.com/sculpture.html    I also bought her tutorial on how to make these circles.  I've always wondered how this was done without the glass sticking to each other.  Now I know and hopefully will someday try working on it !  :)  I have tons of tutorials I've never tried but that's something for another day.  lol !  

So I'm off to start my day.  :)  I thank-you for coming by and having a look see at what's going on here.  I'll keep posting to be sure.  Come back again sometime to have a peek.  Have a safe and wonderful New Year !    


      

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE !

WISHING ONE AND ALL THE MERRIEST CHRISTMAS AND HAPPIEST NEW YEAR !  

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She Needed To Be Finished

And so she was.  :)  Talk about procrastination.  I must admit that for a while I was looking for some icicles to add to her and wasn't having much luck -  until they put out Christmas decorations at a hobby/craft store.  :)  So without any further ado - here is Ice Princess.
  
Sorry if the picture is a little dark but in order to see the icicles, I had to leave the background dark.  Using too much light washes out all the white.  Which makes her look like a big glob.  :(  So this is the half way point.  She turned out pretty good I think considering she's my second doll.  I'm happy with her.  I like the icicles quite a bit.  It's hard to tell in the photo but they do reflect colors in the light.  I wish I could say they are glass but they are not.  If they were, this little dollie would weigh a ton !  lol !  Plastic worked quite well.  I hope you enjoy her photo.  


Just below you will see a little "tag" that says "PIN IT".  If you have some extra time to spare, click on it and get ready to spend LOTS of time just looking, reading and pinning.  lol !  Something new I discovered not long ago myself and have enjoyed it immensly.  


Well that's it for now.  Thanks so much for coming by.  Come back again soon and see what's happening.  Hopefully I'll be back at the torch by then.  Stay safe.  :)



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Christmas Came Early.........:)))

.........and am I HAPPY about that !  lol !  Yep, hubby got me one thing on my Christmas list that I REALLY wanted - a new M-20 concentrator !  Yay !  I played with it yesterday for the first time.  It really added some "umph" to my torch and gave it some more heat.  It's more like using tanked oxy now which I much prefer.  Thing is, tanked oxy is EXPENSIVE.  So, now that I'm all set of course I had to test drive it.  It will take some getting use to all that heat that's for sure !  So the beads I ended up making in the last two days, well, let's just say, I need much more practice time with my "newer" concentrator.  lol !  That's ok, I feel like a newbie beadmaker anyway after being away from it for so long.  


Regardless of how funky my beadies are looking, I'm still going to show what I've done and the progress I'm GOING to make.  :)  It's going to take me some time to come back to where I was when I left it a couple years ago.  


When I started posting on this blog again, I said I'd leave the focals alone.  That just ain't happenin'.  I can't leave them alone.  I LOVE making long beads.  The longer the better.  I had a good one going yesterday when the derned bead release broke off one end and is now adhered to that end of that bead.  sigh.  And it happened with the second bead as well.  That one is still soaking in water and hopefully I can remove it from the mandrel but it's doubtful.  So I did actually get the two long beads nearly completed when all that bead release broke off.  That's what's so frustrating about it happening at the end of making the bead !  All that time put into one bead only to have all that bead release stuck to it or it won't come off the mandrel.  Many a perfect bead has ended up this way by many a beadmaker.  It happens to us all.  


On to the beads.  Here they are in their funkiness/fugliness.  :)  

This one I just picked up a rod of glass and started playing with it.  Turns out, the rod color is similar to the melted color.  I added silver, turquoise, coral and there is some colbalt blue in there somewhere.  

  

 I always loved making fishies so this one will be added to my collection and eventually go in my fantasy fish tank. The eyes, I made very differently than with the rest of my fishies.  I like the outcome and will continue to play with it.  It involves several steps which I'll explain later.  :)

The blue one above, not what I was going for but hey, it is what it is.  Colbalt blue with silver and ivory mixed in.  I actually began with red copper green but that's another story for another post.  :)  
The yellowish one to the right -  an experiment.  I started with clear and wanted to see what reaction I got with a particular frit would be.  Surprise - no reaction.  lol !  Just turned the clear glass yellow so I added some turquoise, silvered ivory and again red copper green to come up with this little "gem".  lol !  
Again, keep in mind, I am re-learning.  lol !  LOTS to remember or at least try to remember.  Geesh.  I will be doing lots of reading !  


Time to get my day started !  Thanks so much for coming by.  I hope you can come back again and see what I'm up to.  


With the holiday fast approaching, I do apprecitate you taking the time to visit with me !  Stay safe !  

Update Coming

Sorry for the silence these last weeks.  Will be back to normal very soon with news, updates and more goodies to look at.   


In the meantime, enjoy a few photo's of my Fantasy Aquarium.  Full version first then one from the right side and one from the left side.  The mermaids are made of clay by a wonderful fairy artist named Debbie McCain.  She sells on Ebay.  I'll post her website when I can find it.  :)   The fishies, some clams, most of the shells, various artifacts, tiny critters  and a tiny mermaid on the front right floor were all made by me at my torch some time ago.  I purchased the octopus and crab from a fellow glass artist.  Those pieces are in boro, all of my pieces are soft glass. 


                                     

Thanks for coming by and checking in.  I will be back VERY soon.  :) 

ETA  Debbie McCain's Website:    http://www.whispersinthewoodsfairies.com/