Fresh Glass 5.11.16

I did make it to the torch finally and had a disastrous sesh. First a joke bead... There was much Facebook drama over Seagull beads lately so, having never wanted to make a seagull, I was suddenly on fire to make one... with a binky attached...for those that cry over seagull beads! The face was just a Beads of Courage Bead... I was thinking of "watching over you" while making it. I dropped it going to the kiln...UGH! And the last bicone is hideous. I had seen these gorgeous pink and blue beads and this is my crappy attempt. GRRRRR

Fresh Glass 2.16.16

Continued from yesterday: I mentioned getting on the Easter bandwagon... I've been thinking about my infamous Eggster Bunny from years ago and wanting to revisit that design. I was coming up with different color combos for chocolate bunnies... when I decided to make a "white chocolate" Haole Hula version! I also call this the bunny that tried to kill me!

I was cold cutting a design element off when it went between my glasses and and landed on my eyelid! Silvadeen made it feel much better but it was SCARY!

I went on to make a dark chocolate Eggster Bunny and a micro egg set:

Fresh Glass 11.3.15

Finally got the shop floor tidied up and drug the tank in... My shoulder hurt so bad, I had to wait another day to soap the lines. I made beads yesterday. But I had been on a page where people were selling stuff below wholesale... and had that crap in my head so I made garbage...

That egg on the left... was supposed to be this color:

The middle one is some DH mystery glass that is "supposed" to be lavender...

 and I made an even tinier itty bitty kitty only to be told my prices are too high...

Sigh. Not a good day at all. Which is why I wrote this post to myself years ago... I had to go re-read it again today. If you are in a rut, you may find it helpful.

and Out of Gas

I tried to torch the other day and actually decided on a creative direction - I have some German pink glass and I wanted to make some small "normal" size hollow beads... and struggled cauae...small is really not my forte and my tools are all larger. So instead of a set, I made one. I didn't want to waste the pink.

Next I made a long skinny ivory base for a silver glass idea I had. And my flame looked funny.. I glanced at the tank and realized I was running low on gas. And here I was at the early stages of a one hour bead. So I tossed the ivory into the kiln.

I decided to try a tiny version of the silvered glass bead ...and was really glad I didn't waste the time on a larger version!

And then I ran the tank dry making some tropical sunset drums.

I have two fresh tanks...but it's been really windy.

In a Funk

Been in a funk...hence, no posts.

My trunk show goodies BEFORE the show:

My goodie box AFTER the show:

See the problem?? Yeah, worst trunk show I've ever done. I don't know if it was the discount site or lack of publicity or...people just aren't buying. Or maybe they hate my work...yeah I went there... I always do.

So I'm reeling a bit. Doesn't help that my shoulder is in so much pain that it's hard to be on the computer and list... sigh.

Fresh Glass 8/24

I was on a bead making roll last week! Here we have a variety of spacers  and one of my daisy beads in a smaller 1" focal size. I must say...it's harder to make one smaller than it is a larger one. IF I got paid for my time...this one would be much more $$ than the larger ones...sigh. It's likely to be one of a kind! And a Clio focal. I love that pink... I just hate how many freaking layers of glass it takes to get that color! I like long skinny beads... and I'll never have one in that shade of pink! GRRR!

Fresh Glass 8.20.15

More Moonwalks... The red is part of a five bead set... beads 1, 3 and 5... I made 2 and 4 months ago and just never had the heart to make the other three. Partly because these mothers take so freaking long to make. I've yet to make an xl in under 40 minutes and just over 30 for the other pieces.  I know going in that I will never the $ for that investment of time.  A set like that "should" go for $160...but I'll do good to break $100...sigh.

The other XL moonwalk is a moody red - yes red! - covered in more of that honeycomb dichroic. I wasn't sure I would like it but I was trying to break out of the black base bead mold... I think it's lovely!!

Here's the pic of the other two:

Fresh Glass 8.18.15

Are you one of those lampworkers who take copious notes? I envy you! I wish I were...but I don't. And I do stupid stuff... I rename all my frits... and I'm walking around with that info in my curly little brain! One bump and... nothing! I remember reading some post from a lampworker on one of the forums... for ages she would mention in almost every post, "If only I could remember how I made my {insert fantastical name here} set!" I could be her... So far I haven't forgotten a bead I want to duplicate...but I'm sure I will.

But the one thing that drives me batty is notes to myself!  I'm notorious for writing down a phone number and no name... And I write down bead recipes with no point of reference. On my to do list was
"sedona w/ lapis stringer." Der... was that transparent or opaque? Where did I see this?? Was it a tut? Did a friend tell me? I have no idea... and the bead was lackluster... Hardly worth my time. Can you see it in the jumble below?

I also made scads of squeezed beads... a fun trip down memory lane that will be another post at some point. A pair of drums and a set of ribbed donuts are in there. And... a bead called "phantasia" that looks like a butterfly...only the hole is on the wrong side. Figured that out after I had made pairs in several colors!

Saturday Night Special - Facebook Albums

Hi all! Tonight's Saturday Night Special is up on the fan page. I didn't want to forget it this week! It's a heart and I'm even offering a wire wrapped - ready to wear special:

Gathering Moss

I was reading a beadmakers tips page on Facebook and someone pointed out she always kept her available inventory in albums on Facebook... moving sold items over to a 'sold' album. This way customers can see at a glance what is available...or ask for remakes. 

I thought it was a great idea although I'm kinda embarrassed at the sheer volume of inventory I have! One of those bead makers who makes a bead  / sells a bead I am NOT! I recently sold a set of beads that had been listed on FB 28 times, on Etsy for over a year, countess times on ebay and even took a spin on my website! they were lovely, reasonably priced (actually sold for more than their original asking price though!) and purple! There is no telling what will sell and when. 

But I don't want to overwhelm the fan page with photos. So far, only the Sets and focals are up. But I will be adding more, then prices in the coming week. 

Happy Saturday and, as always, thanks for l@@king!

Fresh Glass | Where Have I Been??

Fresh Glass from July 1:  A Dark Waters long focal and 2 sets of earring pairs.

 I've been sorting through photos... trying to get in the listing habit and I'm just wondering where the heck I've been...for months?? I found folders of photos as far back as APRIL unedited! And then I keep finding the same photos that have been taken over and over and over. Sorting it out took me all day yesterday and several part-days before that. I'm finally editing photos from July and have five that need re-takes or supplementary shots. Sigh...

Do you ever feel you haven't really been in your life?? It's been a strange year and a busy one. I'm sitting here stunned it's half over.  But from long teaching assignment to back to back to back jobs, doing my own taxes for the first time ever, along with two sudden deaths of friends and one family member's prolonged illness and recent death and onto an extended work trip to take care of issues in my 92 year old mom's house followed by weeks of severe shoulder pain... I just feel like I'm on some kind of roller coaster that won't ever stop! 

I'm hoping that the sorting of pics and beads will get me back on track... OY! 

Then It Got Better - Much Better

So I ended up with an opportunity to take a Corina class!What? Am I nuts?? Smack in the middle of one of my biggest ever bead funks??  But a friend needed someone to buy her spot in class and I had always longed to take a Corina class... So off I go...not really feeling it. And am I ever glad I did!

We pulled SO much cane for the ocean beads class... a whole day of it! And I'm not one to waste a good cane pull! Thank goodness they had the kiln going... I made one simple but so pretty barrel bead (I brought it home one day two and it didn't make this pic but I promise I'll show it off later!) The heart is the end of another cane pull. I just HATE to waste dicrho!

And while we're on the subject: Pacific Artglass is making their own dichro now! OMG! Is it ever dreamy to work with!  Corina and everyone in class was raving!

The other two are the ocean beads I made in class.

As for a class review...if you ever get the chance to take a class with Corina... GO! For me, the light bulb in my head about blew up when I suddenly "got" my issues with hair thing stringer! That alone was worth the price of admission!!

And sometimes, a funk just needs a little inspiration from a good teacher!

Drastic Measures

Do you ever get sick of a bead you made? Just tired of looking at it in your stash?? I have such a bead.

I named her Oh! Clio when I made her because she took my breath away...honestly. But then the evil, non-paying bidder, Teresa Baze, agreed to purchase her and never paid. There were over $100 worth of beads that had to be relisted and all of them sold right away. But not this one...

I've listed and relisted her. Taken her down and put her away and relisted her. I'm so traumatized by this horrible selling experience, I haven't even wanted to work with this beautiful glass at all!

After listing her over 20 times with no takers, reducing and pimping her every way I can think of, I've decided to GIVE HER AWAY!

Actually I had planned to give her away if there were any interested buyers...but there never were...sigh. So...She will be free to anyone spending $75 or more on my glass bead website, or Facebook, or combination of the two.

She's also listed with her original price tag of $30...just in case there is one person in the world who actually wants to pay for her!

Glass Bead Miscellany

Welp, that open ended teaching job??? It now has an end date and that's looking like end of school. I've loved the assignment and the boys (it's an ED class of only boys) seem to like and respond to me. Instead of going through sub after sub, the school felt it best to provide some consistency to these guys. What does that have to do with glass beads?? Very little... as in that's how many beads I'll get to make in the coming months. But, a steady paycheck for a few months is a good thing, even though steady work sucks the creativity out of my bones! And I'm hoping that will lead to a productive summer...if I don't get back on the surgery track.

That being said, I've been cleaning out all my many bead boxes and making sure I have a better organization system for photos and beads for sale.  I have found every original photo for every thing I sell and placed all in one master folder organized into subfolders like focals, sets, necklaces, bracelets, etc... I still have to work on my website but my Facebook / Etsy crap is done!

And I wanted to share a bead I made for me. I've always wanted a rottweiler I made myself. I made this at the end of a Judy Carlson workshop. Very difficult as the mahogany goes black in the flame and you can't tell the two glasses apart!

Fresh Glass 3.2.15

It's been pretty quiet around here and it's about to get quieter! I'm taking an open ended teaching assignment. It could be over quick or could last for up to a month! I have to plan for a month - cause that just how my brain works. And I fear this will be a creative desert time for me... UGH...but as creativity doesn't pay the bills around here, what else is there to do??

I missed a Fresh Glass post as I was in a hurry to get to the post office with them but I'll try and get those up this week.


These were taken on my phone... eh...

Here we have two "I'm so sick of all the blue and green stringers in my work area" beads. The 1" lentil managed to score some Arke unbeknownst to me! It shimmers!!!

And two regular sized moonwalks in my Uptown Girl Series... Man to I ever appreciate the artists working in this shape! It's FAR MORE tedious than the XL size!!! And takes just as long to perfect! Geez! NOT in love with this and I still have to make three more to have a set!

Fresh Glass - Frustration!

Well this batch was nothing but a hot mess for the most part. I'm loving Double Helix' new Arke glass... but I've been playing with it over reactive glasses and thought it would be fun with a more neutral base glass. And my favorite neutral (reaction-wise) is purple! I was just dreaming of how fabulous the teals I'm getting from Arke would look over purple... and then the trouble started!

Oops, I left our my biggest disappointment...it was still in the kiln as I was somehow thinking it was a thermal issue and maybe, just maybe I could reheat and save it...

So apparently DH and old ASK 104 just doesn't play nice! I guess there is some kind of reaction going on... lool at the green / gold bands between the lavender and the Arke...

It was such a pretty bead....

I left this one in the kiln until I noticed this:

Then I knew there would be no saving her! UGH! What a wasted session... almost!

I did make the tiniest seahorse ever (custom order and sold already!) and a set of lavender bicones... so I got something out of it. But what a costly lesson!  That seahorse is all Bullseye glass...despite the similarity to my Arke / ASK fiascoes!

It's Been a While | Fresh Glass

For those of you who don't follow the Creekhiker blog, I did not have surgery. My precious 91 year old mom came for Christmas and packed the swine flu. Even though we both had the shot, she got very sick and I was sick enough, my doc said, "No surgery for you!"

I've spent December recovering, and just relaxing a bit after Mom left. Then school started and I've been on the run... Between teaching, earlier hiking hours, the winter blahs and listing beads on Facebook... There has been precious little torch time. But I did have a few sessions.

I was playing with the black lace technique here. A bit disappointed as teal is too dark of a base for this technique.... I was supposed to make more today with a lighter glass. I just came in from torching and realized, I forgot! I fell like I've got some kind of old lady mental slippage going on! Oh and taxes... Taxes always give me brain fog. But as I've got to hire a new accountant this year, I'm determined to finish sooner than in previous years.

I wonder if I'll get this heart posted anywhere before Valentine's Day??

See Anything You Like???

Only one person on my fan page has caught on that I've been holding out and hording beads! LOL! Gotta have something to sell until I can torch again!!

Have a gander... like anything in there??? Coming in December... or January. Prayers and good wishes on my surgery day Monday are much appreciated!!! Happy Thanksgiving and I'll be back as soon as I can!

Zephyr and Tibet - NOT BFFs!

I showed you my Arke and Zephyr beads and a couple of Tibet and Zephyr beads in my previous post. Upon cleaning the beads... I noticed the Zephyr / Tibet combos had tell tale cracks:

 This makes for one grumpy beadmaker! I guess I was pushing my luck using two boutique glasses over Effetre black. Sigh!  Well, the Arke over Effetre Ivory with a Zephyr topper are just fine...so I had a handful of keepers!

It's such a shame all the glasses can't just play nice! And more glass knowledge to cram in my chock-full brain... Keep Zephyr and Tibet in separate areas of the playground...they don't play nice!

Fresh Glass Beads Lampwork 11.22.14

I've been pondering bead making a lot lately. It's hard not to with so many stunning listings in the Facebook groups.  So many talented bead makers listing STUNNING bead after STUNNING bead. When does one get that good? Many of them have been torching far less than time than I have... but I still feel like a hack next to them.  I can produce a stunning bead from time to time. Decent beads most of the time...but I still produce a LOT of "eh - whatever" beads. This sessions is one of those... Two focals for bead pens. and a set of Arke and Tibet experiments. Eh...whatever!

Fresh Glass 11.13.14

I haven't been posting much... you know what they say, when you can't say something nice... Well, it's been a rough month without much nice to say!  Getting ready to shut my life and business down is not easy. Especially when teaching part time, still trying to make and ship orders and...the rental unit catches on fire and I have no insurance. Yes, folks, I am that dumb. Actually, I had to make a brutal choice between an interior policy (knowing my Homeowner's Association carried an exterior policy) and my own health insurance. Clearly not the best decision...but it is what it is.

It's been a struggle to make beads between constant pain and...sales on Facebook have slowed. All the pages feel saturated with sellers and not enough buyers. One of the jewelry groups stopped taking on new sellers this week!  But I have been trying... Also working on smaller focals... SO HARD FOR ME!

I made some red, green and white ribbed bicones for the holidays.. I kept seeing a big purple ball necklace in my head... Not sure these are big enough for the dream I had. A pair of purple ribbed bicones that I hope to wear as earrings over the holidays. And I tried my hand at the bullet shape... and got a cone... Hate that! I have a customer that loves orange, pea and turquoise and I tried them over black... and lost the orange... hate that too!