Holiday Project: Neckwarmer with Lampworked Button

Being sick and having time to curl up by a fire lent itself to some holiday projects. This is a little neck warmer I made for the BFF. She's very cold natured and wears her coat all winter. I thought this soft, fuzzy neckwarmer in her favorite colors of blues and browns would be just the thing.


I picked out the yarn and then picked out my rods. I do apologize for the photos...I've yet to find a camera that photographs cobalt blue well... The button is heart shaped on a two-hole lampwork button mandrel with a cobalt center, dark brown and transparent cobalt on the outer edges.

The scarf was worked on the largest Knifty Knitter loom. You can't really get a nice scarf that doesn't curl using only a knit stitch so I had to teach myself to purl! It's a great little piece that worked up in around six hours (not counting the handmade button).

The BFF loved it!


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The sales is still on over at Holly's Folly. Check it out.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday.

There's a little sale going on over at Holly's Folly in honor of our holidays. Hoping to clear out a few things before adding more goodies.

I want to send out a special thank you to all the customers that supported me in the past year. You have no idea how much that means!

When Creativity Takes a Vacation...

I have no creativity left in me bead wise. What seemed an endless fount of ideas when I first got my torch has dried up and filled with ...nothing! I seem to be paralyzed by fear. Fear that I'm wasting my time - making yet another bead that won't sell or not looking for a job that will actually support me.

As my stamp business started to decline, I had hoped bead making would pick up the slack. But it hasn't. Truth be told, I've hardly sold any beads online. My sales are much better in person for some reason, yet with my handicapped feet and back...I physically can't do many shows.

And with the time it takes to photograph beads, write the code for a website and get beads listed on line... I feel like my time would be better spent looking for a job.

I've always just made beads I like, hoping that some designer would have a similar tastes. I've never liked cute little sets and they are a struggle for me to make. And when I start worrying about what sells what little creativity I felt when I turned on the torch seems to evaporate.

I don't have any answers...I just keep looking for work every day...

Cyber Monday Lampwork Sale

I'm having a CYBER MONDAY SPECIAL ON LAMPWORK BEADS over on HollysFolly.com

BOGO25: Use this sales code when purchasing two items. Buy one at the regular price and the lesser priced item will be 25% off.

BOGO50: Use this sales code when purchasing THREE items. Buy one at the regular price and the next lesser priced item will be 25% off and save 50% on the least priced item.

Come check it out and help me make room for new beadies on the site!

Kim Field's Class at the Mandrel

I've been dying to write about my mid-November class with Kim Fields for ages but had some really hectic and large classes of my own to teach and then, I got really sick!

I really enjoy taking classes and learning from a well-known artist. I enjoy their different philosophies on color and design even pet peeves in lampwork. I really enjoyed Kim's technique for leaf cane which creates more leaves that look similar and not identical on the same bead.

The Mandrel owner Donna Conklin and Kim Fields sharing a laugh at lunch.

Another technique Kim shared is her technique for making her petals and leaves look more natural. At first, I found it a bit tedious but can see the results. Kim's work is just gorgeous and that skill is all part of it.

She told us it was just frustration... real leaves don't look like they have a ball at the end. And she worked and worked trying to figure it out. It was in a Loren Stump class where Kim was watching him work on an eyeball that she realized the same method would for leaves and flowers.

That is the real fun of taking classes: learning some new technique that applies to something in your own work.

Kim Fields demoing for the class.

Another wonderful thing about taking classes from a pro is the wonderful trays of beads they bring. It's a great opportunity to see lots of expert quality beads up close.

I adored these large focals. They fit in the palm of my hand!

The bead I most lusted over were these little pine covered beads. They remind me of the pine tree canyons I grew up in.

Kim is renown for her birds but it was these two part penguin beads that took my breath away.

The only bad part of the whole weekend was the fires that were actually burning up by my house. The winds blew the smoke all the way down to Redondo Beach. The first day, right after lunch, it looked like it was getting dark but it was really the smoke. I wrote about that on Creekhiker (Nov 19 08 post) a few weeks back... the pictures are pretty eerie!

Ming with her mom.

One of the best parts of the weekend was Ming! She's Donna's little Shar pei puppy and she's so sweet! She visited us several times a day and always made me smile!

Fire in the Hole!

When a friend taught her first lampwork class, she asked me to proof her handout. She had something in there I thought was hilarious. It was about wearing a low cut shirt while lampworking.

She says, "A piece of hot glass may pop off when the rod is introduced to the flame. If you're wearing a low cut shirt, you know right where it's going to land, don't you? In your bra!"

I thought that was the funniest thing. Glass tends to fly away from me. And while I once stuck the hot end of a rod under my bare arm (two burns for the price one!), I've never really had hot glass fly down my shirt.

Until yesterday...

I was with that same friend. She had asked me to show her how to make an ornament. A little piece of my clear rod flecked off the side and flew right into my bra. Had I been home, my instinct would have been to strip. But with my friend and her son in the studio, not an option.

I got it out quickly and have no significant burn but boy, have I learned a lesson!

New Auction

All is kinda quiet on the bead front as I've been working on custom orders. My focals section of my website was getting a little heavy so I moved a favorite bead over to ebay for auction.

Koi Joy Part 2

I had mentioned my customer wanted the fish to hang so they looked like they were swimming, top down view. I thought it was a fantastic idea. But, great idea and execution are two very different things.

I found working with the mandrel going through the side of the fish much more difficult and it added a good ten minutes to my working time. And in lampwork, time = money.

My first attempt, I started a bit too far down the mandrel to get the tail to look exactly as I wanted. It still came out nice and that is the one my customer bought.

The second one, I started near the end of the mandrel and did get a nice bend in the tail.

But the longer working time on both made the frit stretch a bit more than I would have liked.

All in all, I really do like this look but I'm uncertain if the higher price tag will find a market in this economy.

The orange one is available on HollysFolly.com and all Halloween beads are 10% off.

Showoff: Custom Orders - Koi Joy

I had an acquaintance approach me at the show - funny how someone knows of you, knows you make lampwork beads but then sees all your work at a show and suddenly need you for some custom piece. She fell hard for some of my fish but was looking for a Koi for a friend.

A koi? I had never thought of doing a koi. On Sunday, I researched all kinds of photos of koi, making note of things to add or change...most notably, their tails are different. I printed a few references and hit the torch.

I can never do just one bead for a custom order. I like having a choice...why wouldn't my customers?



My first attempt was really basic and natural looking. Then I tried one a bit more lifelike. And finally, I tried one that's more of a fantasy fish. I like making these because, if made right, they stand up on their own. That's great if you have a customer who's NOT into jewelry (hard to imagine, eh? But they're out there!).



Anyway, I'm so proud of them! They're buried in the Holly's Folly site for now for my customer to make a pick and then the other two will be up for grabs. NOTE: My customer asked me to re-do the way they hang... I think this is a fabulous idea. I can just picture it hanging that way against a blue / teal blouse... Ooh. I will post more pics. And in the meantime, feel free to contact me if you are interested in these.

And, I put up a few pendants for Halloween.... Get 'em fast before they disappear into my show stash.

Lessons Learned: The Outdoor Show

Welp, I did my very first outdoor show in conjunction with our local Sunland -Tujunga Art Association and, needless to say, I learned a LOT! Here's a rundown:

1) Ask if the location is handicapped accessible. That means there will be ramps for you to roll your gear on instead of lugging it up steps. Our location was a historic museum from the early 1900s...no ramps!

2) If someone else is providing your tables, be sure to ask what size they are. I "assumed" I would have one eight foot table. Instead, I had two four foot tables, meaning I needed an extra set of risers to have a taller table.

3) Ask is the ground is close to level. We were on a mountainside...no where close to level. I'm not talking inches... close to a foot! I had to dash down the street to a hardware store to buy plastic planters that were twice the size as my risers. I ended up with a tall set on the downhill side and the regular risers on the uphill side! The land was so uneven under my other table, I couldn't use risers at all. And, I had to climb through their flower beds to find a thick rock to level out the second table. Which leads me to...

4) Bring a change of clothes. I got filthy setting up! I did a quick wipe down with baby wipes but really couldn't do anything about that grass stain on my knees!

5) Stick some carpenter's wedges in the car. These are little slivers of wedge-shaped wood to level out lumber when building a house. They work great on tables on uneven ground!

6) Think about shade. I don't have a tent for the simple reason: I live alone and have no one to help me set up at shows. I've yet to find a tent that can really be set up by one person. But, I'm thinking a nice big sign that could be moved could provide some decent shade. Still, on a lovely fall day, this wasn't a big issue. It only got hot when we had to pack up and leave.

7) Snacks... always pack something to eat. Some shows have food on the premises. Some don't. One show I did this year had the caterer back out the night before! They would have bagels but no cream cheese. Coffee but no cream and sugar. You would go back an hour later and they would have cream cheese and no bagels; sugar and cream but no coffee.

8) Be open to custom work. I will make more from custom orders following this show than I did at the actual event! Don't be afraid to take on a challenge. Someone else may see something in your work that you don't see...yet!