Trunk Show on Glass Melters Open Market

OMG! It JUST dawned on me that the trunk show LOADS tomorrow afternoon! 4pm PST!!!

This is be a show chock full of more affordable glass beads! A few giveaways too!! There will be tons of purple and kitties!!! I sure hope you'll come by Glass Melters Open Market on Facebook and take a look over the weekend!

I'm hoping to list around 50 items!!!

 

It's Saturday Night!

Just loaded a special on the Fan Page for Saturday Night. Sorry for the lack of posts... it's been a crazy week!

Thanks, as always, for l@@king!

Fresh Glass 5.26.15 Big News and Giveaways

Just OBSESSED with this color and this drum shape... more to come!

And BIG news... The Fire Divas are coming back as a selling team! Check out our new logo by Amy Sims!!

And... my good friend Donna and I are hosting the 1000 member giveaways (yes 2!) on Glass Beads for Sale!

There are ways to get multiple entries! Donna's giveaway is here. My giveaway is here.

Last Day of My Trunk Show... You Know You Need Some Gifts!!

Last day of the trunk show! Still some amazing pieces left!

All the links:
♥ Earrings ♥: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=pcb.325349291006201&type=3
♥ Focal Beads ♥: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=pcb.325356687672128&type=1
♥ Glass Bead Sets ♥: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=pcb.325388557668941&type=3
♥ Earring Pairs / Beads ♥:https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=pcb.325386217669175&type=3
♥ Glass Bead Weirdos & Orphans ♥: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=pcb.325330287674768&type=3
♥ Gifts: Platters / Wine Toppers / Pens ♥: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=pcb.325380331003097&type=3
♥ Necklaces & Bracelets ♥ https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=pcb.325389747668822&type=3
♥ Christmas / Hanukkah CLEARANCE Beads♥ https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=pcb.325619594312504&type=1
♥ Halloween CLEARANCE Beads ♥ https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=pcb.325626514311812&type=3
♥ Commercial Necklaces with a Handmade Feel♥ https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=pcb.325329154341548&type=3

GAMES: Every day there will be prizes... look for them!!! Please share and comment... You will earn more entries!!
Ongoing game: https://www.facebook.com/HollysFollyGlassBeads/photos/gm.325242937683503/730127387071383/?type=1

Fresh Glass 11.20.14

Another fun torch session! I tried a floral for the first time in years. I love them but they take so long to make and I never feel like they sell for what they are worth in terms of my time.  Sigh..  I've been OBSESSED with the shades of gray in glass (heh heh) lately and made some ribbed pieces for a set. There's also a huge Arke focal and... the beginnings of another! That clear bead was to be the core of a big bead and the bead realease broke. I've got a collections of these and will probably list them on one of the discounted lampwork pages.

Goodbye Sweet Beadies!

More homeless beads placed this week! So happy to have a few sales. I didn't work it too hard as I've been teaching A LOT! Six out of the last 7 days. Today is my first day in 8 that I didn't have somewhere to be very early in the day and I'm enjoying a cuddle with the pupster, a second cup of joe and just a relaxed morning! Hoping to torch today and should have some fresh glass pics in a day or so! 

 I should mention a second Facebook market has opened called Lampwork Bead Market. If you have a lot of inventory as this beadmaker does, it's nice to have two places to list as they both limit you to one auction every 24 hours (unlimited Buy It Nows but who gets those???).

These glass beads are sold... but I have plenty more available! 

The Elusive Striped Bead

Ah... the striped bead. It has been my Holy Grail of lampworking. All these years in and I still suck! I still read tutorials and try one from time to time. But last week, it was just driving me nuts. I'm really good at some things... WHY can't I get THIS??? Grrrrrrr!

These are the ones I've deemed O.K. to show you: 

I always seem to have some color gap or a twist going on. I know the twist is heat control and the color gap must be volume control but when I've added the right size / equal amounts of glass, WHY do I still have this issue???

Well, the heat control turned out to be a bigger factor than I thought. I make big beads and... I LOVE to work hot and fast! Most of my big beads take me an hour or more to make! It seems really hard to justify "wasting" 5 - 10 minutes on ONE LITTLE bead!

So I sat down and read every tutorial I could find, one MORE time! And I finally made some decent stripes! See that pink and brown donut on the left... That bead has been in my head for a decade! 

Heat control is HUGE. I remember Kimberly Affleck demoing that she could tap her bead on her marver without smushing it before encasing! You can't case a soft bead and not have it distort. Working UNDER the flame is key!

And volume control... having equal size dots is imperative and still an issue!

But lastly...it's patience. After making these for an hour and a half, my old tricks started coming back. I was losing patience waiting for glass to melt and they started to distort again. The pink twisted one is the last one I made.... SIGH.

But it is FINALLY starting - just beginning- to click! OY!

These are links to the tuts that helped me:

Corina's Subtle Stripes
Basic Stripes by Melinda Melanson

Candice Mathewson's Cased Layered Triangle Bead
Karen Mitchell's Advice (Post #8)
Kandice Seeber's Striped Tutorial (for sale) 

New Beads Finally!

Finally! I got that pile o' beads cleaned and have started listing them. They go to the fan page first - at a discount of 10% so... catch them there if you can. After a day, I send them to my glass beads site. 

Waterlily

I've been playing with my huge frit collection and really liking what's coming out of the torch! I hope you will like them too!

Teal & Peach Glass Bead Spacers

Sedona Sunset

 

Here's the whole batch waiting for their close ups! If you see anything you like, don't hesitate to get in touch!