One World, One Heart

VOTING IS OVER!!! WINNER ANNOUNCED SHORTLY!

I am participating in the One World, One Heart giveaway on BOTH my blogs. First, about One World, One Heart, created by artist Lisa Swifka

The common denominator in blogging is that we all have stories to tell...We can be inspired or inspire others by finding a blog and taking the time to read/see someones story. Often times a spark happens....this palpable spark of recognition through kindred understanding and shared passions in life. It is in those times when we take a moment to comment and comment again.......when those comments are reciprocated a discovery is made that we share commonolaties which connect us sight unseen. Sometimes we may live on separate continents or at either end of the same country or even discover you hail from the same general area. By paying attention, by connecting with others, we are creating a circle of amazing individuals who can literally enhance our lives and we can enhance theirs.

In the first 2 years of hosting OWOH I came away with an amazing sense of how genuinely good people are and how open their hearts are. I've read blogs where since they participated as a fairly new blogger made connections that stuck.....art swaps began, shared stories and so on built to a genuine friendship. That makes my heart sing as that is precisely the goal here.

The giveaway portion is like hosting an open house......as if we were all living in this gigantic neighborhood where once a year we visit homes to meet, reacquaint and get to know one another. At each home there are samplings of goodies that you have a chance to take home like a door prize. You leave your name and at some point each home choses a winner or winners......and now you not only have met a new "neighbor" and you've seen where they live.....you have something that someone lovingly chose to give..... AND visa versa.

What you'll win: One of my lampworked off mandrel hearts (photo of both sides of the bead below) AND a slider chain in your choice of silver or gold tone (available in 18 and 24 inch lengths)

This heart is made from an elaborate cane of all lavender and purple glasses and is one of my favorites. All my beads are kiln annealed for strength and durability.


To win: Simply leave a comment. If you are not a blogger, please leave an email so that I may get in touch with you if you win. Drawing Feb 12.





And... in the spirit of One World, One Heart, I have a a give away on my other blog too! You may enter both contests!
And don't forget to check out the One World, One Heart blog for lists of over 600 participating blogs! You may find a new blogger to connect with!

My New Must Have Tool

I'm a tool hound....always have been. I grew up in a construction and contracting family. Every one of my uncles and my mom all believed in the right tool for the right job. I have more tools than many men I have dated!

I usually don't expound upon lampworking tools...there are so many out there... some are great and some are WAY over priced if you have a clue where to shop!

But I have a new favorite. Something I can't live without and must share! Here it is:


Looks like it belongs in the bathroom, doesn't it? It does... it is the cheapest waterpik I could find.

And how does this help with lampworking??? I had an idea that it may help with cleaning my hollow beads. I adore making huge hollow beads and get really frustrated at how long it takes to remove the mandrel poop from inside the bead. Sometimes I leave the beads in soak and work on them every time I come in the kitchen... it can take days!

But not with my new best friend! It took me less than five minutes! Brilliant!

It's Time for Hearts

I've been making a number of hearts lately. It's funny but it's a shape that seems to have endless possibility for me. The first lampwork beads I ever bought were boro hearts.

I love all sizes and shapes of them... off mandrel, vertical, horizontal, long skinny tails or big and fat...they all have a place in my...er... collection!

This one is new on the Holly's Folly site and I should be adding more by week's end. This one is hollow in pink / lavender and aqua with holes big enough to add small crystals or czs.

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.