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 Late February 2015

These are the last batch of beads that I didn't get to photograph right out of the kiln as I was dashing to the post office. At set of rainbow big hole beads for Pandora style bracelets.

The customer who wanted the green witch boobies...took all that I made! I love when that happens!

And a focal that is so pretty in person but too shiny to photograph well...

I've managed to get sick on only my 2nd day of school... Not sure when there will be more!

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 2.16.15

Today's kiln harvest yielded a  trio of red pebbles, a duo of red dichroic pebbles, one very frustrating over pressed moonwalk xl and... a trio of witches boobs.... What? You didn't know witches had three??  Well now you do. My work here is done!

Fresh Glass 2.15.14

I tried out my new Stone 3d press... Not nearly as easy as the moonwalk xl. Too many curves and the glass wants to apple pucker at the mandrel holes. But this is something about this shape that speaks to me and I plan on torturing myself with it some more in just a few minutes!

Also mad a BHB for that pastel paci I started last week and over melted... and... the bead release broke mid xl mookwalk so I added some ruffles!  I like it!

Fresh Glass 2.11.15

So I finally got to use my XL Moonwalk... I was surprised that it's fairly easy to use! I'm keeping one of those and have a set planed for the other. I also tried out the MultiMax on the purple and blue bead... while I love what it does to the ends, overall I'm not in love with it! I need it to be MUCH longer!  I kept having to go back to my old Arrow Springs marver... but I seriously want one that's like 7" long! That's where I want to go!

A set of April ribs and a glass paci in spring colors. I wished I had left the frit unmelted on the bhb...so I'll probably re-do....sigh!

And the big hole bead leading yesterday's post??? They are still here! I ran across them yesterday! I've sold off so many parts of that set, I don't know which is which apparently! 

Homeless Beads Placed In Good Homes!

I haven't done a bead post in a while... Life has been crazy...just running all the time. But, today is a torch day! Whooo Hooo!

I finally broke down and took apart the only MASSIVE set I've ever made... These are from rare / extinct z99 glass and the set was so large, I had it prices around $150... well, selling off the parts, I should make even more money. But it breaks my heart that they are all slowly going to separate homes... 

I called this set 'One Shade of Grey.' LOL:

 

 I've done several remakes on this one:

 

Still Selling in the Facebook Groups! 

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!

Fresh Glass 1.24.15

 

Bon bons... the only interesting thing is the teal color.  I noticed it went more opaque after I pressed it...but where I heated the top to add the squiggle, it went all transparent. I think this could lend some neat uses to focal work.