Spacers Galore!!!

This is what I worked on one day at the torch last week.  As you can see have not had any energy to even get them off the mandrels.  This weekend for sure.  Not too sure what I want to do with these sweet little spacers.. I did make a few vocals.. and experimenting.. but feels good to pop out this many beads on one sitting.   All transparents this time around..  have a great week..  Diane

Zentangles and Beads... what do they have in common?

Hi There. Its been a little while since I've posted here. Fun things are going on in the studio. I am still working on getting comfortable with my new torch. I don't get as much sit and torch time as I use to. Due to my day job. When I do though, look out it is hours of playing!

So what are Zentangles? It is a company that is promoting the artistic endeavor of doodles to an art form... it is a great way to put designs on paper, to meditate , to experiment.. Some days the doodles are intricate, or very loose and large. Here are a couple I tried to do on my own to see what I could come up with. Its FUN... i personally like to do this while watching tv. It has the same quality as sitting an knitting or needlepointing.. very relaxing.
So what does this have to do with bead making? WEll... let me tell you scroll on down.
I mentioned it would be cool to do a doodle bead exchange, Tami so kindly offered to hosting this exchange on wet canvas.



A bunch of us have signed up and will do our own doodle beads(zentangles) on glass. :-) Once we come up with half decent beads, we send in our picks to tami who will divide up the beads and send out the same number of beads sent to all the participants.. so what I will recieve is 3-4 doodle beads from other bead artist.. This gives us an opertunity to work with design, stringer control.. which is a thin rod of glass... so drawing on the molten bead...
so below are my first try's at this fun exchange. Still working on that stringer control... I'd like to make the stringer even thinner and try to do more designs... we'll see... i've got till april 1st to perfect...

Just Beads :-)

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year to all of YOu! This year I'm starting the year doing things I love , that is one of my goals... So one of those things is making beads, selling beads for people to enjoy, and in hopes of making some money to buy more glass to create more beads.. well you get the picture lol.. The pictures I show here are beads I've posted on Ebay today.. Its a beginning of working with ebay.. I had taken some time away from that venue...

Wow.. Christmas is nearly here...

Hi , It has been a very busy several weeks, and I'm really really looking for things to slow down just a tad. Between the shopping, the working, decorating, quilt making, oh and we must not for get the gift wrapping. I swear every year I vow to make it non stressful.. but it just seems to follow with the time of year. I've had to let some things go this year.. just to keep up.

I am sorting all my beadies.. and have begun selling on ebay again. I revamped my website, for some reason I enjoy doing that.. love adding to it, taking away.. its creative. I love anything creative! I need to make my resolutions for the new year.. to be more creative with my lampworking and watercolors.. and make the time to do it.. no excuses..

Here is my Frosty Heart I created a little while ago.. just getting it posted now.. Its listed on Ebay..

Beads of courage

Just a few pictures of the goodies heading to the Beads Of Courage program.. What it is this program? Well it is a program designed to support and help children coping with serious illness. The children use beads to tell their story, each bead has meaning to them and the milestones they have achieved in their journey of treatment. If you would like to read more about this wonderful program please check out their website here Beads Of Courage

Sorry for not the greatest pictures , I had already counted out and divided them up according to size and are all in their bags to be packaged up.....but it gives you an idea. Have a wonderful day.. Diane :-)

The Kiln fairies.. were very nice today..

Here is a group shot of all my glassy baubles..
Sweet pinky dots...
upside down black and white....
Transparent dicroic heart and chunky spacers...
Red and black hollow bead
Dicroic barrels with black base Organice monster focal side one...
Side two organic focal... measures approx 40mm x 25mm x 8mm... big one...

Postcard Exchange came today.. so pretty!

What a treat it was to get my box today in the mail. My Postcard exchange showed up, and could not wait to open it... so exciting it is to see how people work with glass and thier creative energies. It makes me realize how far I have to go in my learning of this glass art. These ladies are just so talented.. Thank you to Trish and all the ladies who sent in beads.. Love em!!! Can't wait to make jewelry with them..

First picture is from new mexico.. by Tami


this beads Trish..

From canada.. Sueze..

santa cruz.. maggie... love your shells!

Last beadie.. from Gladys , north dakota...

Nice group shot of my new beads.. thank you all! they are so lovely!

Working on jewelry.

Well hello there.. Shame on me for waiting so long. I have many subject ideas to blog about.. as usual just feeling over whelmed.. life can do that to you.

I have pictures of bracelets I created to donate for a wonderful cause.. Jump for the Cure for breast cancer, the wonderful people who love their horses are doing a horse show this weekend.. these bracelets are to hopefully be raffled and money donated. It's a little something I can do to help ,every little bit helps.... I have found small charms that say "hope" ... isn't that what we need to deal with this dreadful disease.

Blogs to follow.. I promise! I won't wait a month! lol... Have pictures from the last LE Exchange... I have all kinds of information and experiments on picture taking for on line posting..I've learn alot.. and I hope to relay this information to who ever could use it. So very soon just need to organize in some sort of order... believe me there is alot!

Oh yes... hubby and I went to Herkimer New York for ...herkimer diamond hunting.. and we did well.. I will be talking about that as well... the tricks of finding these little treasures..and the website of this place.. and I will have pictures of some of my diamonds wrapped in wire.. I have a bunch from previous hunts... time do do something with them.

Lets see did I miss anything? I know I probably am.. but will be back weekly..Take care and have a wonderful week... Diane :-)

Back on the Torch this week..

Fired up the torch today. Grabbed some black rods... and floral frits and just experiemented with sculptural shapes.. just to see what comes up. These little guys where just fun to make.. might have to make a few and make into earrings... just too cute. Will have to come up with a name ...

Here is the whole batch I worked on.. flattened barrel beads... regular barrels with neatened ends.. some disc beads.. one even pushed to the side for a different look.. Just a little design element i'm working on.. love this frits, colors are so vibrant against the black...Over all this was just to get my fingers working and getting the glass to behave for me.. since it had been several weeks... until next time.. :-)

A little of this a little of that..

Hey there , Its be a while... I think summer has gotten the best of me.. Yard work, vacationing.. going to the beach, enjoying having my kids home for the summer! Its all good.. and also working extra hours... at work covering nights so other coworkers can also have their vacations..
So I surely will be posting more..
I sold a bead set pictured below on etsy.. Organic chinese Green is on its way to its new home.











I did get on the torch, and had such hopes and aspirations! Alas, I got a few uninterupted hours on the torch(so I thought).. I knew the gas was getting low and I was struggling.. it was taking a lot longer to produce this cocoon bead(just not hot enough).. so it sat in the flame for a good 45 minutes.. trying to shape it and get looking good! The heat just was not there.. I did the best I could, and finally gave up.. but once I pulled it out of the kiln I was pleasantly surprised. I only could get one more bead and my gas finally ran out.. boo hoo...
















So until I get the tank filled and be powered up... with heat. I'll have to play with beads and experiment and work on my jewelry skills.. I love wire wrapping and what have you..

This is just a cobalt blue base, rolled in frits, then covered in clear.. its not a great bead over all but loved the colors that came out of that floral frits..








Ok as you know we went to Maine a few weeks ago, the Arcadia Park.. area Here is the few paintings I did.. it felt amazing to just take my paints and paint outside. If you would like to see these paintings and the descriptions go to my ..watercolor web site...to just look at the pictures... Until next time.. my friends.. have a great weekend, hope the sun is shining where you are.. Diane :-)

Cat Exchange for Lampworkers Ect.

Here is my group shot of kitties being sent off to the Cat club Exchange On LE.. This was the best of my best.. Of course I wish they where better, and with time I will improve on them.

For now, I'm just having fun trying different thing, and working on the designing of them.. These guys pretty much hang the right way.. I also made a hollow faced kitty.. right hand corner and a oval body kitty opposite corner.

Here is a real experiment.. I'm actually happy with it.. but could not reproduce the efford during that torch session.. So gave up for the day.. after a few hours sometimes you just don't have it in you to do anything.. lol... but this little guy is a hollow kittie , and has been mashed a little bit.. and it hangs perfectly!!! No talking it into hanging its feet where they need to go! Next torch session, will give it another try.

Ok not a kitty.. just something I was happy with. Its on its way with the kitty's to the hostess of the kitty exchange as a little thankyou. She is going to be spending a lot of time sorting all the beads.. and mailing them all out within the next couple of week. Bless her heart. Alot of work for sure... not to mention torching too!

I promise I will post the beads I receive in this exchange as well as the wet canvas "raining cats and dogs"... So much fun! Such a treat to receive beads in return from other wonderful glass artist. Have a great weekend! Sincerely Diane :-)

My second batch of Cats...

Ok , armed with the information from my last batch of creating cat beads.. I jumped back on the torch.. I received some wonderful advice from friends on Lampwork Ect...

I liked the head being above the body not part of the body.. so had to distribute the glass a little differently.. and go at the making differently. When doing the detail work.. that had to wait till the very very end... Body shape was first and foremost.

All these cats have the glass distributed well enough that they do not just flip over feet up.. yeah! success!

BUT.. they are almost too perfectly distributed.. i'm finding..(when You test on a mandrel they turn evenly and do not have any heavy sides..) so they can flip over so they can end up upside down.. but will hang either way.. happily..

There is one in this bunch here that normally will hang feet down because it is heavy at the feet.. Purffecttt.... lol... now I just need to get that on my future kitties.. So when on a necklace.. they will ONLY hang the right way.. Then I'll be good to go, and hopefully can then concentrate on the designing...of the body and faces..

So for joy of just looking at glass beads.. here is a group shot of my last batch(litter)... I think the one that hangs good is one of the blue cats .

Same kitties... fronts and backs on mandrel...

Hope you enjoyed looking at my kitty cats.. and learning alittle bit of the process.. I think I will continue to work on these little guy's they measure about 40 mm x 20 mm tall... approx..

Backs of these kitties

Have a great weekend... Sincerely diane... :-)