Little Bits of Spring

It's going to be spring sooner, or later, right?

There will be color and flower buds.

And there will be little, brand new, green leaflets.

All the little glassy bits in a row, waiting to become a bracelet.

The Big One

A huge capped and cored 'full moon' bead.

I'm really excited about the bead caps on this one.
Such a lot of work to fabricate them.
I think I had every metal cutting, shaping, banging and filing tool I own out of the cupboard.

The bead is hollow (duh).
Ivory and dark ivory for the base glass. Decorated with fine silver foil and trails of Double Helix 'Psyche.'

I need a bigger dapping block to make these bigger bead caps.
Always in need of a new tool, am I right? Why does every idea lead back to my wallet?

It's the big one! This bead is about the size of a golf ball.

Seeds & Stems

I often say that I don't like my jewelry to look machine made, I don't even like it to look handmade, I like it to look like it just fell off a plant.

I think I nailed it with these new earrings.

The handpainted ceramic bead caps are super-duper labor intensive but the end result is just what I want.

I think I will spend my Sunday afternoon hand coloring some more.

Curious about the process? Click here.

Orbs

One of my standard riffs.
The orb pendant. A round bead made on the end of a mandrel.
I use my marble mold to get them nice and round.

This one has a base of Vetrofond 'Banana Cream Special Odd' that was wrapped in a fat black and raku twistie.

Get out your short rods, leftover bits of twisties and some frit and make some of these.
They're a great way to use up your scraps.

Knock, knock. Who's there? Scold. Scold who? S'cold outside!

Buffalo Girl

A new pendant.

Just looking for a way to show off the crustiest old buffalo nickle.

I hammered the bead caps, punched the nickle and made the bead.

The glass in the bead is Cims Sangre with raked bands of Double Helix Psyche.

Look at this mess. Is it any wonder that I haven't been to my studio in days?

My Sweet Heart

Even after all these years I still love... lampwork.

Three new, large end of mandrel hearts.

left: sky blue with ivory
center: Cims 'lipstick odd' with a little bit of Val Cox 'gold pink' frit under silver foil
right: topaz with raked and reduced bands of Double Helix 'Psyche'

H. V. D.

Hair Brained

You know it's really hare brained right?
To think like a goofy wabbit.

I need to make a bunch of cabochons for hair do-dads.
I'm using them as test beads in an attempt to be organized and 2X productive at the torch.

The glassy recipe for the one above is:
A base of Cim's 'Mermaid' then a wrap of silver foil and finally coarse Val Cox 'Purple Rose' frit.

The recipe for the one below is:
A base of transparent violet then a wrap of silver foil and on top coarse Val Cox 'Purple Rose' frit.

The recipe for the one below is:
A base of pastel nile green then a wrap of silver foil and on top Val Cox 'Limerick' frit.

Have fun cookin' with glass.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

 

Miss Kiki P. Oodle naps.

Ceramic Bead Caps - A Winter Diversion

The winter is so horrible here and we have been so stinkin' sick.
I dread going outside and am bored with staying in.
O, I know where I live and that I should be ok with the snow but it's extra stupid this year.

So, I've been hanging around the house messing around with something new.
Stoneware bead caps.

It's good to have a friend who is a ceramic sculptor.
She makes giant things and let's me piddle around with wee bits of her clay and make beads.

Here's a peanut butter jar full of fired, but un-glazed bits.
I loathe glazing, it's messy and uncontrollable and full of color surprises.

So I am painting my ceramic beads, something I understand.
It's a way to get just what I want. I know, right?

Mmm, colored inks.
Art supply porn.

Theyre mixable, fast drying, come in lotsa great colors.
Soooo much better, for me, than glazes.
You can thin them, wipe them off, layer them, build up veils of color.

I use a garage sale pickle dish as my ink palette.

I rigged up a system of toothpicks and an aging Styrofoam block for painting and drying them.

After I got the first batch painted I dumped out my stray glass headpins and started playing.

Mixing and matching.
Loving these potential earrings.

I'm off to paint some birds.

The Bird and the Berry.

A new bird charm that I am particularly fond of.
He's Effetre 'Ivory' with trails and tail made from Double Helix 'Psyche.'
His bail is hammered bronze.

His plump belly has some nice veining 'curdling' from reacting with the silver glass.
It's hard to see but his tail and neck are very iridescent.

I have been attaching my tiny tags with a single, color coordinated, jump ring.
People just love getting that free jump ring, it's the weirdest thing.

Love that brite purple jump ring.
The berry is Cim's 'Ghee,' the frit is Val Cox 'Haiku' and the dots are clear.

Cabin Fever

A small, silly little snow day painting.
Acrylics on paper.