Black & White Billions

A big pile of wee black and white beads.

Fun to make, but a booger to clean.

For what?
A necklace.

Pretty Poppies

I have re-designed my poppy rings.

I like them so much better - no wire bits on the top to snag on sweaters. To test them, for sturdiness, I gave five of them away to friends. So far, no casualties. The epoxy has held the glass poppy bead onto the sterling ring just fine. These gal pals are not shrinking violets, I chose ladies who I thought were the most likely to demolish the rings.

I made more poppy (and strawberry) beads yesterday and will be stocking these rings in my Belvedere Etsy shop later this week. If you would like to pre-order a special size just start an Etsy conversation with me.

Vintage Venetian Necklaces

I found some vintage glass beads last week at an estate sale.

above: clear glass with aventurine and sky blue frit
below: clear glass with aventurine and lemon yellow frit

Both necklaces are available in my "Curious Old Things" etsy shop. (sold)

Mother's Day Magic

I don't know what your children do for a living.
Doctor, lawyer, Indian chief? Or if they are even old enough to work.

Mine has graduated from college and has a job - she is a wizard.

Miss Margaret is a "historical process photographer." That means that she studies, and creates images using, archaic photographic processes. Tin types, wet collodion, deguerreotypes and many, many other long lost mad scientist kinds of photography. She's one part artist, one part chemist and one part historian.

She made this glass plate photograph, it is an ambrotype, a popular photographic method from the 1850s and 1860s.

It is my Mother's Day gift.

Amazing. The photographic image is printed on the glass sheet and it's a lovely, soft ivory color. The black is just a piece of painted black paper.

Wizardry.

When I frame it the image will be on top of black velvet, which Margaret says is a proper way to do it.

A Charming Little Post

Five new glass charms.

Not feeling very wordy today...

so I'm just gonna stick with pictures.

All of these charms are 'end of the mandrel' beads with wire bails epoxied in place.

In Full Bloom

A whole new crop of glass and sterling silver tulip rings.

Little Birds

I got a chance to play with clay - at my friend Nancy's studio.
Pinching, poking, laughing and getting dirty fingers. 

After a couple of sessions of baking and glazing I had a nice flock of little porcelain birds.

I've been hoarding them - just looking at them when I should have be making things with them.
An unused bead is such a sad thing.

For a first pair I've used some hammered sterling and a pair of my glass beads with two blue birds.
Now I have new earrings to wear out on a beautiful spring Friday night.

Lucky Frida

I adore this snapshot my friend Jackie took. It shows off my lucky Frida Kahlo lighter.

Last night was open house for all the studios in the warehouse complex where I make my glass.
Lots of friends dropped in, including Jackie and her trusty camera, all in all it was a wonderful evening.

Evil Eye

A great big heart with an 'eye of protection' on the front.

This type of amulet is one of the most ancient styles of beads and has been made by many, many different cultures for thousands of years.

A talisman like this can shield you from bad luck that is willed on you by others. Keeping your life in balance and deflecting any bad vibes that are sent your way.  Never fear the stink-eye again.

I placed my "eye" on a big heart.

The heart is made of 'dark special red' and 'carrot red' glass.

The eye started with a circle of dark ivory, then a spot of 'raku' on top of that. I plunged the center of the 'raku' dot to form a deep hole in the bead. The black ring is a chemical reaction line between the ivory glass and the metals in the 'raku' glass. Lastly, a big blob of 'super clear' was layered on top to make a domed lens that trapped an air bubble in the hole.

Fancy Finger Flowers

Expanding on the idea I had for the tulip rings.

Big, overblown florals.

Yes, I know, glass is kind of impractical for this sort of overblown cocktail ring.
You'll just have to be careful when you wear it, it will be worth it, they're so much fun.

A Dragon's Egg & Alien Planets

I've been busy at my jewelry bench this weekend.

Big beads with big, handmade bead caps.

I haven't made any of these pendants in awhile. Man I love hammering bead caps. It's a good thing that my old rock'n'roll husband is nearly deaf because I was banging away late into the night. Plink, plink, plink with my little hammer, dapping block and texture stamps.

A dragon's egg perhaps? With brass bead caps.

Next, an alien planet?

With copper findings.

And, another mysterious planet.
This one had nickle silver bead caps

They're all up in my etsy shop.

Pendant Party

I got in a groove at the torch and made a pile of off mandrel pendants.

Leaves, hearts and moons - all sorts of colors and decorations.
There up in my Belvedere etsy shop.

Even though it sort of chilly I have the window next to my desk wide open. Why? Because my husband is mowing the lawn for the first time this year and I love that smell. No, not my sweaty husband - the smell of freshly mown grass.

The Saddest Tulips

This freak snowstorm is a drag.

I am not amused that all my outside tulips are suffering.
They're all bent over, flat on the ground and weeping.

Inside, however, they are thriving.

These new glass flowers are about to become rings and a bracelet.