Lush Blogs

I've got a plan ... Stan

2012-01-27T21:07:00.000Z

I'm know I'm not the only one that works best under pressure.

Take bead fairs for example, they're usually in my diary at least 6 months in advance and the sensible approach would be to start stashing bead stock away from the outset. Ha! Check me out 3 weeks before a fair and the frown lines are appearing, I'm starting to lay a few bits away. A week later and I realise that 4 sets and a couple of focals are going to put on a pretty poor show on that six foot table, so I get much more serious and get my "production" head on. Fast forward another week and I finally get my act together: emails go unanswered, commissions start to pile up, the house is uncleaned, the washing is unwashed and the only time I come up for air is to walk bluddy dog. Instead of spending most of the day fiddling about cleaning beads, photographing beads, looking at photographs of beads (blah beads blah blah beads) I actually get stuck right in to making beads, from early in the morning till late at night and I fall into bed exhausted, satisfied and excited to open the kiln next morning. I get deep deep deep into "the zone" and I LOVE IT!

Thing is, I don't do many bead fairs any more (although watch out for my next post when I tell you what I'm going to be doing instead).

I stopped doing bead fairs for a number of reasons, but one thing that always happened, whether it was a great fair, a so-so fair or a downright dead fair, I would slog back down the motorway, unload the car, put everything away, photograph all those unsold beads, get em up on the website like fresh sheets on the line - and get the most satisfaction from posting them out to my lovely customers all over the world.

But since I stopped selling at so many bead fairs, I've missed indulging in that period of concentrated production, and I just end up grabbing good studio days when I can, uploading a few listings here and there in dribs and drabs and constantly berating myself for being a bit rubbish and never getting enough done; even though I seem to be always running round in disorganised circles.

So its time to get organised! And tell you about my plan!

Listing Day! A kind of virtual bead fair, once a month, on the 1st of every month to be precise (or as near as possible), no need to buy a ticket or look for a parking space :0)

For the last week of every month I hereby promise to get In The Zone. Dib dib dib! Steam will once again be seen coming out of my studio till the wee small hours and my bead stash will grow like it used to. I'll send an email to my mailing list members (sign up on my home page) to remind you of Listing Day and I will restock my virtual shelves on the 1st of every month for at least the first few months of 2012.

Let's see how it goes, shall we?!

P.S. Don't forget, if you want to be reminded of Listing Day, sign up to my mailing list and keep me informed if you change email address.

P.P.S. A month is a long time, so I'm bound to list new items for sale on my website or in my Etsy shop at other times too, but I aim to give this monthly mega-upload a good go!

Tag!

2012-01-19T11:19:00.000Z

I fell in love with this photo that popped up in my Flickr contacts by Russian artist, Sasha Kulakova, recently.

The simple shapes, the bright contrasting colours, so stylish and just crying out to be made in glass.

Sasha was really pleased to have inspired me, so she took up the challenge and recreated my Poppin' Buttons

Wow! Crochet?! Incredible!

I just couldn't leave it there though - Ring Toppers!

Playing Tag! like this has been brilliant fun, I'd love to hear if anybody else has been inspired across media in a similar way.

Do check out Sasha's photostream and blog, her work is beautiful. I'm loving her stress relief cats and funky birds ... black, white, orange, mmmmmm ...

Easy Heart Bead Tutorial

2011-09-06T20:42:00.000+01:00

A simple method for making a hand-shaped heart bead - no press required!

Start with a round bead - I've used Effetre ivory as its soft and easy to shape.

Roll at an angle on a graphite marver to taper one end and create a cone shape.

Make the first shoulder by swiping glass from left to right on one side, don't touch the mandrel.

Make the other shoulder in the same way.

Gently heat the shoulders to round them out, keep the mandrel turning to avoid either shoulder slumping against the mandrel.

Use the marver on the edges shown by arrows to straighten the sides.

Flatten gently against a marver to define the shape.

You could use the rounded end of a knife to mark creases. Decorate!

Some Messy Testing

2011-09-04T12:00:00.002+01:00

Tuffnell Glass sent me some of the latest Creation Is Messy Uniques and Limited Runs to have a play with. Rods from the top: Hollandaise Ltd Run, Mulberry Ltd Run, Ghee Unique 1, Midnight Ltd Run, Marble Ltd Run, Pumpkin Unique 5, Plum Unique 1, Lipstick Unique 3, Crocus Unique 2, Jade Palace Ltd Run, Celadon Unique 2 and Desert Pink Unique 1.

Here's a closer look at the full set of beads, both shiny and etched.

I wrapped each bead with Effetre silvered ivory stringer and fine silver wire.

Next I made a bunch of lentils - glass testing and replenishing my show stock at the same time! Click the pic twice for a closer look. I used Midnight in the first 3 beads, thinking it was black - I later discovered its not! Marble is a nice opal white which has fumed a little from the silver. Jade Palace is a lovely rich opal green. In the third row, I love the Plum Unique, its so streaky, and Desert Pink Unique is a good solid shade. Ghee Unique and Lipstick Unique are great together, in fact these colours are all over New Look at the moment! (Hey, I have an 18 year old daughter, I can't avoid New Look!) The Mulberry is very dark - I think I prefer it etched, and the Crocus Unique is very light - definitely prefer the regular version but I think this shade is useful too. And that final bead ... well, I just love the Ghee Unique with silver leaf - in fact, I think the Ghee Unique on its own would be fantastic too, so variable, and perfectly organic.

Now to compare the Uniques with their regular counterparts. Desert Pink Unique is pinker, Pumpkin Unique is brighter, Celadon Unique is greener, Crocus Unique is paler (much, much paler!), Plum Unique is richer, Lipstick Unique is lighter and really its hard to be sure about Ghee Unique, in this pic it would certainly appear to be darker, but there is so much variation in Ghee regular and unique that I haven't completely made up my mind yet.

I said earlier that I originally thought that Midnight was black, but I pulled a stringer to check its density - I was expecting to see purple like Effetre black, or maybe a green tinge like Hades, but I found it was really very light grey. So I tried it over Effetre white, and yes, Midnight is definitely grey! I'm going to be trying this out some more, its a lovely shade and definitely worth investigating further.

Here's a ring topper in Desert Pink Unique - with a little purple rose frit on the centre.

And another ring topper in Marble with a swirl of raku frit - like other opals, the Marble doesn't bring out the best in the Raku, but I still like the finished effect.

Hollandaise, on the other hand, is brilliant with raku, and silvered ivory and is just a gorgeous colour for autumn.

Making an appearance!

2011-09-01T13:09:00.000+01:00

For one week only, Lush Lampwork is starring in a Tourist Information Centre shop window near you ... well, if you live in Malvern that is!

Malvern TIC have a great scheme where you can hire one of their windows to show off your business, club or anything else you want to publicise. So this week I have a simple display that I hope will get noticed by the local bead buyers, jewellery wearers and potential students. (Window Dressers are safe, I'm not going to win any prizes and certainly don't plan to give up the day job!) Do have a look if you're passing - the beads and jewellery are for sale ;0)

Its definitely worth finding out if there's a similar opportunity where you live.

100,000 hits exceeeded!

2011-08-11T20:03:00.000+01:00

And the winner is ... Jennifer Dangerfield.

Thanks to Jennifer and everybody else that signed up to my mailing list or even just popped onto my website and helped those numbers along. Yay!

100K Prize Draw!

2011-08-04T18:15:00.000+01:00

Right then, this is how its going to work ... it's quite simple, really!

Last time I looked my website counter showed 99,210 hits and I'm verrry excited about getting to 100,000.

Sign up to my Mailing List (half way down the home page on the left hand side) - or make a purchase from my website and I'll add your name to my Mailing List. When I see the counter read at least 100,000, I shall pick one name at random from the list.

The winner will receive this bracelet with all 14 silver wrapped beads. See my last two blog posts for more info.

I have no idea how long this will take, and I'll try not to check the counter too often - because every time I look, its gonna go up some more! The quicker you sign up to the List, the more chance you have of winning.

Oh, and don't worry, I won't inundate you with newsletters - but if you do want to unsubscribe, just click the link at the bottom of the email, or drop me a line.

How Many ....????? !!

2011-08-04T14:24:00.001+01:00

Oh my word! Would you look at that!

99182

99183

99184

Nearly 100,000 hits on my website! How exciting!

Shall we have a little celebration? How about a giveaway?

I have the perfect prize actually - remember this bracelet from my last post about glass testing?

I just have to think of how to run it now. I'll be back soon with a plan!!

Some Effetre Testing

2011-07-27T17:12:00.000+01:00

Tuffnell Glass sent me lots of new Effetre colours to have a play with!

I'm in Sunbaked mode at the moment, so I thought that style would be a pretty good place to start. This pic shows all the testing colours with silver wire, shiny.

And these are the same beads after etching.

Marmorin: a pale streaky green, a similar shade to CIM Dirty Martini
Green Mint: a darker green, came out looking very reduced and grey but etches to a gorgeous shade, very similar to Copper Green
Green Metallic Copper: Also known as Neptune, apparently - now that's a much catchier name! Works similar to Silver Black and Silver Plum - a light reheat brings out a satin effect. Appeared over-reduced when I got it out of the kiln, but that may be down to the atmosphere in my kiln. Gorgeous deep green when etched - see the bigger bead further down the page, that has kept some of its metallic coating.
Mudslide: strikes pale then dark, similar to ~~Tongue Pink~~ Striking Terracotta ... must try this with silver!
Calico: I think I read that Calico is opal yellow over rubino? Its a fun colour, very streaky, great for organic lovers!
Caribbean Sea: Similar to Calico, this is an opaque blue with a transparent core and goes wonderfully streaky when worked.
Pinky Winky: great shade of pink, although apparently the inside is periwinkle - I didn't get much of the blue yet, need to play more.
Light and Dark Zucca: I love these colours, really rich shades of orange with lots of variation. They etch really nicely.
Sediment: very streaky, organic mushroomy colour, etches great.
Alexandrite: Oooh pretty! Reacts a little with the silver wire.
Mimosa Yellow: Well, its certainly yellow!

Mimosa Yellow over white ... oh wow, now that's actually a much nicer yellow than I first thought (I'm just loving this cabochon, think it may have to go to my mate George and have a little shiny silver wrapped round it ...)

In this lentil Alexandrite is on the top and CIM Heffalump on the bottom - they're very similar but the Alexandrite is a little paler and creamier, a little more streaky.

Lentil with Marmorin on the top and Green Metallic Copper aka Neptune on the bottom. The 'Neptune' has grey reduction patches so I etched the bead and love the result! See my Flickr album for the pic.

Both these beads are made from Neptune. I spent a long time gently reheating the larger bead to bring out the satin sheen - I don't find that more oxygen or more propane make a difference, it just seems to be down to heat rather than chemistry.

In the previous photo they're quite grey, but after etching the brightness of the green shows through, with interesting metallic patches on the larger bead, which I etched more lightly than the smaller one.

Finally, I made some ring toppers. The bead on the left has a Calico centre, its so streaky, there's no need to do anything to it! The petals are opal yellow and Reichenbach purple rose. The bead at the top has purple rose in the middle with Calico on the petal tips. The bead on the right has a Caribbean Sea centre with sky blue and aqua petals.

I was also sent Vetrofond Odd Pearl Grey. I really like this shade, it fills the gap between Effetre dark and light opaque grey and etches well, although its rather sensitive to silver - I shall turn the oxygen up a bit next time!

A layer of silvered ivory stringer prevents the silver reaction and really suits this colour.

More pics to come when I've played some more. Do keep an eye on my Flickr Glass Testing album if you're interested.

Sarah Hornik's not-so-fun Adventure

2011-07-27T10:13:00.000+01:00

I should have written this last week but I've been rather busy ...!

Sarah Hornik - internationally renown glass bead artist from Israel and the second person I took a class with back in 2007 - was sadly (ludicrously, appallingly, scarily, humiliatingly) detained by customs on her way into the UK last week to demonstrate at Art in Action and teach at Diana East's studio. After two horrendous days she was denied entry and forced to return to Israel.

Sarah writes far better than I could ever dream of, so read her story in her own words, then add your name to the petition too.

A Grand Day Out!

2011-07-18T11:13:00.000+01:00

Back in May, along with my friend Kay, I was lucky lucky lucky enough to spend a week on Murano, the home of Italian glass, in Venice. We took classes with Davide Penso and Kristina Logan, we made friends with lampworkers from many countries around the world, we ate, slept and drank glass for a glorious week - but we didn't get to see any glass actually being made or rods being pulled. (f you want to see more of my Venice pics, I have an album on Facebook.

So when I got home I kept thinking about this and had one of those lightbulb moments! About 45 minutes north of me is the midlands town of Stourbridge, which I suppose you could call the British equivalent of Murano (without the sunshine, Spritz and pizza - it does have a canal though!).

Every other year, at the end of August, Stourbridge's historic Glass Quarter comes alive as it hosts the International Festival of Glass. Sadly 2011 is not a festival year - although there will be the 5th Annual Stourbridge Bead Fair on 28th August. (yep, I'll be there!)

So I made a few phone calls, polished up my organisational skills, gathered a group of glassy friends and knocked up an itinerary for last Wednesday, 13th July.

9am Meet at Plowden & Thompson
9.30-11.00 Factory Tour, Plowden & Thompson
11-00-12.30 Guided Tour, Red House Glass Cone
LUNCH at Crystal Tea Rooms, Red House Glass Cone
2.00-3.30 - Guided Tour, Broadfield House Glass Museum
4.00-6.00 - Ruskin Glass Centre

The guided tours were very kindly paid for by Frit Happens Forum - thank you!

It was a very busy day and we all had a wonderful time. Everybody we met at all the venues was so welcoming and generous with their information and I must particularly thank Barbara Beadman of Plowden & Thompson for her help with the planning and her super hospitality.

Incidentally, Broadfield House Glass Museum is running their Beside the Seaside Exhibition until September 4th. The exhibition has been really well put together, its so bright and fun - and I'm very proud to have a few pieces on show there!

Hazel Crompton has written a fantastic post about the Stourbridge venues for anybody thinking of making a trip, and has given me permission to reproduce her information here, - so I shall leave you now with Hazel's brilliant article:

The Broadfield House glass museum, the Red House Glass Cone and the Ruskin Glass Centre, which are all open to the public - are BRILLIANT and well worth a trip. Plowden & Thompson and the beautiful cut crystal shop which is also onsite is equally brilliant - especially as they are a working factory...I would recommend a visit there on an open day, which I understand they have from time to time. PLUS - they are currently redesigning their website and have Reichenbach glass in stock...yes, 104 too! A very quick review of P&T, plus links to the others follow...

Plowden & Thompson / Dial Glassworks
A friendly family run company based at historic glassworks, still up and running and producing lots of interesting stuff. They produce specific blown glass components for all sorts of things (examples onsite), situated in a completely original glass cone (with the top removed some years ago). When we visited they were making glass components for large scientific instruments which had to be made with extremely precise measurements and with very specific glass recipes - highly skilled stuff. Their new website is currently being re-designed, as it's quite basic at the moment. They have open days occasionally and I would recommend a visit then. They also have a shop onsite selling cut crystal, all beautiful! There are bonus items in the shop from some world class beadmakers (Kate Drew-Wilkinson's bead really caught my eye). They also sell rods for lampworkers, made onsite, plus another range imported from Reichenbach. This is very much a working glass factory. I have said more about P&T because their website as yet isn't able to do justice to what is there....hopefully this will give you a small indication
http://www.plowden-thompson.com/

The Red House Glass Cone
Incredible, historic and fully restored glass cone, with loads to see onsite including demos. LOVELY tea rooms - bonus!
http://www.dudley.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/museums-galleries/red-house-glass-cone/visitor-information-centre/

The Ruskin Glass Centre
Newly refurbished, crammed full of artists and craftspeople, lots to buy or just to watch being made. This is also an educational facility and so everyone is very approachable and often willing to share lots of information about what they do.
http://ruskinglasscentre.co.uk/

Broadfield House Museum
Lots of historic (and some priceless) glass pieces, fascinating trying to work out how things were done. LOADS to see, beautiful!! Some rather famous (or infamous) beadmakers featured in the current temporary exhibition (of the Lush variety)...I think there are other FHF'ers there too, although I was so overwhelmed I wasn't taking everything in properly by this stage.
http://www.dudley.gov.uk/glassmuseum/

All the museums have guided tours available for an additional charge, I think they all have audio tours too.

Finally an interesting link to the site about the whole of the 'Glass Quarter' in Stourbridge.
http://www.glassquarter.org.uk/

(Hazel Crompton, July 2011)

Aaaagh - but I still didn't actually see any rods being pulled!

Striking Terracotta!

2011-07-10T22:42:00.000+01:00

Tuffnell Glass have a special offer for the month of July - a free 1/4 kilo of Effetre Tongue Pink with orders over £10. Now a few people do already know that I'm a huge fan of TP, but I really really don't think its name does it any favours, so I prefer to call it Striking Terracotta!

In response to a thread running on Frit Happens Forum this evening, I nipped out to The Lusherie and took some pretty dreadful pics of how I use this striking glass (the colour develops as the glass is heated and cooled).

First of all, I had a go at making a bead similar to this one, from April 2009.

1. TP (I can't bring myself to use the full name) starts out white in the rod, and was still white after I wound the glass onto a 9mm mandrel.

2. I heated the glass through so that it flowed into a smooth shape - still white.

3. I added 6 dots of dark ivory and melted them smooth - the TP is still mostly white, but its a bit darker now around the bead hole.

4. I added a dot of Reichenbach Gold Violet on top of the dark ivory. I like to use a strong pink underneath DH Aurae, because I don't like it to look too amber (over Gold Pink the Aurae gives pink and blue). TP is still white.

5. Terrible unfocussed photo to show an interesting stage - whilst hot the TP is now growing darker

6. But it fades again as it cools.

7. Here we go! I covered the Gold Violet with dots of Double Helix Aurae and melted them smooth (in a neutral flame). The TP immediately reacts and strikes a lovely terracotta shade.

8. I cooled the bead, then turn up the propane and wafted in the reducing flame to bring out the Aurae lustre. TP still dark.

9. I adjusted the flame back to neutral then covered the Aurae with a generous dollop of clear - leave raised. The Aurae has crackled the dark ivory as well as striking the TP. Success!

TP also works well with silver leaf or foil, as in this heart that I made in May 2010.

1. This time I made a large, egg shaped bead - those streaks in the middle disappeared as the glass cooled.

2. And marvered it into a cone. Appalling photo but look! Its actually starting to strike a bit, maybe that's because there's a large mass of glass here?

3. Rolled in silver leaf and burnished on, to expel any air trapped between the leaf and the glass.

4. I melted the silver into the glass. You can just see that the TP has struck a deep colour now.

5. Mashed flat.

6. It wasn't a very exciting bead so I texture stamped a corner, rubbed on a little more leaf and added some silvered ivory bumps. The bead's still not very exciting but hopefully you can see that TP really does react nicely with silver.

So if you're struggling to turn Tongue Pink (bleurgh) into Striking Terracotta, I hope this helps! :0)

Blog of the Month!!!

2011-07-09T09:54:00.000+01:00

Wow, how cool is that ... Beads and Beyond Blog of the Month!

Thank you so much to Joanne and Michelle and HELLO *waves* to Beads and Beyond readers!

I promise to be a good blogger (at least throughout July and August!).

And another WOW to Rebecca Anderson for her beautiful six page spread .. yep, six pages .. 6! .. using my Summer Lovin' beads. Which, incidentally, are available to order from my website, with a free button until the end of August.

Talking of my website, I've had a little tidy up of the front page and created a new News page. So now, every time I add new beads or have something really exciting to share, I'll tell you about it on the News page instead of scattering it all over the place!

New Sunbaked Beads and Sunspots!

2011-07-08T19:37:00.001+01:00

sun·baked (snbkt)

adj.

Baked, dried, or hardened by exposure to sunlight

Brightly coloured glass beads, wrapped with wire and etched

A well known speciality of Lush Lampwork

My Sunbaked beads have had a little rest, but now they're back and they're all grown up! The same great colour combinations *; same smooth, etched, velvet finish; same laid-back 3.5mm holes; same silver wire-wrapped design; but they're chunkier, rounder, more ... Lush!

AND more uniform too, so when you come back for more beads, you can be sure they'll match.

Take a look at my Flickr album to see the full range.

*oh, and a very nice new combo too (Sunbaked Harmony - lovely soft greens and cream, always a popular combination in my other bead styles, bound to be a big hit in the Sunbaked stylee)

Sunspots have had a makeover too: they look bouncier, fresher and just more ... Lush ... yep, that's the word!

And ... Summer Lovin' beads with a bigger hole too! I spoil you, I really do!

One more thing, I've got new, simple, economical and very effective tube necklaces and bracelets in every colour you could possibly want: just pull open, slide on your beads and wear!

WATCH THIS SPACE .. Pandora size beads will be getting a makeover very soon ...

by george, its Lush! .. we did it again!

2011-06-13T11:15:00.000+01:00

Just back from another successful weekend of teaching with my great pal George Harper East, this time at Diana East's studio in Enderby, Leicester.

With 9 students the class was actually oversubscribed but it really was a case of 'the more, the merrier' and I know its safe to say that everybody enjoyed themselves and all our ladies went home having made new friends and lots of fabulous new jewellery!

We have another "by george, it's Lush!" class scheduled to take place at Mango Beads studio in Barnstaple on 8th and 9th October - and are also thinking about running a smaller class here in Malvern at the Lusherie, contact me direct if you're interested or watch my website for dates.

Everybody Needs (Glass) Buttons ... I wrote an eBook!

2011-04-24T02:36:00.001+01:00

Well the title just about sums it up ... I wrote an eBook - its called "Everybody Needs (Glass) Buttons!"

Its 21 pages long, packed full of photos, step by step instructions, inspiration, ideas, tips and lots of words - I'm very excited and rather proud of myself too :0)

My eBook is available direct from my website as an automatic download - a 1.81mb PDF will arrive in your inbox all by itself - or you can buy it from my Etsy shop if you prefer, but you'll have to wait for me to email it to you. If anybody knows of a way to set up an auto download from Etsy, please tell me!

I'm also very excited to be able to sell the brass Button Tool that my lovely friends at Beadpress.nl made to my design. We launched this gorgeous little tool at the Flame Off a couple of weeks ago, when I showed how I use it during my demos - and they sold out very fast! If you are in Europe you may find it cheaper and quicker to have a tool posted to you direct from the Beadpress website rather than from me.

You may have noticed from my Flickr album that I've been making a lot of Ring Toppers this week - the rings, nuts and even threaded mandrels are from Little Castle Designs (Beadpress do their own version too) - I've been using my Button Tool to shape my ring toppers, so its not only gorgeous but also rather versatile.

If you buy the eBook and Button Tool together from either my website or Etsy shop, you will save £2 on the combined price.

A friend of mine, Dianne Sandland is a professional book reviewer - and she reviewed my eBook! She said some incredibly nice things and now I really do feel all proper and writer-ish :0) Read her Review here - Thank you Di! x

Flame Off 2011

2011-04-12T10:21:00.000+01:00

I'm almost back down to earth after the most wonderful weekend at the 4th annual UK lampwork festival, the Flame Off 2011.

I was both thoroughly honoured and utterly horrified to be invited to join the elite team of Demonstrating Artists this year, along with my lovely friend Kaz Baildon, Marshall and Caitlin Hyde of Corning, New York and Michi Suzuki, a Japanese glass artist living in France.

The demonstrations take place on the first floor at Towcester Racecourse, in a lovely bright room with seating for about 300 people. Don't get me wrong, I'm a proper show off and love any opportunity to strut my stuff on the torch, but there's a lot of very clever glassy folk in a Flame Off audience - and then there's the Madonna-style mic and cameras too!

The images are beamed to screens dotted all around the building, there's even a screen in the coffee area.

Kaz was first up (phew, I was so glad it wasn't me up there!) and she did a great job. She was so relaxed and even stayed calm when the bead release broke and she had to think on her feet! Well done, Kaz, you're a pro!

After Marshall and Caitlin did their thing, it was soon my turn - I can honestly say that I don't remember a time when I was more nervous than during this 45 minutes.

For my first demo, I made one of my large Seaside Heart beads, a complicated undertaking (about as complicated as I get, anyway!) with lots of components and techniques. I also squeezed in a little stamped button, to show off the new button tool that has been made for me by Beadpress. These tools sold out very quickly but the good news is that more have already been made and will be available from my website very soon.

Michi's bead was so intricate and her demo was definitely enhanced by Marshall's commentary!

On Saturday we did it all again (my second demo of buttons and a toggle bead was much more relaxed, phew!) and we also took part in a 45 minute Q&A session which had been typed as Artist Queen Time (instead of Question Time!) so we got off to a fun start!

As well as demonstrating, we all had sales tables at the event too so it was a very busy few days, and I was having such a great time that I decided to stay on for the Sunday bead fair as well.

I was lucky to take a class with Caitlin on Thursday and enjoyed watching her work on one of her signature mandala beads, she has such a beautiful voice and gentle style. Marshall is so much fun and has a unique stance at the torch - he doesn't like to sit down, I think he needs to be ready for anything! I bought a bunny like Caitlin demonstrated on the Saturday, here it is with my Marshall monkey that I bought at Stourbridge last year.

I spent most of the three days up on the first floor but there was even more fun going on downstairs, with traders tables, the coffee area, Frit Happens forum meeting point and lots of torch benches set up where newcomers can have a go and old hands can show off! Take a look at Richard Downton's fantastic photo album for a brilliant taste of the Flame Off.

I have to say how much I love my life/job - everybody I meet that is in any way involved with this wonderful glassy world is just so friendly, sharing and passionate about all things beady. And I also must say a very very big Thank You to all at Tuffnell Glass for organising the Flame Off, and for inviting me to take part - Thank You TG, it was a true honour xx ... now, when can we all do it again?!

Back home now and its time to update the website and get to work on some new beads.

Something Borrowed

2011-03-31T09:39:00.000+01:00

My beautiful sister got married recently, and asked for my help with her wedding jewellery.

I knew straight away what would suit her perfectly ... in 2009 my friend George Harper East and I collaborated on a bridal necklace and bracelet for Making Jewellery magazine (published in the August issue). I think this was probably the first time we combined George's silver and my glass to make something fabulous, but certainly not the last!

Just got to throw in my favourite wedding photo here, cos its my blog so I can ;0)

She's gonna kill me for this one!

PS if you'd like to come and play with George and me and learn how to make beautiful jewellery and fab beads, we are teaching our joint "by george, its Lush!" class again at Studio 19 in June.

The Lusherie is Officially Open!

2011-03-20T16:28:00.000Z

I've got a new studio! A proper grown-up, three torch Artist's Studio! I can't stop smiling, I wake up every day and run out to visit it, I really can't believe my luck, its such a wonderful place to work.

Before I show a pic of all its glory though, you must see how the space looked just a few short weeks ago.

I took these photos on 5th January - the task to empty the garage seemed quite overwhelming at the time, but a couple of hard days of ruthlessness and a totally overflowing skip and trailer load later, the space was clear and ready for the real work to begin.

Let's not forget to say goodbye to the Torch Porch - where I made beads and taught students for about three and a half years.

And here it is ... The Lusherie (as named by my lovely friend Alison). Conveniently right on the kitchen doorstep!

This is my work area - my torch is a Bethlehem Minnow with 2 oxygen concentrators; my kiln is a Kilncare Maxi with Maxine doors (I always like to be different!).

And this is the student bench - there's a GTT Cricket and a Bobcat, and I also have a Nortel Minor stashed away in the cupboard, because there's definitely room to squeeze in another torch or two ;0) The little kiln is a Kilncare Beadcube. The extraction system is a triumph! Thanks to my dad who designed the ingeniously discreet system, which is powered by a Progrow fan mounted under each work bench - turn em both on at the same time and I dare you to try and open the door - sucky, suck, suck!

Its been a busy week for the Lusherie - with students to teach, a lovely opening party with lots of Frit Happens friends, and my first "Torch Time" client is happily filling up the Beadcube, whilst I'm writing this blog.

In oscar speech stylee, I need to thank a few people:

My wonderful friends George and Steve, for listening, advising and even donating furniture; more wonderful friends Manda and David for inspiring, advising and sharing (Manda, did you notice I even bought the same bin as you, it really is the mini-MangoBeads studio!); Dad xx; my builder Stuart (come back, you need to finish the roof) and Ed & Justin the sparkies;

and all my lovely Frit Happens friends who came to the Opening and made commemorative champagne bottle beads: Kaz, Manda, George, Steve, Alison, Malc, Georgie, Sarah, Sam, Helen, Sue, Madeline, Janine, Sarah, Kathy, Vicky, Violet, Karen (and hubby) xxxxxxxxxxx

PS - if you fancy a lesson, just drop me a line! julie(at)lushlampwork.co.uk

A couple of Bright Ideas!

2011-03-13T15:45:00.000Z

There's nothing like a show and a shower to get my mind whirring and the Bright Ideas flowing!

Bright Idea No. 1
I'm always on the lookout for display props - individual focal beads tend to be the trickiest beads to show off. After scouring POS websites and the Ikea market place, time was running out to prepare for my recent Show and I was still uninspired. However, as so often seems to happen, I had a lightbulb moment in the shower!

These little stands are just so easy to make - simply melt a large gather of glass onto the very tip of an uncoated mandrel, flatten on a heatproof surface, anneal and trim the mandrel short. Then make another on the same mandrel, then another, and another ...

They make great photo props too!

Bright Idea No. 2

You can imagine it took a long time to prepare these stands - every card had to be punched, every button had to attached, using matching coloured thread, punched fixings stuck on, prices written ... so I had lots of time to think.

There must be a simple way to wear a button without actually sewing it on ...?

Got it! Tie on a brooch back and pin it on! An instant Art Glass Button Brooch, ta da!

The Stitch & Creative Craft Show 2011

2011-03-13T15:02:00.000Z

I just spent the last 3 days at The Stitch & Creative Craft Show at the 3 Counties Showground here in Malvern.
It was a really nice show, lots of different crafts were represented from card making to textiles with a few beads thrown in too - I was the only lampworker there and I think my beads and buttons were a bit of a mystery to many, but once I whipped out a couple of glass rods and a mandrel and explained the process, people were enthralled and many were even inclined to buy!

This was really the official launch of Lush Buttons, their first outing in front of a predominantly knitty/stitchy crowd instead of jewellery makers.

The buttons were very much admired and I sold lots of them - partly due to my latest Bright Idea ... simply adding a brooch back to a 2 hole feature button to make an instant easy-to-wear Art Glass Button Brooch, cool!

This was the first time I have done a 'shell scheme' show and I have to say a big Thank You to Rachel Elliott for her advice with how to furnish my stand. It was a far cry from the kind of show that I'm used to attending - where all I have to do is chuck a cloth over a table and lay out my beads!

The velcro walls were a revelation, it was so easy to display all my fantastic new artwork - thanks to Bob, my new photographer friend, and Paul of Malvern Imaging, both of whom worked with lightning speed and produced brilliant results! Oh and I mustn't forget my BFF who designed me some brilliant new tuition leaftlets - she knows who she is, and how much I love her ;0)

I really enjoyed meeting so many local craft lovers and making connections with local businesses. Hopefully my diary will soon be bursting with tuition and torch hire bookings for my shiny new studio ... about which I will blog properly very soon!

Wholesale button orders are starting to come in too, with 3 display stands expected to be appearing in bricks and mortar shops shortly - I shall add links to new stockists as soon as they are finalised.

Competition Winner

2011-02-13T12:15:00.000Z

In my January post I set a competition to win an Adjustable Bracelet Kit (oops, I was meant to draw the winner on 9th Feb!)

"on how many pages in Making Jewellery Magazine issue 24, does a Lush
Lampwork item appear?"

So the answer was higher than most people thought - including me!! I originally thought my items turned up on 9 pages, then somebody told me 10, but in fact it was 11!

1. Top of front cover
2. Intro page 1
3. Page 3 (a tiny pic, this is the one that caught most people out!)
4/5. Bracelet tutorial pages 4 and 5
6. Colour & Style feature page 20
7. There's that front cover again on page 58
8/9. Lampwork tutorial pages 70 and 71
10/11. Product review pages 82 and 83

See, I really was All Over Making Jewellery Magazine!

Thanks to everybody who entered - I put your name into the winning draw if you guessed 9, 10 or 11 - then used a Random Number Generator to select the winner.

And the winner is .... Rita!

Congratulations Rita, an email is on its way :0)

Testing Helios and Marine Wave

2011-02-08T12:25:00.000Z

I mentioned in my previous post that I have been doing some more testing and now I can share my results.

First up is Helios, the new "super lustre reduction glass" from Double Helix. I was expecting a silver mirror shine, which truthfully wasn't exciting me too much. But oh boy, I disagree! I didn't get mirrored silver, I got beautiful golden liquid sunshine!

Helios turns a lovely pomegranate shade when heated, then fades back to amber as it cools. It quickly reduces to a golden orange shine but will turn cloudy if overheated - happily the cloudiness is easily removed by heating through thoroughly, cooling then reducing again.

My best results are when Helios is reduced and left on the surface, even careful encasing can burn off the shine.

In this dark ivory heart bead, I made one shoulder from unencased Helios, reduced to a golden orange lustre. The Helios has lightly fumed the dark ivory.

Here's an encased lentil, I started with white then added Helios, cooled, reduced and encased with 006 - I added some Helios stringer on the surface too. Its difficult to see in the photo but there are delicate golden wisps inside and golden orange lustre on the surface.

This big hole bead is made from Tongue Pink (please, please, please can we change this glass's name ... lets call it Striking Terracotta!) then I covered it with dots of Helios. Some I melted flat, reduced and encased with 006 (orange Mother of Pearl effect), the others I reduced and left unencased for an orange mirror shine.

I played with lots of different bases for the Helios. It really fumed this transparent red bumpy bead. The dots round the centre are Helios over Dark Ivory, the other dots are Helios straight onto the red.

Now for more encasing experiments. I got mixed results really - some good, some quite disappointing but then one of the exciting things about Silver Glass is its unpredictability! Let's start with the nice ones ... Helios swirled with white and some Silver Foil. Not particularly shiny, but still a very pretty creamy gold.

Over Opal Yellow and Transparent Amethyst and silver foil - hurray, I see lustre (okay, maybe you can't see it in the photo, but its definitely there, that lustre you get on fish scales!)

But these groovy beads weren't so successful. The Helios over Black or Straw Yellow (both with silver foil) initially reduced beautifully but, even though I thought I'd kept the bead cool whilst encasing, the lustre was lost on both these Groovy beads - the greenish tinge is very disappointing.

These rounds all started off with Transparent Striking Red, then Helios (the middle bead also had silver foil melted into the Red), then encased - again, no nice lustre, just mucky yellow.

To finish on a happy note, I had to try a sprinkle of raku frit, just like some beads that Claire Morris added to the Silver Glass group on Flickr - thanks Claire!

NOW for the second glass I've been playing with, Effetre 'Cool Colour' Marine Wave.

It reminded me of one of my favourite colours, Baby Blue 038, so I have based most of my testing on a comparison with this glass - which I will refer to as 038. The main difference on comparing the rods is that Marine Wave appears to be ‘seeded’ with tiny bubbles, whereas 038 is a very clear palest blue. I can see subtle stripes in the Marine Wave as it melts but the stripes are lost when applied to the mandrel.

I started with some simple round beads and added Silvered Ivory Stringer and silver wire. The bead on the left is 038 and is virtually indistinguishable from the Marine Wave.

The similarity is more apparent when they're etched - in fact I'm not entirely certain which of these beads is the 038, I think its the one on the left again!

You can see the tiny bubbles in this lentil on the right - I have to say, I prefer the clarity of 038. The Marine Wave lentil has some yellowing, probably due to fuming by the silver.

I tried the trick that Sarah Hornik reported on Torchbugs, a Hades base with silver foil melted in, then Marine Wave stringer and encased in clear. I tried the same experiment over Hades, Copper Green and Transparent Striking Red. Over Hades, the scrolls turned greeny blue; turned brown over Copper Green and acted like clear over the red (not a great bead!).

I made a similar bead using clear stringer over Copper Green and the outcome is definitely different to Marine Wave.

Finally, I also tried Marine Wave with Dark Ivory as reported on Lampwork Etc., there is a dark reaction line where the colours meet.

In conclusion, I'm rather underwhelmed by Marine Wave. Its pretty enough, but I really do prefer 038 and if I want bubbles I'll use some bicarb!

The Morning After The Long Day Before!

2011-02-06T13:59:00.000Z

Yesterday was one of those lovely, unexpected days that don't happen often enough, although it certainly didn't go to plan!

But a long day at the torch has its downside - a big old mess, two kilns to empty and lots of beads to clean and photograph!

Here's a closer look at that mess, I must clean up before the next student arrives.

If you look very carefully, you can just about see the torch to the left of the photo. I'm not good at putting tools away, I just keep piling them up on top of each other!

It must have been around midnight when I actually turned the little kiln on so it was still hot hot hot when I got up this morning!

That cup reminds me - I usually drink decaff tea, maybe it was the Nescafe that kept me working till 2am! And awake for another hour after that, my head was buzzing.

I can't show you the beads on the left of this kiln just yet - I was meant to be working on some new Seaside beads for an upcoming gallery exhibition, but an unexpected delivery threw me right off track and I spent a very happy few hours totally absorbed in trying out some new glass for Tuffnell Glass. Sorry, I think I need to keep these beads under wraps till I show The Boss!

So here's some of the work I can show you. I love to see them like this - off the mandrels, waiting for me to clean the bead release from the holes. Its my first chance to get a good look at each new creation and the water washes the dust away and shows up the colours beautifully.

And here they are, all cleaned up and smiling for the camera. I've been building up to these for a while - I've always been drawn to bright colours and love the cartoony boldness of black outlines. I confess these are heavily influenced by the work of Tera Belinsky-Yoder but I hope there's enough of my spin on them to be original.

Now, shall I clean up that mess, or just go and make some more ... ?

Spotty Saturday and Silver Sunday

2011-02-06T13:28:00.000Z

Just a quickie to point out a link to the photos of last weekend at Mango Beads studio.

On Saturday we dealt with all things dotty - the girls had great fun with plunging, poking, raking and stacking. The piggie buttons went well too - and then they tried monkeys .... go see Manda's photos!

On Sunday we played with silver - foil, leaf, wire, mesh, and silver glass. I think everybody felt they learnt lots, including pressing and shaping beads too.

I'm planning on running these classes again in my new home studio - more details about that soon!

Read All About It!

2011-01-16T12:24:00.000Z

I'm feeling a little (over? nah!) exposed - Lush Lampwork beads or buttons are cropping up in so many magazines at the moment!

The New Year kicked off with a competition to win one of three sets of Sunspots Buttons in Cloth magazine - which are actually not in the photos but can be seen on my Shank Buttons page.

Then there's a chance to win one of five sets of my Dusted Heart Trios in Make Jewellery - three hearts with a pearly finish, perfect for Valentine's Day.

With two tutorials and brilliant coverage on the Product Review pages, Lush Lampwork really is all over Making Jewellery magazine, issue 24!

Still to come are a 'Fire and Ice' heart tutorial in Creative Beads & Jewellery - due to hit the shelves on 20th Jan and another buttons giveaway in Beads & Beyond magazine!

What a great start to 2011!

So how about a little competition for my blog readers?
If you'd like to win a Toggle Bracelet Kit, just send me an email to julie@lushlampwork.co.uk with the answer to this question ... "on how many pages in Making Jewellery Magazine issue 24, does a Lush Lampwork item appear?"

(if you don't have access to the magazine you can still have a guess, the answer is somewhere between 1 and 12).
I'll select the winner from correct answers received by 9th Feb - issue 25 is due out on the 10th. The winner can choose their prize from the Toggle Bracelet Kits available on my website at that time.

by george, its Lush!

2010-11-09T16:55:00.001Z

What a fabulous weekend! 6-7 November 2010 – the first time that George Harper East and I taught our “by george, it’s Lush!” class.

The venue was Mango Beads studio in Barnstaple, North Devon.
Manda and David have created a wonderfully calm, comfortable space, that manages to be both fun and inspiration, without detracting from the serious business of melting glass!

Six eager students arrived around 10am on Saturday and after a welcoming cuppa and chat, they each claimed a workspace and gathered round to choose their glass colours and watch my first demo.

We all worked happily till late in the afternoon, making a range of beads in bright funky colours, with spots and twisties, silver foil and presses.

Lunch was eaten quickly – no time to relax for too long, there were beads to be made! I think I worked them pretty hard, everybody was tired out by the end of the day!

Most of the group met up for dinner at Pizza Express later that evening. It was lovely to have chance to get to know each other better and relax with a well-earned glass of something!

On Sunday morning, everybody arrived bright and early, excited to open up the kilns and claim their beads.

After much examining and admiring, and a fair bit of cleaning and even some etching, it was George’s turn to take charge.

She set up her command centre at the far end of the studio and produced an impressive collection of pliers, hammers and other metalworking tools that I wouldn’t even know the name of!

In no time the group was turning loops, wrapping wire, hammering and filing and beautiful, unique jewellery collections were appearing all around the room.

Everybody went home proudly wearing their own earrings, bracelets and brooches – armed with new skills, knowledge and friends!

Check out my Flickr album (the photos were taken on my phone, so the quality isn’t great) and Manda’s for more pics.

We will be running the class again at Di East’s studio in Leicester on 19-20 March 2011. We’ll also be back at Mango Beads with the class again on 8-9 October 2011 and will both be teaching other classes in Barnstaple during 2011 too. Watch my website for more dates and details.

Messy Testing ... Tuxedo

2010-10-06T15:39:00.000+01:00

A confession .. I've never used CIM Tuxedo before yesterday.

But now I have, I will again, cos I like it! I definitely found it less stiff to work with than the other CIM black, Hades, and it kept its colour really well on white and clear. Also I find Hades tends to break, rather than shock, when I'm heating it - Tuxedo didn't do this.

First of all I made three little black beads using Tuxedo, Hades and regular Effetre black 591064. You can see from the photo that neither of the CIM blacks performed too well in this test - they both show some slight reduction and shadowing around the edge of the white dot, whereas the white dot sits clean and crisp on top of Effetre black.

When used as dots on white, the Tuxedo fares better than Hades with only a slight metallic edge, while the Hades shows considerable bleeding into the white. Again though, the Effetre black is crisp and sweet.

I have read that both the CIM blacks do exciting things when used with silver foil so I made three big hole beads and rolled them in a strip of foil. I melted in the silver, allowed the beads to cool off then wafted them through a reducing flame - I think they all look the same!

Hmm, not having much luck so far ... how about trying out some webbing. This time I added Effetre Intense Black to the party. The photos speak for themselves - top marks goes to the Intense Black, closely followed by Hades. The Tuxedo has certainly softened and spread, and the Effetre black hasn't webbed at all!

But the biggest surprise result in this test is the colour of the different blacks - I expected the Effetre black to appear quite purple when etched, but look at that Tuxedo - its indigo!

Finally, I think Tuxedo has worked really well on these "crab" beads, simple black dots on the edge of Effetre Clear 006 lentils, etched.

I know from past experience that Effetre black doesn't work in this design so have previously used Hades.
Tuxedo is around a quarter of the price of Hades so I know what I'll be using in future ;0)

On The Button!

2010-07-20T10:13:00.003+01:00

A new idea, a new page on my website ... Buttons!

Everybody needs buttons! I'm almost tempted to whip out my knitting needles and whip up a woollie!

I'm running a promotion till 26th July - spend £10 or more on anything in my website and you can get a free sample button.

Just visit the Button page, scroll down to the bottom and add the Free Sample to your shopping cart.

Cute as a .....

Hearts of Brass make Hearts of Glass

2010-07-11T14:13:00.001+01:00

I love hearts, I love presses ... I have lots of heart presses!

I've got presses from Holland, Spain, Germany, America and Canada here, and I've made hearts with all of them to show you how they compare - unfortunately though they're not all currently available for sale, I have added links for the ones that are.

Here are the hearts in their presses (apart from A, Kaz is currently making great use of this press!)

a: Beadpress Long Puffy Twin 32mm; b: Beadpress Long Puffy Twin 3cm; c: Beadpress Puffy Twin 3cm; d: Beadpress Puffy Heart Trio; e: Beadpress Love Triangle; A: Beadpress Folk Art Heart Trio; B: Cattwalk Vertical Heart Duo; C: Bavarian Heart M Real 3D; D: GoodGlassCo Hearts n Grooves; E: Zooziis Sweetheart Duo; F: UCBY puffy heart.

And a closer look at the heart beads on their own.

All of a-e are from Beadpress.nl and, apart from the Love Triangle, are in the 'puffy' style. There is also a 32mm version available, similar to 'a', but not 'long'.

The Beadpress Folk Art trio has changed slightly from the photo - the smallest heart is smaller so should be perfect for dainty earring beads.

You can see it here alongside the similar Cattwalk duo.

I only have one press, C, from Bavarian Beads but they do have more hearts, including a new longer shape that I'd really like to try. D, the hearts and grooves press from GoodGlassCo is sadly not often available - these hearts are always popular on my website (make more, Magdalena!). Personally I find the Zooziis Sweetheart too flat, although its a nice size. F is no longer available, but I think that the Beadpress hearts fill the gap very nicely, particularly the Puffy Trio 'd'.

So, time for my personal favourites ... it is my blog, after all ;0)

I can't pick an outright winner, but in joint first place are the Beadpress Love Triangle - its not too wide, not too puffy, not too flat, not too small, perfect for simple spotties ...

... and the Bavarian Beads M Real 3D.

It is quite a wide shape, perfect for more elaborate decoration (all my seaside hearts are based on this shape), and easy to elongate by adding a little glass round the bottom, or across the shoulders.

Here they are side by side

I also couldn't live without my GoodGlassCo press - unfortunately it doesn't have pins, so you do need a Cattwalk-style base to use it properly, and it is hard to get hold of; the hearts are small but nicely proportioned.

I wrote a simple tutorial on how to use this press, and had a version printed in Beads & Beyond magazine, February 2010. This technique is really the same for all the heart presses.

I definitely recommend the Beadpress Puffy Trio - this is my favourite of all their Puffy shouldered hearts, I think the largest heart of the three is nicely proportioned, the smallest is great for earrings or dangle charms, and together they make a useful addition to your studio. I like the Cattwalk shape too and the Beadpress Folk Art Trio.

Spotty heart anyone?!

(other colours are available, haha!)

Busted!

2010-07-07T16:12:00.001+01:00

Okay, okay, its true, I am ... the Tuffnell Glass Secret Tester!

Saying it loud and saying it proud :0)

So, without further ado, let me tell you about some lovely glass that I've been playing with this week.

Sedona 591255 and Striped Pink 591253: When I first opened the package I thought I had been sent two lots of EDP - Sedona and Striped Pink look very similar to each other and to EDP. After trying them out I did a bit of reading and found similar comments on Lampwork Etc, where I also learnt that apparently Striped Pink is EDP with a Rubino core - whatever it is, I like it a lot!

Both Sedona and Striped Pink devitrify just like EDP, giving a good heat bath at the end does remove most of the devit - but it could be better to embrace the bit of chalkiness!

The Striped Pink is so gorgeously purple, I think it should be renamed immediately (Striped Purple will do!), it reminds me of Zimmerman Purple Rose. I made simple daisies in Sedona, Striped Pink and EDP to compare them all, and also made simple encased beads in each colour too - which quite clearly shows the different shades (and puts paid to any evil tendencies!)

I like to 'fume' dark ivory with EDP (hold the end of the rod very low in the flame, and the bead above it, let the fumes bathe the bead and the surface will turn matt and devitrify) so I tried it with Sedona and it worked! By the way, EDP fuming wasn't my idea - I got it from a post by Debra Jennings. Please only try this if you have really good ventilation.

Both Sedona and Striped Pink work well with silver leaf, fantastic organic reactions. Oh, and happy bonus, they were both far less shocky than I expected.

Olive Green 591025: I love this colour, although I think its really more of a transparent lime than olive - like green sweets! Its really fresh and zingy over white, works great with silver wire and accepts dots well, unlike a lot of Effetre greens that tend to swallow other colours.

Olive makes a nice base for silver glasses.

Butternut 591414: nice autumnal ochre, with a tinge of orange. Looks great with silvered ivory stringer; I hoped it might react with silver leaf simply melted onto the surface but it didn't really do much (try this with Dark Ivory, roll bead in a scrap of silver leaf then reheat just enough to make the surface 'swim' a little and blur the edges of the silver), still nice though!

Silver Pink 591255: very pale pink when used on its own, turns a lovely pale yellow under silver glasses and makes a great base. Save it for silver, its too pricey to use on its own ;0)

Hope

2010-07-07T15:14:00.001+01:00

I received this wonderful message from a customer recently, it touched me so much, I need to record and share it.

"Thank you, the pendant did arrive today ;o)

It’s stunning, absolutely stunning.

You are very talented and your love for your work shines through.

I just thought you’d like to know that it’ll be going to a very good home......

I’m sending it to my best friend who lives on the Gulf coast in Florida.

She is heartbroken and devastated by the damage that the oil spill has done to her beloved ocean.

Hopefully your wonderful artwork will remind her how perfect and beautiful the sea will be again in the future, when it’s had the time and opportunity to repair itself."

Thank you, Sarah Baker, for taking the time to send this to me and reminding me of the sad events on the other side of the world. I hope your friend loves her new necklace and that there will be some recovery of the Florida coastline very soon.

Super Simple One Tool Bracelet Tutorial

2010-06-20T23:31:00.000+01:00

Gather the following ingredients:

1. 2mm Greek leather

2. 2mm sterling silver end caps, one eye, one hook

3. A selection of 8mm Greek ceramic washers

4. Simply stunning lampwork beads from your favourite glass artist (!)

Slide the beads onto the leather.

Take them off.

Put them on again.

Keep putting them on and off till you're happy!

Pop an end cap onto one end of the leather.

Use a fine pair of pliers to squish the centre section of the cap onto the leather.

Don't press too hard!

Put the almost-finished-bracelet on your wrist and check the length. Cut the leather, add the other end cap, and squish!

Tada!

Its a Small World!

2010-04-13T17:35:00.000+01:00

Isn't the internet wonderful? And isn't Flickr fantastic? I check my Flickr activity every day (often numerous times each day!), its such a great way to keep up with what people are doing, get feedback from your peers and there's so many pretty pictures to look at!

I was browsing around one evening when I came across this necklace by Angie of Weirdly Wired.

I love the simplicity of the shell bead, and how the swirl is off-centre. I just had to rush out to the Torch Porch and whip out the dark ivory and make a glass version. (I love how it nestles in the copper disc too).

I'm sure many people will understand when I say that its all about the making - once a bead is made, and cooled and cleaned, maybe photographed, certainly stroked and admired for a little while - well, then I'm satisfied. I don't need to keep it, or do anything with it, I need to pass it on. So I asked Angie if she'd like it - fortunately she didn't think it odd that a complete stranger from halfway across the world would ask for her address!

Now, I haven't exactly been pacing, I've not been quite that impatient ... but I hadn't forgotten about the little shell-like bead, and I have been .. anticipating .. what would become of it.

Wow, now that's what I call star treatment!

Doesn't it look fantastic? Gosh I love that clasp.

Angie's wire work is really beautiful, she has great imagination and a very professional touch. Take a look at the bigger picture of this wonderful necklace and the rest of her photostream here

An Exclusive!

2010-03-31T17:22:00.001+01:00

I'm so excited about this!

After the success of our collaboration at Cheltenham Gem n Bead fair last weekend, I am now going to be carrying an exclusive stock of George Harper-East's very special handmade findings!

George makes fantastic hand-forged silver and copper clasps, bails, earring findings, bead caps and pendant kits.

What could be easier than buying a focal bead together with a kit to instantly turn it into a pendant?

Or ear wires complete with pins alongside a pair of handmade lampwork beads?

And to top all that, she's even printed instructions on the back of the card!

I simply had to try the kits out. This is my own new favourite necklace made with my large Pioneer Spirit lentil and a 35mm pendant kit.

And I'm thrilled with this copper-laden bracelet showing off George's fab copper toggle clasp (as well as some lovely copper findings I had stashed away by Diane Cook)

If you want to see the full range for yourself, come visit my stall at my next fair in Birmingham on 11th April - or pop over to George's website now.

Blogged and Booked!

2010-03-18T11:40:00.001Z

Busy busy busy ... teaching ... melting ... getting ready for Gem n Bead at Cheltenham Racecourse ... and wallowing in the rosy glow of new friendships, kind words and glassy contentment.

Now if only I had a boxful of beads ready for the fair, life would be almost perfect!

Have a read of this wonderful write up by Yvonne Temple following a 2 day class she had with me last week - smug? moi? come on, who wouldn't feel a tad chuffed after reading that?!

And if that weren't enough, Moo (dot com) have featured me in their Ideas Book! Move over cat, that cream is all mine :0)

Off to make more of my current obsession - I only have half a rod of this amazing glass left so I'd better make it count ...

Pioneer Spirit

Hearts of Glass

2010-01-12T11:02:00.000Z

When Beads & Beyond magazine asked me to supply a project for their February issue I could only think of one thing ... Hearts of course!

I love my heart press made by Magdalena Ruiz. Here's a simple tutorial for how to use the press, you'll have to buy the magazine to see the improved version!

Mag expects to have more heart presses available for sale by the beginning of February 2010 - keep an eye on her Etsy shop or her website if you're hoping to grab one.

Anyway, as everybody loves hearts so much I thought it was time to dedicate a whole page to them on my website. Lonely Hearts, Heart Trios, little heart sets, heart jewellery ... now they're all cuddled up together and easy to find.

And if you fancy a chance at winning a Red and White spotty heart trio - check out that February issue of Beads & Beyond. They've got three sets up for grabs. Entries can be made online here - if the page still shows the January giveaway check back after 14th Jan

Messing About With Blues and Greens

2010-01-03T21:09:00.000Z

Happy New Year!

I took some time off over the Christmas break and slowed the beadmaking down to a much more leisurely pace than usual. I took the chance to both expand my range of Stonebaked beads and at the same time, do a little more testing for Creation is Messy.

First of all I made a bead in every green shade of CIM I own, and also in similar Effetre shades.

I noticed a couple of interesting things here: I'm surprised how different Olive and Commando have turned out, they look so similar in the rod; I haven't played much with Poison Apple, but now I like it - its a similar shade to Effetre Nile Green but without the streakiness.

So I had to do it, I just couldn't stop myself ... here's the same beads etched!

Wow, look at Kryptonite! I never expected that glass to etch so nicely; Poison Apple is still looking really good; love Celadon too, and Split Pea ... and ooooh, Mojito looks great!

Peacock Green simply would not etch though, I've tried it in the etching fluid again, for longer, for like half an hour and it just refuses to change!

Now for the blues ...

This is the first time I've used Glacier, its a lovely soft blue grey; Grumpy Bear is a little richer than Effetre Periwinkle; I worked Pulsar high in the flame and successfully avoided it pitting; Sapphire always surprises me, it looks much lighter in the rod.

They're all gorgeous, but the etched finish is just so .. so ... lush!

Electric Avenue is similar to Poison Apple, in that its smooth and non-streaky, but not opal like Peacock Green and Halong Bay (which also completely resisted the etching process, despite long immersion in the acid). Lapis has been one of my favourite glasses for a long time, but I've never thought to etch it before - I love how its turned out.

This was a pretty time-consuming exercise but I really enjoyed the methodical procedure and the comparison photos are so useful. A lot of the CIM shades are very similar to Effetre - Fremen and Smurfy versus Light and Dark Turquoise, Soylent and Celadon versus Grass and Petrol Green - and I think I'd be guided by price here when restocking; but a number of the CIM shades are quite unique (Kryptonite, Electric Avenue, Lapis, Dirty Martini, Mojito ... somebody stop me ....) and are definitely going on my New Year shopping list!

Variety is the Spice of Life

2009-12-19T19:06:00.015Z

First came my Sunbaked beads - simple, etched, doughnut-shaped beads in a huge range of different colour combinations.

Closely followed by Sunpots.

Then there were half sets, and custom sets - sets to fit Pandora bracelets too.

Then came Rolling Stones - similar to Sunbaked beads with a smaller hole and a more rustic look, every set features creamy ivory with toning colours.

Oh and don't forget Rolling Stones to fit Pandora bracelets! (These have been my Christmas 2009 best sellers - especially to America!)

Now I'm really having fun with Stonebaked beads - Sunbaked colours, Rolling Stones shape. I've just added two fresh sets to my website, Marine and Berry.

Christmas Prize Draw

2009-12-12T12:58:00.005Z

Its that time of year ... time to be jolly and give stuff away!

I'm very happy to have an easy peasy pendant project in the new January 2010 issue of Beads & Beyond magazine, so I'm giving away two focal lentil beads just like the one in the mag.

All you have to do to enter is visit my website and use the Contact Me page to send me a Merry Christmas message. I'll draw the names of two winners at random on Saturday 19th December, just in time for the last Christmas post!

Only one entry per person please.

End of Day Beads

2009-12-03T18:54:00.002Z

I keep part used rods in jam jars, one for purples and pinks, one for greens, one for blues and one for spicy colours. They're all getting a bit bunged up with "long shorts" in the bottom so yesterday I tipped out the Purple jar and forced myself to use up the bits to make some "End of Day Beads". I made a couple of lentil focals like this one

and some round focals

And I even managed two Rolling Stone style sets!

Now my Purples jar is much tidier and I'm really pleased with the results!

I'm hoping to tidy up the Blues tonight ... and update the website tomorrow (Friday)!

A point about Peacock

2009-12-02T10:48:00.005Z

I've never really used Peacock Green as I heard it needs a different annealing temp - but I've now checked it with my filters and it appears to have annealed just fine at my usual temp of 520 degrees C.

I noticed its a spreader. The pic on the left shows white dots on a Peacock base, the white dots have been swallowed up by the Peacock and have a little dot in the middle -

see how the white dots on the Kryptonite bead on the right are unaffected.

So then I tried it the other way round - a white base. The bead on the left has Peacock dots over white, the Peacock has spread out and honeycombed across the base. The Slytherin dots on the right hand bead are more 'self-contained'!

Interesting ..... I tried a little experiment, using Peacock in one of those reactive spreading patchwork style beads (a la Emma Baird and Sarah Hornik Think Pink)

CIM Peace base, Peacock dots, then CIM Cranberry and CIM Lapis - not the best bead or photo but it could be good to play with this a bit more.

Slytherin Swirlies

2009-12-02T10:38:00.003Z

Just want to slip in another pic of the wonderful Slytherin!

Check out Laura Sparling's new Roly Poly tutorial.

I heart Sangre

2009-12-02T09:54:00.010Z

Of all the reds in the glassy world, CIM Sangre is my absolute favourite - its passionate, bright, vibrant, glowing ...

And it "strikes", which means the colour develops the more the glass is

worked in the flame, so you can get wonderful variation from transparent yellow to deep rich red, like in these wings.

Ooooh, glass with feeling!

My Messy Testing question was "We designed Sangre and Oz to be the perfect Christmas red and green. Did we succeed?"

I'd say .... "Yes!" Festive enough for fairy lights!

I found a slot for Fremen

2009-11-26T08:42:00.006Z

Right inbetween Effetre Sky Blue 224 and Effetre Opaque Light Turquoise 234!

The long bead uses CIM Sapphire on end and CIM Leaky Pen on the other ... just because ... (incidentally, the LP pitted on this bead).

The lentil on the left is made with Sky Blue and Effetre Copper Green, the one on the right is Fremen and CG - the Fremen is a little darker.

Fremen is such a pretty bright blue, I'm really pleased with how it turned out in this twistie made with raku, layered over Peace and silver foil.

Fantastic contrast between Fremen and the centre band of Stoneground - gotta do this again!

Slytherin ... so much nicer than it sounds!

2009-11-26T08:24:00.005Z

Question: "We designed Slytherin to be dense enough to make twisties or leaf/vine cane. Were we successful?"

Did somebody mention twisties? Didn't I see Jolene trying out twisties with Slytherin? That's it, I can't resist, gotta have a go!

I used a base of CIM Peace, wrapped in silver foil then added my Slytherin twistie (made with raku and a little stoneground), chucked in a few dots here and there of more Slytherin, Stoneground, Raku and some Effetre Violet.

I added a stripe of Slytherin around this bead, I think I'll call it Soft n Swampy Slytherin - must remember to use less next time!

Answer: Yes :0)

Whites

2009-11-25T08:39:00.013Z

I ran some pretty simple comparison tests with all the CIM whites: Peace, Marshmallow and Cirrus against Effetre White 204.

In the interests of my Sunbaked beads, I'm always on the lookout for new glasses that don't react to a wrap of silver wire - sadly, I won't be adding any of the CIM whites to my Sunbaked palette.

(Incidentally the white I do use is

made by Plowden & Thompson.)

The next test I ran was to see how they reacted to Hades dots.

I tried out Peace and Hades together some time ago and now I remember discovering that they get this metallic shadow between them - you can see a similar thing is happening with the Effetre white, although less pronounced. Those dots on the Peace bead look quite big ... hmmm...

I really like how the Cirrus and Marshmallow are behaving themselves with nice small dots, just how I applied them!

Last summer I made myself a necklace from white beads decorated with Double Helix Triton hearts - I love the way the Triton fumes the Effetre white to an aged sepia shade.

So lets see how the CIM whites react to Triton.

I found that Cirrus tends to swallow other colours a little - the hearts in the first bead on the left were too small and weak, so I made another bead with bigger dots and these were much better. Marshmallow just got on with the job again, the photo is bad but the reaction was quite good! I'm finding that other colours tend to spread on Peace - my Hades dots looked big and the same happened with Triton, so I made a second bead with smaller dots and it worked better.

My last test was to see how these Whites etch. I made a simple plain bead from each glass and after annealing and cleaning, I soaked them in EtchAll fluid for a few minutes.

The only surprise here was with Cirrus - which resisted the etching fluid and came out shiny! The others all etched nicely.

So in conclusion I've discovered a couple of things: I've never tried Cirrus or Marshmallow before this but I will definitely be using Cirrus again, I love the "floating" look when other colours are added to it. Marshmallow is a well behaved opal, it doesn't appear to swallow or spread, it etches okay. Peace is a great alternative to Effetre White, as long as I remember that other colours tend to spread a little on it, so keep any decoration small and tight.

I went on to use Peace as a base for some other designs that I've been working on ... and I'm really pleased with the result, its great with silver foil melted in.

But more of that later!

Coming Soon ...

2009-11-21T20:11:00.004Z

... Slytherin ...

... and Whites

Better get started then!

2009-11-21T19:52:00.007Z

As a new member of the Creation is Messy testing team, it really is time I got on with some proper feedback so I'm taking time out this weekend to work through the Feedback Form ... I keep getting a bit distracted though, its wonderful to have so many gorgeous colours to play with and see what happens when I mix this with that!

Here's a couple of pics previously submitted to Kathy Seamands.

Mermaid

I love this brand new colour from CIM: Mermaid, gorgeous rich blue-y sea green with some nice streaking, etches beautifully and also has that great dark-outline-reaction with Effetre ivory.

This is Mermaid mixed with some Effetre transparent green and DH Aurae, lovely!

Mink

Another new colour, a soft grey/brown opal.

Mink is a great colour, but as its an opal it doesn't etch too well - I had to give it much longer than usual, and wasn't too pleased with the outcome, I think its best left shiny!

Excuse the etching fluid residue on the photo.

Resistance is futile ...

2009-11-21T11:32:00.000Z

I don't blog.

Won't ... can't ...

Tut!