Sunday Picture

Posting a picture today and I'm thinking it might become a regular thing on Sunday. My favorite picture for the week. Over the weeks, it'll become a photo essay of my life.

Today, The Teen.

When to pursue a technique....

Yesterday I showed you the bead designs I'd like to renew and expand upon. Today, I'll show you those beads I rejected and in fact, won't even sell - not because they're poorly executed but they're too much like someone else's signature design.



I created these while playing at the torch - I wasn't trying to mimic anyone else's design. But after I made them, I did what I always do, I surfed around to see if anyone was making anything similiar. I can't possibly see every beadmaker's beads but I do my best to take a good thorough look around. If I find something similiar, I won't pursue that particular style - although I may use the technique itself. Like I did here with the a variation on the Goth Kid:



The ears have an Anime style/Goth look achieved by using the technique above. I'll continue to pursue using the "floppy raised dots" technique in different designs but not on a round bead with multiple floppy raised dots - too much like another beadmaker's design. I want to speak my own voice through my designs.

What techniques have you decided to pursue in your work lately?

Reviewing Bead Designs

Twice a year I take a second look at beads I've designed and just haven't promoted. Here are a couple I designed awhile ago - you can see the 2006 copyright on them - I made them during the winter of 2006 and took them to bead show in NYC that year.

I'm liking them, I think like the Glyph beads, they should be revived. Grouped with the Glyph beads, I can see a whole series like the Heartz n Skullz.


Opinions? Do you like these beads? What would you call them?

Shooting pictures for step by step project.

I'm shooting some step by step pictures today for future article. The tools are out and the camera is ready. I'm going to use the underlighting so the steps and the tools are well light. It will make it easier for readers of the project to see. After the first set of pictures arrived at the publishers, the editor wanted more. So that's the reason for today's photo shoot. Gotta get it all done before the deadline at the end of the month.

Do you have deadlines looming?

Ivory Bling Links featured in Book!

Earrings, Earrings, Earrings, filled with earring projects for every mood and occasion, will be available for purchase in the spring. This picture comes courtesy of Annie's Attic.

Look closely at the earrings above the last, large print "ng" of the work earrings. Yep, that's right! My Ivory Bling Links are making their book debut!

Speaking of Photography....

Since I talked about photography the last time and a couple of you made comments about the underlighting, I thought I'd share with you where I bought the underlighting. It was part of the Bead Photography kit from TabletopStudio.com. Prior to that, I had a homemade set up with plastic boxes/ice cream tubs and utility lights. It was ok, but my pictures and lighting are so much better than they were before. I'm less reliant on PhotoShop to adjust the lighting now. I melted the sides of several plastic containers trying to get the light brighter and I don't have to worry about that now.



If you use the underlighting, use it judiciously. I rarely use it with beads as it will give a lovely although unnatural glow to the beads. Underlighting can also darken the subject - making the bead appear darker because everything around it is bright. But this picture of the coral glass bling links looks pretty darn good using it. It was an experiment - so if you use the underlighting, experiment with it.



By the way, I bought a new camera - loved my Nikon Coolpix but wanted a camera that responded a bit quicker. Since The Teen loves Canons, I bought an SX110. The Teen takes most of the bead pictures now but sometimes his schedule is so busy, I have to wait and wait and wait to get some pictures shot - so, this is to fill in.

(Photo Credit from DPReview.com.)

Photography Success!

I'm working on a magazine submission and my step by step how to pictures weren't quite up to snuff. So, another round of pictures with underlighting. Underlighting helped to make the pictures bright enough for the editor. The teen took the pictures so this might be his first magazine credit. Cool. The pictures are going onto a CD and out in the mail today.

I don't usually use underlighting - but this was a situation where I needed the light under my hands to get a good picture. You know what they say about photography and film, it's all about the light!

Sitting on my workbench....

Last fall, I was on JustBeads.com and saw these Navaho Red Square Beads made by artist Mary Harding. I fell in love with them and bought them the minute I saw them. I knew the "red" matched the "coral" colored glass I have stashed away. Coral isn't an easy color to match it Mary's beads were perfect.

So I made the coral colored glass bling links especially for Mary's beads. They look great together don't they?



I'm working on a design and they're laid out on my workbench. How to connect them - wire? chain? I'm not sure yet.

Any ideas?

Seen it on TV? Interpret it! Rachel's Necklace

Last week, I was watching an episode of Rachel Ray's Talk Show and noticed her necklace. It looked like one of my Bling Links so I couldn't resist whipping up this interpretation of Rachel's Necklace using one of my Bling Links and rollo chain.



I used one of the Bling Links embedded with two crystals - just for extra sparkle. In honor RR, I'm calling it Rachel's Necklace.


What's great about this necklace (other than the fabulous handmade glass by me!) is the finding the Bling Link is suspended from - it opens! You know for me, who likes to have interchangeable - it's fabulous, I can change this out for another Bling Link in Blue.

Whip up one for yourself, the Bling Links are still on sale so you can grab one of these beauties for yourself. It's classic and stylish and goes with anything.

Sweet!

Living Up to the New Year's Decisions

I talked about Vision Boards yesterday and it's always a good idea to clarify what you have mulling around in your head. Alot of my business woes lie in not getting myself out there or in other words

Marketing

Marketing

Marketing

Yeah, I great at marketing someone else - I can tell you how fabulous someone else is, but like many women, when it comes to me, I shut up.

It's time to speak up.

Easier said than done.

Take it one step at a time.

My one step goes along with my decision to submit more articles to magazines. I made that decision around August - something you'd have to do if you want to get in the issues for the next hear. So yesterday, I worked with The Teen to take some how to pictures for a project that's been accepted (I'm not saying where yet, I gotta submit it first and make sure it's going to press before I say where). I sent this one:

Oops, it a reject. So back to the photo set-up and took another set of pictures. Sent those off but since it's the weekend, I won't know if it's thumbs up or down until Monday.

One step at a time.

Have you taken a step towards your New Year's decisions?

January Mulling it over....

How did I miss it?

Miss what? You ask.

Vision Boards. The hot topic on all the blogs at the end of the year, I somehow missed the flurry of bloggery on it.

I take stock in January - trying to do it in December just ruins the holidays for me. So when everything has calmed down, I evaluate my business and mull over how to improve. After sitting for awhile, I usually come up with a few goals.

I did some reading on vision boards and thought it might be a good way to focus some of my ideas. So I'm working on a "theme" board. I'm not real clear with what I want to do but I'm hoping while I work on this and letting it mull around for awhile, I'll be able to put my finger on it.

Are you taking stock and mulling anything over this January?

At Work, No Words

Can you hear the music playing in the background? Busy busy busy today!

Loving the Edge

I like edgey fashion and my Heartz n Skullz series reflect my love of all things edgey. But as a mom and living a middle class life, the stereotype says I'm not supposed to like it. But here's where I have everything in common with the edgey crowd - I don't like being stereotyped, I don't fit it. That's probably why some of The Teen's friends think I'm cool. If you look closely at me, you'll find a bit of edgey jewelry among the middle class mom, or you'll see me watching NCIS soley because of the bright, funny, Goth character, Abby. It's the most recent guilty pleasure for The Teen and I.

I'm always fascinated with her jewelry. Above, chains fastened with a lock or below, Goth with a soft side - delicate silver rings joined by a silver bead.

(Above photos from Pauley Perrette Fan Facebook)

Another source of the Goth - Millenium Punk style with the red, white and black color palette are the White Stripes in this photo from the MTV website


All of this percolates in my brain and inspires new pieces like the finished Gothic Lace.....


I'm attracted to alot of different styles and it's reflected in my work - maybe that's why I don't seem to have a "voice" but I've always been that way. I do tend to gravitate to the edgey. Do you love edgey jewelry?

Working on....

...."Gothic Lace" valentine pendant for Valentine's Day.

The Cat that Chases his tail in my glass yard

I don't usually write posts about topics other than glass and business related however

when I read Angela's Blogpost about her kitten, I had to post a picture of her kitty twin, Twinkie - my cat. He's the same color and has similiar markings to Momo and hey what's up with naming him Twinkie? He's about the color of that yummy cream filled 1960's lunchbox treat but he's a bit older and likes control (can't you tell by the look on his face?) but he chases his tail around like he's 8 weeks old! Doesn't he know that's his tail?!? I can't quite figure out that one.

So let's take the kitty post challenge - if you have a kitty in your house, write a blog post, link to this post and leave a comment! It'll be fun to see how far this goes, huh?

Speaking of comments and links, go on over to Lisa Lectura Creations' Blog and check out her awesome art. It's nice to get out of the glass yard for awhile and play with some other artists.

Bad Girls of Glass that you gotta have!

As long as we're talking glass and colors we don't need like the luscious ink blue above (thanks for the gorgeous spacer bead pictures in today's post from that ever wonderful beadmaker GemFox.)

Ink blue is mis-named, I think, it looks purple not blue but anyways, ink blue caused quite a stir when first introduced into the glass world. It was one of the the first Moretti/Effetre handpulled colors offered. It melts perfectly, keeps it color, is a real workhorse plus is YUMMY!

But seriously, there are so many variations in hues and each one is slightly different. Just like my other favorite, Coral.



Let's be honest, folks, some of these colors aren't coral at all! In fact there are so many permutations of "coral" I don't know what it's supposed to look like anymore!

C'mon, orange colors are not coral.

I love each color I've bought but will have to count each and every one, one by one in a couple of days.

Blech.

Inventory.

But who cares about counting the rods when you can have the Bad Girls of the Effetre line?

Alabastros!

Yeah, she's beautiful - just look at her in turquoise!



What a babe, huh? So you turn up the heat but then she'll lose her lovely pink color



She might even pop into pieces before you can shape her into the goddess she is.



So yeah, she's bad, she's a b#@$%!! but she's an Alabastro, temperamental and gorgeous.

A Bad Girl of Glass that you gotta have! Who better to sing about a Bad Girl than Donna Summer?

When Temptation Hits....

January hits and the glass suppliers post their sales. It's a great time to pick up your favorite glass colors and try some new ones.

BUT

It IS January and that means INVENTORY.

Blech.



So when I'm feeling I really need that extra pound of transparent ink blue, I go into my studio and look at my stock of glass rods. I've got to count each and every one of them.

One by one.

It's a good way to resist temptation.

What do you do to resist over-buying for your art?

The Bead Vegan Shares a Favorite....

Occasionally, I write about vegan recipes. I write about it because if vegan food tastes good and is reasonably priced, then others will eat it too. So I share vegan food that I think others might like. Since getting Vegan Express, I've been trying out various recipes. Tofurky sausage is in one of the recipes. Being married to a husband of Italian descent, I crave an Italian sausage every now and then but haven't found any vegan substitute - until now. The Torfurky sausage has a meaty texture and high fiber content (8 grams). It's a little heavy on the black pepper that I need to lessen by slicing or chopping the "sausage" and adding tomatoes or extra vegetables to it. But all in all, it satisfies that craving and is very filling.

Here are a couple of recipes from online blogs using Tofurky sausage:

Vegan Chicks Rock - Breakfast

Veg Blog - Pasta and Sauce

Pasta with "Sausage" and Collard Greens

Grilled Beer Brats

Chipotle Chili

Enjoy!

Resolved: Experiment more with your Glass!

Happy New Year! This new year, why not make a resolution to experiment more with your art? I started early with the frit experiments I started in December.


I have a go to frit - it's Val Cox's Silverlake. No matter what I do, I can make this frit look good. If I'm getting frustrated with my other experiments, I roll some Silverlake with Czech Glass's Capri Blue and it just looks pretty!



Ocean Currents and Butterflies is my favorite Silverlake/Capri Blue creation. This is in a private collection - mine! :-)


Experiments can lead to new work - what are experimenting with in your art?

If you don't flux, router!

Yesterday I had fluxing success but if you're struggling with soldering, or you just don't want to create that look, you can try routering your glass cabachons. I like to use this technique when I want a "floating" look - where the frame that holds the glass cab is hidden.

The equipment you'll need is a glass grinder and a special jewelry bit. Yep, that's what it's called, a jewelry bit. I buy the Aanraku Twofers



There's a better picture on the Delphi Glass website if you're like me and want to see a close up picture - in fact, here it is from the site:


Once you have the bit, it's really easy to just run the edge of your fused cab around to create a groove in the glass like the one on my painted cab:


Delphi Glass has a quick step by step for adding a wire frame to create a pendant out of the routered glass cab.

Try it! If you don't solder, router!

It's Fluxing Success!

YAY! I finally successfully soldered a few of my cabs and added a little bit of wire "filigree." I made the cabs - one is a painted bead that had rough beadholes so I slumped it into a cab. The other cab is a made of glass "shorts" that was fused and ground into a square shape.

I must admit that adding the filigree was the hardest part - I think I need an extra hand to do it again! LOL! I used a bench clamp to hold the piece while I added the filigree.

If you solder jewelry, how do you hold the piece so you can solder on a jump ring or other decoration?

Ooops - Forgot - Love Life

Love the journey that is your life

Yesterday, I put up a picture of a snowflake bowl bezel. I thought I had posted it earlier in the year but realized this morning, I hadn't. I wanted to tell you about this one. First, the back, since you didn't see it yesterday...

The bowl bezel is fabricated from brass, hand hammered into a slight bowl shape and stamped on the back: "Love Life." Sewn into the bezel is a handpainted snowflake glass cabachon. Is there no better color combination than cobalt blue and white? Love the clean, two color palette.



I stamped Love Life on the back to remind me to enjoy this journey and pay attention to it.

Warm in the studio

It's "warm" today - 58 degrees here in New York State - so I've got to take advantage of the warmth to work in the studio. Maybe I'll do some fusing, or some torch work or some more bowl bezels or even get to the soldering I've been struggling with. Maybe today is the day I'll be able to solder decently!

Keep your fingers crossed for me!

What was under YOUR tree?

It's the day after, is there wrapping paper still on your living room floor. I think a few pieces have slipped under the couch. I'll get that cleaned up after work today but in the meantime thought I'd share what was under my tree yesterday.
Got my wished for Vegan cook book, Vegan Express

Since we've gone wireless in our house, we got a family gift, an HP wireless printer. Great family printer, with a separate paper tray for photo paper - we won't have to reload the tray to print The Teen's photos. Psst, Mac won the PC wars yesterday - it was easy peasy to connect the Mac while the PC was much more difficult.



What was under YOUR tree?

Merry Christmas and Happy Ornament Thursday

Merry Christmas! Since many of us are busy today, myself included, I wanted to share my Jingle Spiral from last year with you. Enjoy your day!


I'm all about instant gratification when it comes to crafts. If you're like me,today's Jingle Spiral Ornament will satisfy your need for craft speed! I used one of my handmade extra long (55mm or 2. 25 inches) Glass Spirals, 20 gauage silver wire and tiny oxidized silver metal bells. You'll need your flush cutters, round and flat nose pliers. (Pictures follow directions.)

Since measuring impedes instant gratification, I used the spiral to figure out how much wire to use. Unwind twice the length of the spiral or about 4.5 inches of wire. Cut using the flush cutters, it will give you a nice smooth end.


Use your round nose plies to make a loop at one end of the wire.

Straighten the remaining length of wire at the neck of the loop. You'll want the ornament to hang straight.

Add 3 tiny oxidized metal beads.

Add spiral.

Make small loop above the spiral.

Use your index finger to make the large loop for hanging the ornament.

Your Jingle Spiral is now ready to hang!

Let's see what the Ornament Thursday Grlzzz are up to:



BeadStyle Magazine
A seed-beaded ornament for the holidays.

Strands of Beads
Melissa shows off a simple snowflake necklace for her final seasonal piece of the year.

Wish List

One of the things I want for Christmas is to go to the movies. I haven't gone since this past summer (I think - it may be longer than that). I tend to prefer the independent films, though not always. This Christmas, I want to go and see this film, Happy Go Lucky.

I giggled at the outfit and her gawkiness - I think we all have been there or at least feel like we've been there!

What's on your Christmas wish list?

No Boots but pretty accurate

Surfing blogs a few weeks ago, I found a link to a "discover your blog's personality" test. Admit it, you would have clicked on it too. So Lampwork Diva's blog personality is:

ESFP - The Performers (in my words, a "Practical Feel-er")

"The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves."



"The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions."

Yeah, gotta work on that confrontation thing - and I don't wear boots too Nancy Sinatra for me but I guess generally, it's accurate.

(Photo and Analysis Credit on Typealyzer)

Now, I was curious about what sort of personality Art Bead Scene has:

ESTP - The Doers

The active and play-ful type. They are especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical out-door activities.



The Doers are happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it through. They might have a problem with sitting still or remaining inactive for any period of time.

If you're interested, your blog can take the test too. Come back and tell me what blog personality your blog has!