Websites are a PAIN! But I lOvE bLoGs!!

My website is a pain! It won't save any of the changes I've made in the last few weeks! ARRGGHHH! I don't like to leave the website that long without an update! If you've been there and it looks the same old, you know why! I'll work on it later today and hopefully finally have a solution! I must be one of the few people in the world creating a website on a Mac! :-)

Made more of the hand-felted ropes. I made them thinner and longer than the ones I made last spring. They're about 4 feet long and I can combine the subtlest of colors in them too. I have an idea of custom art beads to work with the felt, a donut style that isn't perfected yet, but getting there!

Websites are a PAIN!

I'm having trouble with my website. I've gone on it about 5 times in the last 2 weeks and it won't save any of my changes! Arghhh!! I don't like to leave it that long without some sort of update! I got a Bravenet account but I just am not computer savvy enough to build the site from scratch! So it just sits there!

I made some more hand-felted ropes this past week. I'm able to make them thinner and longer than I did last spring. They're about a 4 feel long and pretty thin! I'm experimenting with some "donut" style beads designed specifically for the felted ropes. Have done some special wire wrapped pendant slides in Argentium silver to hang pendants from - having hit exactly the right note yet but will continue!

New Auctions and getting back into the swing of things.....

I've got some new auctions up on justbeads.com and ebay. It's taken me about 5 hours to photograph the beads and then put them all up for auctions. I write 10-12 different descriptions for each auction, but about auction 9, I start to run low on literary language for the beads! So some are more interesting than others! :-) I'm getting myself back into a regular schedule of auctions and beadmaking - fall is definitely in the air!

Back from Vacation!

Back from vacation and the Innovative Beads Expo! It's been a long two weeks! I enjoyed the vacation and we had lovely weather. I'm putting up some pictures from vacation at Lake George, NY. The weather was warm and sunny most of the week. We made a trip to Saratoga Springs because I was so curious about the natural spring water. There are several springs you can drink water from in the village and state parks. Some taste great some not so good. We couldn't taste the "Island Spouter" but the rock you see underneath it is travertine that is the minerals in the water. The mineral deposits at a rate of 2 inches per year!

Auctions are coming back on Sunday, August 28th. I've got lots of new sets and beads to offer. I'll be back at the torch this week - Yipppeeee!!

Beads, buttons and yarn.....

I took some pictures of the ribbon poncho that I crocheted a week or so ago. I made special beads to go with the poncho. The yellow and baby blue interact to create a line around the dots I placed on the yellow base beads. The beads are made on a little larger than normal mandrel so the bead hole is a bit larger. I took a very small crochet hook and pulled the ribbon yarn through and tied a knot on both sides of the bead. It gives the tie a bit of heft but not too much. The beads make a built in necklace! I just love this!

I'm off to vacation and then to the Innovative Bead Expo in Albany, NY. I've been quiet because I've been working in the studio. So I'll treat you to some eye candy that I'll have with me. I'm bringing my hand-felted ropes and examples of how to use them. New painted beads inspired by the Faux Porcelain line - blue and white with lots of clear to give the pattern depth! Hope to see you in Albany!

Emerging from the cave....erhhh studio

Wow! It's August 8th already! I've been holed up in my studio working working working every free moment! I haven't been on the computer much! Have a set of buttons with backs that will stay on! I went through 3 different glues before I found one that wouldn't pull off the smooth surface of the glass and dries clear! But I did spill it all over my fingers and got them stuck together! They should put a warning on those glues - Warning! Not as thick as Elmer's!

Making Glass.....

I've been promising pictures and here they are this morning! I'm combining pieces I make at the torch with fusing/melting the glass in the kiln. The yellow glass in the photo was actually red when I put it in the kiln. I opened the kiln after it had cooled expecting to see red and SURPRISE! Yellow! Nice surprise - it was a monochromatic palate rather than the contrastive one I had planned - but it works!

I'm also working on the painting and fusing. I do this with my beads and now I want some cabachons and buttons that will be available to crocheters, knitters and those who sew (can't say "sew-ers" here - looks like sewers! :-) The buttons and cabachons will be 1 inch or less in size.

Melting glass in the hot weather.....

You're looking at a millefiore - a very small piece of glass "cane." "Milli's" are melted into glass at about 1425 degrees Farenheit. I've spent the last two days melting in the heat and only making it worse by running two kilns at 1000 degrees +! The kiln has yielded button sets and pendants. The milli you're looking at is part of a larger pendant. I've got a nice triangular pendant that I'll put up tomorrow. Yellow transparent glass is what happens when you load the kiln with red transparent Italian glass and heat it. Surprise! It turns yellow!

Monday, July 18, 2005

I'm working in the studio early mornings due to the excessive heat. We've had 90+ weather with 80% humidity making it difficult to run hot kilns at 1000 degrees plus! So I am out early in the morning getting things set up to fuse and then I can be in and out of the studio in the afternoon. I firepolished a set of pendants, cabachons and buttons in the kiln yesterday. I'll take some pictures and post them a little later - errhh, you've heard that before but today I promise! :-) Things take longer than I anticipate and since I have to unplug everything when I'm not in the office (don't ask - that's another story!) - I sometimes don't get back to the computer to post.

The Diva has arrived!

You're looking at a close up of an off mandrel glass pendant done in black and white glass. She's a mythical figure that serves as a talisman. Off mandrel means there is no "beadhole" per se but there are glass bails incorporated into the small sculpture to allow you to make it into jewelry if you'd like.

As I've mentioned on my other website, I have a new name and identity for my line of auction beads. I've gotten a webhost but unfortunately, it is taking me much longer to put up the actual website! I wanted more creative control over the website, but too much means you have to be a professional website developer! There's lots of work to be done on the site and I don't want to delay in getting the word out! The blog will let you know how everything is progressing in the meantime.

I'll be out most of today but have spent the last week with a kiln full of fused glass. I'm working on a line of buttons for yarn shops and sewing. I do alot of crochet and the yarns are just gorgeous! Glass buttons will work very nicely with them. The fused buttons will be a variety of colors but this past week's batch were a transparent cobalt blue with the iridescent dichroic glass floating above it. Gorgeous. I'll get some photos up a bit later.