Evil camera!

She normally runs when she sees the camera but this time she just gave me a dirty look. I wish I could sleep like she does!

Thimble Mandrel

Linda Campbell came up with an idea for a Thimble Mandrel. I thought that was very ingenious but I wanted one to use as a bead cap mandrel. The tricky part is getting the hole in the top because the mandrel is flat without a hole. I poked an indention in the middle while molten and then used my Dremel with a tiny diamond bit to make a hole in the end. These have great potential for fabulous necklace designs. I have one in mind but I have to make two matching "thimbles" which is not an easy task.
There are several events coming up soon which I will chat about at a later date.

St. Patrick's Day is Monday March 17th

If you are out and about Monday, please come by to see us. There will be some great deals on pottery, jewelry and other art. In addition to the sale prices, you can pick a gold coin out of the Pot of Gold for a discount on a regularly priced item. It should be fun!

Spring Beads Trunk Show March 15

Our ISGB chapter is going to be at Spring Beads again Saturday March 15. Thank you Deanna!
We have so much fun selling our beads and buying other beads from the shop. They have a great selection of seed beads, findings and anything else you could want. Here is a quick group shot of a sampling of beads I will have with me. Hope to see you there!

Where did February go?

It is March already? It seems like we just got through Christmas.
Green is probably my favorite color and I am tempted to keep this one but I already have lots of green. I hope someone else likes it as much as I do.

More disc pendants!

I seem to get stuck on one thing when I come up with something different. Here are a couple of more Disc Pendants. These are probably going to the Potter's Guild soon so if you see one you like, let me know because this phase will probably end soon.

Shards

What is a shard? It is a sliver of glass that is broken off of a very thin bulb of glass that has been blown from a glob off the end of a hollow tubing. Clear as mud? Why would I want to do that? Shards just add another layer to a bead and they are fun to play with. You can leave them on the surface with the rough edges curled, melt them flat, twist them around or encase them under transparent glass. Those are just a few things that you can do with them. My studio looks like a mad scientist has blown something up. I promise to clean it up soon but then I could not find anything.

Disc Pendant

New Things at The Potter's Guild

I put together a few new pieces for the Gallery in preparation for the March event. I almost kept the turquoise disk pendant, which happened to come to me during the middle of the night when I could not sleep. That happens quite a bit.

Hearts for Beads of Courage

Here is the photo that I promised. I am so proud of our ISGB chapter for their hard work in making all of these for Beads of Courage. Way to go!

Beads of Courage

I went to MD Anderson recently for the Beads of Courage staff training. It was an amazing experience to be there first hand to see the excitement of the nursing staff in implementing this program. My friend Diane Woodall was there with me and we couldn't stop talking about it on the way home. We toured the Pediatric Lymphoma ward which I was a little nervous about because I am such a wimp when it comes to anything medical related. The children in this hospital face more than I can imagine. The staff is wonderful and I will never know how they manage to get through a day. Our ISGB chapter has made Beads of Courage a top priority and it is one small way we can give back. We had a challenge for the month of February to make Purple Hearts which the child receives upon completion of their treatment. I brought home 155 hearts from our group to ship to BOC! I am so proud of our members for embracing this with such enthusiasm and I hope that we can continue to donate on a monthly basis. It is hard to imagine that they need this many beads but they are unfortunately in constant need of beads to give to children with cancer. I will take a group photo before I ship them off and post it here so you can see what that many hearts look like.

More Hearts

This is my favorite one even though it is not the normal heart color. I love the organic nature of reactive glass and this one shows it off well.

Hearts

I have a few hearts that I have been working on lately. Most of these are going to Beads Of Courage and I have added their website to my Links. It is a wonderful program for children with cancer. Recently they have added burn hospitals and heart hospitals to their program as well.
I have exciting news! I have been excepted into the Houston Potters Guild Shop and Gallery beginning February 1! There are more hearts that I am working on for the gallery "Take Hearts" exhibit which also starts February 1. I am in the company of wonderful, talented artists and it is an honor to be in their gallery. Please take a look at their website which I have included in my "Links".

For Suzanne

I have a dear friend that likes to pick through my beads and then have me "do my thing" with them. These are all for her and I hope she likes them. I will be teaching her "Ndebele" so she can make ropes for them and they will be interchangeable. More soon!

Dreary Weather

It is cold and rainy which is not the best photo weather. I made these beads this week and they look so much better in person. These are the best photographs that I could get considering that we have not seen the sun in a while.
I have exciting news coming up but I will save that for another day.

Happy New Year!

It has taken me a while to get back into production mode. I always have the urge to clean everything once I start putting away Christmas. Here is one more scarf. I have been in a knitting mood lately. I was also playing with PhotoShop and cropped this detail out of one of my beads. New beads soon!

Merry Christmas!

It is Christmas Eve and everything is wrapped so I decided to take a moment to upload a couple of photos. I hope you have a blessed Christmas. Hope to see you soon!

Spring Beads Trunk Show

Tomorrow we will be back at Spring Beads in Old Town Spring from 10:00 - 5:00. I hope the weather cooperates. One thing about this area is that the weather is constantly changing so we will have to wait until morning to see what it is going to be like.
Here is a new bead and I have quite a few "Pandora" style beads that I will bring with me too.
Hope to see you tomorrow!

New Toy

I got my Christmas present early. Isn't she pretty? I have been so busy since she got here that I really haven't had time to play with her yet. It took a trip to the welding store to connect everything properly and I hope to see how hot she will get tomorrow.
Thanks everyone who came to see us at Fads 'N Phases. We had a great time visiting with everyone and playing with all of our beads. Thank you Marla!
Have a great week!

Tomorrow is the Trunk Show at Fad's N Phases. This is the last of the new beads for the week. I have to get the car loaded and the price tags complete. It should be fun!

Here are a few from yesterday. I love the first one and just might have to keep it unless I make something else I like better. My newest beads are usually my favorite beads. I hope to have new inventory for the trunk shows the next 2 Saturdays.

Glass

I love the way the colors reacted with the silver in this bead. It is so much fun to get up in the morning to see what is in my kiln. I am trying to make new beads for the Trunk shows the next 2 weekends. We will in in Old Town Spring at Spring Beads again on the 15th. Thanks Deena! She has a great bead store too.

More new beads!

Trunk Show Beads

Our local ISGB Chapter is having another trunk show next Saturday, December 8th at Fads 'N Phases. Here is a link with the information. It will be fun and there will be tons of beads to pick from. http://www.fadsnphases.com/index_Page1289.htm
I have been on a green kick lately trying to get the perfect color. I will have plenty of beads at the show that are not green but these are the most recent ones.