Festive Prize Draw

Bead of the Day: "Morning Glory"

The heating in the house we are in has decided that it's going to celebrate Christmas by not working. Yesterday the boiler gave up; thank goodness, there is a gas fire in the living room, it's not amazingly hot, but at least it gives out flames - to cheer me up.

On the bead front I've been busy this week sorting out all my beads, old and new, so in the next few weeks I'll be putting strands of 80+ beads on ebay. There are all sorts, as you can see from the photos:

I've got three Tesco's "15 Caramel and Belgian Chocolate Bites" tub-fulls of beads: two of them - beads made on 2.4mm mandrel and one - on 1.4mm mandrel. Now you know what I like to eat from time to time - alas, these three tubs have been empty for a long time (chocolate-wise, I mean:)).

It's this time of year when families get together, we give presents to each other, we celebrate and feel excited for the new year to come and bring us amazing adventures. So I'm announcing a Festive Prize Draw for the followers of my blog: this beautiful and happy bead set of three "Morning Glory" lentils and three etched white donut beads to give away to one lucky follower of my blog! The lentils have my "Morning Glory" design on one side which comprises two pink flowers, several bright yellow and orange "buds" and a variegated vine going around the flowers and buds. The design is raised. The other side of the lentils does not have a raised design, but there are sways of several shades of green glass there. You can make either three pendants out of this set, or a necklace/bracelet. The pix were taken, as is usual with me, in the natural light, so I think the green on the photos is a bit darker than it is in real life - there wasn't much sun today in Derbyshire, just snow!:)

To participate in the draw just send me either a comment on this post or an e-mail - whichever is easier for you. I'll draw the name of the winner on Tuesday, the 20th December, so that, hopefully, the beads reach you before Christmas. Good luck!

New Designs for Christmas

Bead of the Day: "Winter Wonderland"

The last post proved to be very popular, so thank you all who made comments here on the blog and on FB - very much appreciated, especially that I realise that I need a tutorial on how to use these tiny thingies.

Yesterday was - at last! - spent at the torch. Well, half of the day to be honest. There are always things in the way when you are at home, especially near Christmas time. I won't go into detail, but in the afternoon I finally got back in front of the torch - yey! I had lots of ideas, as you do when you've been away from it for such a long time, so I started melting glass happily, feeling extremely inspired. I made several focal beads, all of them with my own murrini, decorated with goldstone, silvered ivory stringer, the base bead was out of dark irovy overlaid with crystal clear in places, and of course, lots of Double Helix Aurae - for the lovely Christmas sparkle. I love Aurae - easy to get good results and it can be reduced into so many shiny colours: silver, gold, copper, and even gold and copper - with many shades. The bead with the murrini was dedicated to the star which was born for Jesus.

However, I'm using past tense here. This is because... Sadly, all my beads broke. I work in the conservatory, and to make sure there is plenty of fresh air, I open windows and the door. Yesterday was an exceptionally windy day, so no matter how hard I was trying to keep my beads in the flame, obviously, it wasn't enough. I was sad when I saw them all cracked, but I'm not anymore. I just need to work harder. The other thing is, I like the design I've come up with, especially with the star, so I'll be using it again - and it's not windy today!

One more thing to mention: I've decided to hold a raffle for my dear blog followers, and the set of beads that I'm going to give away is almost ready, I just need to make one more bead - it's always the way, isn't it? So I'll be "officially" announcing it in a couple of days, so that the beads would get to you in time for Christmas! :)

Cable Thimbles - Almost a Product Review

Some of you who have been on FB recently might have heard that I've been making jewellery. That literally means NO making beads. I've been missing the flame and the cold in the conservatory, where my "studio" is at the moment. But. One has to do what one has to do. So many beads, so little time!

A while ago I bought these little "cable thimbles" from Palmer Metals - this company does offer best prices on sterling silver and some other stuff. I forgot all about the thimbles, as you do! So today, while looking for something else - again, those of you who have been on FB will be able to imagine just what this means on my desk! - I came across these little fellars and I thought, I'd give it a go.

The bracelet I was working on was almost ready: I only needed to attach my toggle clasp. While it is the "finishing touch" on a jewellery piece, everyone knows that attaching a clasp could take longer than making the actual bracelet itself. The first end was easy: I always start with the toggle, and here I had a lot of space wire-wise, so I pulled the stringing wire and hid it under the bead - no problem. AND I THOUGHT: hey, this is great! My bracelet ends are going to look soooo neat and professional!!! And I would do anything (well... to an extent!) for my jewellery to look just that. And I went on to attach the "toggle ring"...

... put the wire through the first groove...

...and back into the opposite one...

...got my toggle ring on...

...and began to pull the wire, and that's where all the problems started. You can see, that the thimble simply disintegrated.

It took me ages to arrange it in the way which would be acceptable to my own quality control and to customers. Another thing was happening: the tiny crimp kept getting onto it as well, unfortunately, I haven't got that photo, I was too stressed to let go of my work and take the camera to take a shot!

Verdict: at 16p per thimble (remember, you'd have to have two - for each end) as an addition to your cost and having spent a good twenty minutes putting it on... sorry, I don't think so. BUT: if you've had better experience with these, please do share it!

Quirks, Wirework and the Washing Machine Accident

Bead of the Day: "Byzantine"

"Byzantine" has to be the bead of the day: it always cheers me up, and I get into a super-good mood when I make them. And today is one of those days: you either love it or you hate it. Or you just laugh at it - that's going to be my choice!

I've been trying to make lots and lots of jewellery recently. It's near Christmas, and I've got some beads that I can use for bracelets and things, so - great, let's do it! But, of course, I've also been making beads, so the actual jewellery-making keeps being postponed - bead making taking precedence. Today I also decided to wash pillows - god knows why, it's difficult to dry them even in dry weather! So those of you who have been on FB realise where it's all going to. Yes, the pillow exploded inside the washing machine. Never ever anything like this has ever happened before. I opened the door and... duck feathers were everywhere! Well, thanks to good friends Nicky Townsend and Jan Edwards (Jan is a writer, by the way) - they told me what to do, hoover time!!!

Then I went back to my jewellery. I had this lovely idea of making this bracelet using some of my wirework skills. All of you brilliant wireworkers, I admire your patience and reserve! After about two and a half hours (!!!) of sweating and managing to cut my finger (I really do not know what happened there!) I was finally looking at this super-duper bracelet:

Bracelet with "Quirks" beads and wirework

It's photographed on my lap, by the way, that's where I've been making it. I'm just glad that none of the duck feathers from the blooming pillow have got into the shot!

But. The bracelet was initially too short. I added this little red bead on the left at the top next to the clasp. Now it is too long. Oh, dear.

Let's see what tomorrow brings! :)xx

Flowers for Jo

Bead of the Day: "Flowers for Jo"

About ten days ago I came across a post on Facebook. I couldn't make out who the lady was. I was sad, but it was kind of impersonal, because I didn't know. Thanks to GBUK's email received tonight, now I realise that we lost a great lampworker and a wonderful, wonderful person. So this post is dedicated to Jo Rohrer.

In those "olden" days I didn't know anything about lampwork or beads or making jewellery. One day I was happily walking around WHSmith's - oooooh, I don't know, four, five years ago? - when these beautiful beads caught my eye. Turquoise and red on the cover of Bead magazine. So I bought the mag. And discovered a whole new world! And it was only because of the beautiful beads on the cover! The beads, as it happened, had been made by Jo Rohrer.

But it was just a name then. We know the names - the stars of the lampwork community: Diana East, Ray Skene, Sally Carver... Many from abroad - Loren Stump, Akihiro Ohkama, Corina Tettinger, the list goes on... Only rarely we can see these amazing people, usually it's during demonstrations; it's quite difficult (at least it is for me) to come up to them and have a chat or possibly to become friends.

As time passed, I started making my own beads and jewellery, I went to fairs and various events. And once I was lucky to meet Jo. It was in Dulwich. She came up to us and we chatted, and she showed me her beads and her display. She said she loved fairs because they gave her a chance to meet her customers and her fellow bead artists. I remember her beads: elongated and flattened, in beautiful organic greens. After that meeting we wrote to each other; she gave me advice, congratulated me on my lampworking successes and simply just kept in touch. She was always very kind and generous sharing her knowledge: which fairs to go to, which events are cheaper than the others, what a pain Double Helix can be...

I never suspected that she was ill. Last time she wrote to me was about my book; she said she'd been reading it and it was very good and so beautiful. It was two weeks before she left us.

She was wonderful. Inspirational and very kind. My thoughts are with the ones who were closest to her.

The Bead Awards

I can just sit here at my computer and read other people's blogs - very happy! But I've got to tell you a little about the British Bead Awards which took place in London on 15th October.

The Big Bead Show was very well attended, with lots of marvelous things to buy and many people to say hello to.

The creations of the Bead competition finalists were displayed in the Sports Bar. There were some gorgeous pieces. I can sympathise with the judges: I liked everything, and it must have been soooo difficult to decide who the winners were.

My "Matrioshka" set won 1st place in the Handmade Glass Beads and Components category. Unfortunately, we missed the actual ceremony: on the way to the racecourse we took the wrong turning and ended up somewhere else. I'd like to say Congratulations and Well done! to everybody who took part in this competition, especially to those who I know personally and who are some of my favourite people in the glass bead making community.

Chloe Menage, editor of Bead, agreed to have this pic taken with me. Thank you, Chloe, for the super event (and the award!), I have really enjoyed it! 

Back Again

Beads of the Day: "Indian Summer"

Hello again!


I cannot believe that more than a month has passed again since my last blog! And I was starting so well, really determined to keep on writing. I looked at the date of the last blog: two days later my eldest daughter was in hospital undergoing a very serious operation. So I hope you'll understand why I haven't written for some time. I've prepared a separate blog about it, but every time I try to read it through and possibly edit it, I get very emotional again, so it's still difficult at the moment. My daughter is OK now.

The beads of the Day are the "Indian Summer" set in warm shades of oranges, yellows and turquoise: like those beautiful days in autumn with the quiet sun and golden leaves, when it is still warm, but you know that it's not going to last for long, as mornings are getting colder. We had this weather only last week, but now it's turned so cold, and one of my customers has mentioned that they've had the first frost: winter is coming.

There have been good things and bad things happening - isn't life all in stripes, a bit like a zebra, I suppose. And I'll be posting more, as some things are very well worth mentioning here. At the minute I just want to say that I am back, and hopefully will stay that way.:)