Oh No Snow!

I woke up to snow... and yes it does snow in February here in Canada..... but please! My tulips are showing already! The past few weeks have been so unseasonably warm, and I have been looking forward to Spring with great anticipation.

So I leave you with this:
Snow White Handmade Lampwork and Sterling Bracelet
as I head out to the Studio to make some Spring inspired beads!

Bead of The Day

I love the way this lampwork focal bead turned out, it just came out of the kiln. I think it will look good on a silver bail on a simple black leather cord necklace. What do you think?

BeadCrazed Now on ARTFIRE!

I recently joined ArtFire and set up shop! You can now visit me in 2 locations, I'm still on Etsy too.

Looking to meet new friends and network with other sellers, I joined two groups (called Guilds on ArtFire). I am now a member of the CANADIAN ARTISANS & DESIGNERS GUILD and the ARTFIRE GLASS GUILD. I just had to share some of my favorite picks from each group.

CANADIAN ARTISANS & DESIGNERS GUILD


ARTFIRE GLASS GUILD

Local Talent...Artisans of the Okanagan

Shop local in Kelowna BC with Etsy.com!
This is a newly formed group of people who are Etsy sellers that want to promote each other locally. Our first in person meeting was on Monday May 25th at the Bean Scene coffee shop in Kelowna. We had a wonderful turn out, lots of great ideas were shared. It's great to meet new friends with common interests!

About Lampwork Beads

For centuries glassmaking techniques were a carefully guarded secret. Fathers passed the craft of glassmaking to their sons, but rarely to anyone else. Before propane and oxygen torches, beads were made over small wick type lamps. That's where the term "lampwork" originated. The secretiveness of the past has given way to open sharing of ideas and new techniques. Traditional themes and styles have given way to unique new forms of expression and limitless experimentation. Lampworking is a skill that takes a great deal of practice and patience, the beads are as varied as the artists who create them. Glass rods about the thickness of a pencil are heated in the flame of a torch, the molten glass is wound around a steel rod called a mandrel. The space occupied by the mandrel becomes a hole through the bead. Each bead is created from the inside out. When the base bead has been formed, other colors of glass can be added to achieve different visual effects. The final step is a process called annealing; beads are placed in a high temperature digitally controlled kiln to cool slowly for many hours to ensure strength and longevity. Artist made lampwork beads are one of kind wearable works of art!