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!

Good Intentions

We've heard it said... "The road to... somewhere? is paved with good intentions." Making the leap to online selling a year ago, from selling to friends and family, I had good intentions and no expectations. I jumped in with both feet and launched myself into the world of e-commerce. I have found it challenging to say the least, to keep up with family commitments and a full time job, and to find the time for my creative expression through art. I've had good intentions to keep my blog up to date.... no excuses, it just didn't happen.

With Spring on the horizon, I look ahead to the next year. I feel energized, and have so many new ideas for beads and jewelry. So stay tuned to see what comes next!

Make 'n' Tell Challenge Day 23:

Another set of handmade orange and red lampwork glass beads, these remind me of rose hips!

Make 'n' Tell Challenge Day 22: Pandora Beads

Three handmade lampwork big hole glass beads, they fit all European style add-a-bead charm bracelets and necklaces such as Pandora, Trollbead, Biagi and Chamilia. Designed to go over leather cord, ribbon or chain also.

Make 'n' Tell Challenge Day 20: Fall Leaves

Handmade glass leaves, something I'm playing around with!

Make 'n' Tell Challenge Day 19: Fun With Beads and Wine

Two of my favorite things come together for a Saturday night Make 'n' Tell. Beads and wine!


Crazy neon berry beads and metal tags with fun words and phrases, set of six wine glass charms!

Make 'n' Tell Challenge Day 18: Spooktacular Wine Stopper

A functional work of art!

Will you be serving wine at your Halloween party? Why not cork it with this chrome plated wine stopper featuring my handmade glass beads! Flexible rubber rings in the center give a snug fit on your bottle.

Make 'n' Tell Challenge Day 16: The Colour Purple

Love'n the colour purple! I used my handmade lampwork glass beads and oxidized sterling silver in this Make 'n' Tell bracelet. I used ivory glass and fine silver foil to create the organic look of the larger focal beads.

Make 'n' Tell Challenge Day 14: Aubergine and Raku

Our weather's been fantastic! And I have to admit, I've been feeling a little bit guilty about spending so much time on the computer... and not enough time outdoors! So today's Make 'n' Tell Challenge is short and sweet. I made the beads on the weekend and put the bracelet together tonight. The base colour of the beads reminds me of eggplant, and I think the raku surface decoration gives the beads an organic look. I used wood jasper stone beads and a couple of faceted amethyst rondelles. I wire wrapped the beads together with 22 gauge sterling silver wire and made a hand forged clasp. I like the way it turned out.

Make 'n' Tell Challenge Day 13: What's In a Name

Shakespeare’s Juliet says to her Romeo, “What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Yet calling this set made with my lampwork beads from Day 9, "Necklace and Earrings Made With Copper and Glass", just doesn't cut it.





Danielle Fox, editor of Stringing, author of Simply Modern Jewelry, and co-author of Mixed Metals, gives tips on naming your jewelry projects at Beading Daily But even after reading this great article, I still can't decide what to name this set. Any suggestions? I'd love to hear your ideas!

Make 'n' Tell Challenge Day 12: Dirty Martini Earrings

Day 12 of the Make 'n' Tell Challenge finds me in the studio early in the morning. The weather's too nice today to spend all day indoors! A simple offering....I've called them Dirty Martini earrings, named after the colour of CiM glass that they were made with. I love the floral detailing on the sterling silver ear wires!

Make 'n' Tell Challenge Day 11: Flower Power

Day 11 of the Make 'n' Tell Challenge, still not sure what I'm going to do with my beads and copper yet. Today I've made a pair of earrings with my own handmade lampwork glass beads that are fun and funky.... retro florals in chocolate brown, and aqua blue, with orange and lime green highlights!

Make 'n' Tell Challenge Day 10: Cranberries

For my next challenge, I decided to make some beads with my most challenging glass colour....the colour red. I don't make many red beads. I don't wear much red, but I do love red shoes and red lipstick! In the world of glass, red is one of the more difficult colours to work with. It is hard to see when layering with other colours in a hot flame as it appears black when cooling from molten orange back to solid. And it "burns" easily, that is, the red colour darkens with prolonged heating and can look dirty. I'm happy with how this set turned out, they're simple but remind me of cranberries! Now I have to decide what to do with them!

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?

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!