Hooks and Fire

On my main blog, Lampwork Diva, I mentioned that my 3 year blogiversary is offically July 16th So, in celebration, I'm going to be posting some of my favorite posts from the last 3 years. Some oldies and goodies. I LOVED Alternative Week so look for some of those posts - if you love punk rock like I do, you'll have fun reading those posts.

Color Week will follow blogiversary. It will be full week of COLOR! I've mentioned before that I tend to focus on what the glass can do - when all my peers are focused on color. So, I've challenged myself to study color and be more aware of how to use it along with the physical capabilities of the glass.

So let the Blogiversary week begin....


(above photo from: FotoSearch)

Here are the beauties I'm bouncy about today - ta-DAH! They're linked glass links! A mini chain of glass - not perfectly round or smooth links, but organic glass links in crystal clear glass.


The links are free floating, each link moves independently just like metal chain. Glass Chain Links. I made them in groups of 2 or 3 links. Glass Chain Links can be used as a focal or part of a chain. Since they're crystal, they can go with any color. Lots of design possibilities.

The Glass Chain Links are unique. Not something you can pick up at the local craft store. Leave a comment and tell me what you think - I love to hear from readers!

When you're Beading on a Budget, you always need to know what's on sale in the jewelry section of your local craft store. A couple of weeks ago, I found these for less than $2.00 US each.



Nice earthy, organic materials and colors - wood circles with pre-drilled holes and antique copper finish flower filigree charms.

I decided on a pair of earrings using my mini spirals in mango and combined them with findings from my stash. I bought the gunmetal findings on a trip to the Rings n Things Bead Tour. I'm still working out the details of the design, you know how I'm a commitment phobe but this is one design I think I'm gonna keep. I skipped a hole on both sides of the mini mango spirals to give the filigree charms some room to move. These earrings will be about movement and earthy colors.

What do you think? You like?

and Queen Elizabeth! (Good picture of her in my favorite color - YELLOW!!) Since this all puts me a great and very British mood, I feel like having The Beatles sing me Happy Birthday! Wheeeee!!!

Here's a quick and easy pendant made from the supplies and spiral bead you've purchased this week. It's called "Encircled Spiral."

Beadmaker Tip ALERT: Beadmakers often have a story about the beads s/he creates. It's a cost free way to lend special significance to the jewelry you make.



Supplies I used:

1 Glass Spiral

Largest blue glass circle

3 round silver jump rings

3.5 inches silver 20 gauge wire

I show only 1 jump ring in the picture but after I started to make the pendant, I thought it would be more stylish and secure with 3 jump rings. You can use 1 - 3 according to your own preference.


Using your round nose pliers, or your stepped jaw pliers to make a loop at the one end of the wire. This will be the top loop.




String the spiral onto the looped wire with the loop at the top of the spiral.

From the bottom, wind the wire around the spiral moving toward the top.

Use the round nose plies to make a loop at the end of the wire.

Nestle the bottom loop into the spiral.

Open purchased jump rings with your fingers.

Attach 1 to 3 jump rings to the spiral and the glass circle.

Voila! You've completed the Encircled Spiral Pendant!



Wondering what to string the Encircled Pendant on? Yep, you guessed it, that's tomorrow's blog post! :-)

You're creating a necklace to express who you are, yet you're on a budget. Let's say you've selected a Water Glass Spiral for your focal bead. You've decided you'd like to add glass accent beads. So you need to go to a local craft store to get supplies. Not all craft store jewelry supplies are created equal. Take a good look at what you're buying. Just because you're on a budget doesn't mean you need to sacrifice quality.


BEADMAKER TIP ALERT! Glass beads purchased from craft stores aren't kiln annealed and could crack when you're wearing the beads.


Why should you care about kiln annealing? Kiln annealing strengthens glass by allowing the glass to cool very, very, very slowly. If properly done, it relieves any stress in the glass and the beads won't crack.

Below is a picture of a set of glass beads I purchased at a local craft store:



As a glass beadmaker, I know by where the crack is, that the bead has not been kiln annealed. A crack along the bead hole means the glass cooled too quickly. Glass cools too quickly when it hasn't been placed in a kiln.

So, when you're buying supplies to add to your creation, be wary of large, thick glass beads. A beader on a budget will invest her/his money wisely on quality artisan made glass focal bead and/or sets that are kiln annealed. Make sure to look for this phrase when buying handmade glass on the web or on Etsy.

Should you stay away from craft store glass beads? While in a craft store, I found a set of accent beads for the Water Spiral. The glass rings shown below are fairly thin as compared to the green lentil glass beads shown above. Although not kiln annealed, these rings may hold up. But be aware that they may not. The rings may still crack and break.



The colors are a perfect match to the colors in the Water Spiral. I bought silver jump rings and toggle clasps along with the blue glass rings.

Tomorrow, I'll show you how to make a Encircled Spiral pendant from these supplies.

The economy is all over the media but you don't need Katie Couric to tell you that you need to budget your money. When watching your dollars, the first thing to go are your extras - beads are the last thing you'll be buying.

But why should they be? Not only is beading and making jewelry enjoyable, beads show your sense of style. A handmade piece of jewelry makes you different from the rest of the people around you. It's a statement, it can be subtle or it can shout who you are. Why should you give that up?

You shouldn't.

Today starts a new series, "Beading on a Budget." I'll give you insider tips from a beadmaker. I'll show you how to use easily found beading materials combined with my artist made beads to create your own style on a budget. A free beginner project and voila! You'll be creating one of a kind jewelry expressing your own style and staying within your budget too!

Are you ready? Let's start with beads.



You want to create a distinctive piece of jewelry expressing your personality. Artist made beads will lend a uniqueness to your jewelry that store-bought accessories will not. Spiral beads and organic glass links are hand crafted and are unlike any beads you find in your local mall.




Insider Tip Alert! Special sales are offered to newsletter subscribers only, so signing up will save you $$.

Bonus Tip Alert! Read beadmaker blogs. Beadmakers like myself or Art Bead Scene host giveaways for commenting. For a simple comment, you could get an art bead for free! Now that's easy on the budget!

Hello Readers!

At least I hope there are readers...afterall, I don't REALLY know that do I? I mean I can't see you and this isn't a book you take out of the library so I'm assuming someone is reading my blog and not just me when I proofread it.

How I love to digress, anyhoo...yesterday I was telling you about how jewelry designing colleague, Cyndi Lavin and I are trying to come up with a name for a necklace she designed.

Readers have been posting their ideas for a name - keep 'em coming! If you've posted once and think of another idea, feel free to post again. One particularly creative reader added a history which I found unique - you may not read all the comments so I'm going to post it here. It was posted yesterday by Kwikarma

"It reminds me of the 1900's in new orleans when the creole madams would lock their girls in their room and keep time to get the cut. They were very exotice, dark and beautiful. The key is also a replica from that era . I think it should be

Madame Labeaux' Sanctum"

Are you feeling literary today? I hope so because my jewelry designing colleague, Cyndi Lavin and I need your help. Remember the Collaboration I did with Elaine Ray and Beverly Herman? I loved the color combination so much, I sent a few to Cyndi along with a Glyph Series bead to see what a different designer would do with them.

Cyndi has designed a lovely necklace using the glass spirals and petroglyph beads but since we're like Kandinsky, neither she nor I know what to name it!





Do you?

I know my readers are happy to suggest names, you've done it before with the rings I post.

I'm upping the ante today - post a comment suggesting a name and you'll be entered into a drawing to win two aqua glass links!

You can post a name either here or on Cyndi Lavin's blog. Comments made from today, March 31st until Sunday, April 6th will be eligible. Winner will be announced on here and on Cyndi's blog on Monday, April 7th, 2008.

I look forward to seeing the suggested names! Good luck!

Cindy

(Photo of Vassily Kandinsky from Wikipedia)

Kandinsky is one of my favorite painters. A couple of years ago, I went to the Guggenheim Museum and saw much of his work in person. One of the things that struck me about his paintings were the names - "Composition IV," "Improvisation," "Black Spot," and the one my husband loves the most, "Several Circles." None sound very creative do they? I'm pointing this out jokingly because I think after creating such lovely, intense work, he was tapped out of ideas for a name.

Why do I bring up Kandinsky and his titles? Like him, I'm "naminig-impaired." I have a hard time coming up with names for the art beads I make. Here's a good example...



Whee? What was I thinking? I was tapped out and didn't want to call them "Red and Pea Green beads" although that's what I was thinking.

I'm sure I'm wrong about Kandinsky's names, though. I'm sure his titles are intentionally vague or nondescript for a reason - it just feels like he wasn't very creative. So when I think I've come up with a particularly poor name for my beads, I think of Kandinsky and "Several Circles."

Yep, that's what happens when you open your mouth or type it on your blog. Wasn't I telling you yesterday that I'm in Spring Mode? No March snowstorm could deter me from Spring mode? Yes, I was and Mother Nature saw what I had to say. She decided to test me by sending a nice fluffy inch or two of snow. Sorry, Mamma Nature, I'm not taking the bait - it's March and I'm so happy that the snow will have to leave that I can't stop creating! Spirals in 3 colors with a large bead hole for stringing on cord to a few strands of beading thread- happy happy happy! It's Spring in my studio despite what Mother Nature says!

When March comes around, I go into spring mode. It can snow, sleet and rain and it doesn't faze me in the least. It's spring. March is spring to me no matter how much snow may appear. Others will look at a spring snow storm and feel depressed. I gleefully rub my hands together and say, "BBAWWWHHHAAA your days are numbered snow! It's March! You'll be nothing but water in a few days!"

So, I'm in Spring Mode and along with that comes an old two line poem:

Spring has sprung, the grass has ris,
I wonder where the flowers is

Apparently my favorite spring time jingle is more familiarly known as The Brooklyn National Anthem and appeared in print around 1945. But regardless whose anthem it originally was, it's mine every spring.

Like the rhymes says, where is the flowers? Today, I've made my flowers sprout in glass. I used enamels to paint a flower onto the glass and fused it between two layers. Used a little blue Artistic Wire to mimic my spring sky and strung it on a rollo chain with anodized jump rings.



So now, check out what the OT Girlz have sprouted for today!

Alexa Westerfield - a.k.a. Swelldesigner
Now that's it's time for spring, ideas are "sprouting" all over the place. Alexa creates this eye-catching notebook to keep them in order.

Art Bead Scene
Some good karma is sprouting up at the Art Bead Scene with Heather's Lotus Flower Bracelet

Cindy Gimbrone
The Brooklyn National Anthem sprouts every year when Cindy's in Spring mode. See what it inspired this year!

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie giggles and remembers a furry friend, brings back an old mold, and sprouts up a beaded LOLhammy ceramic ornament.

Helen Bradley and Michelle Zimmerman at http design
It's spring and we're sprouting all sorts of wonderful art at http design. Michelle is toting her art to the market and Helen revisits a fun art school assignment for her inspiration.

Humblebeads
Humblebeads celebrates spring with a Berry Good bracelet inspired by some juicy disk beads.

Jennifer Heynen of Jangles
Jennifer has come up with a cute little necklace to remind you of spring.

Katie's Beading Blog
Create some spring flair of your own with this easy bead embroidery idea from Katie's book, Hip to Bead.

Kriss Cramer - Spring Is In The Air
Not much of a horticulturist? Me neither! But I love flowers and I enjoy growing these ones with some paper, paint, and rhinestones.

Linda Augsburg at Make It Mine magazine
Tea decided to join the fun this month. Check out her quilt blocks and Linda's purse.

Melissa J. Lee - Strands of Beads
What do Korean playing cards have to do with a sprouting spring? Check out Melissa's blog to find out.

Michelle McGee - S-P-R-O-U-T
Michelle just can't stop creating in green! A little wooden birdhouse becomes a beautiful palace!

Savvy Crafter
Candie shares some happy spring memories with a cheerful felty flower idea!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean tells a touching, poignant tale of some beads who help one another, and after a small amount of sturm and drang they get it together and help each other! In fact, they prettify whatever YOU choose! Go see! It's fun!

Spring is Sprouting for Joolz by Lisa
Even without a green thumb, Lisa managed to "grow" a garden of sorts this month.

Sprouting Up with Beading Help Web
Lynn Kvigne's used wire and a lentil bead to create a "sprouting" pendant for wire workers who want a bit of a challenge!

The Goddess ROCKS!
Inspired by a river rock shaped like an ancient goddess statue, Hali paints, melts crayons and adds glitter to create a sparkley celebration of Spring.

The Impatient Blogger
How does your garden grow? With metal mesh, Czech glass beads and vintage French images all in a row! Margot just returned from Paris where she discovered a treasure trove of vintage paper. This scanned and sized postcard image fit the theme of sprout perfectly and the necklace was in search of a new home...add some teal metal mesh bows and accents and voila...a design sprouts forth!

Vintage Girl Teams Up With Her Vintage Momma!
What does a gal do when she finds herself far from her crafting supplies? Why, she raids her mom's basement and then puts dear old mama to work! Stop by and you'll see why mom's basement is fertile ground for things that sprout!

Here's a quick and easy way for beginners and seasoned jewelry makers to use my new Organic Glass Links. A sleek, modern design using classic black, silver and red with the glass link suspended from a satin cord. A couple of knots and it's ready to wear! Sign up for my newsletter and receive a free tutorial and special discounts for subscribers only.

Last week, I debuted the Organic Glass Links - organic because the shape comes from the natural movement of the class in the flame - I don't use any tools or molds to form the links - I let the glass flow organically. When I create beads, I usually have an idea how to use them. I thought I'd show you one of the ways I thought you could use them. I pulled a couple of 15 to 18mm links out of the pile above - I chose two in shiny black. I made a set of earrings - I hand formed the earwires and used colored 1/2 inch jump rings to suspend them from the earwire - topped it off with an antique silver-dipped clay spacer and done. A nice beginner project. Sleek, organic and modern!

How would you use the glass links?

The kiln is warming up and it's about time for me to head out to the studio. I'll be making more doodles/glass links today. Along with those I make a few spirals playing around with different color combinations and shapes - an "even" spiral and one that peaks toward the center rather than the top.

Transparent amber is another good color to work with - it holds the heat of the flame, preventing the glass from cracking and doesn't blob out of shape. And it reminds me of maple syrup!

Time to make the beads! Enjoy your day! :-)

I haven't worked "off mandrel" in awhile. "Off mandrel" is the same as "off hand" meaning that the heated glass is not wound around a stiff wire (mandrel) to create a beadhole. The hot glass is heated and formed free hand into its final shape. Off mandrel can be more challenging because you don't have the help of the mandrel to hold the glass - you have to create your shape and then eventually you'll need to hold it with a set of tweezers - making sure the glass doesn't crack as a result of touching the tool.

So, last week, I sat down at the torch with some new colors and played. I wanted a modern look, where the form and shape was the focus.





The shape comes from how the glass changed form from a solid to a liquid to a solid again like how rain becomes icicles and then will become water. It felt like I was doodling to create these glass links - ranging in size from 15mm to 24mm in diameter. The links are entitled "Organic Glass Links" but I think I'd prefer to call them Doodle Links. What would you call them?

I'm a bad girl. Yup, I admit it. Why you ask? On a day like today, when we're excited about unveiling the Collaboration Exploration with Beverly Herman and Elaine Ray? Well, I'm bad because when I received the beads from Elaine, so many ideas ran through my head about how I could combine her beads with my spirals that I haven't really been able to settle on just one. You might remember my commitment issues with beads. I have a hard time committing lovely beads to just one design forever and ever.

I wonder if Elaine and Bev had a hard time committing? Maybe not - I'll be excited to see what they've done! A BIG THANK YOU to both of them for playing! This has been a blast! Thanks to Art Bead Scene for bringing us together!

Since I ran out of time before I was able to commit, I'm unveiling while still in the design process - today's design is number 4. Yup. I made 3 necklaces with this set of beads and took them apart to make this one. Design numero quattro! I'm still not satisfied with the design. Numero quattro is only a stepping stone to design number 5. But I ran out of time - we all agreed to post today.

So, this design is a whim - I wanted to try out the Cascade yarn I bought on a whim one day. The colors in the yarn are a bit brighter than the autumnal colors in the beads - a harbinger of warmer days to come. The yarn is 100% viscose so it's very soft (and impossible to knot). I love Elaine's off white oval beads, an unexpected surprise in the crocheted necklace. Since the necklace is full of such surprise and lightness, it's appropriate to call this Collaboration Necklace, "Whim."

Last month, I mentioned I was working on beads for a Collaboration Exploration this month with beadmaker Elaine Ray and designer, Beverly Herman. To pique your interest, I'm posting pictures of my previous collaborations and the beads I created for this month's Collaboration. I'll post links to my co-collaborators blogs and you can see what they've come up with. This is a surprise for all of us, we haven't shared our creations with one another yet - so it will be new for me too! I can't wait to see what Bev and Elaine have come up with!

Here's the Collaboration with Melanie of Earthenwood Studio and Jean Yates: Exuberance!


Here's the Totem Pendant I created this past fall with beadmaker/designer Bridgitte Tucker and designer Laura Bracken: Universal Truth




The set of beads and spirals I made for tomorrow's collaboration in autumnal colors - plum and steel gray-green. Make sure you stop by tomorrow to see the Collaboration!

I thought the video was appropriate since today's post is about Rainbows. Last week, I blogged about Alternative Styles, the inspiration behind the bead series "Heartz n Skullz." On my recent Studio Saturday on Art Bead Scene, I took you into my studio to show you a new spiral, The Rainbow Spiral or Spiraled Chakra Colors, both are the same prismatic colors of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. But the request for the chakra colors in a rainbow wasn't the first time I was asked to make a bead in those colors. A couple of years ago, I was making glass hands regularly. I had a request to make a hand in the chakra colors. My base color could be whatever I wanted - so if you read my blog, you know I love to work with yellow. This yellow is a pearly shampoo glass so I couldn't resist.

At my shows, I usually have glass hands among the beads, but don't have them on my website. I'm thinking of bringing them back to the website. Do you think I should?

Wizard Rock rules! Yep,The Chocolate Frogs played at the Gimbrone house this past weekend. Nice boys and good music. Originally, they were going to play for the teen's birthday party but the timing didn't work out. The Chocolate Frogs are two young men who play lots of different instruments - the trombone is one of them.




Being the Mom, I was, of course, banned from actually sitting in on the concert but could hear them in the other room. Great Wizard Rock and an excellent cover of the theme to "Juno" too! They gave out free CD's to the kids and autographed them. A great time!




All pictures taken by my budding photographer son and here's his self-portrait: (He's wearing the felted beanie I was working on in the last post)