flame working

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Etsy & Swirls!!!! I finally did it!

I finally did it!!!!
Several months ago I created an etsy account, with the intention of opening an etsy store, as another way to market and sell my work.  After opening the account I just kept putting off actually posting goodies to the store and making the store public.
Right now I only have 2 items there….for several reasons……
1. Every picture has to be re-sized and that for some reason is taking me FOREVER!!!
2. I have quite a bit of jewelry to post, which I need to sell, but I want to keep it all……..not sure what to do about that problem.
So stay tuned and keep checking out my etsy store, and I WILL get new stuff in there.
Another accomplishment I made this week was making a swirl on a glass bead!!!
I was over the moon!   Just because I made a few doesn’t mean I am a pro at them now either……gotta find that *perfect* part of the flame for every, single one and sometimes I mess that up.
It’s pieces of jewelry like the above photo that I can’t let go of.
I stamped “Keep Calm” on the front.  There is also a row of silver chain, czech beads, a blue glass bead of mine, a hanging fuchsia crystal and a silver toggle on the rest of the bracelet.
The inside of the bracelet says “and carry on”.
That is one of my favorite sayings, (“keep calm and carry on”) and I have to remind my self of this often…like when I am trying to put delicate swirls on glass beads!
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flower beads

Just thought I do a quick post about my new flower beads.
These are three of the best ones…..some were just complete disasters.
Not easy to find that part of the flame where you can work with the molten glass without everything turning into *mush*.
Also, had an idea for a pendant using my glass beads, discs and a silver pendant that I also made.
Well, that’s all for now……..itching to get back behind that torch!
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Easter Earrings

Happy Easter everyone!!
A few weeks back I ordered some of Jangles new beads called the “Woodland Collection”.
Ever since I got then I have been trying to figure out what to do with them.  They are sooooo amazingly cute that it has to be the perfect project.
So I was looking at the whole set today, trying to figure out what to do and the little lilac birds were just screaming “EASTER” to me, and I paired them with some white and yellow feathered glass beads I had made.
I have more ideas for the rest of the beads just need to wrap my head around the assembly part of it.
Go and check out the Jangles website and Jennifer’s blog.  She is one amazing ceramic and jewelry artist.
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A Beading Journey

For about two years now I have been “playing” with flame working.
It is something I had wanted to do for YEARS.  I got a kit for Christmas one year and was terrified to start the torch. Finally got the opportunity to go to Florida and take a class, then my husband announces that the Miami Boat Show is the same weekend.
We do dog rescue and traveling together can be complicated, so I told him if he wanted to go to the boat show he would have to go and take my flame working class, and come back and show me how to do it!
Being the wonderful husband that he is….he did it 🙂
Since then I haven’t played with it consistently until the last few months when I have gotten more involved in doing jewelry.  One thing I have realized is that mistakes make me better in flame working and it is all practice, practice, practice!!  Seems like those lessons could apply to a lot of things in life.
These pink, black and white ones are some of my faves.
I love doing dots and making feathers.
A lot of what I have learned (besides for what my husband taught me)  has come from reading books and watching dvds, but I sure could use a REAL class sometime soon to do some fancy stuff.
The disks have given me a run for my money, but I love the look of them so much that I keep trying.
I have been putting together some pendants which I will post in a few days…..need to take more pictures.
Here is a container full of a few days of playing.  Some are total disasters, and some are pretty good.  I hang onto the disasters so I can see my mistakes and my improvement.
My head is also filling with ideas for jewelry and adding some of these to mini art quilts.
The possibilities are endless 🙂