What says summer like fishies??

I'm so bad about designing beads ahead of the seasons for some reason. Probably because I often just make whatever the mood calls for in a particular session. I recently got some peacock stringer from Avenue Beads and decided to see what it would do in a fishie bead. And, boy, am I glad I did! The colorful stripes on the body of the bead comes from the stringer. It has that great webbing thing that it does. The coloring is even more vibrant in person.

I learned this technique from Deb Crowley a couple of years ago at Glass Stock. Sadly I was unable to attend this past year due to health issues and will miss this year as well due to a friend's wedding. Don't anyone invite me to anything next Labor Day! I am going to Glass Stock, come hell or high water! hehe!

I don't usually make them in the winter because my studio is too cold and it's much harder to keep the entire bead heated at all times. I was constantly wafting it in and out of the flame to avoid any cracking and am really pleased with what came out of the kiln today.

This fish is pretty big and took me the better part of an hour to make. It's about 2" in length. I was so excited to share it, I didn't even take it off the mandrel. You get to see it in all it's glory, bead poop and all. ;-)

Beads of Courage

Let me just say that I've only been back on the torch recently after a 3 month hiatus following spine surgery. And, living in NY and it being WINTER, we've been hit by lots of snow and cold weather....not the ideal torching weather when your studio is in the garage as mine is.

When temps hit 40 the other day I decided to turn on the space heater and brave the cold. I turned on the kiln, lit the torch, but somehow it just was not my day. The kiln fairies must have been visiting someone else that day because it sure wasn't me. So instead of forcing things I decided to work on some butterflies for Beads of Courage (BOC)

For those unfamiliar with BOC, it's an amazing program for children coping with serious illnesses. If you want to see what it's all about and some of the children it's helping, watch this recent video broadcast on CBS Sunday Morning.

They collect all sorts of beads, but 2 in particular have special meaning. Purple hearts, which indicate the end of treatment and butterfly beads, which are given to parents who have lost a child.

Now back to beads....I have never made butterflies before, but decided it was time to test my creative skills in this area. Nothing else was working that day so I thought it would be a good day to attempt some butterflies. I am fairly pleased with my 1st attempt and will be sending these off to BOC (once they're cleaned of bead poop of course) along with some orphan beads that the kids might like.

Flowers On My Mind

So I didn't get my mother's green thumb and a gardener I'll never be :-( but I'm lucky to have great natural lighting in my house or my indoor plants would die as well. ;-)

What I can do though is make GLASS flowers! And they last a lifetime without watering!

Here are 2 sets I just uploaded to my Etsy and ArtFire shops. Tell me what you think.