Patchwork Flutterby

I have been busy designing a range of Peyote & Brick Stick Butterflies - which I have cunningly named "Patchwork Flutterbys" :)

I have designed about 8 to date, so thought it was about time I stitched one up to check it works. I have sent a second pattern off to someone who kind of volunteered, but didn't actually, but she got the job anyway - you know who you are CAROL BEAD QUEEN !!! ;)

This one is the purpley one, although they are designed for you to use up all your leftover delica beads from other projects, so you can make them any colour you would like.

The antenna are made from a head pin, simply threaded through the top beads, and then I added a sparkly crystal strap, with Czech and Swarovski Crystals.

It will take a very plain top, or a low cut top to show this off to it's full advantage, it's very colourful, and funky. Great fun to make, watch out for a few more soon......

(I plan to sell the patterns eventually, but give me a nudge if your impatient ;) )

Memory Beads

You may remember that a couple of weeks ago I made some Memorium Pendants for my friend Kate, using the ashes of her beloved dog Sam.

(click on link below for more info)

http://soozintheshed.blogspot.com/2010/02/in-memory-of-sam.html

Well, this week I have made some beads, encasing those ashes between layers of glass.

They look beautiful, and glittery, and full of life, just how you would want to remember a loved one.

These were made using a deep red base and a top layer of crystal clear for shine and magnification.

What a great way to remember......

Again, thank you Kate for trusting me to do this :)

Duke Of Edinburgh Skills Training

For the past 12 weeks I have had two fab girls in for a Skills Training session for the Duke Of Edinburgh Awards. Lauren and Eleanor.

Lauren

Eleanor

No idea why the hoods were up, must be a fashion thing :)

It was a 12 week course in Beading & Jewellery making. We covered basic beading, earrings, beadweaving stitches, polymer clay bead making, wire work, tiara making and glass work, including fused pendants and glass bead making.

Our last lesson was glass bead making, and both girls took to it like ducks to water, producing some fabulous beads which they then made into bracelets for themselves.

So, I would like to thank Lauren & Eleanor for attending and being so enthusiastic, and hope that the skills they have both learnt will prove useful to them in the years to come

And here are their finished beads from last night :)

Laurens

Eleanors

In Memory Of Sam.

My friend Kate, asked me if I would do something in memoriam of her beloved dog Sam.

Of course, it would be a pleasure. so a little tub of Sam's ashes arrived in my workshop.

Never having worked with this material before, I am afraid it was a case of "suck it and see".

These are the first attempts, some glass pendants with Sam's ashes encased in glass.

The varying texture of the ashes caused some bubbles to appear which then gave the pendants a slight "snow globe" effect with the ashes being able to move about within the bubble. A really interesting result.

The pendants are now bailed and ready to string and wear. Will be trying some beads next.

Thanks Kate, for putting your trust in me to have a go.

Wine Bottle Bowl

A moment of madness overcame me I think, when I wondered if I could make a bowl out of mini wine bottles.

But SUCCESS !!

This was a many stage project:

• Stage One: Go to local Indian restaurant and chat them up very very nicely to save lots of little 'one glass' wine bottles for you.


• Stage Two: Be extra nice to partner and slip into a chatty conversation that you would be so chuffed if those bottles were to be washed and their labels removed.


• Stage Three: Get off your backside and wash the bottles, remove extra sticky labels by scrubbing with a scouring pad, then scratch remaining glue off with the back of a knife.


• Stage Four: Spend at least 3/4 of an hour balancing the bottles in the kiln, so they will flatten to make a large petalled flower.


• Stage Five: Wait impatiently all night for the kiln to do its work, then in the morning take out fused glass bottles whilst still warm, passing them hand to hand so not to burn your fingers.


• Stage Six: Wait until the kiln is cold, then prepare it for a second firing.


• Stage Seven: Find a suitable recepticle to use as a mold, a stainless steel mixing bowl did it for me, and put it upside down in the kiln, lay the fused glass on top, and prepare to wait impatiently again for a second night.


• Stage Eight: Lock yourself out of the workshop so there is no temptation to burn your fingers once again.


• Stage Nine: Take out your masterpiece, pat yourself hard on the back (put the bowl down first) and tell your visiting parents that they produced a genius. :)


• Stage Ten: Text your neighbour and ask if she has any grapes, or other fruits to use as photographic props.

So there you go, the making of a bottle bowl.

The neighbour couldn't supply fruit, so I had to used baking potatoes - they don't quite have the same beauty as a bunch of juicy grapes, but a compromise was needed. :)

Cufflinks

Do men still wear cufflinks?, none of the ones in my household do. But nevertheless I thought I might make a few pairs and see if they sell.

I thought bright & bold with a touch of loud, they are not huge so are not going to overpower a nice shirt, just add a little flash of colour.

Real glass, handmade in my own shed (maybe I should say Studio so I sound a bit posher?) with a touch of Millefiori or Dichroic, set on plated cufflink stems.

A little bit of glass.

This week I have been mainly playing with glass.

My Auntie Winnie, invited me to attend a Charity Evening, for Ladies, and take along my ready made bits and bobs.


PANIC !! I don't really have many ready made bits and bobs, so I needed to knuckle down and get some things made. Trying to cater for all purses I thought a few little glass stud earrings might be nice. I have made loads of the glass nuggets, but got bored glueing them onto the posts, so at the moment I only have 8 pairs.






I also made a few pendants, I only try and do a few at a time so I can make fresh things each time, otherwise I tend to get into a mass-production mode and make loads the same.

I know it's not much for a stall, but it's a start..........right? :)

Florence.

After finishing Raphael the Delica Bead Dragon, I decided that he needed a Girlfriend. A nice pink and purple Girlfriend, and so Florence was born. Made from tiny glass Delica Beads and lots and lots of time and love.

So why Florence you may ask?

Well, as you may know, Raphael was a famous artist, so I did a bit of Googling to find out a little about his life and find him a name for his Pink Dragon girlfriend. Apparently he had a companion called Maria. The name Maria just didn't seem to suit the lady Dragon, she just doesn't look like a Maria to me, so I searched a bit more.

Apparently Raphael travelled to Italy and spent a lot of time in Florence ;) I think that says it all :)

The happy couple.

Raphael

This was a labour of love, and I have loved every minute.

I bought this pattern at a bead fayre way back in October, it is from http://www.amuseink.com/

I never got around to doing it until a challenge was announced on the Bead Buddies Forum (Myth & Magic).

It is a flat Peyote stitch, worked in Delica beads for a wonderfully smooth flat piece of work.

The sparkly gold beads around the edge are 24k Gold Plated, quite expensive, but oh so sparkly. :)

The whole piece measures around 5x7", so you can imagine how many tiny delica beads there are in there !!

Not sure what I am going to do with it yet, I could add a beaded chain to the 'ears' and wear it, or I might just hang it from a mirror and look at it :)

Links

This piece took ages !!

I called it "Links" for reasons that might be obvious :)

I used the colours as they were part of a colour challenge on the Beading Forum Bead Buddies. Lime / Lilac / Black / White / Turquoise.

I chose seed beads deliberately in different sizes to give different thicknesses and texture to the finished piece.

I made a few tubes in Peyote stitch, which I then sewed into rings, then linked them together with other tubes, 'frillies' amd peyote strips.

The whole piece is one continuous chain which just slips over the head, very easy to wear and no clasp.

Springtime Tiara

At the moment, I am teaching Jewellery & Beadwork skills to two Duke Of Edinburgh Award students.

The course, which I devised, is for 12 weeks, and covers most of the more popular jewellery and beading techniques.

This week we made Tiaras :)

While the girls made pretty, almost bridal, pearl and crystal tiaras, I decided to plunge into my huge box of Bead Soup mix and just pull out a single bead to kick of my inspiration.

The result was a fabulous Polymer Clay Daffofil made by the very talented Elise Canning, I then dug out some complimenting beads in the same colourway and set to work :)

Just a bit of fun, hope you like it.

Beaded Butterflies

Crystal Lace Necklace Patterns - Sandra D Halpenny - I have had this book for quite a while now, but not really looked at it. but I wanted to make my Mum 'something different' for Christmas so I dug it out of the bookcase.

Since then I have been addicted to Sandra's designs, especially these butterflies. The finished piece is so eye-catching and unusual.

The first one I made was the blues, I had a bag of mixed Crystals so I picked out different colours for each wing, although the pattern had the same colour crystals. I think using the different colours seems to give it a stained glass look.

Then I made the red one. I have run out of mixed crystals now, so the next one I make will have to be colour co-ordinated :)

BBC Radio Cumbria

I was asked to provide a week of short blogs for Radio Cumbria. Five days with 150 words a day, just simply a snippet into my life.

On Sunday I went to record them in the studio in Carlisle, I have never been in a radio studio before so it was quite exciting, I managed to complete it in a couple of takes too :)

Monday found me curled up on the kitchen floor cringing in embarrassement, don't you just hate the sound of your own voice? I am sure that person who didn't finish the words off properly, and used slang, was not me !!!

In case you are interested and missed the programme, here is the blog I wrote:

Saturday
I promised myself a day of glass play, and for once I got it, which is unusual as I am usually side-tracked by work, friends, teenage children needing a taxi and various other things.
My project today was a stained glass panel, all in blues, with swirls, curves and nuggets. Designed to hang in a window to catch the sunshine for extra sparkle.
I have been glass working for a few years now, fusing, melting, cutting, painting, but Stained Glass is a new style for me, and this was just my 2nd piece.
I start by cutting the glass, then grinding it, adding copper foil to the edges, and soldering it all together. It is time consuming, but very satisfying, I just wish I had more hours in the day, or even more days in the week.

Sunday
For a while I have been planning to take photographs of Talking Tarn for inspiration to use in my glasswork. Ideally I needed the four seasons, so when the snow made an appearance this week I jumped in the car and got myself up there with my camera.
It was splendid, the Tarn was frozen, except for a little patch in the centre that the ducks were taking advantage of, and there was a layer of crisp white snow everywhere. It was difficult to see where the path ended and the iced Tarn began.
The view was monochrome, breathtaking and so so still. It was almost disappointing to turn around and see the coloured covers of the docked sailing boats on the shore.
On leaving the car park the sky exploded into an amazing hue of oranges and red, the sun was setting and the sky was on fire.

Monday
Work - - - always busy on a Monday. When you are self-employed, and your business premises is attached to your home, it takes a lot of self-control not to nip out and catch up on the emails. Instead I torture myself by watching them mount up , I try not allow myself to switch on the computer but I just can’t help checking from my mobile phone.
Technology, a must for an online business like mine, but sometimes I despise being tied to the computer, it is like a ball and chain. It gives me a tiny snippet of information, bait, and then it reels me in. The long walk in the Lakes, the phoning and meeting up with friends, the gardening – it all gets forgotten when the computer calls.
In 2010 I vow to spend less time with the computer and gain some real life back.

Tuesday
Snow, why does it arouse such excitement I wonder. It’s cold, damp, slippy, and you never can tell just what is underneath the big handful you have just scooped up ready to form into a missile. Yes, even at 41 I still get the urge to throw a snowball, although these days I only throw one and remember how long it used to take to thaw out frozen fingers.
I also remember sitting in school with my coat on, shivering. The classroom door would be left open as one teacher supervised three or four classes as the other teachers had not made it in. I can never remember school being closed, or being sent home.
Today I am the proud owner of a large igloo type building in my back garden, built by my 19 yr old son, see? You’re never too old for snow.

Wednesday
Knitting is back in trend, lots of people I know have picked up the knitting needles again, myself included.
How soon you forget though, the sore fingers from pushing the knitting needle through. I believe this is why there are two rows in regular knitting – knit row and a purl row. The knit row hurts your index finger, which you allow to recover while you do the purl row which hurts your thumb. Or perhaps I am doing it wrong.
I decided on a baggy cardi, I started with the back panel, as this is usually the bit I get bored with and leave unfinished to re-discover years later. I have an added push this time though, a friend stated that I would never complete it, she knows me too well, but my competitive nature has taken this as an insult, and so the challenge is set.

Stained Glass Wall Hanging

Following on from my Stained Glass course with Mo Wallis way back in November, I came home and ordered all the equipment and gadgets that I needed to have a go myself.

Until this week it has sat in a box unpacked, but I decided I should really have a go while I can still recall what to do.

A wall hanging, I decided.

I love waves and circles as opposed to straight lines and right angles, so I drew a random pattern on a piece of paper, blobs and rounds, and curves.

To add texture to the piece I decided to fuse some glass to make nuggets, this would make the finished hanging a little more 3D I thought. Then I cut glass, grinded (ground?) the edges and got showered in millions of glass splinters. On trying to pull one out of my hair I managed to cut a chunk of hair out !! A bandana is needed next time I think, or perhaps a baseball cap.

I still need to work hard practising my soldering skills, it's all a little too rough for my liking, but hopefully it will improve with time.

This piece is just slightly smaller than A4, and I think I will gift it to my Godparents, who I am visiting tonight after too many years of not being in touch.

Fused Glass Cufflinks

My first attempt at cufflinks, for the men in my life :)

I might need to work on some more masculine colours, but other than that I am quite pleased with them :) Although one pair does look a little like eyeballs !!!

Maybe I shall try some stripey ones next, or does anyone have any other suggestions?