Lovin' these Silver Lined Beads!

These are really addictive! I'm doing them by hand with dapping tools and a chasing hammer and I'm thinking about selling my bead liner tool since I have better luck doing it by hand.

Scenes from a Small Town Independence Day Parade

It all starts with people getting ready along the parade route.











It's coming!

Honoring those who've helped preserve our nation's freedom.




And every parade needs kids and tractors!











And horses too!

And the fire truck brings up the rear.











Happy Independence Day!

I Finally Did It!!

I've been trying to add a silver core to my lampwork beads and it's been a frustrating process, resulting in cracked or broken beads, collapsed sterling silver tube, and more than a few creative combinations of swear words. I finally gave up trying to do it with my bead liner tool and figured silver coring wasn't going to happen.

Then a fellow lampworker posted a tutorial on the Lampwork Etc. forum and armed with a dapping set from Harbor Freight tools, I gave it another go. Done entirely by hand with the dapping punches and a chasing hammer, this was the first bead I've ever cored without cracking or breaking the bead. It still needs polishing and the picture isn't the best but hey, it's a totally usable, uncracked silver cored bead! Yep, I'll be doing that again!!

Summer's Here!

Summer has arrived here in the Pacific Northwest with temperatures in the upper 90's and no breeze. It's hot. Some watermelon would be just the ticket to cool down.

I listed these beads in my Etsy shop this week. They were alot of fun to make - using two shades of green wound together to make the "rind." I used Bullseye glass for these since they have such great pink colors and I've got so many more colors of Bulleye than the other types of glass. Hmmmm - that just means I need to buy more of the other types of glass!!

But What KIND of Bird is It?

We've seen this bird and some of his friends at our feeder for a few weeks but we couldn't figure out what kind of bird it was. Slightly larger than a sparrow with Oriole or Meadowlark coloring, but a thicker beak. We finally snapped a picture of him and went page-by-page through our bird book until we found out what he is - a Black-headed Grosbeak. He eats heartily but he's pretty and brings his friends so we'll keep setting the table for him!

New Etsy Listings!

I finally got some time to take and edit photos for my new listings on Etsy. The first is a bracelet featuring some swirly lentils in turquoise and ivory, along with a lampwork conch shell and a unique mermaid toggle clasp. I love this bracelet and need to remember to make another one for myself!



And here's another lampwork conch shell. This one's made with a Bullseye oddlot glass that I got when I took my class in Chinook, Washington. Called "Agate," this glass has swirls of coral and ivory and makes beautiful shell beads.


I finally photographed these silver-blue lentils and listed them. I love this glass but find it frustrating to work with. Sometimes I get color and sometimes I burn the crap out of it in my effort to get color! These turned out nicely though and will make a nice addition to a bracelet or necklace.


I'm hoping to get some torch time tomorrow to make some more fish and shells. I think I'll try some starfish too.

I took a fun lampworking class with Judy Carlson of Jujee Beads and learned to make fish, shells and starfish. Here's some of the fish that I've done recently:

One of my biggest problems is keeping the fins or eyes from breaking. It's a bit of a struggle to keep the whole fish warm while working on just one side of him, but I'm slowly learning. Guess who's hooked on fish beads now?!