New Beads

I have been playing with shards,thin pieces of glass.I am getting pretty good at blowing my own with a Borosilicate tube.Heating the gather of glass on the end and then puffing into the other end of the tube to create a bubble of glass.Then I let it cool and,the fun part,break it! Then the pieces of thin glass are applied to the warm bead.These are my new set with Raku shards.

Eye Candy

My new set inspired by Judith Billig's demo on applying shards at the Fire and Rain Bead Retreat.I call them Caramel Praline...yum!

Bead Retreat

I'm so excited to be attending my first Fire and Rain bead retreat today! Fire and Rain is the local group chapter of the ISGB, International Society of Glass Beadmakers which promotes the ancient art of glass beadmaking through education. We will have demonstrations,classes and fun! I know I will walk away with a ton of new ideas,techniques and knowledge.
Here is the latest set in my Italian series,"Italian Plum"

New Beads

I have been feeling very inspired this past week,so here are some new beads I want to share.I love discovering all the wonders of molten glass.If you haven't voted in the Bead Star magazine contest,voting ends May 17th.You must create a user/pswd but you can unsubscribe later if you want,they do have some cool jewelry tips.Also be sure to vote for your favorites in all the categories.

Bead Star

This is the first contest I have ever seen where you can see the results of the voting before the contest is over. Well...so much for the suspense! The voting lasts until May 17th, so be sure to vote for your favorites.
http://www.beadingdaily.com/content/BeadStar2011.aspx

Bead Star Magazine

The voting has begun for the annual issue of Bead Star magazine.This magazine is comprised of all winning designs voted on by the public. I have 2 entries in the finals and so does my niece,Lisa. Mine are: Glass category, "Batik Sarong" and Heart Designs, "Heart's Desire". Lisa's are: Pearls,"Blush" and Plastics (Polymer clay) "Moulin Rouge" To vote for your favorites in each of 8 categories follow this link:

http://www.beadingdaily.com/content/BeadStar2011.aspx

New Bracelet

I found this style of beads is becoming one of my "signature" beads.I also had a few that didn't quite fit into a set,so I made this adorable bracelet.(listed in my Etsy of course!)