Beads By Bree

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T23:32:00.001+11:00

2010-12-24T17:09:00.003+11:00

Hope everyone has a great Christmas with their friends and family and have a very safe and happy New Year! Hope Santa is good to you!

Ho hum...

2010-12-03T00:19:00.000+11:00

I haven't done much of my fusing lately...I really got into it for a little bit there but the weather has been rather miserable lately and I've been away on holidays.

I promise I will get back into it over the Chrissy/New Year period.

Back from the dead!

2010-10-18T18:16:00.003+11:00

Well I know I haven't posted much on here recently but I have been caught up with other things, as life does. But I have some good news! I have started fusing again! YIPPEE! I haven't done any over winter because my microwave and all my glass is outside and well the cold isn't that inviting, now is it? So now that the weather has been warming up I have been out fusing up a storm.

I have just started out with fusing some left over bits and pieces which have turned out really good but I need to find the frits which I tested for Anne, I have NO idea where I have put them lol

So once I get some time I will hopefully upload some piccies of pieces I have made.

Slackened off...

2010-06-22T20:51:00.002+10:00

I must say that I have been very slack with my updates lately. I have been really busy with work and studying and now making a little business out of my hair accessories!!! I haven't totally abandoned my cabs but I have SO many I don't know what to do with them all. I can't bead around all of them as I don't have that much time and I only have a couple I can glue onto jewellery findings.

Anywho just wanted to touch base and say that I am still alive!

52 Creations - Week 20

2010-06-05T22:25:00.004+10:00

Well I have been a very busy bee this week...

First of all I have done lots of frit testing for Anne Dundas. Here are some of results.
Then I have also started getting more into my hair clip fetish that I have aquired. I do love the litle clippy bows, I think they are just too cute!! I am still working on the korkers, haven't made one I am 100% happy with. Although I am already getting orders from friends and beading ladies which is pretty exciting. Also thought I can make little cabs and use them to decorate :)

52 Creations - Week 19

2010-05-29T09:56:00.005+10:00

Well I have quite a bit to update...

First of all my creations for this week aren't going to be glass related, or even jewellery related. I have been looking at making girls hair accessories for some times, even incorporating my cabs into it somehow. Anyways yesterday I tried making some korkers! I did only buy some cheap ribbon from a dollar shop to test it out on and while the ribbon isn't 100% good quality I still think they turned out alright.

This one is the first one I made with purple, blue and white ribbon. The white ribbon was a better quality. Now you're meant to have the curls all the same length bt the blue ones were a little bit longer as their curls weren't made as tight as the others and I was still counting '5 curls' long. I don't think it looks too bad but the longer curls don't work really well...

This one is better, made with purple, pink and white ribbon. There is def more pink though as I used plain pink and spotted pink ribbon in this korker. All of the curls are basically the same length...however it sits rather flat instead of puffy and bouncy. So now I have come to the conclusion that my lengths are too long. Instead of counting curls I think I will go for lengths that are about 6cm. The ones in this korker are almost 9cm long. Also the cheaper ribbon going quite floppy so I think that adds to the curls falling flat too.

I have been testing frit blends for one of the lampworking ladies on the ABF so I do have some cabs made which need to be touched up because of the STUPID fire paper being a b*tch again. However the weather is shit today and most likely tomorrow so I will have to wait to get some piccies of them.

Lastly it is my nans 88th birthday today!!! She opened all of her pressies this morning and we have to pop down to the local soon to grab her a yummy cake. This is a pic taken last night when we went out for dinner.

Kreativ Blogger Award!

2010-05-24T20:00:00.004+10:00

Well I have got another blog award from one of my lovely beady friends Karyn at Releases by Rufydoof. Thank you so much!!!

Along with all blog awards there are rules to accepting them:

1. Post the award on my blog.

2. Thank the person who gave it to me.

3. Link to the person who gave this to me.

4. Share a list of 7 things that you probably don't know about me.

5. Choose 7 great bloggers to give the award to.

6. Share a link to their blogs.

7. Leave a comment on their blog.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

7 things you probably didn't know about me

1. My fave author would be Marian Keyes. Love her style of writting and her books keep me so interested which is a big task!

2. Salt and Vinegar chips are my weakness. I am actually eating some right now!

3. I used to worship the Spice Girls. I still they are pretty funky but when everyone was going crazy over Hanson, I was spiceing it up!

4. The walls in my bedroom are pink!

5. I like to admire the nice bags in the bag shop next door to work but I have only ever bought a bag once.

6. I don't eat as many veggies as I should. Although I love my potato!

7. I love getting kitty cuddle at night when Tobi sleeps on my bed and gets nice and cozy.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

So my 7 Kreative bloggers which I have chosen to give this award to are *drum roll*

Rosebud at For the love of beads.
Another glassy person, love looking at what she creates.

Nikki at You Sew Girl
I hope to get into bag creating one day but in the mean time I like to keep up with what Nikki comes up with.

Sue at Diva Jools
Love her flea market finds.

KJ at Silver Parrot
bead porn...need I say more.

Nat at Beadmonki Lampwork
She comes up with some great creations and amazing murrini.

Caroline at Caroline Fung
You need to check out some of her work. It looks AMAZING in real life.

Max at Glass by Girlfriday
Geishas, Ninjas and a little bit of Carmen Miranda.

52 Creations - Week 17 and 18

2010-05-22T19:37:00.003+10:00

Well I am doing a little bit of a catch up this week. I haven't uploaded any new stuff for about two weeks so I am doing week 17 and week 18 in one post.

First of all my offerings for week 17. These are two cabs, one made from a scrap piece of Nats glass (bottom left) and the other in one of my new-ish frits on some black glass. Love how bright the colours have come out.

This is week 18! It's not cabs but some jewellery. I saw a pattern in one of the latest beading mags and thought it would look pretty with some of the beads that I had. Well......my bracelets aren't really anything like the pattern but I think they still look great!! The first one with the blue and black crystals is my own bracelet and the second one with the purple and black crystals is for my mum.

Close up of the pattern of the black and blue crystals.

Close up of the pattern of the purple and black crystals.

Today I went to some markets in the city at Glebe which weren't too bad but nothing overly special. Went to go to the ones at Paddington as well but holey moley we couldn't get a parking spot within a decent walking distance. So we ended up heading out to the I Love You Beads shop. I had never been there before and we got a little lost on the way but thanks to the helpfullness of my lovely boyfriend, he looked it up at home and told us where to go. I....LOVE...THAT....SHOP!!! Didn't plan on buying as much as we did but everything was soooo so so so cheap I couldn't resist. Hopefully it'll get me back into making some jewellery again. It's sooo relaxing! So I've had a very busy day and then we're off to a friends place tomorrow for a BBQ and to watch the footy because my team plays over in New Zealand this week. Another busy busy weekend and I wonder where my time goes....

52 Creations - Week 16

2010-05-09T20:08:00.005+10:00

Well it is late on Sunday night but I am getting up my creations on time this week. I do have another cab made but it is still in the kiln and prob won't get a pic taken until next weeks lot of photos.

First cabs for this week are something I have been meaning to do for a couple of weeks now. I found some rod glass which looked more maroon coloured than the other browny ones I had so I thought it would work alright when making these cabs...however it has seemed to turn a bit of a browny colour when it got fired. Never mind. These are for a friend who follows the broncos and their colours are maroon and gold. The yellow glass kinda slipped on one and I tried to push it back abit while it was firing but didn't work.

Then I have this cab which has been laying around for a week or two now and I had NO idea what I wanted to do with it. It was made from a purple/plum sort of colour with a darker purple/plum colour stripe through the middle.

And this is what I got!! It didn't quite come out how I had imagined however I really didn't know what to expect so here we are. Sort of a spider webby effect.

Being held up infront of the sun.

Generally being held up to the sky. Looks pretty funky here.

Then this is a close up of the pattern on the glass. Thinking that a beaded cab might be the use for this one with a white backing so you can see the patterns.

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T10:25:00.002+10:00

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mums (or moms) out there! Hope you have a great day whatever you are doing.

Will hopefully have my creations up during the day sometime today if I get time.

52 Creations - Week 15

2010-05-02T01:18:00.003+10:00

These are my lovelies for this week! The larger pink one is going to be turned into a ring for myself once it is annealed. The top blue one is a tester of my new adventurine glass, which I lurrrve! I am going to fuse it again with some black glass underneath as there is a clear gap on one side. The other top one is just another "rocky" frit cab and then a little scrap piece turned into a cab on the bottom right. The bottom left cab turned out a little different to what I expected, however I think it looks amazing and now I know what I can use this certain type of glass leftovers that Nat gave me. There is a close up below of this cab where you can see a hint of purple which has come out from the back of the glass that was used ontop.

This is a close up of the glitter cab. I am inlove with this glass and it looked just amazing in the sunlight. I also have some green glass like this which I will have to test out!

Also I got the pen I need to sign my glass!! I went into the local art shop and asked about the pens and she pulled out a heap of them from behind the desk. I asked for silver but no metallics, then I asked for white but she had clear....so I had to settle for pink! Since a lot of my cabs are black based I thought the pink would be the best bet to test out and then I can always go and get a black pen as well to use on other cabs. So this is another little experiment for me to try out over the next couple of weeks. Yippee!!

But now I better go to bed because it is 1:30am and I need to get my sleep!!

Making my mark....

2010-04-30T19:41:00.004+10:00

Over the past month or so I been thinking about how I could leave my mark on my work. Nat gave me some funky "B" Murrini which she had made for another project but they are just a little awkward to put on some of my cabs, especially if I don't want to fuse them again. Although I have come up with another idea for them, muhaha.

Anywho, back on track I have been testing out my engraving bit with my dremel and I just don't seem to have great control so whatever I end up writting turns out to look like a mess. Just scribble really. So I have been thinking about using a pen which won't rub off glass. I have no idea where I could get one but one of my other pieces has a signature on the back so I know there has to be at least one around somewhere.

Now the question what do I sign? My name is too long and I can't fit my Beads By Bree on the back of my cabs..well I could it would just take up a lot of space. So then I have been thinking about something which is simple and something that I would recognise. I have come up with a simple star and a "B". Nothing overly special, I just like stars and my name starts with a B.

Since making the decision to do that I have quickly made up a little sig which I can use at the end of each of my posts. It looks quite messy as it was drawn freehand with my mouse but I figured that is how it's going to look on the back of my cabs anyway so why not!?!

In other news I do have some piccies of my cabs from this week however I will probably edit them and all that jazz when I am over my boyfriends place tomorrow. Then I'll post them up here for all of you lovelies to see!

Until next time...

Where does the time go??

2010-04-26T21:10:00.002+10:00

Lately I have found it hard to find time to do anything quite crafty or glassy. I did have a little play the other day but I still barely got anything done. I have lots of ideas in my head but then when I put it all together it just doesn't seem to turn out that great. Then when I do get the time to have a sit down and work on some stuff I always have other things to do which come first.

I have made another cab with my 'rocky' frit so that isn't overly exciting even though I do love that frit I made as it works so effectively. It was meant to turn out to be something else but the glass ended having some yellow on it so I had to cover it in frit. Never mind....

At the moment I have a light pink base with a little bit of pink frit scattered on top in the micro kiln. I haven't looked at it since I fused the pink frit so I hope it looks alright. I do have a plan for it to become a ring IF it works out to what I have in my head. I'm hoping to add some little 'bumps' in some sort of pattern to finish it all off. I have been making some of my 'bump' decorations from Nat's murrini which works perfectly as I still get really awesome effects from the patterns on the murrini and they are also a good size for making the bumps. Lets hope everything goes to plan! Fingers crossed!

52 Creations - Week14 & Finished WIP

2010-04-16T00:06:00.002+10:00

Well I have finally got around to uploading my pics for last weeks 52 creations. I seem to be falling behind a little bit lately. Anywho these two cabs are experiments of some new frit that I got. I am inlove with the blue/purple/green one. I think I'll test it out on some blue or green glass next. Maybe even the pale purple would work really well??

I have also got around to finally 'finishing' off my first beaded cab necklace. I'm not sure if I am 100% happy with the finished outcome but I guess it looks alright. I do have to tidy up those little ribbon tabs which you can see where the ribbon is attached to the beaded piece. Not sure how I will do that exactly, possibly either wrapping it around and glueing or sewing it around somehow. I'll figure something out.

I thought I would take a photo with it on as well so I can see how it sits on my neck. It was actually really comfy and a really good weight, not too heavy but enough to sit in place. I did do it up quite high in this pic but I could imagine wearing it a little looser if I have a V neck shirt or something on. It's not tooooo bad for my first attempt....but...yeaaahhh. Practise makes perfect I suppose!

I am hoping to make some more rings too. I've got some more ring bases now so I'm gonna go through my cabs and see what looks good enough for a ring. I have a couple of cabs which aren't annealed yet which I wanna make into rings as well. Excitement!

What I've been up to...

2010-04-11T17:21:00.002+10:00

Well I have kinda slackened off with my blogging lately as I have seemed too tired or just too busy to really sit down and type anything. Well here I am sitting down on a lazy sunday afternoon and thought...hey why not post something!

I don't have any pics of my Week 14 creations yet as I have been a little bit slack in that department but I may get time tomorrow even though I have two appointments I have to get to and family coming over.

On Friday I went to the Sydney Royal Easter Show. For those of you who aren't familiar with it basically it is a show where the 'city folk' get an insight into the country life. A lot of the show revolves around wood chopping contests, baby animals nurseries and animal shows and basically just country life. There is also showbags, pavillions with heaps of stalls and a carnival there too. Anywho in one of the pavillions (fashion and style) I stumbled across this really funky vintage designer called Arthur Ave. Of course I just had to buy something from her and luckily it was the last one of that top so it was a good score :D Just gave her a google and she has a website so you guys can check it out too Arthur Ave. The top that I bought isn't on her website but you can look at some of the cute cute cuuutteee baby/toddler clothes that she makes. I found out that she is at The Rocks markets on the weekends so I might just have to pop back over there in the near future and check out some more of her designer goodness.

Will promise to have some piccies up soon of some new cabs that I have made. I have been making little glass embellishment pieces so that I can do some stuff that I have been wanting to test out for a while now so might get to see some more elaborate pieces soon.

52 Creations - Week 13

2010-04-05T10:27:00.004+10:00

Well this week I don't have the usual glass or even jewellery to show for my creation. What I do have is this brooch/decoration felt and lace flower. I saw some similar on a hairclip website when I was browsing through for ideas...well I thought it was similar. I only finished this yesterday and just took a look at the inspiration photo and they are quite...yes yes quite different lol! I still like the original flower design as it is a bit more delicate but I still like mine as well.

I think it suits my grey beanie well!! Plus it didn't really cost me that much and I still have enough felt left over for another one if I want to try it with a softer lace. I bought the lace from Lifeline and it was like a placemat thingo so I still have about 7 or 8 flower shapes left on that too.

Happy Easter!!

2010-04-04T17:19:00.002+10:00

Hope everyone has a safe and happy Easter. I have already easten too much chocolate and made myself sick. Not sure if I can stomach dinner.....

52 Creations - Week 12

2010-03-27T17:35:00.003+11:00

It seems I have been quite busy this week making some cabs. I didn't think I had done as many as this but oh well, I'm not complaining! Got to test out two new frits, Mood Swing and Fairy Dust which I received from GirlFriday (Thank You!). Also had a play with some bits and pieces I had received from Nat (BeadMonki). So here is my Week 12 offerings!

Also recently I have been looking into making hair accessories for little girls (or big girls). Along the way I came across some tutorials for making hairclip holders which I thought were great! What little girl doesn't need more room for her hair pretties! One of our friends little girls is 5 next week so I thought I would make her one of these hair clip holder things.

Well here is my first attempt. Her name is Taylor so I thought a cute little "T" would be a nice touch, was good to get my paints out again to make it white. Then I found some cute little butterflies in the scrapbooking section of a cheap shop and they were perrrfect since she LUUURRVVVESS butterflies. Plus I'm pretty sure her two favourite colours are pink and purple....soooo....I think I am pretty safe with this :)

Little purple butterfly in the corner of the hairclip holder.

White 'T' with a pink butterfly. Just adds that personal touch.

I had to get my mum to help me with the stapling of the material and ribbons but I don't think it turned out too bad for my first attempt. Lets hope Taylor likes it!

A couple of things to share! Week 11 - 52Creations

2010-03-18T20:17:00.005+11:00

Well I have recently made a couple of sales...yippeee!! I am excited about that and more excited about the fact that people actually like my stuff. It's very humbling. I am up to 71 fans on my Facebook group *blushes* I am very lucky!

Anywho...I recently bought some ring bases and have made two rings so far from my cab collection. I have worn one of my rings two days in a row I love it so much!! It is so light yet till big enough to make a bit of a statement plus I wanted to test run the ring bases and see how they go. I haven't made a large cab into a ring yet.....I said....yet.

However on the thought of me being very lucky...Nat (Beadmonki) who anneals all of my cabs for me has given me another whole big bunch of glass which I will upcycle in my cab making. Along with that she also gave me some dichoric frit (cool!!) and some dichroic chatons (ultra cool!!). I can't wait to give these chatons a go! I have a black cab cooling in the kiln so I will hopefully get time to test them out tomorrow sometime!

This is how small they are compared to my hand and I don't have overly big hands lol

Then I thought I would test out a funky looking piece of glass. It wasn't EXACTLY this piece but looked very similar.

And this is how it turned out! Looking good I reckon :)

and now...I am done! Think I might make my rings and this cab my Week 11 in my 52 Creations!

Website Updated

2010-03-15T14:10:00.002+11:00

Well I have finally got around to taking some piccies and listing them on my website! A total of 19 new cabs!!! took me a while to remember how to put them on my site lol

Anyways check it out and tell your friends! http://beadsbybree.yolasite.com/

I bought some ring blanks the other day so I am hoping to make up some soon and have them as examples on my site.

52 Creations - Week 9 & 10

2010-03-03T18:01:00.003+11:00

Well I am a little bit behind and ahead of myself this week....does that make sense? I am posting up some of my cabs from last week and advance posting my week 10 entries. Not sure if I will get anymore made before I drop them off to be annealed on Saturday so I thought I would post them all up together.

I am pretty impressed with the raku cab in the bottom picture. I had to re-fuse it which still left some marks on the cab anyway so it'll only be able to be used in beading or in a setting. But after the re-fuse it had actually activated the raku effect and I got this cool blue/green outline. LOVE IT!! Will def be trying this again now I know how to do it.

Also the cab in the bottom pic is my other one from the other week which I added some more frit to, looks much better me finks!

Blergh...

2010-03-01T20:35:00.001+11:00

The past couple of days there has been no sunlight to get any good photos. Will promise to have them up sometime this week....hopefully!

Sydney girls bead meet

2010-02-28T22:48:00.003+11:00

Yesterday a couple of chicks from the Australian Beading Forum who are from Sydney and surrounding areas got together for some lunch. Unfortunately I only got to stay for a couple of hours but it was enough time to learn, oogle and eat! I actually hope I will be able to make it to the next meet as well because I had such a good time. We were quite lucky that we have a mixture of techniques throughout the group so I got to look at some lovely lampwork beads, amazing seed beading, bead embroidery and lovely wire work. Anyways here are a couple of pics from the day.

This last pic is of the lovely Neva (ABF 'Nifty') who hosted the lunch/meet at her place. She was very organised and everything went smoothly.

I couldn't wait...

2010-02-26T17:48:00.003+11:00

I had to post a pic of this funky little cab. I was really weary when fusing it as last time I used some of these little round glass things it didn't turn out the best. However! I love the way this cab has come out, totally abstract and interesting.

You can see how thr back looks a bit frosted? Well one of the pieces I used actually had a bit of a mark on the back afterwards so I just grinded the back a little bit to make them all look alike. I think it looks alright, something different.

You can see in the next two pics where the cab actually looks like it's divided into four different sections. It just seems to be the way that the round glass pieces have fused to the blue glass.

Then I tried to get a close up pic of these little squiggly bits which were in the centre of the circles. You can see one really well defined in the pic below on the right hand side.

Def something to think about and possibly try again....hhhmmm

The little things....

2010-02-25T22:46:00.003+11:00

The last two days at work have been killers for me, mainly because I am coming down with a cold and have been crazy tired. My back has been really bad the last couple of days, feels like someone has screwed a metal plate to the middle of my back because I can't move it properly. But thats life!

However both yesterday night and tonight when I was driving home there were some rays of sunshine beaming out of some clouds. I dunno why but it made me feel happier and I guess relaxed. Would have been a good kodak moment. But since I didn't have a camera on hand I thought I would search the net for something similar.

Was very similar to this but without the water. Aaaahhh the wonders of nature.

52 Creations - Week 8

2010-02-22T19:58:00.001+11:00

I was determined to be on time with my photos this week so I haven't been able to do the finishing touches. All of these cabs need re-fusing once I have grinded some of the marks away. However you can get the jiist of it anyway. I think I will be adding some more frit to the one on the left hand side when I put it back in the kiln, it's not colourful enough for me.

Lil bit of sunshine

2010-02-21T22:20:00.003+11:00

I have been so slack with this. On Friday one of my lovely beady ladies Margie from Marlier Designs gave me the sunshine award! Thanks Margie!!

These are the rules:

The rules for accepting the Sunshine Award are:

- Put the logo on your blog or within your post.

- Pass the award onto six bloggers

- Link the nominees within your post.

- Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

- Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

Here are some of my favourite bloggers which I have passed the sunshine award onto...

Nat from Beadmonki Lampwork
Maxine from Glass By Girlfriday
Sally from Happily Ever Artist
Karyn from Releases by Rufydoof
Julz from Meanderings By Julz
Nikki from You SEW Girl

WIP Progress - Beaded Cab

2010-02-20T12:19:00.005+11:00

Well I know I only started the cab yesterday but I have been wanting to have more of a play with my beads since!! So I have finished the cab except for the edging and the bail. I must say that as I was building the beads up this morning I was getting worried that it's too chunky and I don't like it. But my the time I had finished and randomly played around with some ideas in my head, I really LOVE this cab.

After doing the first two rows of backstitch I decided that I would try stepping up with peyote (I think??). Well I don't know if I have done it right or not but this is how it turned out. I think I should have stepped up one more with the smaller seed beads and it would have been more obviously. But I like it the way it is.

Here is my cab after going up one row with the bigger beads.

Here is my cab after adding the smaller beads between the larger ones. This is probably where I should have gone up another step with the smaller beads but I liked it like this! Looks nice and snug. You can still see a little bit of the clear through the sides if you look hard enough but generally I got it covered pretty good.

Then I umm'ed and ahhh'ed about adding another row of backstitch around the edge and which colour to add. I was going to use the clear black lined seedies which are in the previous post but I think the black look better.

Told ya the back would start to get messier as I kept going. The outside stitches are my black row of seed beads.

Then I was mucking around with my bigger beads trying to to add 'something' different to the cab. I tried them up the top but they wouldn't sit properly so I was going to add a bunch down the bottom to compliment the fringe I wanted to do. But I ended up with this! I really love it and it is something I would def wear now. I don't think I'll be adding the fringe. It's not quite in the centre of the cab but does that really matter?? I am anal about those things but I have left this one for some reason.

Just a little close up of the beads down the bottom. I used some of my older seed beads I found and some glass black pearls.

Will add more pics once it is all finished. It's going to be tricky doing the edging around this little chunky bit. Wish me luck!!

WIP - Beaded Cab

2010-02-19T19:53:00.005+11:00

Well some time ago I found these old seed beads which I would have got when I was about 10 years old?? I had a black cab which was a bit of a reject as it didn't turn out like I wanted so thought I would bead around it with these seed beads I found!

Here is my new embroidery scissors (yay!) and my glued on beaded cab. I have draw a black line with a texta so that you can't notice the white LSS under the beads.

Here is some of my seed beads which I have found, I still have about half a bag to sort into colours. In this pic I have circled which beads I'll be using in the beading in yellow and I have used red to circle which ones I MIGHT use if I add some bits and pieces onto the cab. If I am feeling game enough....

After one round of pink beads. You can see that the cab does have some see through gaps so I am going to have to bead as much as I can to cover these. Although I keep forgetting they are there and go "oh yeh I have to keep going to cover that".

Doesn't look much different does it?? This is with the second row of beads ontop of the others. If the beads were a different colour or smaller size then you would notice more of a difference.

Ah Ha! The second row shows its head. Looks like I have one wonky bead there but I am quite proud of myself! I can't get over how neat these beads are sitting.

Then this is the back of my beaded cab after two rows. Not too shabby if I do say so myself! This will get a lot messier by the time that I am finished.

Make Over

2010-02-18T17:57:00.000+11:00

OK well my new design on my blog has never really sat right with me. While I was happy with how it looked I still wanted something.......more! So I'm going to be working on re-designing it over the next couple of days. If you pop in for a read and it looks all weird just letting you know why!

On anothe note, I just made a cab and for some reason looks like it has a crack in it! :( Oh well, I'll have to wait and see when I get it out of the kiln.

Artist Profile - Carolyn Burns

2010-02-16T22:37:00.009+11:00

Welcome everyone to my first installment of my Artist Profile. My numero uno will be lucky Carolyn Burns. So get yourself into a comfy chair, grab your favourite drink and get to know Lyn!

NAME: Carolyn (Lyn) Burns

LOCATION: Ingleburn NSW

To start with tell us a little bit about yourself.
I am a 26 year old Jewellery Artist. I run a home based computer business with my husband as well as being a full-time “beader”. I have had tutorials published in Australian Beading magazine and I teach a small group of ladies basic beading techniques.

How did you first get interested in beading/jewellery making?
I started making jewellery as a hobby in 2004. I started off with a basic’s kit that I bought online. I had no idea at the time what to do with anything. I made a basic pair of earrings which consisted of 3 plastic pearls on a head pin and a small elastic bracelet with the remaining plastic pearls. Over time and a lot of internet research I found out about different styles of beading and techniques. I have experienced many mediums in beading and jewellery making such as making my own polymer clay beads to Lampworking. I honestly never felt at home with wirework, but admire those who can! I thankfully have found my calling with seed beads.

Where do you gain your inspiration from? E.g. Trial & Error, Books etc.
My inspiration has always been colour, when designing a new piece I get out my sketch book and draw what first came into my mind. I find colour palettes for that subject. I like to research topics to gain as much insight as I can. I often find that the piece I end up with is nothing to what I had scribbled down earlier. I once made a pair of earrings (Gold chain & findings with green cat’s eye and topaz Swarovski’s) after seeing a cup of two minute noodles with added peas and corn, I like to challenge myself with competitions entries as well. There is definitely an abundance of trial and error in my work, I have a giant UFO box on my desk of piece that just didn’t turn out as I had envisioned. I also read constantly, I have approximately 200 (give or take a few) books, on bead weaving, stringing and the odd one or two of lampwork and polymer clay techniques. I also keep up to date with trends via fashion websites and have plenty of beading magazines on the shelves. I also use a colour website and concoct my own palettes and use various palettes other user’s have made as well and interpret that into my designs.

What type of beads or materials do you use in your designs or like to work with?
I have been hooked on seed beads for a while now, when I first started to bead I vowed to myself that I would never work with seed’s as they are way too small. Now my theory is the small the better, I prefer to make shapes and focal beads with seed beads. I try to incorporate seed beads into most of my work. I am also a hoarder when it comes to Swarovski! I have quite a score of factory packs to fiddle with on hand. Swarovski colours are just astonishing. I look forward to their new releases every season!

Do you tend to stick to a general theme with your designs?
I’m really into a romantic theme at the moment. Romantic and vintage pieces will be a big theme for me this season. Most of my designs have been very intricate but, I also believe in simplicity of designs sometimes more often than not, less is better.

What techniques do you use in your jewellery/bead making?
I do a lot of bead weaving/stitching. Peyote is one of my all time favourite stitches and almost always start to use this stitch first when trying new things.

Do you plan your pieces before constructing them or are they made as you go? On average how long would it take you to make a piece of jewellery or bead?
I plan and research. It can take days or even weeks to create a piece. The design process for me is long, but I want the end result to speak to the wearer. The piece has to have its own story or memory to me. After all is it wearable art!

What do you find to be the greatest and most fulfilling about your jewellery/bead making and designing?
Beading is the ultimate in relaxation. There is nothing more satisfying then sitting on my back deck or in my garden and beading or sorting beads. I can spend hours just looking at colour combinations. I am extremely passionate about beading and I find it fulfilling to learn new stitches and gathering inspirations whether it be photos of flowers or even everyday items.

Where can your pieces be seen or purchased?
On my website at www.beadsontherun.com

Finally do you have any advice or tips for those who are starting out in bead/jewellery making?
Don’t think your pieces are never good enough to show, always be proud of the piece you have created. We all have to start out somewhere and beading takes patience!

I would like to thank Lyn for participating in my first Artist Profile!

And the first artist to profile is....

2010-02-15T13:01:00.002+11:00

This morning I drew my 'name out of a hat' for my first Artist to Profile on my blog. I couldn't find a "hat" on hand so I had to use my beanie.

And the first person will be....*dum dum dum*..........

I will be emailing Lyn the profile questions soon and will upload her profile once everything is done and dusted :)

52 Creations - Week 7

2010-02-15T12:52:00.005+11:00

Finally got some nice sunny weather today so I got to take a semi-decent pic of this weeks creations.

One of my experiments which needs to be experimented again is my little alien dude. I kind of fused his eye down a little too far but lucky it still has some depth to it even thought it is barely raised. He also has some incredibly red lips! Either way I still think he is kinda cute!

Also the red/purple one is from the accident the other day. It didn't turn out too bad in the end and no doubt I can work with it somehow. Oh also in the green one I found that the fit must have some of that glitter glass in it as this one has some little glitter sparkles which I put it in the sun. I'll have to check out the other one that I made and see if it has it as well. Adds something a little special to the cab. Might have to look into getting some of it in sheet form.

On a good/bad note. I got my study materials the other day so I am going to have to slow down the cab making for a little while. Depends on how quickly I get stuff done and how much "relax" time I allow myself. I should be able to get one or two things made each week though. Force myself to relax and chill.

Hope you all had a great Valentines Day and Chinese New Year! Here is a pic of my boyfriends present which I decorated with ribbons and little hearts.

A few tweeks

2010-02-13T23:31:00.009+11:00

Just popping in. If you notice that my blog looks a little bit brighter, it should! I have changed some of the font colours around so that they aren't as hard to read. I have had a couple of my readers say that they found the darker pink hard to read so now it is a brighter pink!

Anyways I did take some photos late tonight of my cabs for this week but the photos have come out terrible! I was going to post them but figured they aren't even worth posting so I'll try and get some better photos tomorrow morning or Monday morning.

However last night I did go out to the Chinese New Year markets and also The Rocks markets and took a couple of photos. Nothing too spectacular. It had rained heavily while we were having dinner at The Rocks so I thought a pic of the cars coming up the wet road looked effective.

Chinese Markets at Belmore Park

Stall selling Chinese New Year decorations

The Rocks
Dodgy picture of the Opera House through the trees
The Rocks
Water Fountain at Darling Harbour

Oh Noooo!

2010-02-11T19:16:00.002+11:00

Well today before I went to work I decided to give the finishing touches to a couple of cabs that I had made but need to grind and make shiny again. Anyway I popped a larger purple one and a smaller red one in together to save time and just did my little heating routine thinking everything will be ok. Well before I left for work I thought I'll just check the cabs to make sure they got nice and shiny.

Well not only did they get nice and shiny but they also got nice and CONNECTED!!! So now I have a 'ten pin' looking cab in my kiln with a red top and a purple bottom. While it does look pretty funky in general I have NO idea what to do with it. Some firepaper stuck to it so I am guessing that I will have to grind it AGAIN and make it shiny AGAIN. Might turn it into a pendant. They aren't my type of colours but it doesn't look too bad actually.

52 Creations - Week 6

2010-02-08T11:44:00.003+11:00

Ok ok I know I am a little bit late posting these ones this week but I was hoping to get some more finished before taking photos for this weeks 52 creations.

So for this week I only have these two cabs. Even though I am not a "green" person I really like the green cab and how it turned out! The other cab is just a larger experiment of another cab that I made in a smaller version and thought it would look funky a bit bigger. I think it just might be a keeper!

I do have another two cabs which are made but just need some touch ups so I didn't post them up. I also have another three or something ready to go so I might get one or two of them made today if I can push myself to do it. I am sooo tired!

Also if any of you find some of my words are missing an "r" it's because my "r" key seems to be a little bit funny to press and doesn't respond sometimes. So I apologise if my 'there' and 'here' turn into thee and hee. I'm not trying to turn into shakespeare or something.

On an update for my Artist Profile as well. I have made a list of 10 questions which I think cover the basics but will also be quite interesting to read. All my of artists will be forum members from the Australian Beading Forum. However not all of our members are from Australia so there will be some artist profiles from other countires too! :)

Artist Profiles

2010-02-04T19:39:00.003+11:00

Well I have decided to start another section of my blog called "Artist Profile". I am part of the Australian Beading Forum and there are SO MANY talented ladies and gentlemen that I feel I want to get to know some more about them and about their beading/creative journey. So I will do a feature artist profile once every couple of months which will outline certain things like how they started, where they get inspiration from and what type of materials they like to use. I will also post up a couple of the artists pieces which they have made to showcase just SOME of their talent.

I am still working on what info I will be asking and the layout so still give me a week or so depending on how busy I am over the next week. I also have to find my first feature artist!! I don't know how to pick, there are so many that I want to know more about. Maybe just a lucky dip out of a hat!

I won!!!

2010-02-03T20:09:00.002+11:00

What did I win??

One of the lovely ladies on the Australian Beading Forum was having a giveaway of gift vouchers on her website. I won the second prize which is a $2o voucher!!! I am so EXCITED!! I have been eyeing off one of her rings for a long long time but can never justify spending the money on myself. So now I have a little incentive to get one! Yippeeee!!

Check out Sallys website "Happily Ever Artist" or if you prefer having a read then check out her Blog here. Happy browsing! :D

52 Creations - Week 4 & 5 con't

2010-02-01T09:17:00.004+11:00

Here are some more of my 52 creations for week 4 & 5. The pic wasn't the best so you can't really see the colours in the top cab. Its a mixture of blue and greens.

Disaster zone....

2010-01-29T20:34:00.003+11:00

Well today while I was on a roll with my cab making I found a chunk of lampworking left overs and thought I would melt it down. Anyways I popped it in the kiln and after 8 minutes it was all good so I went ahead with the 5 minutes on the next step. Well in that time the glass had fallen over and totally fused onto the base of the kiln. So I quickly got my pan of water and heated the kiln up nice n hot. I then scraped off as much glass as I could into the water.

Of course it all didn't come off so I had to pick off the left overs which then put divets into the base of the kiln. You can see that in the picture below but I also have pointed out cracks I was getting into the base from use.

There was also a little bit of glass stuck to the side of the kiln too which poo'ed me because I can't get that off!! But never mind, it's only small.

While I was scrapping off the glass I put the lid of the kiln onto the microwave dish thinking that it's heat proof and should be fine. Well 30 seconds late and I hear this massive smash...

So anyway I had to sand down the base of the kiln. I thought this would be pretty hard as I have to make sure I get it as level as possible otherwise the back of my cabs won't be flat or the glass may even fall to one side when fusing.

So here is my end result....not too bad if I do say so myself. Considering I was worried as all hell that I had screwed up my kiln and had to buy a new one. I got rid of the cracks and everything, which turned out being the hardest part to sand.

Now I am glad it's all over! But it sure was a good lesson to learn.

52 Creations - Week 4 & 5

2010-01-29T20:17:00.003+11:00

Very sorry for the late update but here are some of my creations from the last two weeks. Not much compared to other weeks but I have been quite busy this week plus the heat doesn't help as I need to go outside to my glass. The black and white based ones are using my "rocky" homemade frit. I want to make some more of these cabs but they take a little more prep time because I am using the rod glass. The othe cab is actually made with ivory glass base which I soon learnt reacts with aqua/blue coloured glass. If you click on the photo you can see more clearly that the blue glass as a brownish outline to it. I have another cab getting ready with some solid aqua glass, the one above I used translucent blue glass.

So I will update with some more cabs over the weekend but I just have to make them first.

I have some bad news but I will do a seperate post for that which will be located ^^^ above once I have written anyway.

On a good note though my Facebook group has reached 70 fans! Absolutely awesome effot by everyone. I am hoping to get to 100 fans by the end of the year and I MAY just have a special give away ;) So if you know any friends o family who are into jewellery, glass or simply like handmade items then ask them to join!

Delayed

2010-01-27T20:21:00.001+11:00

Sorry guys I haven't posted my week 4 offerings. I may have to combind my week4 & 5 creations seeing as it's a carry on project!

Will do it ASAP :)

52 Creations - Week 3

2010-01-18T20:22:00.004+11:00

Well these are my offering for this week! First off I have my cabs which I have made this week. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. Still having trouble with the firepaper but I always have my good old dremel to sand it off and re-fuse!

The bracelet and earrings are a present for a friends little girl who is turning 5 tomorrow. She starts school in Feb this year and since she is going to a Catholic school I imagine they have a pretty strict rule on what they can and can't wear to school. But she loves her jewellery so I'm sure she'll find sometimes to wear it.

This necklace is something which has been going around in my head for a while now. It is only simple but I really enjoyed making it and the style is really comfy to wear. Once I got a hang on doing those triple sliding knots of whatever they are called...maybe chinese sliding knots?? Something like that!

I have updated my website as well. I have added some new cabs to the gallery section. I will have a heap of cabs to put up for sale once I actually get them annealed which will probably take a couple of weeks still so maybe I should get to making some more!

Also for those of you who use twitter and facebook you can follow me on both of these. I created a page on facebook and an account on twitter. Click on the links below to go to each page.

FACEBOOK or TWITTER

Well I have been quite a little busy bee this past week! I think my course enrollment should go through soon so I am making the most of the time that I have!

52 Creations - Week 2

2010-01-10T19:10:00.003+11:00

Week 2

This week I was a little bit more productive! I know I set myself the goal of at least making one thing each week but I was on a roll and thought why not make more! All of these cabs except one were experiments, some came out good...some not so good. The black one on the bottom right did and didn't work for me. I was trying to use balls of silver leaf and all of the balls did what they should except one which kinda chipped the glass a little around it and also is rough...grrr. Also the purple one in the left top didn't turn out too nicely and also got some firepaper stuck to it. But never mind!

52 Creations - Week 1

2010-01-10T19:06:00.003+11:00

Week 1

Only made a small group a cabs. I had experimented with silver leaf once before but burnt it all off so this time I controlled it a little bit better. One has little strips of silver leaf and the other is one big strip with little holes made into it. I like both looks. The last cab was a mixture of two different translucent frit but it just made the middle really dark. The colours on the edge look nice though.

365 creations?? I don't think so!

2010-01-07T11:57:00.004+11:00

Well a couple of the ladies on the Australian Beading Forum have set themselves a goal to make a creation a day which equals 365 creations! I think this is such a great objective and also quite rewarding if it's possible to do something like that. So far I think they have all stuck to their goals.

However I was thinking that I don't think it would be possible for me to make something EVERYDAY...I could probably make 7 items in one day which is a weeks worth but it really doesn't work like that. So I have set myself to make something once a week. Sometimes I can go weeks on end without even touching a bead or my glass so I am going to make an effort to do something at least once a week and post it up here between each Friday-Sunday. It all depends what I am doing and if I get good photos or not.

So I am going to call mine 52 creations! I know that doesn't sound as exciting as 365 even though I might end up with that many the way I am pumping out these cabs! I have something I have made last week and I have some more for this weeks so I will have to backtrack a little bit and post up two lots of photos for the end of this week.

Wish me good luck!

Website launch!

2010-01-04T00:47:00.003+11:00

Well I finally got around to doing enough work on my website that I was happy with so I launched it!! It's all up on the interwebs being all pretty and website-ish!

Check it out! http://beadsbybree.yolasite.com/

Comments very much welcome!

Welcome 2010!

2010-01-03T19:08:00.002+11:00

Well this is my first post for a new year. I have to say that I have been making some cabs but the light in the microwave has gone so it's hard to do stuff at night without having the light. I have to wait to do stuff during the day which is hard because I'm barely home.

I have started work on my website! It's looking pretty good too...just for a simple site. Yola is a really good service if anyone wants a simple site which is free! I haven't published the site yet so I can't show any sneek peeks or anything like that. I am hoping to get a few more products up for sale and then I will prob let it free onto the net to run wild!

In my 'normal' world, I go back to work on Wednesday which I am NOT looking forward to. I do need the money but I really wish I had taken the rest of this week off. I would do it if I knew I didn't already have some important appointments already booked in. Oh well, such is life. Thinking I may even take a week off during the year to give myself a bit of a break. Today I did buy a new TV though!! Excitement!! It's an LG 32inch Full HD LCD. I can't wait to get it hooked up and get my new Foxtel so that everything will look nice and clear.

Hope you are all having a good start to the year. I didn't make many resolutions..just goals which I would like to achieve this year but won't be disappointed if I don't.

Happy New Year!!!

2009-12-31T19:06:00.002+11:00

Wishing everyone a very Happy New year! Hope 2010 brings eveything that you want. Here's to more beading!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T17:15:00.002+11:00

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Will probably take a break on blogging for a week or so (but whats new) and will have some of my holidays enjoying doing stuff I usually don't get to!

New Years resolutions..

2009-12-17T13:00:00.000+11:00

Well I know it isn't even christmas yet and I am already making goals for next year. I suppose there never is a set time as to when to make them.

The biggest thing that I want to achieved next year is to complete my study so that I have my Cert IV in Mental Health. It will probably take me another 6months or so before I am able to compelete it due to the work experience hours and how limited I am in time during the week to do it. But I will get there.

I also have some beady resolutions. I want to learn how to do more techniques with my cabs. Some of the ladies on the beading forum have really inspired me with their jewellery pieces and I want to be able to do the same things as them. I also want to get a website/artfire up and running at the beginning of next year. I am hoping to work on it over my time off...which is what I have said numerous times before. I also want to sell more of my cabs next year. I definately don't see selling them as a profitable thing at the moment as most of the money made goes back on paying board or something like that anyway. However it would be great if it were a profitable business...maybe eventually :P

For my car I want to get my rims sometime in the near furture, just depends how quickly I can save up some money for them. I think I have about $200-300 at the moment so another $500 and I should be sweet to go. I also would like to get a spoiler for my car and get the scratches fixed on it. I actually saw a business van drive past me on my way to work yesterday who 'come to you' and do scratches/dents etc in bumper bars so it might be better to get someone like them to do it than do it myself and possibly stuff it up.

Last but not least is to just be fit and healthy. This year I have really let my fitness level slip. I have done barely any exercise but I have just started getting back into walking again with my boyfriend so we are doing that 2 times a week at the moment. Better than nothing!!

Well thats my list for the moment. I will make a proper one so I am able to check them off once I have completed something. Next year is going to be good!! But first...get christmas out of the way.

Christmas Present

2009-12-14T18:07:00.004+11:00

I have finished my second beaded cab and it's going to be going to my Nan for christmas. I hope she likes it!! I was awake till almost 1am on Saturday night finishing it off, I just couldn't put it down hehe. I used one of my own cabs, blue/black/silver seed beads and some lovely blue swarovski crystals!

I have also been busy making a pair of earrings for christmas and just some odds and sods for me but I don't have pictures of them loaded onto the computer yet. Will post them at a later date!

I have almost finished my christmas shopping. I can't believe how busy the shops have gotten over the past couple of weeks. I work at a shopping centre two days a week and holey moley! The parking is getting worse and wose which sucks for me because as 'staff' we only get limited undercover parking as the rest is for customers. Boo to the cusomers, I wanna park out of the sun and the rain!!!!

I also plan to start getting a website together over the christmas holiday period, if not then I hope to have my blog made over and have my artfire account up and running. I don't start studying again till the start of next year so I am hoping to use this spare time wisely!

Holidays

2009-11-30T15:01:00.003+11:00

Well on Saturday I came back from being on holiday for a week. Boy was I hanging for that holiday but it has gone way too quickly, doesn't even feel like I have been away apart from the leftover suntan marks lol We went up to Coffs Harbour which is Northern NSW.

However I have been doing some cab work lately, mainly for christmas pressies. I haven't taken any photos of them yet but hopefully I will get to before I drop them off to be annealed on Saturday. I have made some intial pendants with CZ's for daughters of friends, so I am hoping they like them. I am also hoping to get a cab made for my aunty which I will be able to bead around but who knows if I will get that done or not!!

Christmas is such a hectic time..well I should say December, not necessarily christmas on its own. I had a christmas party last night which was fun but got me back into the swing of things. I have acouple of lunches/dinners with friends for catching up before chrissy, a dancing concert, christmas shopping, jewellery orders, re-enrolling in my course as well as working still throughout the next 3 weeks. I only have 2 weeks off over christmas, I would really like to take more but the whole money thing stands in the way of that.

Anywho on another thing I am doing is on the Australian Beading Forum we have a Secret Santa thing going. I have to do some shopping for my SS but I have also made something for her as well. I haven't done this for the past couple of years but it's always fun to make something for someone else. It's also exciting waiting for the parcel in return.

OK well I think that is all from me at the moment. Need to go and check on some more cabs before I head off to work this afternoon.

Being sent to the UK & new items

2009-11-16T19:59:00.003+11:00

Well this afternoon one of my lovely customer told me that one of the cabs which she has used in a pendant is being sent to the UK for Christmas!! So now I am up to two international cabochons!! One in the US and one in the UK. It is so exciting.

One another note I didn't have any work today so I spent some of my time making christmas stuff. I have made two bookmarks for my family and a necklace for a friends little girl who loved my ones I had on over the weekend.

getting back into glass!

2009-11-07T16:20:00.002+11:00

Well the last couple of days I have been making a few things here and there which has been really nice! I should be doing my study but I just can't seem to get into it so instead of wasting my time getting nowhere with my assignments I just thought I'd do something else. probably won't have some pics up for a while but just a note to let you guys know I am attempting to get back into it!

Plus I have created a new banner for my artfire shop and also my yola website that I want to build. So I am hoping to get that up and running over the next few months..maybe a fresh start for the new year??

This is a small pic of what my banners look like. I will probably change my blog around a little bit too so that it all matches in with each other.

I also got a free offer for some new things called squiz cards which are plastic little cards, like the ones gyms hand out now. So I have some of them coming in the mail over the next 2 weeks which will be exciting. Only get 50 but thats better then nothing!!

7 weeks!!

2009-11-04T21:07:00.002+11:00

Only 7 weeks till christmas!! Just thought I would make you all aware and rev myself up to get into gear and get my pressies done!!

International cabs!!

2009-10-26T20:02:00.003+11:00

One of my lovely lady customers has made this gorgeous pendant with some of my cabs which she bought from me a couple of months ago.

and Guess What?? It is going overseas!! America to be exact. Very excited to know that I now have internation cab status! haha

First Beaded Cab

2009-10-24T16:44:00.001+11:00

Well here is my first beaded cab completed!! Ta DA!! Not too shabby if I do say so myself. I didn't really find it that difficult either. Getting used to using such a fine needle had to take some practise but it's all good...

The cab was made by myself!

Big purchase!!!

2009-10-24T16:39:00.003+11:00

Well unfortunately I can't say I have bought a heap of glass or beads. However something else that I have been saving for for awhile now. A NEW CAR!! Well it's not...new...new...but new to me. It's a little 3door black Yaris, 2007. Great deal and apparently great little cars. Plus the bits and pieces won't cost an arm or a leg if they need fixing. Thank god. Only sad part is I have to say goodbye to my little mazda 121 which I have grown attatched too over the past 8 YEARS!!!

Here is a pic of my second baby...not my NEW baby...but my second baby.

Hopefully in the near future I can add some nice rims, sports lights and maybe a funky exhaust. But one thing at a time...

WIP - First beaded cab

2009-10-15T23:17:00.002+11:00

Well I bit the bullet and thought I would try my first beaded cab tonight. I couldn't hold out any longer! It took me a while to do the first round of beads, almost an hour to be exact but then took me about an hour to do the row of smaller red ones and the second black row. I must say that I don't hate seed beads as much as I used to. Doing this was quite relaxing but now my neck and back hurts a little but so this is where I am stopping for tonight.

You do have to excuse the finger prints in the photos. I really didn't think that they would have showed up that much haha in the pic below you can see one of the spots where I pricked myself with the damn needle. I think I must have done it about 10 times which isn't too bad I guess.

I should probably add another row of smaller beads to wrap it around the cab more but I'm not sure if I really want to. I think I might have some gold ones somewhere but that might look a but odd. Not sure...hhmmm

Re-homed Cab

2009-10-12T21:05:00.003+11:00

One of the lovely ladies, Margie bought one of my cabs a while ago. She has just put up some pics of what she has done with it and I am over the moon. I think it looks just totally awesome and makes me want to get off my bum and start my own beaded cabs!!! I have everything to do it with I just need the time...and patience...lol

Anyway here are Margies pics of the beaded cab.

Love it!!!

If you would like to check out Margies blog then follow this link to Marlier Designs Lampwork Beads and Jewellery

Latest Jewellery

2009-10-08T20:36:00.002+11:00

I am a little bit late posting these up however here are a few things that I worked on over the weekend.

When tiding up the other day I found this little flower which I had made randomly. I didn't know what to do with it so I decided to make it into a little hairclip. I love it!! It is just so cute. I wore it work on Tuesday hehe I think I'll make some more for me and all my little girl friends!

My mum had been bugging me about not having a blue bracelet. So I decided that it was time to make one. This wasn't exactly my first idea of what the bracelet would look like, I was hoping for some more chunkiness but I didn't have any bigger blue beads. So this is what I ended up with. It is acually quite nice and full but not chunky.

Spring Cleaning

2009-09-29T20:00:00.003+10:00

well it is now Spring over here in Australia and whats the best thing to do when it's Spring?? CLEANING!! Over the weekend I thought I would get some much needed tidying up. I started with my dressing table and my desk and then came to my beading area *warning warning* I always tell myself to never let it get messy once I clean it up but somehow I just dump stuff here and there and it all just piles up again.

Anywho I have taken some before and after pics of my achievements. I do need to get some more containers as I have run out of them for my beadies. Just click on the pics for a bigger image.

Happy spring cleaning everyone!

Apologies

2009-09-24T20:56:00.004+10:00

I am so sorry that I haven't updated my blog recently!! But to tell you the truth I have been so busy with work and with studying that I haven't even had time to make anything!! I am hoping to get some time over the weekend to maybe make up some cabs or something. I did buy some LSS and Ultrasuade so I should be able to start doing my first beaded cab soon, I just need to find the tutorial that I wanted to use.

However last Friday night we did go to a ball!! Was lots of fun and I love getting all done up for the night. Here is a pic of me and Scott when we got to the venue. It's a little blurry but you get the idea.

Website Building

2009-09-08T22:19:00.002+10:00

I used to make all sorts of websites when I was younger and at school. I can't even remember what they were but they never seemed to be as hard as it is now to make one.

I am using a place called Yola and they basically have a free hosting section on their site which I am using. It isn't the best but it's good to start with until I get a feel of if I want to commit to a better website or not. I have done bits and pieces to get used to the site builder and it's not going too bad, just have to sort out how I am going to organise my cab lists.

Oh another note I am feeling a lot better than what I was yesterday. I am lucky that I didn't wake up with a terrible headache like I have the past few days but I can still feel something going on in my head which doesn't seem too good lol

Back to work for the next two days and off for a busy weekend of indulging myself in junk food...but oh well!! hehe

Start to another week

2009-09-07T11:25:00.002+10:00

Well it is Monday here, yet another Monday. Haven't had the best weekend as I have had this terrible headache which doesn't seem to want to leave anytime soon and I am just so so tired today. I could go back to sleep but work might ring and I don't want to miss the call...zzz..z..zzz....

However on Saturday I did finish off my first bag! I am so proud. It looks great and even the two colours didn't turn out too bad either. Nice and bright for spring.

Hope you all have a good week!

Crystal Flower Hairclip

2009-09-04T20:56:00.004+10:00

I am going to a Ball in 2 weeks time and usually I wear something sparkly in my hair and buy a diamonte clip but this year my dress is black and peach and I thought a nice flower would pretty it up a little bit. So I have decided to go with this rose and I just added some crystals to it from behind. I never noticed when I bought it that there were two big gaps where the petals weren't sitting so I guess it worked out pretty well to fill them in with crystal petals :P

You can see in this pic that I held it up to my hair so that you can see how the black tigertail disappears and it gives the illusion of floating crystals :)

Monthly Technique - Layering

2009-08-31T22:24:00.004+10:00

Each month there is a different technique or style challenge posted up in the glass section on the Beading Forum which I am a member of. This month it was Layering and I had done this cab a week or more ago but didn't get around to post it until now (slack I know).

Basically my cab was meant to be smaller but my clear glass is quite thick and I didn't think of it at the time. My cab is made of up a base layer of lilac glass, green glass, aqua glass then covered with clear glass. On the clear glass is some little bobbles of aqua transparent glass. I fused my bobbles a little bit too much but it still looks fine. Sorry for the bad photos, I needed to take a pic before the end of August as this was a August challenge.

On another note it is the first day of SPRING tomorrow! I can't wait for the weather to get warmer and spend more days outside on the weekends! I might just make a little spring inspired cab.

Updated Flickr

2009-08-21T00:20:00.002+10:00

Just a quick note to let you guys know that I have added some new pics to my Flickr album!

Also lately I have been looking at venturing into bag making!!!!!! I am excited about this but scared that I am going to fail miserably. But I will know sooner than later. Hoping to have my first bag made over the next couple of weeks when I get some time.

Oh...almost forgot. I have opened an ArtFire store!! Haven't put anything in it yet but I have signed up and done the athestics anyway. Will post a link once it's all up and running.

New Cabs

2009-08-15T19:32:00.003+10:00

Well today I made some time to play with my glass. I hadn't done it in ages and had a few ideas floating around in my head. I haven't uploaded these cabs to the net anywhere as I haven't got them annealed yet although I don't think I'll be selling these ones. They are just too pretty. Although I might make some more hehe Just thought I would put them up on my blog for all my followers to get an 'exclusive' sneek peek!

The Big 24...

2009-08-08T10:08:00.003+10:00

Well today is my birthday! Thought I would put a little post up. Opened all of my lovely presents and have got some great stuff. Some things I already knew and lots that I didn't. The weather is a great so I can't complain. Heading to the footy this afternoon but going to go down the beach tomorrow with my family and boyfriend for some yummy fish and chips!

Earrings

2009-08-07T13:54:00.003+10:00

Just a quick update of some earrings that I made recently. Saw these lampwork beads in one of the discount shops and thought they were pretty decent. I got 3 in the pack so now I have one odd one which will have to go into a bracelet or necklace or something..who knows.

This afternoon I am off to visit a friend who has just had a little baby girl, Abbey Rose. So I will hopefully have some pics of her to post up too. Hehe bubbieeess *squee*

One of my sold cabs

2009-08-03T21:13:00.004+10:00

Since I don't have any pics of anything I have made recently I thought I would post up a pic of what one of my customers has done with one of cabs! I love it!

This one was made by Kathy Wait. I love the bead colours that she has used, it really sets the cab off nicely. I have one similar to this cab and have used different colouring so it'll be interesting to see how it turns out compared to using this type.

Anywho I love it! I love seeing one of my cabs made into something pretty.

Blinging Up My Dress

2009-07-26T20:26:00.002+10:00

Every year I have a ball that I have been going to for almost 10 years now, could even be 10 years! This year I thought I would go a little more understated in terms of dressing up. I bought this dress the other day for $50! Which is a steal considering most of my other dresses I have worn have cost at least $250 and up. But I thought that it needed a little something extra and have been looking at using some Swarovski Rhinestones on the black area of the dress. In the pic below you can see the colours that I have picked out which I think match my dress best. I like the idea of using a colour to make a nice focal decoration but I don't think I am experienced enough yet. I think the jet and black diamond would be a safer option but it'll still add some sparkle to the dress. I was going to go with diamonte straps as well but if I am wearing a sparkley necklace it might be too much......

....what do you guys think?

Been absent

2009-07-20T20:11:00.003+10:00

Well I have joined the sick list which is why I haven't updated for a while. A nasty sinus infection struck me down last Tuesday night and really put me on the back foot. Luckily I caught it early and my anitbiotics have really made me feel better a lot quicker than usual. Although I was in bed for approx 3 days straight and it has done nothing for my back but thats another story. So I am hoping to get back into making stuff over the next couple of days. I did make a necklace for my little nephew who came to visit but I didn't get a photo in time. Might have to get his nann to take one for me of him wearing it. But I am feeling better now. I still have some conjestion in my sinuses and into my ears but I am hoping thats just the end of it and will be cleared up soon.

On a lighter note I did find these cute lolcats. hehe they make me smile.

Frit

2009-07-11T12:32:00.004+10:00

Well I have been making a bit of frit lately from all little bits and pieces of glass that have been lying around. Generally my technique is to put the glass pieces in a plastic bag and hit them with a hammer. Only problem is that the bag gets holes in it and some of the glass falls into the floor and then the bag is ruined and I have to use another one next time. Not to mention that sometimes stray pieces fly out of an imaginary hole and almost under the wheels of the car!

So now I have searched for our old mortar and pestle! I read ages ago about using one of these for frit and everytime I kept forgetting about it! Thats my memory for ya.
I have to say that using this is a LOT easier then doing it in the bag. All the glass stays where its meant to as long as I cover the top with my hand and it's just generally a lot less messy. I need to wash the M&P after everytime I use it but that doesn't bother me. Now I should be able to chuck in all those stray pieces of glass that can't be used for anything and making myself some unique frit!

Cubic Zirconia Tutorial

2009-07-07T14:21:00.004+10:00

Well this isn't going to be the best tutorial but thought I would post up some pics and info on how I do my cubic zirconias in my glass.

CUBIC ZIRCONIA TUTORIAL
This is my little set up. It is a takeaway container filled with water, the water has to cover the top of the glass piece plus some more just incase. I have my little permanent Sharpie marker and my little red cabs which I am going to be working on.
Here I have marked out on the glass where I want the dots to be. This just helps by giving me a guide in the water as to where the middle of the cab is. The marker does come off quickly once the dremel touches it so its important to make sure you have control otherwise you will have to mark it again. This is my bit that I use in my dremel to make the 'dents'.
This is how I hold my glass in the dish. I really shouldn't be doing it this way so I wouldn't recommend it. However I would recommend putting either some styrofoam or a thing layer of wood on the bottom on the container just incase you do drill all the way through by accident. You don't want water going everywhere.
When first using the dremel on the cabs it is important to keep a steady hand as it can slip and slide a little bit. Once the dent has been started just apply medium pressure into the glass and that should give you the best control over the depth. Voila! Here are my little cabs with their 'dents'.
As you can see in this pic the Cubic zirconia isn't sitting flush with the cab and personally I like mine to sit as even as they can before fusing. This is because when the cab is being re-fused it actually lifts the cubic zirconias slightly so they will end up raised. To make it sit flush I just picked up my dremel again and while drilling I also did a slow 'circle' motion. This makes the dent a little bit wider and allows for the stones to sit flush.
Here are my little cabs with all their bling! As you can see around the edges of the holes it is a little scratchy. This will disappear and become smooth again once they are fused!
Hope that was simple enough for anyone who is trying to follow it!

New Cabs

2009-07-06T22:56:00.004+10:00

Below are some pictures of some flowers which I took this morning. If you notice that they are very similar to my new layout then you would be right! These are actually the inspiration behind my colour scheme. Generally I like Pink and Purple anyway but these bright vibrant colours really spoke to me today!

Plus I have some new cabs in my Flickr album! I haven't had much time lately to make let alone take pictures of my cabs so what you see is what you get. I have an assignment to do some red and black cabs for a friend so that will be interesting to see how those come out! I have the day off work tomorrow to sort out some things so if I can get them done and dusted early then I will have time to play! Not looking forward to 'sorting' out those things though.

Make Over

2009-07-06T16:31:00.002+10:00

I have been wanting to re-do my blog for awhile now. I wanted something quite simple but stilll bright and still 'me'. So I made myself a little heading and also a pretty little deco in the corner to match.

Any comments welcome about the new layout!

I have also decided to start posting in a bigger font. I was on the desktop the other day getting some bits off my blog and the front was tiny, I could barely read it!! So I thought to save you all from squinting...if you have to squint and post in a larger font.

CZ's are a success!

2009-06-27T20:11:00.002+10:00

Well today I finally got to play with my Cubic Zirconias! I first fused down some little black cabs to make some studs with then used my dremel to create little dents like the pics thats I showed yesterday on my tester piece. I thought I had done the hole too big as when I put the stones in they sat flush with the glass and I was worried the glass may melt over the top of the stones.

However turns out that the glass must have filled in underneath first and it's pushed the stones up a little bit which is fine with me. They look so pretty and sparkly! Will get a photo soon althought it may be a little bit hard to get the sparkle.

Happy Happy Joy Joy

2009-06-26T21:41:00.003+10:00

Today I finally got around to going to Bunnings (thats a hardware store for those of you who don't know) and I had a look at the Dremel stuff. As I have mentioned before in my posts the bit that I had to make dents for my Cubic Zurc's didn't fit my dremel so I needed to go and see if I could get another sized chuck. They had a packed of four different sized chucks and an extra collette so I took that because I wasn't sure what size I needed for my diamond bit. So this afternoon I was playing around with my new but not so new toy! It is sooo easy to use and so smooth and I am sooo happy!!

This is my little set up. You can see how messy my desk is! What a shocker. The glass has to be submerged in water to prevent the glass from cracking and also to keep it cool. It also helped to protect the diamond bit and make it last longer.

Here are my little holes!! I was testing out making bigger and smaller ones just for the different sizes of CZ's that I have. I tested the 2.5mm ones in the small hole and it fit almost perfectly!
Anyway while I was at Bunnings I was looking at the grinding stones because my dremel fell and clips my grinding stone and I was also checking out the engraving bits. Well I never knew diamond tip bits were SO expensive! One of the diamond tip engraving bits was $40 on its own.

So after some more looking Mum found this kit with 11 pieces in it. Two of which are diamond tip and I know I can use at least one of the bits as a grinding stone. Guess how much it was?? $25!!!!!! You'd have to be an idiot to pay $40 for one piece when this set was hanging less than a meter away. So I was very pleased with everything that I got today. I haven't opened my 11 piece set yet but I will be trying out the engraving very soon as well! Ah the ideas that are running around in my head.

Me is very happy!

Test Complete

2009-06-25T17:36:00.003+10:00

Well it seem thats the mixing of the COE 96 and 104 glass didn't go too bad!! I didn't have any glass reactions and the cab looks normal. Of course it could still be weakened and not last the distance of the normal cabs so once it is annealed I will be chucking it into my bag or wallet and see how it handles. If it doesn't crack or anything then it should be alright to make others and use in my jewellery or sell!!

Geeze the possibilities will be endless then!

I am hoping to drop off my made cabs tomorrow sometime to the lovely Nat. I do have a plan to make my nephew a pendant and put it on some leather thonging but I think I will put it off for tonight as it is really cold outside and I don't really feel like sitting out there tonight. But who knows, I might change my mind.

Still no study has been done...argh.

Testing..

2009-06-24T11:47:00.001+10:00

At the moment I have a piece of glass ready to be fused. The only difference is this time I have mixing COE 96 and 104...OoooOoo!! I made a little bit of frit out of the 104 canes. The frit isn't that good because I am really dodgy when making frit but oh well. So later on when I fuse it I will see how it turns out. I know it may look alright but still be weakened from mixing the two COE's so I will just keep that cab for myself and maybe make it into something to see how durable it can be.

Apart from that I haven't really done much! I am home sick today because I am feeling really off, headaches, stomach sore etc...stupid body.

I beaded and I gloved!

2009-06-22T20:42:00.004+10:00

I have pulled myself away from the glass and actually used some of the beads that I got the other day at the Craftshow. Well it is actually gemstones, mmm lovely Turquoise. I remember when I first got into beading that I always thought to myself that I wouldn't use gemstones and that they don't really appeal to me that much...BUT....I just love Turquoise. I love Rose Quartz and Amethyst and Onxy too but Turquoise is my weakness.

So at the Craftshow I got these cool little nugget Turquoise and something which was sold as 'White Turquoise' however I don't think it is and I think it is something called White Magnesite which is closely related to Turquoise. However I don't really mind because I just loved it and the necklace has turned out better then what I expected!

Of course I had to make a matching pair of earrings. These are slightly different as I have used little Howlite beads with the Turquoise.

On another completely different note, I have to get out a new pair of gloves for when I deal with the kiln. So I generally only wear one glove, because thats all I need just to lift the lid to check that everything is A-O-K. So I decided to jazz it up a little bit. we got given these little sample packs of beads and sequin stuff at the Craftshow so I just sewed a couple of them on. They are onyl cheap and plastic but make the glove a little bit more....me!
Yet again no study has been done. Lets hope tomorrow is a slow day at work and I can get some done to make up for today!

New Cabs

2009-06-19T13:18:00.003+10:00

Yet again another post to say that I have updated my Flickr with some new cabs. I seem to really be pushing them out lately. Although I must say that I haven't really done much study over the past week so that is probably why!

Another good note is that I have sold some more cabs! The ladiez on the beading forum are so lovely and encouraging! I will hopefully be able to afford to get some new glass soon so I can experiment with other colours and mediums.

I still have got the new bits for my dremel so I haven't been able to play with the CZ's yet. Never mind!

Update- New Cabs

2009-06-14T16:35:00.005+10:00

Just a quick note to let you all know that I have updated my Flickr account with a whole heaps of new photos!! So go and check them out.

Also some other good news is that I have had some interest in my cabs from my beading friends and I have sold some already! How exciting. I must be doing something right then.

Another quick note. You will see on my flickr photos that I have started including photos of the sizes of the cabs. This is so if anyone is interested in buying one (or two or three) that they can see the sizes! I made it from paper, a ruler and a black pen :P Simple and it works pretty good!

Thats all from me at the moment. I wanted to play with my cubic zurc's on the weekend but my drill bit I had with my tutorial is too small for my dremel so I will have to sort that out and try another time.

Ciao!

Pink 'Funhouse' concert

2009-06-08T15:10:00.003+10:00

Well I haven't got many pics of new jewellery related stuff but I did go and see Pink on Saturday night so thought I would post a couple of pics from the concert. Considering how fast they were dancing around I got a couple of good pics!

New cabs update

2009-06-02T18:55:00.003+10:00

Just a quick update again to let you know that there have been a couple of new cabs added to my Flickr album.

Seems I have been quite busy over the weekend so it might be a little bit until I get some more made.

On a totally unrelated note, I am going to see Pink Saturday night!! Woo!! Hopefully will have some pics to post up from her concert.

New cabs - updated Flickr

2009-06-01T13:17:00.005+10:00

Well just a quick post to let you all that I have uploaded a few photos of some new cabs on my Flickr album. This one to the left is one of my new ones but I have a plan for this one, muhahaha.

Enjoy browsing. Still have a few more on the way...

Update - Storage and Cabs

2009-05-30T15:44:00.002+10:00

Well I have been pretty limited with my time lately so I haven't got many cabs actually made but I do have four on standby ready to be fused so I should hopefully get some of them done this afternoon and tomorrow morning.

First up is a couple of cabs that I have made. The first one was my test to do my yin/yang cab but the sides didn't turn out as I wanted so I just changed it a little and added some little spots. I fused the spots down a little too far so they are only slightly rasied.
This cab was actually made from white glass and "frit" like glass I had from when some other glass broke and when I put it in the water it shattered. I kept the pieces just incase to see what I could do with it. The 'frit' was clear with little bits of clear blue through it so this cab actually has some depth to it, sort of layered effect. It was impossible to get a photo of it.
Now these are my new containers that I have bought for my frit! These are actually toothpick holders which are quite big so I can fit lots and lots of frit. I made the labels for each one with its details. The top bit is pretty funky because I can use it to pour the frit as much or as little as I want!
Hope to have some more photos over the next few days. Will update my flickr once I have taken more photos.

Yin Yang experiment

2009-05-25T14:48:00.004+10:00

Well I have come up with a new idea today. It isn't really THAT original but I thought I might as well give it a go and see how it turns out in glass fusing. I wanted to try and create a similar cab to yin and yang but I won't be able to get the curves properly, at least not on purpose maybe by accident. I did a rough pic of what my 'before' piece of glass should look like.

However I am not sure if I should fuse the black and white base first and let it turn into a cab and then do the dots after that and fuse them in or if I should just do it in one big go. Hmmm decisions...decisions....

On another note I have found that the glue I used to stick my bails and that on my pieces doesn't seem to wanna stick. My cab just pulled off about 10minutes ago. For the earrings it'll probably be alright because I won't play with them as much as I do with the pendants. Looks like I may have to try another brand. Grr

Article on Annealing

2009-05-25T11:53:00.010+10:00

One of the lovely ladies on the beading forum has got her article on Annealing published on Handmadenews.org. I had a read of it and thought it was really useful for those who are dealing with glass. I have quoted the first two paragraphs below but there is a link for the rest of the article if you are interested.

A to Z of Craft Techniques: Annealing

Posted by Jennifer Mercer on Wednesday May 20, 2009
If you work with beads, or buy beads, you have probably noticed that at lot of lampwork artisan mention that they anneal their beads. So you might be wondering exactly what this means, and why it should matter to you.

The process of making lampwork beads involves heating rods of glass up and manipulating them to make patterns and shapes. The glass then cools down. The heating up and then cooling of the glass puts a lot of stress on it. Even if the artisan is very skilled and attempts to evenly cool the finished bead down, the stress still occurs. This stressing of the glass can lead to it cracking or breaking easily.
LINK

New Cabs

2009-05-21T20:30:00.005+10:00

Well I haven't had much time this week to be very creative. I have got my study back on track so my posts may be fewer over coming weeks. I hope not but just giving the heads up.

Anyway I have two new cabs this week. One kinda of went a weird shape because the base glass colours were different thicknesses. One of 3mm and one was 2mm but I think it still looks alright. The other one was just something I came up with and wanted to give it a spin. I'm going to post them both below because I like them so much!

This is the funny shaped one. The green is a bit more vibrant then in this pic, I didn't have the best lighting.

side view so you can see the white dots are raised

From Glass to Jewellery...

2009-05-18T11:05:00.005+10:00

Over the weekend I decided to transform some of my pieces into jewellery. I must admit that all of these are for myself hehe I have another one from my other batch which I have claimed for myself as well but I guess I am allowed to do that!! Anyway here are some pics with the findings attached.

Pendants

Earrings

New Frit Experiment - Finished

2009-05-16T13:23:00.003+10:00

Well yet again I am quite happy with how these turned out. I wasn't too sure on the one where I was using the two different types of frit and how the colours would look...however....

Grapes Galore small cabs
The test of using Grapes Galore and River Dance frit. I likey!! Very much.

For some reason we had a lot of little visitors today under our outdoor area where my glass is set up. Maybe it's too windy for them to fly around outside so they've come in for some shelter until the wind passes. Shoo fly!

WIP - finished

2009-05-15T20:02:00.002+10:00

Well I am quite pleased with how my current WIP has come out. I thought I had fused it for a little too long but turns out it was just right! I suppose that means I should stop doubting myself.

Anywho, these are the finished photos.

This is my next experiment. using my new frit that I got 'Grapes Galore' and I have also thought I might try MIXING some frits hehe. Not exactly mixing the glass together but using different frit on the same piece of glass. I like both of these colours so I hope they go alright together!
Until tomorrow.....

New Experiment - WIP

2009-05-14T14:26:00.003+10:00

I have had these piece of glass cut for about a week and didn't really like what I had planned for so I just left it and left it...and left it.....until now! I saw a pattern quite similar to this on a tutorial for fused glass except it use different sizes and more glass etc...

Anyway this is the before photos of my test. It is using three different coloured glass in purples and also 'Wildberry' frit.

I have looked at the end result in the kiln and I think I have fused it too much however I will see how it turns out when I get it out of the kiln later.

WIP Complete

2009-05-14T14:14:00.003+10:00

Well this is the finished product of my Rods WIP posted below. I have linked the title of this post to the related post for easy access. The glass hasn't come out totally smooth. Where the purple stripe is across the middle of the cab it is a little dull and a little rough. I'm not sure why this has happened. Although I LOVE the way the top of the cab has come out and totally mixed the pink purples and white..mmmm! Might have to try this experiment again. I can always glue a metal charm into the front of this cab to cover up the rough patch.

Front view

Back view

Dirty marks on the glass - devitrification

2009-05-14T13:18:00.003+10:00

Well after some searching on how to use the fire rope I recently got from Pearls Creations, I found out why I was getting those dirty marks on the glass after grinding it and firing it again.

It is called devitrification. Any grime left from the grinding process may cause devitrification in further firings. So it is important to always wash the glass throughly after grinding. I have found this out now! I thought I had washed it enough but obviously not. I already have another piece which I have used the grinder on ready to be fire so I hope that this doesn't leave any dirty marks. But we will soon see.

I have new photos to put up and some more experiments so I will post them up soon. Going to have some lunch now!