Bracelet for a Little Princess

Although I haven't officially opened up my shop for business I've been making a few sales. Here's a bracelet for a four year old little girl that goes out in the mail tomorrow.

I hope she loves it!

Thankful for Heat

The electrician has come and gone. I paid $250 to teach the electrician that a melting outlet can indeed smell "fishy". He had never encountered such a thing, but now he has something new for which he can look or sniff when troubleshooting. I think he should have paid me for the education, but I'm just happy the problem is fixed and didn't require tearing up any walls. In fact, I am truly thankful. Now we can be warm again.

Here's today's set of beads...

Happy Thanksgiving to you all tomorrow!

Show and Tell

Between the holiday crunch I'm feeling (already!) and life's little challenges (I have to call an electrician today because I'm pretty sure we have wires melting in our wall. Ack!) I've been getting a few beads and pieces of jewelry made. I've had a few commissions for pieces come in all at once, and that's exciting, but now I really need to get to work.

Here are a couple of sets I've made recently:



And a pair of earrings I made:


I'm working on a necklace to match.

I still need to experiment with photography techniques. I'm looking at a couple of setups on eBay for this. For example, photographing earrings laying down is probably not the best presentation. These earrings are so dainty and sparkly in person, but that just doesn't come across in the photo. Better lighting may help.

Off to work!

My Studio Is,...

Inadequate.

Today's "Blog It!" topic at Flaming Hot! is, "My Studio Is,..." and that's the first thing that popped into my head.

I make do with my little corner of the garage and still have fun, but there are a lot of improvements I'd like to make. I don't really have an adequate ventilation system. I work next to the garage door with the door open and a fan blowing on the other side of me. That gets cold this time of year!

This is what I want in a dream studio. I want a cute little shed in the backyard with a torching workstation on one end where I'll have a ventilation hood, my kiln, and all my glass and tools. On the other side I want a jewelry making workbench with lots of organized storage for all the different jewelry making components I collect.

I want a sound system so I can listen to my music. I want a little couch or comfy chair so friends can visit me and chat while I work. I want some running water and a sink, and oh, yeah, HEAT. Then I want to decorate it in a funky artistic way.

For now, though "inadequate" will just have to be, um, adequate, I guess.

Funky

I wouldn't normally put these colors together in a piece of jewelry; I prefer pinks, purples and blues or basic black and white, but now that I have I like it.

Beads Gone Bad

A.K.A. FUGLY BEADS

Bad beads bad beads, watcha gonna do.....whatcha gonna do when they come for you... (Theme song by Tam)

Making beads sometimes requires experimentation, and well, sometimes experiments go horribly wrong. I'm going to share some of those bad experiments with you, lest you think every bead that comes out of my kiln is a work of art.

This bead is definitely over baked. The color is gross and the shape; ugh. It looks more like a turd than a bead.

This one was inspired by a beautiful sunset I had seen. Unfortunately, I was unable to achieve the desired effect in glass. That was disappointing. Maybe with a different technique and different glass, or maybe with a little more skill, I'll finally be able to capture that sunset.
I was trying to make an encased floral bead, but I let the core bead get too hot and smooshy when I wrapped the clear glass around it. Clear encasing is something I need to practice a lot more. I don't do it because I'm not very good at it, but the effect is stunning when it's done right.

This bead had potential. There's a lot of interesting things going on with it; little sparkles of gold, and an organic look, but I think it has a little too much going on so it looks chaotic, and I didn't get the encasing quite right on it either.

I learn a little something each time a bead goes bad, so it's not a complete waste of time, gas, and glass, and it gives me the opportunity to learn persistence. It's tempting to give up on a technique when it's difficult at first, but mastering a difficult technique is worth the time and frustration, no matter what it is one is trying to achieve, whether it's a pretty bead, a new dance step, or speaking a second language. See? Beads are good for life, even the bad ones!

Fringe Bracelet by Kewee Bead & Jewelry Co.

I love seeing what jewelry designers do with the beads they buy from me. It is such a pleasure to see something I created become part of a beautiful piece of jewelry. I found a picture of a bracelet on the internet today that was made using beads that were purchased from me over two years ago. Check out the 9/29/07 update at Kewee Bead and Jewelry Company. What a gorgeous bracelet! (Not that I'm biased or anything.)

Another Kind of Treasure, Arrrr!

It's a bit rustic looking, but then isn't that the way you'd expect a wooden treasure box that's been buried to look?



We're having a slumber party here for my (now) nine year old girly girl, who happens to also like pirates, and this cake is my latest artistic endeavor.

(Thanks for the help, Mom!)

The Strange Woman Next Door

Today I was wondering, not for the first time, just what my neighbors think of me out in my garage playing at my torch. When I make beads I take my MP3 player and headphones out to the garage with me. I can't even imagine making beads without my music. In fact, today, I spent ten minutes looking for my MP3 player before I could go out and turn on my torch.

So, there I sit, with my torch, which is a bit loud, and my headphones on my ears. I work with the garage door open, and I sing my lungs out. No one has ever asked me about it, but I wonder just how strange I appear, or worse, just how bad I sound. It doesn't matter really. Singing while I work is a completely involuntary response. Nothing I can do about it. Besides, it wouldn't be fun any other way. Still, I can't help wondering.

More Dots and Stuff

Bead Chores

There is one thing about making beads that I do not enjoy, the chores. There is just no escaping chores no matter what one does in life, is there? I'm practically allergic to chores of all kinds, I don't know why, and bead chores are no exception.

Still, I do them because, like anything else, to get to the good stuff they have to be done.

Here are a few of my bead chores:

Mixing the bead release and dipping the mandrels in it

Occasionally cleaning my work surface, still lots of time before that becomes necessary.

Cleaning the beads after they come out of the kiln

Another Bead Junky?

After posting a picture of the baby bracelet I made for my niece last week, a friend of mine emailed me and said, "I want one," so I invited her over to make her own.

This is my sneaky way of creating another beading addict. I guess that makes me a bead pusher. Changing the world, one bead at a time.

Here's a picture of my friend (Er, well, her hand, that is.) holding her creation. See? I told you it was tiny.