Post Holiday Post

 What with Christmas and all I haven't posted in a while but I'm happy to say I've been productive.  I've made a few vessels lately and am thrilled with the way this one turned out.  Joe suggested an amphora with a classical theme and this fits the bill nicely.  I wanted a Greek key pattern but, frankly, wasn't turned on by the idea of the stringer work.  I think this one has the same sort of feel without the aggravation.  I think the shape turned out well.

 Spring and Easter are coming so these are the first of many eggs I'll be making.  I made them with sky blue opalino and am happy with the opal quality of the glass that...almost...shows up in the pictures.

 Anyone mention Valentine's Day?  I had to make a special glass order for the red.  I did order some, but what arrived was closer to a brown.  I do know that some colors are notoriously hard to get consistently but let's say I really had my fingers crossed for my emergency order.  Thankfully it came in a deep red wine color.  Whew!

 These are just pretty.  I used a base of Vetrofond classic marble, which is rumored to have a (very) subtle pink hue, an older, lighter dark red, and CiM desert pink, which I am completely enamored with.

These sliders were made with subtler shades of pink.  They are, from the left, Vetrofond moon rock odd, CiM plum (discontinued, rats), Effetre lover boy, a wild batch of Vetrofond strawberry sweet and Effetre spring willow.

From a shop standpoint I've been wrestling with the idea of charging for shipping again and have finally reached the decision that I have to do it.  The upside is that I'll be able to offer a wider selection with smaller sets or even single beads.

And Here There Be Dragons.....

Have you ever seen a copy of an old map, before the oceans were explored?  They had the most beautiful drawings (or not) of the imaginary monsters that inhabited the realms no one had come back from.

With this in mind I have been making entirely different things.

My blue twisting dragon is now a book thong.

And I made a little black one.  This one even has eyebrows.

He has slightly larger wings.

Not quite large enough wings though.  In this shot you can see where most of the glass is.

Right, a vertical pendant he is, paired with some silver lined twistie beads that came out a bit too dark to use for what I wanted.

While I'm Experimenting

Just wanted to share this little guy.

Sadly, he's top heavy and wants to turn upside down.  I need to give him longer wings or a heavier tail.  Needs a bit of work....

Christmas Ornaments

As the yule approaches I thought to blow a few glass ornaments with my dinky little hothead.  My results were very lame.  Since I have neither pride nor shame I'll share.

The first one I did was the tiny one on the upper left.  Great shape, an almost perfect sphere.  Just really dinky.  A little bigger than a quarter.  Then I did the ugly one on the lower left.  The shape was ok, at least roundish, but the red and green twistie decoration looks terrible.  The blue one on the right is a bit bigger but the shape is funky to say the least.  I like what the low heat of the hot head did to the CiM Cirrus, though.  Not quite what they had in mind by milk glass I'm sure.  Sort of a low level devit.  Trust me, this was as molten as it was going to get when I worked it....

Well, happy holidays.  Maybe by next year I'll get it.

Playing with Keys

I've been playing with skeleton keys for a bit, and have enjoyed it tremendously.  This is a key keychain I made using a key I bought from another Etsian, Sara of cantapunks http://www.etsy.com/shop/cantapunks

This was to celebrate getting my learner's permit to drive!  Yeah, pretty pathetic at my age just getting my license again but I'll take any minor boosts I can get.

Intermission

 I haven't posted in a while but I've been busy making beads and getting ready for the holidays.  I've been experimenting a lot with gold leaf and just love the way it looks melted into beads and left unencased.  What sparkle.

 These beads turned out soooo cool.  The blue is Vetrofond intense blue and it is very vivid indeed.

 I don't know what is different about the way I'm taking pictures but all of a sudden black backgrounds are working.  If anyone has any idea what I'm doing right let me know.  I have no idea.

 These are little jewels I did for Christmas and if they don't sell I will be completely content.  I'll just have to use them for myself.  The sacrifices we make.....

 I decided it was time for some more purple in my life and am thrilled with Effetre medium amethyst.  I usually use the transparent violets but have been drawn to the warmer, redder purples lately.

I used a periwinkle blue under the bubbles instead of white and like the way it adds a very subtle color of its own.

Joe's been busy too.  He devised a unique cat bed for Gracie.  She seems to approve.

A larger picture shows the construction.  A bit different but recycling at its best.  She's sleeping in it now.