On the brain

The first 3 sets of beads are what I made last night. In the dark , fairy lights on disco music going. Only thing was I only managed a few hours as I was knackered from that dreaded thing called CLEANING. Yes I cleaned the house from top to bottom yesterday. Did I enjoy it ? Errr NO ! I cannot say that I did. It seems to give me too much time to think about things that I tend to not want to think about. 

 So Friday I was in the Beadoir from 9am until around end of school time 3 ish I think. I decided I wanted to try flowers again and give it a bit more welly and have a go. These are the results , the only trouble is I have a nice round bead with nice ends at the start then after I have melted in the flowers , the shape goes out a bit. So my ends are not so nice and the shape has gone a bit. Help Please !!!!!!!! Or is it a case of more PPPP and one day I might get there.

I also was thinking ( Whilst Cleaning ) this is why I hate cleaning . That when do Newbie beads stop looking like newbie beads. Or do we always look at our beads and see newbie beads ?

Day of rest today although I am still thinking about ruddy beads xx

And here they are

Do I need to say anymore about the fun I am having making beads.

It's all about the P P P 

I'm that excited

I cannot stay out of my Beadoir, I just can't. I did some paperwork for the hubby this morning, went and walked the girls , got tea and even got it ready including laying the table !!!! . From 1pm onwards I was in The Beadoir beading away , well practicing . i hope they turn out ok. I made 2 more hearts to keep on practicing maybe one day it will pay off. Plain again but I want the technique right first. Same with the bead rollers the beads are just plain but I need to get used to this new technique , it is not the same as doing a doughnut shape also you are  not reliant on freehand gravity and guessing the right size for each bead. So is that a good thing or not having a bead roller. I have no idea yet . I will just have to remember to do doughnut beads to not lose the ability to do things without a tool to help.

So we shall see when I get them out from Pinkie tomorrow !!!!!!

If they are any good I might post them as well xx Night Night All

I said I would practice

And I did . 7 hrs yesterday , I was only going to stay in there a few hours .......

I started off by practicing hearts and slowly I think I might be getting the hang of it . I am still not happy with the middle bit where the hole is but I shall have a go at putting less glass next time and see if that helps.

Then I had a much welcomed and needed surprise. My bead rollers came . No hoping about I just got out the Double Helix and Clear Glass and started . No messing I wanted to get my hands on these suckers ...

Encasing will take alot of practice to get perfect it is like starting from scratch again knowing how much glass to put on, getting it even all the way round . Covering the holes at each end. Hard to do when the glass is clear. However I do not seem to mind doing this at all.

I am looking forward to the longer light in the evening and warmer weather so I am able to have those double doors open whilst beading happily during those summer evenings. This year I want to enjoy the warmth of the sun and actually not be wearing 3 layers of clothing in June or July .

I have even started thinking about the Flame Off . About what I would like to get , what I want to see knowing I am there for 2 days means I can take my time and enjoy everything. It will be good to meet people in person as well. Something for the New Year. Meet People !!!!! And try not to be afraid .....

Enough waffle . I need to pee , its raining here and I am waiting for the coalman to arrive .xx

Have a look and see

So in my new shed I have been working on these. The first day was ever so OMG OMG OMG . I had room everything was too hand, nothing moves, its warm ( after the heater has been on for a while) and I feel like I am in heaven. 

This was yesterdays work again I was working with Striped Pink , and gun metal and black. So much for colour !! I just love it . My hearts did not turn out how I would like them. Its the middle and the end I seem to have problems with. However I shall continue having a go at them at least one a week, you never know it might click one day.

I then had a try around 5 ish last with Mermaid and Goldstone Ribbon. Not sure on how to use the ribbon I either encased it and pulled it into a stringer or placed it on the bead and encased quickly then melted. I loved how they have turned out on my first attempt. Not perfect but the colours together are stunning.

More news some beads I made and put into a bracelet and earrings for someone in New Zealand have arrived and the feedback was positive and gratifying . Plus a party in a few weeks so I better start making some of these beads into pieces of Jewellery otherwise they will have nothing to look at . No pressure then !!!!

Beads in my new environment

These are what I produced Monday , my first day in my new room . I tried new things some for the first time . So I can see my mistakes and try and correct them for the next time I have a go. I have been trying encasing and some Double Helix Glass. The more I practice in theory , the better I should get. I also want to use plenty of colour this year. something that my son is not afraid to use or wear. We shall see !!

 I then found Striped Pink and have fallen in love with this glass. I love it ! I did 2 focals but one cracked as I fought to get the bugger off the mandrel.

I have also been trying to do Twisties , but practice practice practice might get me somewhere.

The Beadoir Finished

So here it is all cluttered up and I LOVE IT !!!!

My own space just for me . Knowing that I do not have to pack away and everything is all in one place so I know to look in there first as it should be in there.

A good day in the Beadior

I thought I really had a good day beading yesterday, but the day has started off as it means to go on I think. I forgot something major again. My best bead cracked and would not come off the mandrel and my dogs have decided to chase everything in sight , even the postman did not get away from them this morning. They are not evil doggies just run up wanting a stroke but we all know postmen are very cautious and they have there good reasons as to why . 

So here are a few that I managed to get off the mandrels 

I am disappointed with these beads really. They show I need to practice a hell of alot more

Le Beadoir

I thought I would post this now before I clutter it all up !!. There are still some bits to put in ( Glitter Ball, Pink Lights , Electric ) However this is the finished product that my husband has done over Christmas. 

I went for a day at Kaz's when I came home The Husband and The Son had spent that day in the freezing cold putting up The Beadoir as it is to be known as, ( Hubby thought of it ) .

He then painted it white with Metallic Pink on the far wall . As he is a Floor Layer he then got some Pink Rubber Flooring of which  there was enough to go on the work surface that he built . As he said he is beginning to be a dab hand at this worktop building as he built our large cabin / office in the garden with all the work surface inside.

A secondhand mirror and tile was bought ( bargins ) the rest was what we had around the house. I have some solar fairy lights for outside in the summer . Excited is not the wording. Screaming , jumping up and down. To say that he has made the inside look like I had imagined inside my head is an understatement.

As you can see I will have one side for the Jewellery making side and the other for the Lampworking.
It is a good starting point and we can take it from there.

 I am not a Pink Person but my kiln is Pink so I decided to go overboard and take it from there. I also saw a well known celeb with a Pink office but painted all over. When I saw it I thought that's what I want. But I changed it to what suited that space. 

For my Husband who has done this just for me xxx . I LOVE YOU xxxxxx

New Years List

Will I stick to what I want to achieve this year.

Little Steps so not to be let down.

1. A Happy Family ( well at least 60 % of the time )
2. Social Life !! ( Maybe here's hoping )
3. The new shedio decorated to suit me. (Well experimenting me it might not work )
4. Go down a dress size ( pre Shetland Size )
5. No more shoes !!!!!!! ( Doubt I will stick to this one )
6. Spend Less, Budget more.
7. Exercise more ( Dogs more walkies no gym !!! )
8. Continue to organize household & work so it works !!!!!!!!! Stick to the routine , Don't get sidetracked
9. Practice and experiment with Lampworking ( don't always play safe )
10. Buy more Black clothes.  (Forget no 6 on list )
11. Clean house alot more ( Move further down list )

I will add more to this naff list when mind block decides to lift. ( Older age has set in already )

I remember some more

12. Have more fun
13. Laugh more ( Life can only get you down otherwise )
14 . *** have even more of it .

Kalipso Calling

After heating the snot out of this glass last summer. I decided to wait until we had moved back to Manchester and getting someone who knew what they were doing with Double Helix glass to show me how to use it properly. Kaz from Cheeky Cherub showed me during Christmas week what to do along with Encasing. YES oh YES encasing is hard and lots of practice will be needed to get it spot on. 

Below are my attempts at encasing and using Kalipso Double Helix Glass. 

Yeah to the Kalipso . Hit and Miss with the encasing. Button holes I did not manage all the time, needs work and the encasing with he clear I need to judge way way way better than I did. But these were my first go on my own torch. I have yet to see what I did at Kaz's !!!!!

However I was over the moon with these babies.

RIP Tilley

RIP Tilley 

8.2.03 - 31.12.2010

The Big C got her in the end .

Finally got him to do it

I could not show these before Christmas as they were presents for the mothers. These are The Husbands photos put onto canvas . The Puffin was for his mother and The Dog Otter was for mine. I was so over the moon at them I wanted to keep them for myself !!!

So He now knows what they look like and liked what he saw. So I know now what we shall be having on our walls in future.