I am in another treasury!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4ca3933ec9fe8eefdffbe8c3/small-scale?index=0

Spring flowers!

I made these glass bell flowers some time ago, and last night I finally decided how to assemble it. The sterling silver chain has been laying around for almost 3 years, unused. I loved it when I bought it, but never found that one idea to use it with. Fine silver stamen attach the flowers to the chain.

Want to be my friend on Facebook?

I just realised that I am not friends with a lot of you, and although I follow a lot of blogs, it would be nice to read more about you everyday.
You are welcome to befriend me on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/Deesigned.Beads

A Pretty bead, but damaged goods ...

I made this bead last week, and while I cleaned the hole, it slipped out of my hand. One of the tiny black dots on the edge of the bead chipped off. I REALLY loved this bead. The colours, the pattern, everything about it! Ugh.

I am in a treasury!

One of my beads has been included in a treasury on Etsy!
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c9addcdf3d86d9146a67b95/coral-and-turquoise-duo

Coral and Turquoise

Large sand coloured disk pendant

Some new work. I really love this big disk. The colours is soft, blending into each other with a raked pattern. Soft raised dots is on the perimeter of the disk. This pendant could be attached to a leather or a silk ribbon.

Monocromatic large hole disk

I have made this bead some time ago but was not sure if I should keep it for myself, or sell it. It is now available in my Etsy shop.

Some new beads

This week I have not been as productive having beads available for sale, but it is because I am busy trying to develop something new in glass. The first prototypes is kinda OK, but I still need to tweak the design, so no images, lol!

Here is the last of my chunky disks. A warm set with an accent of red spirals. It is a nice graduated set, slightly smaller than my previous chunky disks. Ideal for a necklace or even a bracelet.

Neutrals with turquoise

I love this set of chunky disks the most! The colours is ivory, muted greens, a hint of terracotta and of course the turquoise bands. Available in my Etsy store!

Some new work

Weekend Beads!

Today I have some images of new earrings and some disk beads that I have added to my Etsy shop ...

A set of 14 disk beads with lots of different reds and orange in both opaque and transparent colours. They are chunky and best shown from the side. I have made some nice necklaces in the past using these types of beads.

And some earrings that is for sale in my brick & mortar shop. Sterling and Fine silver wires and beads with some tiny glass beads, all etched. Why do I prefer glass to be etched???

Ooh, and a bracelet, strung on a waxed linen string ...

Friday beads!

It is a beautiful day in the Mother City today, and we have been promised an even better (warmer) weekend. This morning the birds outside my bedroom were really chirpy. Everywhere new leaves is growing out of trees and bushes, and there is quite a few flowers opening up. I love being able to wear summer clothes again!

Here is a new bead set that I have made. Lovely chunky disks that could be used in your jewellery! I have used 6 different coloured glass, both in the opaque and transparent spectrum. By using only white, black and transparent greys I were able to create a monochromatic set that would look lovely with just about anything! It is available in my Etsy store ...

And some new earrings for my brick & mortar shop! Tiny little beads, with sterling and fine silver wires.

More Shard Beads on Etsy and a necklace

A red hollow bead necklace. I have (as with the clear one shown a few days ago) left the surface uneven, showing the layers of glass, when I built the hollows. I used transparent orange, but it looks more like a light red in natural light. It is for sale in my brick & mortar shop, but should you be interested in it, please convo me! I ship world wide ...

I have blown more shards, and this is what I came up with. I decided to blow some white glass. You guys know how soupy white glass gets when super heated? Try making a hollow on the end of the blow mandrel, hehehehe! But the results really pleased me. The beads were etched, and the white looks almost like spilled milk on the spheres. I think I need to make some for myself too ...

And a set of pressed white beads with some red, orange and yellow shards, and some micro stringer details.

Everything is available at my Etsy shop!

Why I need to wear my glasses ...

As mentioned in the previous post, I went on a bit of a bead making spree this week. I made what felt like a gazillion clear hollow beads, keeping the texture rough, just melting the glass enough to ensure that the structure is stable and strong. This is another bead style that I have wanted to do for a long time. But I really love to see how the 'ugly duckling' bloom into a beautiful round sphere. This time I was able to control that urge, and only ended up with 3 beads that were smoothed out ...

Anyway, I rushed home, cleaned the bead holes with my flex shaft tool and diamond bit, and used a super large syringe and thick gauge needle (bent slightly by moi)to flush out the unwanted bead release. As I was not wearing the mentioned glasses, and I was tired, and it was late at night, I did not notice that some still had tiny flecks of bead release in it! Only during it's photo shoot this morning did I see it, ugh! So I will not be able to sell it today in my shop, but it is back in my bag so it can get a thorough cleaning tonight!

New work on Etsy!

I have been on a shard blowing blitz the last week, and this is what I have come up with! For a few years I have been wanting to make these beads, but always got sidetracked with other stuff. I do not know if it because spring seem to be in the air here in Cape Town (albeit chilly and wet at times), but I suddenly have an urge to really go bright!

I think that these 2 sets will really look lovely made up in combination with some silver and other beads! The beads were all hand formed by me, using gravity as my main tool. The shards were placed on the base bead, and melted in. I allowed the stringer to stay slightly raised, and it gives a lovely tactile feel to the beads. On request I could try my best to make smaller ones, that would be a perfect ear ring size!

I have used ultra thin stringer to decorate the surface of the beads, and allowed it to be slightly irregular. It reminds me of kinder art.

And speaking of kinder, the two most beautiful and cool kids have visited me in the shop today! My sister and her family came to Cape Town for a long weekend, and I had the opportunity to reconnect with the girls. Initially shy, they immediately warmed up when I gave them some beads, lol.