Babs Beads

I say ladybug, you say ladybird!

2011-10-05T16:55:00.003+02:00

Today I thought I learned somthing new. I've always called those sweet little bugs, with red shell and black spots, for ladybugs in english. And that's also what I called the BHB i listed yesterday:

But today I looked it up, just to be sure. And was i surprised to find out that they are really called ladybirds!

So I named my new bead Ladybird Meadow:

And now, after som more research, I find out that ladybird is brittish english and ladybug is american english. So now I'm just confused.

In swedish they are called nyckelpiga. But no one outside Sweden would understand that!

(You can find the beads in my Etsy shop.)

Been a while!

2011-09-29T10:58:00.002+02:00

Wooh! I see that I did my last posting in late March. Is it really possible that it's been so long? Where did time go?

I guess I've just been working to much and torching to little.

But I've got some news for you! I recently opened a shop over at Etsy. Go visit and share your thoughts with me.

I'll work ArtFire and Etsy both for a while and see how it works out.

I've also listed some stuff recently... :)

A cabochon addicts' confessions

2011-03-29T17:35:00.005+02:00

My name is Susanne and I'm a Cab Addict (CA).
(And it has nothing to do with cars.)

Cabochons - strongly addictive!

It all started very slowly when I bought a cabochon mandrel from Tuffnells' some two years ago. (My intention was to make a pair of cufflinks for my husband. Heh!) I tried it out a few times, but didn't get the hang of it and was certainly not bitten by the cab bug.

So the cab mandrel has stood in my mandrel yar for a looong time, looking accusingly at me for spending so much money on something I never use.

The truth is, I've been scared of picking it up. I don't have that much time for torching and not to much money, so the idea of waisting both time and glass on something I obviously (?) wasn't ment for, seemed to be a worse waste than the initial purchase of the mandrel.

But a few weeks ago, something happened. For some reason I got this idea in my head of how the cabochons could be made! Of to the torch to prove my hypothesis. And it proved right!

And now, I just can't stop. It took me two weeks to realize that ONE mandrel is simply not enough. And now I'm just waiting for a decent salary to be able to doule my pair. I'm addicted! I could sit and make only cabs for a hole day, if it wasn't for the shortage of mandrels.

Top view

New listings

2011-03-03T10:16:00.004+01:00

I admit - I'm not a very organized ArtFire lister. Once in a while I take a batch of beads and jewellery and photograph them. Then I have a bunch of items to list and I try to list one every day. But when I'm out of new photos, it normally takes a week or two for me to get the camera out again. So that's why I'm an periodic lister. If you ever wondered. :)

This week I've been listing some new jewellery I'd like to show you.

Cosmic Ponds lampwork bead on Sterling Silver Necklace

I rarely makes those large beads with reactive silver glass, but once in a while I just get a crave. I'm really pleased with how this bead turned out. Lovely reactions and a beautiful metallic luster.

Mediterranian, Lampwork and Sterling Silver pendant

The combination of aqua and silvered ivory glass is so good! For this bead I covered the entire bead in silverfoil and added the aqua blue glass before burning the silver off. That's why the blue looks so much like water. The pendant is made with sterlings silver parts and swarowski crystals in matching colours. It has a lobster clasp, so you can easily attache it to almost any necklace you allready have!

Tiny Penguins, Lampwork and Sterling Silver Earrings

I got this idea from a friend of mine who wanted penguin earrings for his wife. I've previously made larger penguins for necklaces, but now I was challenge with using a very small amount of glass and still get the details. And I do feel they turned out really cute. So this is my third pair!

All these items (and many more) are in my ArtFire shop at the usual adress!

Split vision

2011-02-21T10:12:00.004+01:00

I really find I suffer from some mental kind of split vision. To many things I want (and sometimes need) to do and far to little time to do them. The good thing with split vision is that you can take in a lot of stuff. The world get big, bright and funny! The bad thing is you find it very hard to choose your focus. And when I can't focus, I tend to do.... nothing.

But yesterday I was determined. I just had to torch! And it was a great afternoon. I wish it could have last forever. But all good things must come to an end, and at least Iäve got a bunch of mandrels to show:

Fresh from the kiln

Now it's just the less fun part of cleaning them all left. :)

The Fire Divas Quarterly Jewelry Challenge is up!

2011-01-12T20:23:00.001+01:00

Once again, the Fire Divas invite you to a jewlery challenge! The theme is That Special Bead. It is entirely open to your own interpretation and we hope you have fun with it! For some inspiration, head over to our Flickr page. You can win some fantastic prizes!

See the prizes and the rules for entering at our blog .

Last spring a swedish friend of mine won the challenge. I would love for that to happen again!

The continuing adventures of Flappy

2010-12-12T19:47:00.002+01:00

I wrote another blogpost on the Handmade in Europe blog yesterday about Flappy. I let him experience the oh, so swedish tradition of a Lucia procession.

Read all about it here!

Christmas fair

2010-12-07T18:05:00.005+01:00

This Sunday (December 5) I had a boot at the local Christmas fair, wich was really fun. Sales were not amazing, but I met lots of new people and handed out lots of bussiness cards and had a great day all together.

Here's a picture of my boot:

Flappy - the HIE mascot - is here!

2010-11-28T20:54:00.002+01:00

In the ArtFire guild Handmade in Europe we have a mascot called Flappy Flambé, or just Flappy. He's a phoenix bird to remind us how we were reborn from the ashes of the old european guild.

One of our guild members, Eddys Pressies, knitted us a lovely Flappy and now he's travelling all around Europe, visiting our studios and home towns. And now he's here, In Uppsala, Sweden, visiting me!

I blog about his visit on the guild blog. The first post can be found here: Flappy is in the house!
and the second one here: Flappy in my studio

Hope you like it!

Go find Flappy!! Or make a pice of jewellery!!

2010-10-01T13:27:00.003+02:00

I'm a member of two lovely guilds on ArtFire. On is Fire Divas - a group of talented lampworkers (and me), and one is Handmade in Europe - where all the members are european but active within different crafts.

And each guild has a fantastic challenge going on RIGHT NOW!!

In Fire Divas, it's the Quarterly Jewelry Challenge, wich I told you about before.

Handmade in Europe is throwing another Flappy Hunt! Flappy is the phoenix bird we've choosen for our symbol. And now he's looking for his realitves! Please help him!

And the best part is that there are wonderful prizec to be won in both the contests!

A new Curated Collection

2010-09-29T09:39:00.003+02:00

I love that ArtFire made it possible to create collections of your favourite items and show them of to others.

Today I made a collection of Fire Diva beads that are To Die For! Just look:

Glass! Lampwork f...

Curated By: BabsBeadsandD...

ArtFire.com

Craft Tutorials

I wish

2010-08-31T16:42:00.002+02:00

If could get what I want I'd do no other work than making beads. I could concider making jewellery, giving lessons etc, but everything would be beadrelated.

*Sigh!*

But there's no way I can make my dream come true. So I just keep doing my daytime job. That means, though, that my listing of new items, writing blogposts and everything else related to the lampwork bussiness will happen very randomly. As you might have noticed! :)

So I hope you have patience with me and keep visiting my blog, my ArtFire store and my Facebook Fanpage!

Fire Divas Quarterly Jewelry Challenge!

2010-08-23T18:48:00.001+02:00

It's that time again! The Fire Divas are hosting another Jewelry Challenge! For this challenge, the theme is "The Holiday Season." There are several holidays coming up, and we want to celebrate them! You can see holiday-inspired Fire Diva creations in our Flickr. By entering this challenge, you have the chance to win:

http://www.twoglassyladies.ca/

http://www.etsy.com/shop/JanelDudleyBeads

http://www.arensea.etsy.com/

http://www.teasebeads.artfire.com/

http://www.artfire.com/users/BabsBeadsandDesign

http://www.lajewelrydesigns.etsy.com/
or http://www.lajewelrydesigns.artfire.com/

http://www.hollysfolly.com/

http://www.lutrick.artfire.com/

Owl bead from http://www.maybeads.etsy.com/

http://www.emakaye.etsy.com/

http://www.beadygirlbeads.etsy.com/

Now for the details:

All submissions must feature Fire Divas' lampwork. We require the name of the Fire Diva who made the beads used in the submitted piece, so if you submit something, please be ready to provide that information.

We will allow one submission per person per contest, and a maximum of two photos per submission. Entries may be submitted here (http://www.flickr.com/groups/firedivachallenge/) for approval, no later than October 15, 2010. No Flickr account? No problem. You can also email your submissions to firedivas @ gmail . com (no spaces). Please include, in the comments section or in your email, the following:
Information about the beads:
Description of the piece:
Inspiration for the piece:
Submissions will not be approved without all of this information.

Fire Divas reserve the right to approve or reject any submissions.

Fire Divas reserve the right to modify or cancel the challenge at any time.

The winners will be determined by an open poll which does not allow multiple votes.

I guess summer is over

2010-08-22T11:01:00.003+02:00

I've tried to keep on to the summer for as long as possible. But now the kids re back in school, and my daytime job is really taking off, so I guess I'll have to stop pretending. Though it hurts a bit!

Among other stuff that has to be taken care of is my ArtFire shop - and this blog! There's lot of stuff happening in the lampwork/shop world. On is that I finally got to make, photograph and list some beads on ArtFire this week. Yay!!

Go visit my shop to see Galaxies and Autumn bloom, for example. And there is more to come this week.

I also listed Summer sea view, but it is already gone. I really liked i though, so I'll show you a pic of it here. Hope you enjoy!

Summer sea view

New category: Big Hole Beads (BHB)

2010-06-02T09:40:00.003+02:00

Yes, I finally caved in and bought some really thick mandrels (5 mm in diameter) to make big hole beads for Pandora, Troll, Biagi and similar jewelry. They are actually quite fun to make and kind of challenging to as I have to think in new dimensions while placing the pattern.

The mandrel in the picture is one of my normal sized ones.

And as these beads differ a bit from my normal production I also decided to open up a new category in my ArtFire studio for them.

Great news on Fire Divas blog!

2010-06-02T09:21:00.005+02:00

May has been somewhat insane for me. Lot of work and not so much time for beads or blog.

But I wanted to pop in and tell you about a new feature at the Fire Divas blog. As you probably know we have a daily post called Bead of the Day (or BOTD if your in a hurry). Now many of us divas have signed up for Bead of the Day project and discounts. In short it means taht if you are quick and order the featured bead within 24 hrs, you get some sort of discount.

Check it out to find out what, who and how much!

I don't believe it - SNOW!!!

2010-04-22T09:01:00.002+02:00

Last night snow started to fall over Uppsala. It's not totally for April in Sweden wich is reknowned for it moody weather but the snow was still on the ground when we wole up this morning and it keeps falling. Brrr!

So I thought I'd just cheer me - and you - up with som more floral beads.

Flower and pearls

Have you been invited to a party this spring? You'll feel like a princess in this necklace. It's made of white freshwater pearls and pea green seed beads. As a focal I've use one of my lampwork flowers in pea green and the lightest transaprent pink there is.

Blooming ink

The ink blue glass from CiM - Leaky pen - is very hard to use as it fries easily. Also it has to be laid over a light colour or else it will just look black. But when you overcome those issues it's a beautiful glass! Here I put it over white and added som white flowers randomly placed on the surface. The raised stamens are also made of Leaky pen .

Tangerine lampwork flower necklace

Here I made a pendant from the lampwork flower and let it hang from a wire necklet. An everyday necklace for the happy days of spring.

Meadow

A transparent green bead with surface decoration of frit in greens and yellows and raised flowers in pink and white.

Light turquoise flower earrings

Sterling silver and turquoise says summer to me. These lentil beads have an ivory coloured flower on each side. There's a necklace to go with them too...

Voting has begun - please use your vote!

2010-04-17T12:54:00.003+02:00

It's so exciting! 14 lovely entries are competing for fantastic prizes in Fire Divas Jewelry Challenge and voting begins today.
You simply MUST visit the Fire Divas blog and drowl over the lovely pieces and lay your vote on your personal favourite. (Not that I would DREAM of trying to influence your opinion, but one of the entries is featuring a bead of mine...)

Fire Divas is a group of 24 talented lampworkers who strives to promote, help and encourage eachother. You can find us in our blog, on Facebook and in the weekly threads on ArtFire and Etsy.

Lot of flowers going on

2010-04-15T11:06:00.002+02:00

I'm making a lot of floral beads right now. Might it be the spring influencing me? ;)

Romantic, lampwork bead

When I look around in the lampwork world I don't see so many florals right now. Maybe they're outmoded. But how can you grow tired of flowers??

They are great fun to make, too. So many possibiliteis in colours and shape. Should the flowers float ove a plain background or should there be a background decoration of frit?

Vulcano flowers

Maybe a winding wine for the flowers to grow from or a scrollwork to add interest.

Blossoms, lampwork necklace

And the flowers. Raised or flush? Encased or surface decoration? And how many petals should there be? How many layers of lovely glass, how small, how big?

Blooming rock

Should the bead just be a flower?

Bud

Or should the flower just be an accent on something else?

Goddess with rose on her hip

I could go on forever. But I wont. I'll just keep making them, hoping you'll love them!

Slytherin floral, lampwork bead

Don't forget to find Flappy!

2010-04-12T18:59:00.003+02:00

Remember the Phoenix hunt ends April 20. Hurry and find Flappy!

The hunt is hosted by the ArtFire guild Handmade in Europe, and there are fabulouse handmade prizes to win. Read all about us and the prizes in our blog.

Wohoo! I'm Diva of the month! :)

2010-04-05T10:49:00.003+02:00

This is so great. I'm the choosen one on Fire Divas blog during April. That means you can learn all about me (?) during these four weeks. The first part of the interview was published on the 1:st and the next part will be published on the 8:th. And so on!

You find the first part of the interview here!

And if you've got any questions not covered by the blogposts, feel free to ask me!

Fire Divas Jewelry Challenge - inspiration

2010-03-26T19:33:00.003+01:00

You haven't forgotten about the Fire Divas jewelry Challenge, have you!?

Holly posted two inspirational posts here and here. You can also visit the Flickr Challenge gallery for inspiration.

Now, go create!

Fabulouse give away!

2010-03-22T09:18:00.004+01:00

A lot going on in the ArtFire guilds right now. I've already told you about Fire Divas Jewelry Challenge.

My other guild - Handmade in Europe - is having a kind of Egg hunt-give away. Though with Flappy Flambé - the phoenix bird. It's not hard, just fun! And the winner will get beautiful, handmade stuff from european artists. The items will be presented more thoroughly in the blog during March and April.

Now go hunt!

The perfect tool

2010-03-20T14:05:00.003+01:00

People who are just about to get their first lampwork setup often asks what tools they should invest in (beside the obviouse torch and mandrels). Moste beginners kits includes a graphite marver and som kind of poking device, wich anyone who is into this hobby probably would recommend too. But what is the next step?

I've been addicted for almost three years and have gathered some tools, more or less useful. But there is one that I don't think I would do without (at least not as well!) and that happens to be the cheapest tool in the box! Here it is:

Yep, that's right. It's a common, stainless steel table knife. It was part of my husbands cuttlery when he moved away from home and I'm guessing he bought it real cheap at IKEA or so.

And now it's a lampwork tool! That must be a somewhat surprising experience for a knife. But totally awesome!

And I love and use it all the time. It's perfect for gently pushing glas around while encasing a bead. It works as a tiny marver when you just want to shape part of a bead, like the legs of a goddess or the fishes head. As it is so narrow, it doesn't hide the while bead like a marver would so it's easy to follow the lines you're creating.

It makes nice creases (I always use it for making striped wine stringer) and the cutting edge is great for raking or feathering pattern on the surface of the bead.

Tools can be really expensive. But they don't have to be to work! As long as they are made in a stainless material and doesn't melt or burn, they can work.

And the best part; When this knife is worn out, there are 11 more in the box!

Jewellery challenge with great prices!

2010-03-12T18:53:00.001+01:00

It's time for the Fire Divas Quarterly Jewelry Challenge! The theme for this challenge is Spring! Show us your beautiful Spring themed jewelry creations featuring Fire Divas' lampwork. Head over to the Flickr site to see many beautiful jewelry pieces made with Fire Divas' lampwork to inspire you! You have the chance to win these incredible prizes from the Fire Divas:

$50 Gift Certificate to http://www.hollysfolly.com

$25 Gift Certificate to http://www.lajewelrydesigns.artfire.com or
http://www.LAJewelryDesigns.etsy.com

$20 Gift Certificate to http://www.teasebeads.artfire.com or
http://www.teasebeads.etsy.com

Bentley the Blue dog from Lauren of Maybeads

$25 Gift Certificate to http://www.arensea.artfire.com

$25 Gift Certificate to http://www.beadygirlbeads.etsy.com

$20 Gift Certificate to http://www.lutrick.artfire.com

$20 Gift Certificate to http://www.BabsBeadsandDesign.artfire.com

$20 Gift Certificate to http://www.JanelDudleyBeads.etsy.com

Now for the details:

All submissions must feature Fire Divas' lampwork. We require the name of the Fire Diva who made the beads used in the submitted piece, so if you submit something, please be ready to provide that information.

We will allow one submission per person per contest, and a maximum of two photos per submission. Entries may be submitted here (http://www.flickr.com/groups/firedivachallenge/) for approval, no later than April 15, 2010. Please include, in the comments section, the following:
Information about the beads:
Description of the piece:
Inspiration for the piece:
Name of the lampwork artist:
Submissions will not be approved without all of this information.

Fire Divas reserve the right to approve or reject any submissions.

Fire Divas reserve the right to modify or cancel the challenge at any time.

The winners will be determined by an open poll which does not allow multiple votes.

Ok, go have fun creating, and good luck to all who enter!

Just listed: a fish and a set!

2010-02-21T13:03:00.004+01:00

This week has been insane in many ways and I haven't found any time for listing or blogging until this weekend. So now I want to show you two items.

The first one might not be a great surprise - it's a fish!

Goldie, lampwork fish

Goldie is a girl with a taste for glamuor. Her body send out sparks from the gold aventurin I used for the pattern. Her fins are in light and medium amber that bring out the golden look and her lipstick is dark red.

The next item is really five items. It's the first set I've ever listed!

They are made of dark grey glass with a white dot pattern. I'm really fond of the tranquility in them.

But most of all I'm quite proud of having made a set! I'm normally more of a focal kind of lampworker. When I make a bead I allready have the next one planned in my head and I jump between styles and techniques. A lot of the joy in torching lies in the infinite possibilities and constant ability to change.

On the other hand I'd love to make jewellery with a set of lampwork beads! And I guess I'm not the only one thinking so.

For further info and more beads and jewellery, please visit my ArtFire studio!

Is it really that difficult?

2010-02-13T12:09:00.004+01:00

Lot's of people probably wonder what's so difficult about lampwork. And when you look at all the amazing work by all the great lampwork artists, it really doesn't seem so hard.

But there's lots and lots of practice behind every single one of those stunning creations.

Over at Watch me Create I found this post from a talented jewellery designer who made her second atempt on lampwork the other day. Read Lori Andersons post here!

My blog and other blogs

2010-02-11T08:39:00.006+01:00

There's a lot of blogs in my life. The present one is obviouse! I try to keep it updated, but when my real job gets in the way it's sometimes hard to find time for it.

I also have two other blogs - both in swedish - that almost dead due to lack of care.

And than I have duties on two community blogs. Monday is my day to show of my work at Handmade in Europe. It's run buy a group of european ArtFire artist. We make all sorts of stuff and have great fun together. You should really visit the blog if you fancy handmade items! In a month or so there will be a give-away too, so keep an eye on it.

On Wednesdays I've taken over the Bead of the Day on Fire Divas blog. Fire Divas is a group of 21 lampworkers from US and Canada. And me!!
Under the the heading Item of the Day (wich occurs several times each week) the author pick one of the beads that has been listed during the week. And every week it's so hard to choose!
Keep an eye on this blog if you like lampwork!

Beads or jewellery? A lampworkers dilemma

2010-02-08T18:53:00.005+01:00

I bet all of the lampwork artists who also make jewellery know this dilemma: You open your kiln and pcik out the annealed beads. You release them from the mandrel and carefully clean them from bead release (the clay the steel mandrel is dipped in before you make your beads).

And now what?

Should I sell it as it is?

Or should I make some kind of jewellery out of it?

And in that case - sterling silver or silverplated?

Or leather or beaded or....?

And what length?

(I borrowed this picture from Reeds. Hope they'll excuse me!)

Gaaaaahh!!!

I find I tend to keep more and more of my beads as they are. This is for several reasons:

1. I think that in webshops, people prefer buying beads to jewellery. That's beacause you often want to see pices you are going to wear with your own two eyes. Beadshoppers are also used to shopping online and therefore has a lower treshold for buying stuff unseen.

2. If someone wants a bead made into jewellery, that's easily done. The customer can also decide wich material, length etc he or she wants to have. If, on the other hand, someone wants to take the bead out of the jewellery, I'd say no, of course. I might make a similar one though!

3. I have homeparties with my beads and jewellery now and then. And though people love touching and trying my jewellery on, I sometimes think they love going through my bead boxes even more! I very often get orders on jewellery made from beads out of my boxes. And here too can they decide wich materials to use etc. They even have a display of my materials at hand as I always have quite an exhibition of jewellery at these parties!

4. It's also a question of time. I love making jewellery but I LOVE making beads. And as there are only so many hours in a week...

On the other hand - there will always be people who loves to buy readymade. And also - not least important - I really enjoy putting out the torch once in a while and make something with some of my glassy goodies!

Bead of the day on Fire Divas blog!

2010-02-06T11:19:00.002+01:00

One of my beads is Bead of the Day on Fire Divas!!
Check it out: Fire Divas blog

And don't forget to join our Facebook fanclub for everyday updates from the Fire Diva world!

Just listed and going out of the saftey zone.

2010-02-04T08:58:00.004+01:00

Yesterday I actually listed two items on Babs Beads & Design on ArtFire. One of them is another example from my fish collection:

This one differs from the others in one significant way; It actually tries to look like a real fish! It's a glassy friend to the swordtail fish (Xiphophorus helleri) swimming around in our aquarium here at home. Swordtails come in a lot of different colours and most common is the all orange one, but ours have black fins and tail.

The bead is a female fish as I thought the sword that adorns the male swordtail would be to thin and fragile for a glass bead. At least if it's going to be worn in a piece of jewellery!

The other bead is something quite different. It's easy and fun to make a kind of bead you are familiar with and just alter colour combos and little details. It's also very much fun to be inspired by other beadmakers and see what you can come up with, using their concept.

But sometimes I need to step completely out of the saftey zone and do something different. Just play around with different glass and see what comes out!

Mostly, the beads that are a result of this process end up in the "good idea but need to be worked on"-bowl I've got in the kitchen window. (A bowl that all kids that come here LOVE to go through! They think the beads are all beautiful.)

But sometimes I come up with a bead I'm really happy of. This is an example of such a bead:

I call it Winged raku, cause I don't know what else to call it! :) The black bead has a raku frit deco that developped wonderful colours. I'm deffinitly not a raku-master, so I'm excited every time I get soe kind of colour out of that glass.

The wings are made of light amber and Rubino oro.

For more info on these beads, please visit my ArtFire studio!

Just listed

2010-02-02T09:49:00.003+01:00

Well, "just" is a relative word, isn't it! :)

On Sunday I found time to take picture of a few objects that is going up on ArtFire this week. So yesterday I posted another fish - Marina:

Her clear body has a pattern of blue aventurin that sends of beautiful sparks. As hard to catch on photo as the sun on the sea. Hence her name!
Her fins are white and ink blue and she is 42 mm long. Big girl!

Today I listed a turtle for a change. That's another creature I love to make. This one is called Orangina:

Her shell is orange with vanilla yellow pattern. It's encased and on the top Iäve added a pattern in white and light lemon yellow.

This is the kind of bead that cracks on me most often. And, annoying enough, it's always as I add the finishing touch - the toes! They are quite hard to get there and melt in without them disappearing and it takes quite some concentration for me to get it right. And while concentrating on the toes, I sometimes forget to keep the shell hot. So it cracks. Any lampworker know the sound of a cracking bead and what it feels like when you've put a lot of time and energy into a bead when just to hear that sound. And there is nothing to save a turtle that has cracked!

But this one made it! Count your blessings! :)

For more details on the listed beads, please visit my ArtFire studio!

Valentine sale for all Facebook fanclub members

2010-02-01T10:34:00.003+01:00

It's very much winter here in Sweden and I'm looking for ways to cheer me - and you - up. So I decided to have a sale for all my Facebook Fanclub members. Maybe you can cheer someone up to with a little gift!
Go to my fan page and see what the deal is!

BabsBeadsandDesign on Facebook

When life gets in the way

2010-01-29T19:01:00.002+01:00

This time i finally got quite a lot of work to do. You know, of the kind that I actually can make som money on. I've also been networking and learned my system for bookkeeping. All this is very good!

The bad thing is, I haven't had much time to torch and even less to take pictures. So no listings for a few days now. I'll try to find some time during the weekend.

In the mean time - if you want to look at some goodies - why don't you go over to the Fire Diva's blog?! Yes, I'm a Fire Diva now (yay!!!) and you can follow this groups work on the blog, on the Facebook fanpage, on Flickr or in the Fire Diva's threads in the ArtFire and Etsy forums.

Do you do Valentine's Day?

2010-01-25T10:16:00.005+01:00

My guess is that if you're american you say "Yes, of course!" and if you're from Sweden you say "maybe I buy my loved one a flower...". We swedes are not very big on this day though the commercial forces are trying to convince us we HAVE to buy flowers and chocolates. :)

In Sweden, this day is called Day of All Hearts (though in swedish of course - Alla Hjärtans Dag). It does not have a long tradition (probably as we are mainly protestants and don't celebrate saints). It wasn't until the 1960's it was brought to our attention buy commercial forces and under influence of the amreican culture.

I don't think love should go hand in hand with money and I really don't like this day to be a competition for who are most popular. But if you have a loved one, it might be nice to take the opportunity to appreciate her or him a little extra.

In my ArtFire shop I have tagged some items with "valentine" if you feel like making that extra effort. I'm guessing you will not be too surprised by finding my hearts under that tag. But there will be other stuff too, like male necklaces.

So go ahead - take a look!

Tie bead necklace

Just listed

2010-01-23T13:49:00.005+01:00

This week has been quite turbulent, so I haven't had time to blogg a lot. I have been able to list som new stuff on ArtFire, though. Let's start with two goddesses from my series Mother of two goddess:
This one has a core of dark amethyst and an encasement of medium amethyst. I love to etche the surace of my transparent goddesses. It makes the suface look and feel almost like skin and it also makes alters the light when it shines thorugh the bead. The goddess kind of glows from within.
The next lady is made from a CiM glass called stoneground. It's a yellow ochre colour with great striations in it. My only problem is that this glass doesn't seem to work with my bead release. It won't let go of the mandrel! This one my husband finally manage go get off, but the mandrel i ruined.

This is the last fish of this week. Quite a different colour scheme comapred to the others I've listed. A cool guy in white, sky blue and emerald green taht I call Robin.

And last but not least - a bead for spring:

Heart for spring

This pea green heart has raised flowers on both sides. The hole runs vertically through so you can choose to just put it directly on a thin chain for a simple neckalce. It would make a lovely Valentine gift!

BTW - all images are clickable and will bring you directly to my ArtFire shop!

Just added: Fish Hanna

2010-01-19T09:35:00.003+01:00

Yes, another fish. Told you I was in fish mood, huh! :)

This one is made in light amber glass from effetre and decorated with a Moussaka frit from Beady Sam (where will I get new frit now that she's closed the shop???). The colours in the fins are choosen to enchance the Moussaka theme. It's medium amethyst (wich ressembles of aubergine) and light amber.
This is quite a big lay - 45 mm long. The hole runs vertically right in front of her fins.

For further details, please visit my ArtFire shop!

And by the way - I've listed the beads from my post on Slytherin glass on ArtFire too, if you're interested.

Tried and loved: Slytherin

2010-01-14T11:16:00.003+01:00

Yes, I admit it. I'm having a huge cruch on CiM! To bad thery're in US as it makes the glass fairly expensive for a poor girl from Sweden. But they have such a beautiful glass assortment!

The day before Christmas, a package with a CiM mix cam from Tuffnell. The first glass I jumped on (as soon as all the chrismassy things were done) was Slytherin. (Yes, I'm also a fan of Harry Potter!). And it's gorgeouse. I haven't had time to make a lot yet, but I couldn't wait to share the beads I did do.

First out is a earring pair where the Slytherin green glass is on the surface:

Here it covers Dirty Martini (also from CiM) and I think they work wonderful together.

Second is an encased floral bead with a base of transaprent dark steel grey from Effetre and flowers in white and Slytherin:

As you can see, the green colour remains rich even when encased.

Just added: Sweet Valentine

2010-01-14T10:46:00.003+01:00

Here's another lampwork fish that I added today:
She's made of an amethyst coloured glass, decorated with a frit in pinks and purples and has fins of Rubino Oro. Note how the tail is shaped as a heart! For once, I also choose to give the upper lip a Cupid's bow. These lips were made for kisses!

For further details, please visit my ArtFire shop!

Just added: Millie Vanilla

2010-01-13T10:31:00.003+01:00

I'm in a fish mood this week! :) Love making them. This particular one is made of dark grey glass from Effetre and is decorated with a frit in the colour French Vanilla from Beady Sams (who unfortunatly has put her webshop to rest).

The gunmetal coloured, shiny edges of her fins are made of the glass Gun Metal from CiM wich I rewieved in an earlier post. Love it! I think it adds a little extra flair to Millie.

For more information, please visit my ArtFire shop!

Just added: Etheral flowers bead

2010-01-11T12:49:00.003+01:00

I just added this bead on ArtFire:

It's made of a glass from Lauscha wich is layerd in cobolt blue and white. That colour is almost impossible to catch on a picture! At least I can't though I took all the help I could get from GIMP 2.

But still I took the chance to list it today.

The variegated core gets an extra intrest as I sprinkled som blue aventurine on it. When you look into the bead you see the little sparks.

The flowers in the bead are made from a reactive silver glass from Double Helix. As the colours change and sometimes are almost totally transaprent, the flowers looks almost surreal!

For more information, please visit my ArtFire shop!

Just added: Glacier flowers

2010-01-08T12:15:00.002+01:00

This bead has got its name from the glass I used as a base - Glacier from CiM. A lovely blue glass with a touch of grey in it.

I decorated it with raised flowers in white and a pink glass called Gellys stie, also from CiM.
The bead is 21 mm high. For further details, please visit my ArtFire store!

Christmas is over!

2010-01-07T15:38:00.002+01:00

Christmas is over (though we will not stuff aways all our tomtar (santas) or throw out the christmas tree until Tjugondag Knut (twenty days after Christmas) according to swedish tradition.

But I did throw out the tomte from my studio banner today and also changes my colour theme. What do you think?

Sharing a pic of our Christmas tree. Don't think we ever have managed to get such a large tree inside the house before! But it's lovely.

Just listed: Blue/green ribbon bead

2010-01-07T15:07:00.003+01:00

I listed this bead today in my ArtFire shop:

This is a quite timeconsuming kind of bead as you have to make a multiple layerd twisitie first. But it's worth while, I think!

I shall try to take pictures of me making that twistie some day so I can show you. Just need my camera man (my husband) to be persuaded to that project. :) I can't make twisties and take pics at the same time as that would require four hands.

Just added: Pool side flowers bead

2010-01-06T12:35:00.003+01:00

This bead is 20 mm high with a dark aqua core, silver foil and lihght green and yellow flowers.

For some reason I don't get tired of making floral beads. The variation possibilities are endless, flowers cheers me up and I can always find ways to improve my technique.

And they always remind me of spring! Today we have -21 degrees Celsius (- 6 F) here in Uppsala and during the night it has been as low as - 27 C (-16.6 F), so the real spring seems far away.

So while waiting for the snowdrops to show, I'll let the warmth of my torch and the flowers of my beads warm me up!

Please visit my ArtFire shop for further details!

Just added: Flowers sterling silver bracelet

2010-01-06T01:35:00.004+01:00

I've made this kind of bracelet before but only as a custom order. Now I thought I'd have one to show - and sell - too. So here it is:
The bracelet is made of a beautiful - and heavy - sterling silver chain that closes with a lobster clasp.
Nine of my raised flower lampwork beads dangles from it. When you move it creates a lovely ratteling sound!

There are not two beads that have the same colour scheme, but i kept them on a colour theme with a few splashes of contrast.

For more info, please visit my ArtFire store!

Just added: Milky way bead

2010-01-04T12:16:00.003+01:00

I love how this bead turned out. On a core of white I put a layer of Effetres transparent Dark Violet, which is a superb colour. I decorated with dichroich glass an added flowers in white and clear and white and amber.

It's a bead for those shimmering winter parties.

Go to my ArtFire store for further information!

Just added: Helleborus necklace

2010-01-02T11:26:00.003+01:00

I just added this necklace to my AF shop.

I made the the bead from CiM Cirrus with strokes of opaque white and raised, white flowers on the top.

I know the flowers don't really look like helleborus, but the winter colours of the bead made me think of flowers in the snow.

The chain is antracite coloured and very beautiful. I think a silver coloured chain would have made the necklace too pale, but this dark grey colour really adds interest to the creation. And so does the firepolished crystals with their AB luster!

For more details, please visit Babs Beads & Design on ArtFire

Tried and loved: Gun Metal

2009-12-30T18:16:00.004+01:00

As soon as I saw CiM released a glass called Gun Metal I knew I had to have it! I even placed an order in US so I wouldn't have to wait for it to reach the european shops.

When it arrived, I was almost nervous to try it out. But I did. And it's beautiful!

As the glass itself is so pretty, I prefered makin a simple design. A heart with a horisontal hole:

As I worked the glass in a neutral flame, it was really easy to get the metallic surface. But if I turned the oxygen down and worked in a reductive flame, it turned black. As most metallic glasses reduce in a propane flame, I was a bit confused in the beginning. :)

On CiMs' page there is a lot of comments on how to work this glass. Try it - beacuse you're worth it! ;)

SALE

2009-12-29T16:50:00.003+01:00

I'm having a sale in my AF store Babs Beads & Design that lasts the year out! That is - two more days. ;)

15% off everything!

Yes, I made this one

2009-05-20T18:54:00.004+02:00

This is probably the hardest bead I've ever made. And the most expensive! The lovely blue lines inside the bead is made from a silver glass from Double Helix. Very expensive and very beautiful! The surface decorations are made of goldstone stringer.

Swosch!

It's on ArtFire now.

How do you thread lampwork beads?

2009-05-14T10:24:00.002+02:00

In the beginning I found it had to make jewellery out of lampwork beads because the large holes make them wiggle on the hattpin (or whatever you use).

I found som very expensive findings on the market tha I didn't have money of to invest in. But then I got another idea!

Read about it in the Europe Artfire Guild blog!

Silver and black

2009-05-10T11:36:00.003+02:00

I listed this necklace today at ArtFire:

Silvered black on leather cord

It's on of several I've made in the same style, though everyone looks different from the others.

I really get a lot of appreciation for this style as it's beautiful in it's simplicity and easy to wear as it goes with almost anything.

A decision is made

2009-05-07T09:06:00.003+02:00

I finally made the decision to move my whole shop to ArtFire and make a link from Babs Beads & Design to that shop. It was too hard to keep two shops updated and since the one on ArtFire is much better (with for example the possibility to have several photos of each item) that's the winner.

Babs Beads & Design is of course going to survive and be updated with news and other stuff (ArtFire is no good for that). That's where you can sign up to my newsletter too.

So both sites will live happily ever after!

In addition to this there's a fanclub for Babs Beads & Design on Facebook. If you want to check it out - and maybe join - you can find it here. In a while I will start making special offers to the members of the club.

And if you still haven't had enough of me, follow me on Twitter!

Fairly rescent listings

2009-04-24T19:41:00.004+02:00

I have a lot on my mind right, and most of it does not concern my blogs! :) One thing that occupies me is my working life, in wich I'm planning to start my own bussiness. Another thing taking a lot of time has been the guild for european ArtFire artisans. That blog is really becoming something! Check it out: Europe ArtFire guild

And in addition to this (and a ten day vaccation on the westcoast of Sweden) I've been trying to find some time for making beads and listing them on ArtFire. Here are some examples of rescent listings in my shop:

Mother of two goddess with a rose on her hip

Silver flower necklace with sterling silver chain and parts

Coral flower earrings with sterlig silver parts

Dolphin necklace with sterling silver chain and parts

Please visit my shop for further details about my items.

New listings on ArtFire today

2009-04-21T21:33:00.003+02:00

Yesterday I finally got back to the torch after two weeks of celebrating easter away from town.

Today I posted some of the results on ArtFire:

Dotted
40 dots in three layers and another 40 in silver glass!

Ribbon bead
Takes a lot of preparation!

Aqua Mother of two goddess
No silicon used! ;)

A blogpost - about my bead!

2009-04-03T19:21:00.002+02:00

Yesterday, Eddie posted a wonderful post on Europe ArtFire guilds blog. And she wrote about one of my beads!
http://europe-artisans.blogspot.com/2009/04/i-wish-i-could-make-something-like-that.html

I'm blushing and smiling at the same time. :)

Easter Egg hunt on ArtFire

2009-03-31T12:53:00.003+02:00

Tomorrow the easter Egg hunt starts on ArtFire and BAbsb Beads & Design is in (togheter with lots of other shops). :)

Go search for eggs and you can win giftvouchers to spend in the participating studios. There's noentry cost. But you have to sign up. Read more on the Easter Egg hunt blog: http://easter-eggs-artfire.blogspot.com/

Hurray - I'm a SRA!

2009-03-24T09:14:00.004+01:00

The other day I finally got the message that I'm now a member of SRA - Self-Representing Artist. That feels good. I make it all feel more real, if you know what I mean. So here I'm going to use the logo for the first time:

#F-63

And remember that whenever you see that logo - on mine or anyone elses webpages - it means that the work you see there is handmade by the artist.

A great idea!

2009-03-22T11:41:00.004+01:00

A new blog is in cyberspace!

Two members of ArtFire got a great idea and have now started a new blog that will let you browse the rapid carts of ArtFire by category.

A Rapid cart is a "window" where an ArtFire shop promotes by randomly selected pictures of products in the shop. At this new blog - Shopwindows at ArtFire - you can browse through a lot of such windows by category. Go check it out!

By the way - this is my window (have to see if it works):

BabsBeadsandDesign

Buy Handmade

European ArtFire members blog

2009-03-20T10:47:00.002+01:00

The European ArtFire has started a blog where any member can contribute. It's relatively new, but I think you will find a lot of interesting reading there. Check it out at
http://europe-artisans.blogspot.com/

Pink flowers bracelet

2009-03-18T22:34:00.003+01:00

I would like to show you this bracelet that I made a few weeks ago. It was bought to be a gift, so I didn't want to publish the picture until I knew that the reciever had got it. :)

It took all my pink colours and som purple ones to make the beads for this one. They sit on a sterling silver chain that weights A LOT!

Facett.STHLM

2009-03-18T22:31:00.002+01:00

Next weekend I'm off to a beaders convent again. This time it's Facett.STHLM who arranges the meet. It's going to be so much fun! Among other things I look forward to meeting my lampwork teacher Tove again. It's been almost two years since I took her class. Gee!

New listings on ArtFire

2009-02-18T13:53:00.002+01:00

As you know I've opened my ArtFire shop. Here are some of the beads I have posted there:

Joyful twist

Rosamunda fish

Glacier crack

Flowered heart

Glass shelf - finally!

2009-02-16T15:40:00.003+01:00

Look! I finnally almost finished my glass shelf!
Now I can get a good view of my Effetre collection.

I now at ArtFire.com

2009-01-22T13:45:00.002+01:00

I've working on a rebuild of Babs Beads & Deisgn webshop, but it's taking soo long. In the meantime, I've open a store at ArtFire.com. Please come and visit!

Store not available

Some new stuff

2009-01-22T13:22:00.003+01:00

I donät know why I so poor at updating this blog. My other blogs donät get tht much attention either. Perhaps it's beacuse I'm having such a full time lampworking and also tink it's a bore to take pictures. :)

Anyway; I'd like to show you some of my recent stuff:

Glacier crack
Lately I've been practising chaping a lot and finds it really hard. :) This one, though, turned out pretty well. It's a mix of a lot of different blues and with a SIS line ressambling a crack.

Amthyst twist
Here's another example of shaping. Maybe not that obvious as I've decorated the middle of it with raised application.

Crocodile
A friend of mine wanted to have a crocodile so I gave it a try.
I think it turned out pretty nice for a first attempt.

Golden dots
I bought Iris Gold frit a while ago, but haven't had the guts to use it. Until now.
Now I'm working my guts up to make another one to pair this one with!

I've been busy

2008-12-03T09:22:00.002+01:00

A lot of jewellery partying going on so I've got my hands full with production. Here are a few examples:

Upcoming holidays

2008-11-24T11:56:00.003+01:00

so I thought I'd show you some holiday beads:

Hearts and dots

Santa on a string

Winter friends

Santa heads

Turtle santas

Some of last weeks work

2008-08-09T20:47:00.004+02:00

Today I finally took a few pictures of my beads. (And a lot of my jewellery. Am going to update my webshop tomorrow.)

Effetre Crystal Clear 1006

2008-08-08T14:40:00.002+02:00

I love it!

Bought a pack from Tuffnell and I'm sure to pick up more cause this is greate.

I've been using Vetros clear and it worked fine when I was on a HH, but when I got myself a better torch, the clear glass started frying on me and every flaw in the rod got visible in the beads.

The new Effetre clear doesn't do this. It doesn't fry, scum, bubble or in any other way misbehave.

Summer vaccation is over

2008-08-07T09:14:00.006+02:00

I'm back from a long vaccation and is trying to figure out how it all was done! It's hard to get used to the alarm setting off in the morning and to all the routines the a life in a family of four requiers.

It's also hrd go get back to the torch. Not that it's not funny (I've missed it while I was away) but you loose a bit of the feeling after five-six weeks. But I practise!

During the summer I've been focusing on making jewellery out of my beads and that's also a lot of fun. A lot of kind people have been inteerested in my work and I also stood at my first market ever. Here are som pics from my both:

Note the greatest jewels I've ever made - my sweet, sweet children.

Most of the jewellery contains my own lampworked beads, though not all. Sometimes it's fun to create with bought stuff!
I'm especially proud of my earring displays! ;) Yoghurt packges and a cereal box. But it worked and I had something to talk to the customers about.

Some finished jewellery

2008-06-16T10:57:00.003+02:00

I thought I'd show of some jewellery I've made with my lampwork beads:

Earrings for Maria

Black and white pendant

Ratteling flower bracelet

Ratteling bracelet with B/W beads

My first cross necklace

Delivery today

2008-06-16T10:51:00.002+02:00

I got my package from Tuffnell today:
Mostly. it's just about filling my glasstock but there are some interesting pieces.
I'm trying a new bead release - Fusion Bead Separator
I'm giving Iris Gold frit a try
I finally invested in a masher and a TUNGSTONE picker
And - on top of the pile - is the new Effetre Crystal Clear that I'm really anxiouse to try.

So see you later! I'm going to do some seriouse torching now.

Finally!

2008-06-10T22:53:00.002+02:00

I've updated my webshop at Babs Beads & design. One of these days I'm going to uppdate this blog with some beads to, but now I just hvae to go to bed.

Getting crazy!

2008-05-26T13:35:00.002+02:00

I love my new burner, but it aso makes me completely mad. I just can't seem to learn to handle my clear! Also, the Dark aqua and CiM colour Leaky Pen is almost impossible to use as they fry as soon as they se the flame.

I can't do without clear and I love aqua and ink so this is really annoying.

Finally!

2008-05-04T13:08:00.002+02:00

I sat down at the torch the other day, and finally it clicked. Not so much that I can make the same quality of beads I used to, but this time I could manage the clear Vetro without burning it and I also found at least some stringer control.

Now I've got my hopes up. Maybe I'll learn to manage this! :)

Now even hotter

2008-04-27T11:06:00.002+02:00

I'm still trying to figure out my new torch. It's a lot of fun, but at the same time quite frustrating as all the glasses react in new ways. The ones that I earlier worked with ease now tends to drip, burn and scum in a way that I yet don't master.

On the other hand, the ones that I earlier almost never used as it took ages to get them to melt, I now find very pleasant.

Some of the new reactions are manageable and even fun. Some just annoying. Like
- the Vetro clear bubbles and scums. So now that I finally get it hot enough not to capture airbubbles it creates its own bubbles all over the place.

- my beloved Vetro black, that has always behaved nicely, though a bit stiff, now is starting to let me down. When making black and white beads, for example, the black is invading the white, creating "watermarks" on it.

- using stringers for dots is much harder, as the heat tends to boil the glass.

It's all probably a matter of PPP, but right now I'm quite frustrated.

Hurray!

2008-04-11T09:12:00.002+02:00

Yesterday I installed my new Minor Bench Burner, complete with a New Life oxygen concentrator and all. It's wonderful and I'm allready in love.

It will take somPPP though, to get used to it. Now I finally understand what they mean by "dripping hot". :) And a lot of the advice I've red that seemed unimportant on my HotHead suddenly makes sence.

But this will be great fun. Now I can bring the colours out of the raku. I also ordered some DH Gaia to celebrate the event.

My webshop

2008-02-29T21:24:00.003+01:00

This Monday I launched my webshop. You're welcome to visit it at Babs Beads & Design.

I'm aiming at two editions - one in swedish and one in english - but not for a while. In the meantime I use both languages in the shop. As soon as I get time I will translate the other pages as well.

I will also put more and jewellery in the shop.

Happy Valentines day!

2008-02-14T09:09:00.001+01:00

Here are som hearty beads.

This is a bed i made for a necklace in a competition. The theme was Aurora Borealis.
It's made of black Vetro with lines and dots of Reischenbasch Irirs Bkue. The dots are covered with raised dots of Vetro Clear.

Encased florals

2008-02-06T12:37:00.001+01:00

These get there own post as I'm actually kind of prowd of them Not that they're perfect, but they are the best encased beads I've done, so far.

Flowers in the snow

Closeup on Autumn flowers

Closeup on Blue flowers

Finally some pictures

2008-02-06T12:29:00.000+01:00

Last week we had some snow and almost sunshine so I took a few beads and my camera and went out. Here are some of the results.

First, I called this "River", but then someone pointed out to me that it reminds of the swedish alps ("fjällen"), and that's more accurate. Effetre Dark Ivor, Vetrofond black stringer, SIS and Effetre Turquoise.

Nosferatu was here.
Vetro black, dark ivory, SIS and some striking yellow and red.

Another Body and soul.
This one is better than the last one, I think.

Raspberry chocolate
I'm especially fond of the raised dots wich in some angels show the raspberry red and in other angels don't.

Happy birthday to me... :D

2008-01-31T14:06:00.000+01:00

My birthdaypresents are starting to roll in. (I turned 40 the 21:st of January and wished for a new torch and money to buy lampworkingstuff for.) I got the Nortel minor I wished for and the order is placed, though it hasn't arrived yet. The money I got I've decided to spend on presses, special glass and other tools that I wouldn't afford otherwise. So I've been doing some happy shopping the last week! :)

Today the first package arrived. Two new presses from Cattwalk.
Aren't they great!? The lovely people at Cattwalk even tied pretty ribbons around the handles and put a treat in the parcels.

This will be so fun! i just wish I would get better soon, cause I can't find the energy right now to do anything. This cold is drivning me crazy!

Now I can't wait for the next package to arrive! Pretty glasses from Sansiera.

Three red cats

2008-01-30T10:26:00.000+01:00

I've spent a lot of time practising encased florals (when I haven't taken care of sick children). I'm slowly beginning to grasp the technique of the beads, but still haven't got a clue on how to get sharp fotos of the damned things. Beginning to suspect that my camera is of too low quality for this kind of photos. But I'll give it another try.

Meanwhile, you'll have to settle whit this picture of three red cats. They're about 20 mm high.

First reaction

2008-01-19T13:31:00.000+01:00

For the first time I managed to get SOME reaction out of the raku glass.

It's not much, it's hardly pretty and the bead is useless, but at least it's something!

Loving these

2008-01-19T13:29:00.000+01:00

I'm loving these brass tools from Beady Sam Glass:

Double pointed tools, perfect for sculpturing

What I want for my birthday

2008-01-12T13:53:00.000+01:00

This is what i want for my birthday:

A Minor Bench Burner!

I've outgrown my HH and need (!) a oxygen/propane-fueled torch. I choose this particular one as it can be bought in Sweden and from a person who is really good at making beads.

I also wish for lots of money to buy glass and lampworking tools!

Hurray!

2007-12-25T18:46:00.000+01:00

I got Corina Tettingers book Passing the flame for Christmas.

It a great book!

Little swimmers

2007-11-26T22:08:00.000+01:00

I've made two new fishes. They have the "guppy-shape" that I've been sticking to for a while.

This one is made in clear glas with encased dots of Rose garden frit from Beady Sams. The fins are made of light amethyst Effetre.

This one is also made out of clear glass and has encased gold aventurine dots. Light topaz glass for fins with small dots of gold aventurien filigrano stringer on the tips.

Using my lentil press

2007-11-26T21:55:00.000+01:00

I'm practising on using my lentil press. It's *#%&&¤/?*^¨ hard to get the holes right, but I keep trying. Here are some results:

Mixed lentils where I also tested my new, lovely frit from Beady Sam.

Eye of the Tiger lentils. I think theese might actaully be something once I get the hang of them. Black glass in the middle, gold aventurine dots and covered in light topaz glass.

Emoticons. Haven't seen them done by other lampworkers, but maybe I just hvaen't been looking hard enough. I like the idea.

Wohoo!

2007-11-23T09:36:00.000+01:00

It's such a great felling when people actually want to buy your stuff. Father Christmas and one of the godesses has found new homes.

And I haven't even started to try to sell beads yet! :)

Thankyou, everyone who encourage me to keep on torching!

Winter's here, christmas is coming!

2007-11-16T20:48:00.001+01:00

Right now it's hard not to think about winter and such stuff. At least here in Sweden where we've had snow for over a week now. That's early, even for us!

Waiting for this guy...

Frost roses

Christmas petals.
The green glass is leaking on to the white and clear. I think it's a nice effect!

Proof of me using my equipment

2007-11-16T20:43:00.000+01:00

Ok, here I go.

An implosionbead that didn't crack is proof of me using my kiln

My very, very first lentil bead with my new earth frit that I had inone of my new frit trays (I burned the frit, but still am quite happy with the result!)

Like a child on Christmas Eve... :)

2007-11-16T12:47:00.000+01:00

Okej, I've gotten myself some new toys. Wanna see?
On the left lays some LAuscha rods and som handpulled Effetre (I just have to try the copper green and Opal Yellow before I go crazy!) togheter with a little gift of gold aventurin from my new "drug dealer" Anibeads.

In the middle my brand new and very first beadpress. (The flesh is weak and so was the spirit when it realized Cattwalk had an offer on beadpress and holder that I just couldn't refuse.) This one is a tripple lentil press.

On the right some really greate frits from Beady Sam Glass. She also made the brass tools and provided me with the cute frit trays, AKA tea bag rests.

Okay, haven't got time for you right now! ;-)

Finally

2007-11-10T11:39:00.000+01:00

I've got my kiln up and running! I batch annealed once and used it for new made bead once and both seems to work.

This is so greate!

New store

2007-11-05T09:22:00.000+01:00

After looking at all the pretty Lauscha beads in the Christmasbead thread at LampworkEtc I had an instoppeble craving for some Lauscha glass. :)

As the glass is manufactured in Germany I figured it would be nice to buy it from there. Googling through the internet I found a store I didn't see before. I've placed an order to test it (and to get me some pretty Lauscha!).

Ventilation!

2007-11-05T09:20:00.001+01:00

I finally got the fkitchen fan up in my studio. So now I can work with the door closed without the risk of getting poisoned. :)

If anyone's got an idea of how to test the strenght of the fan without lightening a cigarette under it, please let me know.
I THINK it works, but I'd like to be sure.

Pink petals

2007-11-03T14:50:00.000+01:00

My mother in law had her birthday this week, so I went to my studio and made this petal bead:

(My mother in law loves pink, so I wasn't worried about the choice of color.)

The bead is stringed on a headpin togheter with three silverplated 3 mm beads and two firepolished 4 mm.

2007-10-29T13:00:00.001+01:00

I caught another cold so I havn't been very active this last week. Som lampworking, though, andtoday I finally got my camera out. Here are some exmaples on what I've been up to:

Blue on blue
Not a serious attmpt to do anything. Just messing around.
But I like the way the colors turned out.

It was a dark, stormy night...
I keep trying on those organics. Most of them are not worth showing, but these I like.

My first godesses.
I go for a "Mother of two-godess"-look as those perky-brested and silicon-godesslike ones don't appeal to me. ;-) The left one in Light Ivory and the right one in Dark Ivory (Effetre)

A little Cristmas collection.
Now the preparation starts...