August 28, 2007 by beadreaming.

I purchased raku frit a few years ago when the frenzy started and was very disappointed when I couldn’t get the nice blue and purple colors. Raku color is taupe unless you do it well…so finally last weekend I decided to try it one more time and read “the secrets of raku revealed” in LE and I was amazed at the results.

This is the before picture…you can see the dot colors on the kittens

And after…

I must say I’m very pleased with the results and will be using raku more often going forward!

Posted in August 2007, Lampwork Glass | No Comments »

August 27, 2007 by beadreaming.

I added a couple of flower tiles that complement the kitty. Hope you like them!

Posted in August 2007, Lampwork Glass | No Comments »

August 24, 2007 by beadreaming.

This kitty is on Ebay this week!  It measures 1 inch width and the hole runs horizontally.

I just finished taking pictures of a few more sets I made.  See anything you like, let me know soon…before I turn them into jewelry 

Lavender Flowers Beads 

Teal Flower Lampwork Glass Beads 

Black & White

 Amethyst Beads 

Posted in August 2007, Lampwork Glass | No Comments »

August 23, 2007 by beadreaming.

This is a new style of bead I was playing with…trying to make animals on a square shaped bead.  These beads were made on a 3/32″ mandrel and measure approximately 9/16″ by 5/8″.  They hole runs horizontally and is off center so that the beads don’t turn over when worn.

A view of the back…

Kitties on a chain…

Posted in August 2007 | No Comments »

August 22, 2007 by beadreaming.

Here are a couple of bead sets I made over the weekend.  I’m thinking of using them for bracelets…just need to find the perfect Bali beads and accessories!  Speaking of jewelry,  I’ve always wondered what happens to my beads once they leave the nest so in order to find out their whereabouts, it occurred to me to start a jewelry contest!  Everyone is welcome to participate!  Just send me a picture of your creations that incorporate my beads (it can be combined with lampwork beads from other artists).   The contest will run until the end of the year.  What is the prize? How about a $25 gift certificate that can be used towards the purchase of beads on my website.   Two winners will be announced…one will be raffle style from all the entries and the other winner will be chosen based on the design.  So get working and send me those pictures quickly. I’ll post the pictures as I receive them.

Posted in August 2007 | No Comments »

August 21, 2007 by beadreaming.

Someone asked me for a bulldog bead so I gave it a try…this is my first attempt to a bulldog…does it look like one? …dog lovers out there, let me know what you think! I’ll definitely do more of these so stay tuned!

Posted in August 2007 | 2 Comments »

August 16, 2007 by beadreaming.

I’m showing off some of the lampwork beads I made recently….lots of flowers and a Samoyed dog.   I’m running behind in custom orders…ever since I made Kiwi, I’ve received many requests for dog beads so please hang in there and be patient with me!  Don’t known who Kiwi is?  Here it is:

And this is the picture of the real Kiwi:

The blue flowers are made with Bullseye glass which I purchased a month ago.  I absolutely love these colors!

This set is made of transparent red and yellow…very bright and sunny.  Red is so difficult to photograph…

Two Samoyed dog beads

Posted in August 2007 | No Comments »

August 15, 2007 by beadreaming.

I’ll be posting these beads on Ebay tomorrow…if you want to purchase them before they go to Ebay, just send me an email in the morning and I’ll hold them for you.  Each bead is $20.
A brown glass cat bead measuring 1.25″ height

Embracing dogs…my dog version of the embracing kittens

Kitty fudge sundae

Posted in August 2007 | No Comments »

August 10, 2007 by beadreaming.

This was an experiment to make a square shaped animal glass bead. Since I like cats and dogs, naturally, they were my first choice. The bead is totally hand shaped…well I mean I didn’t use molds…I do not actually shape the glass with my hands The bead was made of dark turquoise glass.

Posted in August 2007 | No Comments »

August 9, 2007 by beadreaming.

A few months ago I had the opportunity to watch Humpback whales in Maui. I wasn’t expecting much since many people told me the whales are so fast that by the time someone spots one and you turn to see it, it would be gone already. Luckily my experience was the opposite! We took a 2 hour excursion through Pacific Whale Foundation and I’d say after 20 minutes we spotted a group of whales, which the marine biologist called a competition pod. Much to my surprise a few of them “jumped” out of the water… I think the correct term is “breach” so I was ecstatic! They even swam under our boat and approached the boat so we were able to seem them up close.

Time has passed but I still recall the humpback whales so I made this bead to share my memories. On one side you can see the whale breaching and on the other side you see the whale’s tale as she’s leaving. You can find this bead on Ebay

Posted in August 2007 | No Comments »