Getting ready for Christmas!

Well its been ages since I added anything to this blog! Where does the time go? I know the last few weeks I've been concentrating on getting some fusing done so that we have enough stock for the four day Christmas Fair in Glasgow this coming weekend. Luckily I'm not on my own for this event as there are 3 of us sharing the table. Really not sure how much stock we need for four whole days.


Some of the things we've made definitely have a Christmassy feel but other things like this dish decorated with wig-wag twisties will do well for any occasion.

We have lots of candle holders and little dishes which are great for night-light style candles. Who knows, some of these little guys might make an appearance too.

Something else I've been trying recently is making woven treasure bracelets. They are really fun to do and are a great way of using my handmade lampwork beads. Here's the first one I made...
and here's the next one ready for Christmas...


Sometime recently I actually found a moment to make some more beads and here's one of the sets that I was really pleased with.

Beadmaking workshop

Something totally different for me this week as I spent the whole day yesterday at the Lochgelly centre doing two informal demo and teaching sessions. Rachel from Retro Glass was a star as she gave up her day off to come along as chief navigator, photographer and moral support! I've never done anything like this before so it was pretty nerve-wracking but it was lovely to meet such a friendly group of people and everyone was great about my novice demostrations.

After I'd chatted about safety and setup and shown the basics everyone who wanted to then had a chance to have a go at pulling stringer and then making a bead of their own!

There were some really good first attempts at making beads. Here's a shot of all the beads that were made by both groups. I'm now going to pop them in my kiln to anneal and they will then go back to their owners for safe keeping.

Big thanks of course to Rachel and to Gillian at the centre who organised the day and everyone who came along to the sessions for making it such an enjoyable time. Special thanks also to all those who supported my habit by buying beads!

Autumnal beads

It's been really pretty in the woods recently when I've been out walking the dog. With all the leaves changing colour and falling it's made for some colourful scenery. It's also inspired me to try and make some autumnal beads. One set were autumn colours with some leaf beads.

So a new location for the blog now and hopefully one that will be permanent! Should make it easier to keep it up to date.

Been doing more fusing recently, tried my hand at glass weaving which is great fun! Here's a pic of the second attempt, the first time I used a mostly clear glass with black which didn't give enough contrast to show up the actual weave so the second time I used red and black!


I also made a green bowl using a new mould and I was really pleased with the way it turned out. What do you think? I love the way the light shines through this one!

Busy Week

What a busy week, first the bead fair and then commissions for a whole set of Christmas presents (coasters, pendants and vessels) and all that with family staying!

The Perth Bead Fair was a fantastic event! Thanks so much to everyone that came to visit my table and special thanks to all those who chose some of my beads to take away with them. It was great to meet so many lovely bead fans. Looking forward to the next fair now in February next year.

Not had chance to take any photos yet this week, will try and manage some during the next week and will also try and get a few more things up in the shop!

A Week to the Bead Fair

Well September already and only a week to the Bead Fair in Perth! Where does the time go? Hopefully, I have everything under control and haven't forgotten anything! As well as getting all the last minute things sorted this week I hope to be able to make some more beads. Everyone keeps telling me I'll need lots!

Whatever happens I will be starting to sell beads on my shop page after the 9th so do check back often to see what's available! Meanwhile here's a couple more things that will be coming to the fair with me.

It turned into quite a busy week last week so didn't get to spend as much time as I was hoping in my studio. Hopefully things will be a little bit calmer this week. I did get a few beads made to add to my stock for the bead fair and I also managed to finish a project I started a couple of weeks back but hadn't got around to completing. It's a Christmas bowl (24.5 cm wide and 6 cm deep) and I'm really quite pleased with how it turned out. So much so that I might even put it up for sale in the shop.

What doesn't show up very well in the photos is that the green is aventurine green and therefore has a lovely sparkle to it. I also added some dichroic glass to one of the flowers and all the flowers have dichroic glass centres.

Well we've had some pretty wet weather here over the last few days. The poor dog has hardly had a decent walk and the garden is too soggy to spend much time in. It does mean more time for bead making though!

Four weeks today until the bead fair. It will be my first and a very new experience. It's exciting but I'm a bit nervous about it too. Got to make sure I have everything I need as well as plenty of beads to sell.

Still really enjoying doing the blown vessels, done a few more in the last couple of days. Also found some 104 dichro and made some beads with dichro in.

More Blown Vessels

Well I was quite pleased with what came out of the kiln this morning. More blown vessels, even managed to get two handles on them this time. First a dark blue one. The next was pale blue which I think I will try etching.

With a month to go now until the Bead Fair in Scotland I thought I would start this blog to record how things are going as I try and build up my stock for the event.

I took a day off from beadmaking on tuesday to go and visit my friends at Retro Glass in Alloa. Rachel had been good enough to order in a stock of Bullseye glass rods for me so I now have some great new colours to play with! I also bought a couple more slumping moulds, which I'm looking forward to trying out, and some other supplies. For now though the fusing has to take a back seat as I need more beads for the fair. Hopefully things went quite well today but I still have to wait for the kiln to cool down so that I can take a close look at my efforts.

I've had a hollow mandrel for some time now and recently decided to try making a blown vessel. It was so much fun I ordered a couple more mandrels so that I could try to make more than one a day. The first attempt was pretty bad (definitely not worth a photo) but the next was a bit better.

Then came a little blue pitcher . Not quite what I was trying for but quite fun anyway.