Busy weekend!!

I've got an exciting weekend coming up this weekend!! Tomorrow I'm off to attend the first UK date of the Bullseye Lecture Tour. This should be a fabulous day with two amazing glass artists...Richard Whiteley and Heike Brachlow speaking.

Then on Sunday I've been invited along to the official opening of the new glass studio at Retro Glass in Alloa! This promises to be quite an event...I've already had a sneak peek inside the studio which doubles the space they have at Retro and means they will have more facilities for hire. I already have my name down for a session with their new sand-blaster!

I've also got a kiln full of beads which are annealing as I type, so hopefully I will be able to get them cleaned and photographed at some point in the next couple of days. With any luck there will be fresh beads for sale at the beginning of next week.

Spring is around the corner!

There I was lying in bed this morning trying to pretend that it really wasn't time to get up when I heard a noise. As soon as I heard it I realised that I hadn't heard that noise for some time! What was it? Birdsong! Ok so it was only one bird so no great morning chorus but it did make me think that the start of spring might actually be approaching. Which, after all the really dark, rainy, grey days we've had recently, was quite a refreshing thought! Just to confirm this I looked in the garden and there were the first snowdrops of the year bright white in the darkness underneath the trees!
And right there next to the snowdrops was a whole bunch more bulbs coming up through the soggy leaves! So it won't be too long before the garden is bright with daffodils again! Spring is definitely in the air!!

Snakeskin and other beads

Yesterday I was playing with twisties while making some beads. This is one that I have since etched lightly and I think it looks a bit like snakeskin...

Another twisty bead that I really like was this one. I just love this colour!

I took a photo today of a floral I made a couple of weeks ago, not a great photo but it's really difficult to capture the detail in this bead as the flower is pale but very pretty!

Giveaway!! A set of lampwork beads!!

Ok! I've decided to run a monthly giveaway here on my blog! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below! This time, as it's the first giveaway, it's something a bit special that's up for grabs - a set of 5 sparkly pixie dust beads complete with 6 shiny black spacers!! Anyone can enter, I will mail worldwide! This will run until midnight on the 26th February and on the 27th I will draw a winner and e-mail the person for their details. So, good luck and don't forget to leave a comment!

Silver stars

No disasters in the kiln overnight...both the fused glass coasters and the circle came out ok. The coasters don't look hugely different from the pre-fuse picture but it's now possible to show the other side of the circle.

These silver stars will be going in the kiln for a slump today.

And now for something.....

a little bit different. After the long complicated process of putting the pink plate together I thought I would fuse something smaller and slighter less labour intensive. I had an idea of something to try with irridised glass so to test my theory I have made what will hopefully end up being a bowl. Not much to look at for now as the main design is face-down. All being well I'll take pictures tomorrow of the fused circle, before it goes in the kiln for a slump. Then of course I had the rest of the kiln shelf to fill...I don't like to fire the kiln with wasted space on the shelf unless I really have to. So, what would fit nicely around the circle....a set of coasters! Haven't made coasters for ages and they are fun to do sooo...black and pink coasters now baking in the kiln too. Fingers crossed that all is well when I open the kiln tomorrow morning...

Hearts Entwined

Well I finally got this fused glass plate finished. Been working on this pretty much since the start of the year and it was a bit of a challenge! So pleased it came out ok, definitely my most ambitious project to date. I think I went through a whole pack of sticking plasters during the making process but I think it was worth it in the end!

Fused glass drop vase

A couple of weeks ago I attempted my first drop vase! It still needs some polishing work around the rim but that will have to wait until I can spend some time out in the shed with the wet belt sander.

New year, Secret Santa and more...

It's taken me ages to get back into the swing of things after the festive season but finally back to blogging and want to wish everyone a very Happy and Healthy New Year!!!

I also wanted to show everyone the presents I received from my Crafteroo Secret Santa.
My Santa was Domestickat of Domestickat Designs and she makes fantastic bags and things. Look at all the lovelies she sent me!

Last but definitely not least... I took part in a black and white challenge on the Yahoo group Artglasspics and I WON!!! Such a fantastic surprise and even more special as the people in the group all work with glass too. Here was my entry...