Just a big old....

bunch of keys...or should that be a big bunch of old keys? :-)

Before these are shipped off to their new home, I wanted to share a picture of them. I've been working on them for several weeks now, and they are finished! Today I'll put them into their individual boxes and package them up for their journey. I'm excited to be part of a "little something" and when the time comes, I'll share that with you :-)

Etsy Glass Artists Challenge

Some of the EGA artists participated in a challenge. It was to take something that you normally do and expand upon it.

StudioMarcy made Hooters!! No, not THAT kind, you'll just have to click and see :-) And they are for a great cause!!!!

My Cabin Creations worked on adding encased flowers to her focal beads. Just look at it! I'm envious!!

Natsuko of Jewelry By Natsuko worked on a custom piece and blogged about it. OMG! Gorgeous!!!!

I decided to fiddle with my hearts. DH and I were talking one night while watching TV about some of the old commercials that stuck in our minds. This one came up in our conversation.. "Ruffles Have Ridges"....well, I decided to put ruffles on one of my hearts. And one lead to another to another. These will be going up on Etsy sometime today. Till then, here's a couple of pictures to see what I did :-)

This one is up too :-)

Now up on Etsy :-)

Hanging my head.....

It's been so long since I wrote anything here. Shame on me. But, I came across these earrings in GlassCat's Etsy shop and just HAD to share them! I think these are absolutely adorable!!!! Love her use of the clear glass on one of them!!!

Sunday Morning Ramblings

Sitting here, sipping my coffee and catching up on some of the things that have been going on in the glass world...or at least a couple of the glass forums, and realized that I've been quiet on the blog front. So I thought I'd fill you in a little on what's been going on :-)

This past week has been hot and humid here...well, hot and humid for this area, but nothing like what some areas of the country are. That meant no torch time for me. Put the heat from the generator with the heat from the kiln and add the heat from outside due to the open window for ventilaion.....even with an air conditioner, my studio gets too hot for me to work in. A friend of mine works with a glass furnace...I can't even begin to comprehend how she copes with the heat. Yes, I am whining about the heat :-)

I've been coping with the heat by working inside and doing a little Spring Cleaning of my jewelry area. Yeah, yeah, I do know it's Summer....I'm a bit behind :-) Anyway, I decided I have too much "stuff" that needs a new home and am going to do some destashing. As soon as I have pics, I'll be putting some of it up in my supplies shop. Should be later this afternoon or tomorrow.

A couple of days this week I spent off with some friends. I needed some R&R, so we headed to some local suppliers and picked up some new findings. Got some new ideas swirling around in my head! As soon as I get some jewelry made up for a shop that carries my work, I'm going to play!

Speaking of new ideas/work....I just finished up a six week Metalsmithing class. I had a blast, learned tons, and am working on incorporating metal with glass. The long drive each way was totally worth it!! What's funny, is that the teacher took a beginning lampworking class while I was taking the metals one....and she's hooked!!! Here's a couple of prototypes that I've been working on....





This one uses a flower bead made by Susan Sheehan. Check out Susan's Etsy shop, she has lots of goodies!!




The editor of a magazine contacted me to write for them again! What a good feeling that he has confidence in my work and writing ability! I'm working on a couple of tutorials that while they aren't very difficult, even someone relatively new to boro should be able to use them, they make a nice piece...at least I think so :-)

Dang! The Weather Channel is on and you guessed it....Hazy, Hot, and Humid for tomorrow :-( I hate it when they show the dewpoint in the Oppressive range!! Maybe I'll get to work on those new ideas sooner than I thought? :-) :-) Or work on taking pics of that HUGE pile of glass jewelry that has been getting bigger and bigger. For now, I'm heading out to the studio....it's been a while.

I started out this morning determined to post to this blog.....really, I did :-) Then, as usually happens, I got sidetracked and started meandering around some of my favorite places on the Internet. Flickr, Facebook, a couple of lampwork forums....and before I knew it, it was time to get off this computer and get some work done. But before I go, I'd like to share a couple of links with you that I found in my wanderings......



Suzanne, of Tanner Glass, is an incredible glass artist!


Linda, of AlamodeStuff, is not only a great artist, but a great blogger too! I LOVE her sense of humor!! :-)

Vittorio

Yesterday I was fortunate to be able to drive to a Boston Chapter meeting. Besides a great pot luck lunch, we were treated to a day of demonstrations by Vittorio Costantini. Despite my being the navigator, Mimi of Lilac Wind Art Glass was able to drive us there with only one little "detour" :-) Thank you Mimi!

Vittorio and his wife are a delightful couple....and the glass!! OMG, gorgeous and so lifelike!!! I thought I'd share a couple of pictures.....


Vittorio working on a fish.


About 4 inches in length. I am amazed at how large he can work with soft glass!!

Yes, there is a dragonfly in there. Sorry about the angle of the shot.

One last pic...he shared with us how he makes spiders. This actually bounces up and down on its glass legs!!!

Looking out my window

I actually started this yesterday and got distracted. Thought it might be a good idea to finish and post it :-)

Just sitting here, listening to the sounds of the rain outside, enjoying a cup of coffee and catching up on some friends. One, Glass Addictions, posted about her recent trip to Ireland. I shared it with DH and we both agreed that Ireland is now higher up on our list of Places to Visit :-) Despite the dreariness of the weather, it's actually been an uplifting, refreshing start to the day.

One of the things that I LOVE about this time of year is that the winter browns have changed to the Spring Greens. Infused in the green scenery around me are splashes of color...aka, flowers! Before I get started on my Today's To Do List, I thought I'd share a few with you...

I love the lines to this vase! Suzanne of Tannerglass is an incredible glass artist. She was recently one of the Featured Artists in Facts and Fancies: Blown Glass with ProvidenceArtGlass. A fantastic article which can be found in Etsy's Handmade Blog section of The Storque. Congrats Suzanne!!


Here's another piece that I love! Maybe it's the flowers with the sparkly centers (that look "wet" to me) Susan Sheehan is a gifted lampworker and it was so hard to choose only one from her shop.

One more, and then I'm off to play with some glass. How could I not include this fused pendant by Popko? It's so colorful and cheerful!