Jellyblog - the Jellybug Artworks Blog

Delicated Striated Bleh

2011-05-16T19:51:00.000-04:00

The aforementioned pot melt of yuck didn't come out as bad as it looked upon first peek into the kiln, but it's definitely quelled my desire to run out and do another.

Things Accomplished in the Studio Today

2011-05-14T22:12:00.001-04:00

1. Removed pegboard from behind large kiln, cut down to appropriate size for the wall behind my workbench, rendered bright green. (Also rendered nostril hairs bright green due to blowback from spray paint!)

2. Envisioned, sourced and constructed rack for heavy kiln shelves which allows me to set them down without mashing my fingers. Helpful note for those wanting to try this at home: Lowes has 12" pressed sheet metal brackets for around $2. Screw them into thick plywood, and affix the plywood securely to studs. I have a metal studs in the unfinished half of my basement where the monster kiln lives, so I bolted the plywood to the studs -- be sure to use a washer to spread out the pull load! If you're lucky enough to have wood studs in your studio, just screw the plywood directly into them.

3. Found creepy crawly individual drowned in the basin under the saw.

4. Wasted two pounds of glass making a very brown pot melt. Something reacted with something else, and instead of a sprightly green and blue melt with a few dashes of yellow, I got delicately striated poo (not pictured -- the wounds are still too fresh).

[Update: It wasn't as bad as it looked when I cheated and peeked at 300°.]

Clicking Away

2011-05-13T23:29:00.007-04:00

I get a feeling of satisfaction when all three of my kilns are working away, happily clicking their relays on and off.

The toaster (my small tabletop kiln) is making custom streamer glass. Bullseye manufactures clear sheet glass with colored streamers of glass rolled into it in a small palette colors: black, green, white, blue. Definitely not chocolate brown, which is a necessary component of the cufflinks a client has requested for his wedding party. No problem! I can melt stringer into sheet glass, too! To get the lovely ribbony effect of the manufactured streamer glass, I'm trying a couple of methods of using clear coarse frit to distort the straightness of the brown stringer.

The medium kiln is cooking up a sample tile of new glass rods. Rods are traditionally used for making beads at a torch, but jealous kiln workers like myself are now using them in platters, pendants and all manner of unintended whatnot. The usual use for rods in fused glass is to snip bits of them off and use them cross-sectionally. They spread out into lovely circles. As you can see from the photos below, it can be difficult to predict what the cross-section of a rod will look like from observing the outside -- hence the samples!

The sample tile is pictured sitting on a stainless steel casting square that will figure into the next item ...

The big kiln is up to the most exciting project -- my first pot melt! Back when the medium kiln was my largest kiln, I made a few wire melts, but I was never particularly happy with them (especially the fact that the wire was inclined to sag down and attack the melted glass). Now I have a kiln with plenty of vertical room for raising the pot above the shelf, and plenty of horizontal room for kiln furniture!

A springy mix of solid and transparent greens, blues, a few yellow bits, and a generous helping of white and clear glass.

One of the first things I bought for the new kiln was a ceramic bridge to hold pots hiiiigh above the kiln shelf.

And what am I doing after all of that? Taking a nap? Heck no -- I'm etching a commemorative recycled wine bottle serving tray.

I'm sure you're quite impressed by my fancy etching cream squeegee (aka, plastic fork)!

Becoming Saffron

2009-12-30T13:37:00.000-05:00

Here's what I'm doing with my birthday -- becoming yellow! Next up -- off to Ikea for a temporary pantry. This is the way most people prepare for a dinner party, right? Shove all the furniture around, cover the floor in plastic, and produce piles of sawdust?

Around the corner, there's a glimpse of my in-progress dining room mural! Click the photo to see the full-size version.

Happily Drowning in Rings

2009-12-03T20:36:00.000-05:00

Six pounds of metal in the form of hundreds of small rings just arrived from Canada. If I didn't still have to price everything for this weekend's show, I'd be parked on the couch with two pairs of pliers, humming. In addition to stocking up on my favorite shiny copper, I ordered some solid bronze, and some black and bronze anodized aluminum rings to experiment -- they're sooo pretty! When this show is over, I will be listing a bunch of new chainmaille bracelets, necklaces and watches -- I've been wearing the prototype watch every day for a couple weeks, and I LOVE it! I'll also be building a chainmaille necklace and bracelet configurator to allow customers to easily order maille pieces in custom lengths.

New option for pendant chains

2009-12-01T22:29:00.000-05:00

Starting today, you can pick a new kind of handwoven chain to go with your fused glass pendant! I'm now offering a chainmaille weave that I just learned recently and has already become my favorite. It's a silly-sounding weave called Shaggy Loops, and I love the way it casually splays out when it lays against a surface like your neck or wrist. I'll soon be listing some bracelets and standalone necklaces made with this technique, too.

Back into the fire!

2009-11-30T17:47:00.001-05:00

Saturday's glittering creations are out of the kiln and ready for shaping into pendants and cufflinks. Next, I'll trace outlines onto the ones that will be become circular with a Sharpie and cover the lines with Chapstick so that they don't wash off while I'm grinding -- very high tech! Then I'm off to the basement for a while to shape each piece individually in two stages on the lap wheel -- first with a pad covered in 120 grit diamond pieces, then I'll move up to a 400 grit pad for a second pass. The spinning pads have to be kept cool with a constant stream of water, so this is a rather wet and messy experience. Hence the Chapstick!

Kiln Full of Sparkle

2009-11-28T16:55:00.003-05:00

I spent a large chunk of the day filling the kiln with pendants and cufflinks, and now I'm mentally exhausted! With beaded or chainmaille jewelry, you have a burst of creativity while designing the piece, then you get to mentally recharge while assembling the piece. When making fused glass jewelry, you try to fill the kiln to conserve electricity and to save time since each cycle takes 12 hours, and so you must think up new things for hours at a stretch without a break. It's tiring!

Tomorrow, when the kiln reaches room temperature, I'll spend another few hours grinding some of my melted constructions into circles and putting crisp, square edges on others with a diamond lap wheel, then they'll go back into the kiln again to soften those edges just a bit (the name for this second firing is "fire polishing", a term I love even though there's no actual fire involved).

Chainmaille Fever

2009-11-21T10:49:00.000-05:00

I've been making a looooooot of chainmaille lately! Between a set of several custom-designed jewelry pieces for a lovely lady in New York and a stainless steel version of my copper byzantine bracelet for a gentleman in Arizona, I was already spending much of my free time weaving, but then I sort of went off of the deep end.

First, let me apologize in advance for the horrible hotel room table point-and-shoot camera pictures. I'm on vacation for the weekend, and of course I brought my chainmaille supplies.

Stainless steel, it turns out it, is wretchedly stiff! I have a large stab wound in one finger after one of my pairs of pliers slipped while trying to close a ring, and the other, suddenly lacking any resistance, went shooting off and embedded itself in me. And I'm using the soft stainless steel -- there's also tempered spring steel used for chainmaille garments that you must need hydraulic pliers to use. At any rate, the weaving of this bracelet required frequent breaks, so I alternating working on it with working on an idea that occurred to me while weaving the bracelet: a watch band combining double links of my classic two-color byzantine chain with the larger stainless rings. I love it and have been wearing it every day since I finished it!

Vacation is for learning new weaves, right? I'm being growled at to go take a shower and head off to breakfast now, but expect another post this evening with photos of the new technique I learned last night -- shaggy loops!

Green Craft Fair This Saturday

2009-11-09T14:49:00.000-05:00

My recycled wine bottle serving trays and I will be at the Watkins Nature Center in Upper Marlboro, MD this Saturday, November 14th, for a fun new show in its first year! The Nature Center is encouraging a more eco approach to the gift-giving holidays by gathering artists who use recycled, natural and sustainable materials in their work. I'll be bringing some new etched designs that aren't yet available online, so be sure to stop by if you're in the area!

Watkins Nature Center
301 Watkins Park Drive, Upper Marlboro 20774
10 am - 4 pm

In addition to the craft fair, the center will be accepting clothing donations for Planet Aide and hosting a book exchange!

Saying goodbye to a favorite necklace

2009-09-11T05:37:00.001-04:00

My favorites tend to sell quickly. I'm not complaining, of course, but I do love to have them around where I can look at them. I kept the Orange Squash Blossom Turquoise and Thai Fine Silver Necklace out on a necklace bust in my living room where it would brighten and cheer me every time I went past.

Enjoy your new home!

The rest of my treasures and I are off to Hampdenfest in Baltimore tomorrow! I've never been to this show, and the neighborhood is very vibrant and eclectic, so I expect that I'll be shopping for myself as well as selling!

Here are a few new pieces I'm taking that I haven't had a chance to list in my online store yet.

Greenwala Choose to Reuse Contest

2009-08-10T20:40:00.000-04:00

Greenwala is a new social network promoting environmentally-friendly products and practices. They host contests that highlight green ingenuity.

I've entered my recycled wine serving tray in their Choose to Reuse contest. I'd love it if you'd support me and the concept of recycling into art by voting for my tray on Greenwala's website.

Also worth voting for is the Recycled Circuit Board Menorah, created by Debby Arem, another Maryland artist who specializes in recycled materials.

You can purchase my recycled wine bottle serving tray, which comes with your choice of handmade stainless steel cheese spreader or an embroidered gift bag, from my website.

The Modern Mint Dining Set is born!

2009-05-07T21:23:00.000-04:00

In my last installment, I showed you the last in-progress photo my green and chocolate oval platter, shaped into a graceful oval but still flat. The platter and its square friends have now made their way to a delighted bride and groom! I'm quite pleased with them as well, so I'm going to offer them as a regular product line!

Modern Mint Dining Set

A mod progression of milk chocolate and minty green stripes is accented with silver dichroic glass. The oval platter is 12 inches long and 6.5 inches wide, and the matching plates are 8.25 inches square.

I cut each fragment of glass by hand, piecing my plates and vessels together like quilts. In my home studio, I fire them to a full fuse, shape them on a diamond lap grinder, then fire them again into their final shape. Each takes hours to lovingly cut, piece and grind, and spends a full day in the kiln.

Your fused glass serving piece is completely food safe, and hand washing is recommended.

Mod Serving Dish Saga III

2009-04-19T18:19:00.001-04:00

In Stage 3 of the Serving Dish Saga (you missed Stage 2, unfortunately -- I didn't photograph the fused blank before I ground it), our jagged hero has been fully fused, then abraded with a disc coated with diamonds rotating at high speed to make crisp, square edges that will gloss up to a beautiful gleam in his second trip through the kiln! He is presently in line behind the fourth of a set of square dinner plates in the same pattern which was slumped today and is presently cooling in the kiln.

Just a typical Friday night

2009-04-17T18:32:00.000-04:00

My dish drainer bristles with wine bottles -- I've just finished scrubbing the labels off, and now they're dripping dry. Many will require a second treatment with a de-gooing agent to remove all of the adhesive from the labels, then a second washing. You can see a few of my glass blossom candleholders off to the left -- I'm very behind in photographing them!

I've just put the last piece of a custom dining set into the kiln for its first firing. I designed four bright, modern, geometric dinner plates and a matching oval serving platter based on the recipient's love of green and the 1970s. After their first 18-hour trip through the kiln, I grind the rounded edges off to create a crisp, square edge on a diamond lap wheel. If there's a lot of extra glass around the edges -- for example, if I measured the mold wrong! -- I might use a tile saw first. Once I'm satisfied with the size and shape of the flat fused pieces, they go into the kiln again to drape into a mold to create a lip.

I'm off to make earrings now -- I'm gearing up for my first craft show of the season, next Saturday, April 25th, in Crofton, MD. If you're in the area, I'd love to see you! It's at the Crofton Country Club from 10am to 4pm. You can find details and directions on my show list.

Prehistory Chunky Stone Necklace

2009-03-09T20:49:00.001-04:00

We have favorites. I'll admit it. I made one Saturday night. I came home from my glass jewelry workshop, and instead of doing responsible household things or things that other people wanted, I made jewelry.

Ha! Take that, world!

This is my favorite kind of necklace to design -- multiple strands of contrasting shapes, colors and materials! This one-of-a-kind treasure is composed of picture jasper, tiny fossil rounds, and polyhedrons of green apple turquoise capped with shells. Only the bold need apply! Visit Jellybug Artworks to make it yours.

Featured in an Etsy Treasury

2009-03-09T11:30:00.002-04:00

I discovered this morning that my Lemon Glass Blossom candleholder is featured in an Etsy Treasury called HELLO BUTTERCUP full of bright, sunny, yellow things!

The swirly glass I used in this lovely draped piece, perfect for tealights, is indeed like a little bowl of sunshine -- completely radiant! When I dye my hair yellow, this is the hue I use.

The treasury curator, JodieMO, makes adorable handbags. If you're in the market for a carrying accessory, check out her Etsy shop!

New Toy!

2009-03-07T22:25:00.002-05:00

I'm back at Vitrum Studio again this weekend for a two-day workshop in making fused glass jewelry. I'm learning the technique for composition of layered dichroic pendants, plus I'm going to learn new edge finishing methods! We designed seven-layer pendants today (the average pendant you see for sale on Jellybug Artworks is two to three layers), but we don't get to see them until tomorrow afternoon -- they're very cruel over there at Vitrum.

During our lunch break, we're free to roam the retail part of the studio, drool over the gorgeous supplies, and lighten our wallets buying beautiful glass and the tools to work it. Having done all that last weekend, I spied a large bowl sitting on a stool. It was just done in clear glass, but the shape was wonderful -- sides that are slightly concave rather than the usual convex curve. Inspecting the mold rack, it was clear which mold it was shaped with. I was smitten, but I wasn't sure it would fit in my kiln! Application of a ruler revealed that at 12 inches in diameter, it might.

My larger kiln runs on household current, which limits its size. It has a 13" round shelf, but I can't necessarily put a 13" round mold in it because the pyrometer sticks out from the wall of the kiln a couple of inches, interfering with the vertical clearance. (What's a pyrometer? When a thermometer is in a kiln, it becomes a pyrometer -- it measures FIRE! I derive great amusement from this.) The folks at Vitrum said they'd happily take the mold back if it didn't fit, so I dashed home with my new toy only to find that someone (okay, it was me) had put something in the kiln this morning before heading off to the workshop, and it was still too hot to come out! OooOOoh, the agonized waiting!

A few hours later, I was finally able to remove the wine bottle cheese tray I'd been slumping and eeeeeease the new mold down into the kiln. Shoved over to one side because of the projecting pyrometer, with a quarter-inch to spare on all sides, I judged that it would do. (I frequently decide that things will work whether they like it or not -- because I want them to, darn it.)

So tonight, I am prepping the new mold with kilnwash and emitting small squeaks of delight while a beautiful slab of blue Spectrum waterglass is in the kiln, fusing into the 12" circle that I will slump into a gorgeous, drool-worthy bowl tomorrow.

Ain't she a beauty?

Coldworking Glass Workshop

2009-03-03T11:22:00.006-05:00

I made this platter at a workshop last weekend called The Complete Bowl at Vitrum Studio, which is conveniently right up the road from my house. It's about 15 inches long and 6 inches across with a graceful curve. I took the workshop to learn how to use various pieces of coldworking equipment -- lap wheel, tile saw, sandblaster -- for finishing the edges and working the surface, but I also picked up some design techniques like using clear glass to displace transparent glass to make light spots and cutting transparent sheets to let the undercolor well up in the cracks.

Look carefully, and you'll see that I've sandblasted leaves into the orange stripe and horizontal stripes into the green stripe on the end.

I love the square, polished edges you get from coldworking the fused piece before slumping it. Unfortunately, a sufficiently large diamond lap wheel setup is about $5,000 and requires a lot of upkeep. Fortunately, I can rent time on Vitrum's equipment!

I'm headed back this coming weekend for a workshop on glass jewelry to gain new insights and techniques for my fused glass pendants.

Pearl Posie Pendant

2009-02-25T14:22:00.000-05:00

Spring is in the air -- just the ask the daffodil sprouts in my front yard!

If you're longing for the return of sun and warmth, this pendant is for you! A metal pendant with a cheerful carved flower hangs from a double strand of cultured pearls in fun, fashion colors -- spruce, teal and mango -- accented with tiny pewter flowers.

Visit Jellybug Artworks for more pictures and a chance to own this item!

Where Should I Sell My Work?

2009-02-24T08:42:00.002-05:00

From time to time, new artists who are just starting to think about selling their work online contact me about how to go about this. While composing another such response on Etsy this morning, I realized that a blog entry would make it even easier for new entrants to stumble across this information!

In addition to my main online store, Jellybug.com, I have a few of online boutiques, and Etsy has definitely been the most fruitful. I've had two sales among the four other third-party stores I maintain. However, Etsy is a vast sea of products, so it's hard for anyone to find you.

If you have programming expertise in the family, though, my own online store is the source of most of my sales. People generally find it by Googling for what they're looking for, and the vast majority of my customers use it.

Here are some online boutiques you may want to set up a storefront with. They're all free or free-per-sale sites -- I don't bother with any of the monthly-fee sites because I don't know whether they're worth it and I already have the monthly expense of Jellybug.com.

Etsy
Etsy, the 800-pound gorilla of indie art scene, is, in my experience, the best of the bunch, at least for US sellers. It's fairly easy to use (though you'll find that setting up sales is annoying and very manual), and it's been the source of most of my sales outside of Jellybug.com.

Dawanda
Geared toward international markets, all prices are in euros and the US is considered a foreign country. I've had one sale here, and it was to a very nice lady in Switzerland.

Smashing Darling
Definitely meant for the indie clothing market, I've had one sale here. Their commissions are the highest -- 18% -- but they absorb the Paypal fee, so it's more like a 15% commission.

Shop Handmade
The tool for setting up products is incredibly irritating, so I use it minimally. No sales here. You can either pay a listing fee, or allow a sponsor's ad to appear on the product page.

SilkFair
Another zoo of a site, SilkFair has the advantage of bulk uploading (thought I've never gotten it to work, and I'm a computer professional, and it can import from your Etsy store (though it's necessary to check every product afterward for accuracy of shipping costs and such). I haven't had any sales here.

1000 Markets
Haven't tried this one yet, but I intend to.

ArtBreak
Haven't tried this one yet, but I intend to.

Made It Myself
Haven't tried this one yet, but I intend to.

Supermarket
Very indie-looking site for buying straight from the artist. Haven't tried it.

Where do you sell your work online? Any good sites I've missed? I've love to add them to the list.

One Day Mardi Gras Sale!

2009-02-19T19:38:00.001-05:00

Celebrate Fat Tuesday with 25% off purple, green, and yellow items! This sale will run for one day only -- Tuesday, February 24th. Below are some of the lovely things that will be discounted next Tuesday. Browse all of my sale items now so you'll be ready to pounce when the sale starts!

Capitol Region Etsy Street Team Sale

I'm not the only one having a Fat Tuesday sale! Some of my fellow members of a local artists collective are also offering discounts on the 24th!

SewArtsy.etsy.com
Half price on this pink and brown paisley tote - (regularly $44.95)

Brigabauble.etsy.com
50% off Sterling Silver and Rose Quartz 5-decade Catholic Rosary (regularly $65)

UndefinedVillage.etsy.com
50% OFF all 8x10 photos!

MaryEllenDoran.etsy.com
Half-off hand cold forged sterling silver hoop earrings (2-inches long) (regularly $15)

MaggieSueDesigns.etsy.com
All Hair Accessories 50% off the listed price!

Shelbyb.etsy.com
10% off Yarn and FREE SHIPPING!

ArtStudioShanti.etsy.com
All Neckwarmers 50% off Listed price

Escapees from the bead show!

2009-01-18T16:59:00.000-05:00

I went to the Baltimore Bead Society's winter show yesterday. I was after a few findings that I can't get from my main suppliers, and I was trying hard not to buy anything else. Bead and gem shows are candyland for us, and it's very easy to come away with hundreds of dollars worth of treasures.

I did really well through the main showroom ... but then I saw orange.

They're doing some craaaazy stuff with turquoise these days. These brilliant orange pumpkiny beads are dyed white turquoise! I can't keep my hands off anything this bright, and it only takes one thing off the table to break down my resolve not to buy anything. Oh yes, some spotty turquoise! And some crazy lace agate! And some striped agate! Mine mine mine!

Inaugural Sale

2009-01-15T20:00:00.003-05:00

It's time for change! Save some change with free shipping on everything from Jellybug Artworks and 25% off items with patriotic color schemes. The sale starts Saturday, January 17th and extends through Sunday, January 25th. Take a sneak peek at the sale items so you'll be ready on Saturday!

New! Chainmaille Key Rings and Recycled Glass Paperweights

2009-01-15T19:26:00.005-05:00

Chainmaille Key Rings

I'm taking great delight in chainmaille lately! I've created a set of darling key rings that feature a pretty rock, coin, or bead and a section of hybrid woven byzantine chain. Each chain is securely fastened to the key ring with double jump rings and a solid metal ring. If you have a sweetheart with an interest in the Renaissance or medieval things, I'll be making them with red glass hearts for Valentine's Day! View all my key rings.

If you like chainmaille, don't miss my new Byzantine Starfish Pendant -- an artglass starfish on a sparkling byzantine chain -- and Princess of the Forest Woven Chainmaille Necklace!

Recycled Glass Jar Paperweights

I've been having splendid fun slumping small glass jars into paperweights. I soften them vertically instead of laying them on their sides to flatten, and they come out with luscious folds like fabric! Take a look! Couldn't your desk use a little fun?

Twelfth Night Costume Extravaganza

2009-01-14T19:28:00.001-05:00

Every January, a friend has a Twelfth Night masquerade ball. I love making festive costumes, and her fancy-dress parties are always an opportunity.

I bought a purple Mardi Gras mask with tall feathers and embellished it with shoots of metallic steamers and butterflies.

My dress is a white prom affair that I found at a thrift store. For decoration, I purchased a horde of butterflies from Michael's. The butterflies had clips on the back, so I snapped and removed each one with a pliers, glued pin backs onto them, and attached them to my dress. For additional adornment, I wore blue satin gloves, black and white ostrich feather wrist poofs, arm bands that I made with elastic and ponytail holders, and a ring with another butterfly. And purple high heel sandals the color of my mask, but you can't see them in any of the photos.

I really just like making the costumes. Once I arrive at the party, I'm ready to go home!

Win a Beautiful Woven Wire Bracelet from Mana Moon Studios

2009-01-04T09:53:00.002-05:00

My inestimable friend Sharon of Mana Moon Studios is nearing a great milestone in her career as an artist! She is soon to create her one thousandth gorgeous piece of jewelry, and to celebrate, she's giving away one of her signature woven wire bracelets which she's designing specially for this contest!

Sharon's speciality is a very recognizable style of chunky cuff bracelet which features a handmade artisan focal bead in a nest of carefully wrapped wire, set off with other matching beads and dangles. You must see them to believe how beautiful they are, so here are some examples!

Not content to use focal pieces that aren't one of a kind, Sharon forms partnerships with talented glass and clay artists all over the world to find the most exquisite and fascinating centerpieces for her bracelets and necklaces. She also makes keychains and earrings!

Scuttle over to Sharon's blog now for your chance to win her special commemorative bracelet!

Jellybug Featured on Friday Finds!

2008-12-26T19:03:00.004-05:00

“Wine and cheese go great together, so how clever to make a serving tray out of a wine bottle.”

My etched recycled wine bottle serving tray was featured on Friday Finds, a new weekly spotlight of Etsy artists by architect, photographer, and wine lover Erin Garrison. Erin sells prints of her original photographs in her Etsy shop. My personal favorite is Rome Architecture -- I love the way the tight circle of the skylight widens into the rings on the dome walls, then reflects across the border between wall and ceiling to curve the other way toward the statue. The photo has wonderful movement.

Erin's favorite of tray is the etched sweet pea tray. I also sell plain bottle trays with a cheese spreader or a decorative gift bag in a variety of colors. All of my trays have hanger so that they can be displayed on a wall or in a window when not in use! They make great entertaining, housewarming, and thank you gifts, and they're perfect for wine lovers!

My Glass Work Featured in an Etsy Treasury!

2008-12-10T17:26:00.003-05:00

My cactus glass dish was featured in an Etsy treasury by EVY Designs! This spritely conversation piece would be an excellent gift for your favorite hard-to-shop-for person!

Holiday Shipping Fun

2008-12-09T23:31:00.000-05:00

I think my postman rues the day that the postal service instituted free package pickup!

Glass Squiggles - Hot Off the Candle Flame!

2008-12-02T21:27:00.003-05:00

I'm gearing up for my winter show -- the annual Festival of Lights in Greenbelt, MD this coming weekend. Display boards, gift bags, stickers, cards, new tables for a new booth size, oh my! At the same time, everyone on the internet seems to have discovered my Recycled Wine Bottle Serving Tray at once! Eek! They're flying out the door like very heavy hot cakes, and I'm piping them through my kiln as fast as I can.

Horde of Squiggles

Of course, I'm also trying to build up some new inventory for the show! I'm making a few batches of my signature squiggle pendants. I've just finished bending a horde of squiggles and polishing the soot out of all the wee twists and turns. Any requests for background colors? :D

MALL is a Four-Letter Word!

2008-11-25T07:55:00.002-05:00

The Capital Region Etsy Street Team (CREST) is holding a Black Friday/Cyber Monday CREST promotion. The following stores have contributed items for a Gift Box, which will be given away through a random drawing. Several stores are also offering discounts.

To enter, post a comment on the CREST blog (not on my blog this time!) along with your name and email address. The winner will be announced on the afternoon of Friday, December 5th.

I'm personally offering $5 off on every $25 spent at my shop with free shipping on orders of $50 or more. Shop at Jellybug Artworks on Friday, November 28th through Monday, December 1st, and save!

This holiday, MALL is a four-letter word! Buy handmade, support your local artists, and give a one-of-a-kind gift!

Participating Stores

Athena's Olive Tree
Gift Box Contribution:Layered Candy Cane Soap Bar
Discount Offer: I've placed 42 items on sale and will be giving away a free item to a random person who purchased from my shop in the month of November... and i'll be giving 5% off any order placed ON black friday! Ends Midnight EST.
babus
Gift Box Contribution: I am offering up one of my wet-felted wool scrap yarn balls. Multicolored ball about 2 1/2 inches in diameter.
Discount Offer: I am offering free shipping on all items.

Bella Tote
Gift Box Contribution: an attractive reusable tote!

Bette's Bags
Gift Box Contribution: Small fabric wallet or credit card holder.
Discount Offer: Free Shipping
DearSophie
Gift Box Contribution: I am offering up a pair of new jade and sterling silver earrings. Valued at $8.
Discount Offer: free gift wrapping on all items, free shipping on orders over $30. Early bird special: Make it a gift set! Limited number of free earrings with the purchase of a necklace.

Designs by Erin
Gift Box Contribution: 2 knitted bangle bracelets: 1 light green & white cotton yarn, and 1 baby blue acrylic and blue Lion's Brand Homespun yarn

Elizabethan Creations
Gift Box Contribution: Set of 4 yo-yo coasters in blue
Discount Offer: 20% of everything in shop

French Roast
Gift Box Contribution: a pendant (value $15)
Discount Offer: free shipping to the US (discounts overseas)
Generations Tie Dye

Gift Box Contribution: A 12"x60" hand-dyed blue and gray silk scarf

herban lifestyle™
Gift Box Contribution: organic holiday cookie sugar scrub
Discount Offer: 20% off all items in my store

Jellybug Artworks
Gift Box Contribution: a fused glass pendant.
Discount Offer: $5 off on every $25 spent at my shop with free shipping on orders of $50 or more.

jetsy
Gift Box Contribution: a small redecorated spice tin ("Warm Fuzzies") that the recipient can fill with glitter, bath salts, powder, or tea, spices, etc.

Katie's Kritters
Gift Box Contribution: a duo of Christmas pins, Santa and Mrs. Claus

Mishutka Design Studio
Gift Box Contribution: Victorian Pink Rose Tags (Set of 6) Delicate roses and lovely pink ribbons are perfect together in these Victorian style gift tags. Delightful vintage tags to decorate your gifts! Or use them for scrapbooking and as bookmarks.

mloartwear
Gift Box Contribution: Original upcycled bookmark and an original watercolor Christmas theme card
Discount Offer: Free shipping

oblinaknit
Gift Box Contribution: On The Go Pouch - A cute little japanese fabric pouch to stash you stuff!
Discount Offer: 15% all items in my shop

Silver Dot Jewelry Designs
Gift Box Contribution: Crystal Rose Necklace A faceted rock crystal quartz briolette is accented with a lovely rose gold vermeil charm and suspended from sterling silver chain. Necklace length will be made to customer specifications. Necklace retails for $33.50
Discount Offer: BOGO Sale - Buy One item and get lower priced or equal value item at 50% off.

Shelby B's Designs
Sale: 10% off all sales, and a free stitch marker to match your yarn purchase! Gift box: Skein of worsted weight yarn, in colors of the winners choice!.

Undefined Village
Sale: Buy one get one 1/2 off all prints 8x10 or larger.
Gift Box: 5x7 photographic print, matted and signed

Wild Honeysuckle Creations
Gift Box Contribution: A pendant or ornament.

Happy Shopping!

Flower Sale!

2008-11-17T20:22:00.000-05:00

I'm running a new themed sale every week through the end of 2008 to help you with your holiday shopping. If you would like to receive a weekly email listing the items that are on sale that week, please subscribe to my Weekly End of 2008 Sales newsletter.

This week's theme is flowers! Through Sunday, November 22nd, enjoy a 10% discount on any of my work that features or looks like flowers, including glass millefiori!

http://www.jellybug.com/store/category/flower-sale

Here are just a few of the fun things that are presently on sale!

Retro Tunnel Vision Fused Glass Pendant
Retro rounded squares of bright, juicy green and blue are topped off with a large dollop of millefiori.

Visit Jellybug Artworks for more pictures and a chance to own this item!

Unakite and Hill Tribes Fine Silver Jewelry Set
Three strands of marbled unakite, accented with pewter suns and flowers, and a Thai Hill Tribes fine silver pendant.

Matching earrings feature a cluster of dainty unakite beads on handmade fine silver ballpins. Hill Tribes fine silver blossoms dangle below, and the earrings hang on fine silver earwires.

Visit Jellybug Artworks for more pictures and a chance to own this item!

Beach Blossom Necklace
This is a fun, kicky necklace. The green shell pendant splendidly complements the conical golden shells that frame it, and the green and gold theme is repeated throughout the necklace. Also featured are frosted sea glass, lime turquoise, and brass suns.

Visit Jellybug Artworks for more pictures and a chance to own this item!

Glass Blossom Candleholder
Colored glass is gently draped into a flower blossom shape that is perfect for tealights. The ones pictured are just a sample -- I can make this in any color, and I have swirly multi-colored glass, too!

Visit Jellybug Artworks for more pictures and a chance to own this item!

Winner of the Fused Glass Pendant Contest

2008-11-08T10:29:00.000-05:00

First, I want to thank everyone who entered. It was so wonderful to read the lovely things you said about my work!

The lucky winner, randomly selected using Microsoft Excel technology (tee hee), is Jen, who chose my Psychedelic Sun pendant. Unfortunately, this pendant was sold long before the contest started, so I'll be contacting Jen to make a second choice.

If you didn't win, that means the pendant you chose is likely still available! Run out and buy it now! :D

If you'd like to be notified the next time I have a giveaway, please sign up for my Contests and Giveaways newsletter!

Starting Sunday: First Weekly Jewelry SALE!

2008-11-07T07:59:00.001-05:00

I'm going to run a new themed sale every week between Sunday, November 9th and the end of the year to help you with your holiday shopping. If you would like to receive a weekly email listing the items that are on sale that week, please subscribe to my Weekly End of 2008 Sales newsletter.

The first sale, starting this coming Sunday and running through November 15th, will be off 10% all jewelry that reminds me of food -- frosting, candy, chocolate, and fruit!

http://www.jellybug.com/store/category/food-sale

All of my jewelry comes in complimentary gift boxes.

Here are just a few of the fun things that will be on sale starting Sunday!

Artist Spotlight: Maggie Sue Designs

2008-11-01T10:13:00.000-04:00

Fellow Capitol Region Etsy Street Team member Meredith of Maggie Sue Designs was kind enough to include one of my pieces in an Etsy treasury she created. While writing a blog post about the treasury, I was nosing through her shop, and I found so many fabulous things that I just had to share!

Meredith is a seamstress who makes awesome cup cozies and handbags.

Coffee Cup Cozies

Meredith's fleece-lined coffee cup cozies are right up my alley -- bright-colored and fuzzy! Being a frequenter of Starbucks and the coffee bar at Whole Foods, I'm totally in the market for one of those. The three at left are my favorites, but she makes them in a huge variety of colors and patterns.

Handbags, Purses, Totes

Meredith also makes adorable small purses in vibrant colors. As you might guess, I'm a sucker for vibrant colors. My favorites are her vibrant patchwork bag, her Manzanita Modern Bag, and her Red Crazy Squares Front Pocket Bag.

I usually go without a bag, but when I'm pocketless, I like a cross-body bag that isn't huge -- just big enough for wallet, phone, and keys. I've been looking for an appropriately-sized bag, and I think I've find the source!

Three of My Pieces Featured in Two Etsy Treasuries!

2008-10-31T22:18:00.001-04:00

The Capitol Region Etsy Street Team is having a sale this week, and the girls are going wild snagging treasuries!

The Surfing the CREST treasury features earth-toned swirly things and includes two of my pieces: handblown Murano glass earrings and a fused glass pendant.

The Do You Love a Good Sale? treasury is Maggie Sue Designs' favorite CREST pieces and features my Rock Garden Symphony necklace -- a red stone pendant on hand-wrapped agates.

The Maggie Sue Designs shop is so interesting that I'm going to have to devote a blog entry to my favorite pieces of hers!

Win a Fused Glass Pendant of Your Choice!

2008-10-30T18:11:00.004-04:00

I've just discovered a wonderful blog: Etsy Giveaways! Every day, they post links to contests where you can win free handmade gifts from Etsy artists! This sounds like so much fun that I want to participate.

The Prize

One lucky winner will receive a fused glass pendant of his or her choice from my website or my Etsy store! I make my pendants one at a time, designing, cutting and assembling them by hand in my tiny studio at my house in historic Greenbelt, MD. I use all compatible 90 COE glass, heat it to thoroughly scalding temperatures, then slowly anneal it for strength.

How to Enter

Pick your favorite pendant from my website or my Etsy store, and leave a comment on this blog post with your choice. Be sure to include your email address so that I can contact you if you win!

The contest is open through the end of Friday, November 7th at midnight eastern time. On Saturday, I'll choose a winner at random from the comments and contact that person by email. If I don't receive a response within a week, I'll pick another winner! Shipping in included with the prize; due to the high variability in worldwide shipping costs, this content is only open to residents of the United States and Canada.

Update: The contest is over and we have a winner! If you'd like to be notified the next time I have a giveaway, please sign up for my Contests and Giveaways newsletter!

Can I interest you in some cats?

2008-10-28T13:10:00.001-04:00

Morning

During a conference call, someone asks, "Do I hear cats screaming?" Why yes, you hear Lazarus and Elvira tearing across the living floor, leaping on each other, wrestling and caterwauling. It's all in good fun, but it doesn't take much feline screeching to be too much!

Lunchtime

I hear a suspicious tinkle and look into the kitchen to find Elvira licking the butter which I have left out on the counter between slices of toast. As I am chasing her up the stairs threatening her with dire consequences, Lucius takes the opportunity to drink from the bowl of soup I abandoned while pursuing Elvira.

Evening

"Meer! Meer!" You had dinner an hour ago. "Meer!" That is utter nonsense, I have it on good authority that you had two breakfasts. "MEER MEER MEER!" No, PETA will not take your side in this discussion, and you're not tall enough to reach the phone anyway!

When posting new pendants I've taken photos of, I go in search of a particular one to measure it for the product listing. I know I left it on the counter ... but it's gone. If you were 12 inches tall and very furry, where would you hide your stash of stolen sparkly objects? I locate a flashlight and look under the stove. Aha! Something glittery under there! I fish it out with a ruler, and it's a pendant all right -- but not the one I was looking for!

Sale in my Etsy shop! 10% off all week!

2008-10-25T17:59:00.002-04:00

Have you started thinking about holiday shopping? Next week might be a great time to start. CREST -- the Capital Region Etsy Street Team -- is holding its first group sale! We have over 30 shops offering special discounts for one week: Monday, October 27th through Monday, November 3rd.

All items in my Etsy shop will be 10% off the listed price next week. After you place your order, I'll send you a revised Paypal invoice with your discounted total.

You can find items from all of the participating shops by searching for the EtsyCrestSale tag on Etsy.

Happy Shopping!

Packaging for Pets

2008-10-14T22:25:00.000-04:00

The UPS man brought me a box from Delphi today, and the cats have been gaily pouncing and sliding in the resulting mound of packing paper!

Don't tell me that your kitchen isn't full of wine bottles soaking in buckets to loosen their labels?

Among my new toys are a wrought-iron lantern frame, a wooden box with an insert for a decorative glass tile on top, and wrought-iron bowl stands. Time to branch out!

Foray into Luxury

2008-09-30T20:02:00.000-04:00

Usually, I shoot for a balance between cost and splendor. It's a tough economy, money is tight, and people without large pocketbooks should have fun jewelry, too. Lately, though, I've been dipping my toes into the pool of luxury jewelry. Not AAA-grade faceted rubies embedded in gold, but finer components and pricier stones, and I think the higher quality of the materials shows!

Prehnite and Silver Bracelet

I nabbed these luminous nuggets of prehnite at the bead and gem show I went to in August. I'd never used anything like them, but they were so juicy and delightful to hold and look at that I couldn't resist. I've wrapped them on fine silver ballpins that I made myself and hung them on a sterling cable chain. To add color and texture, I interspersed the prehnite nuggets with tiny cultured pearls and spheres of azurite-malachite and jade-colored quartz (known as Malaysia Jade), also on handmade fine silver ballpins. The clasp is an ornate pewter S-hook.

Visit my store for more photos!

Amazonite Teardrops

I've been holding onto these amazonite teardrops for months, waiting for the right use to present itself. Here, I've hung them on intricate sterling floral bails threaded on twisted sterling rings. The earrings hang on fine silver earwires accented with tiny cultured pearls on handmade fine silver ballpins.

Visit my store for more photos!

Rockfield Manor Wine Festival

2008-09-16T21:58:00.003-04:00

I just spent a long, hot, sticky weekend at the Rockfield Manor Wine Festival in Bel Air, MD. Sales were slow for both artists and wine vendors, but I used the downtime to weave a couple of long byzantine chains. I had purchased some antiqued silver rings, and I combined them with the bright silver rings I usually use for a two-color chain.

New records were set for setup and breakdown! I was able to park the car next to my spot for unloading, and we managed to go from a full car next to an empty patch of grass to ready for business in 50 minutes. Breaking down was even faster -- 30 minutes to pack up all my wares, displays, tablecloths, packaging, and tools; break down the tables and tent; and stack it all back in the car (a process now known as "Tetris").

My new roadie is handy with a camera and took this photo of me weaving a chain, reflected in my booth mirror.

Photo by Thomas McKenzie

A Restaurant to Visit

I had the good fortune to be placed next to the best food vendor at the show -- the Bliss Coffee and Wine Bar. While other vendors offered hamburgers and polish sausage, the Bliss folks had seafood stew, lovely asian pulled pork sandwiches, and pasta salad made with penne and fresh veggies. I took the opportunity to peruse their menu, and they're actually a full restaurant with an awesome-sounding menu. Also, the chef has nice tattoos. If you're near Bel Air, I recommend stopping in for a meal!

Next Show

My next show is in two weeks: Saturday, September 27th at the Crofton Country Club in Crofton, MD. Visit my show list for directions and hours!

Wire on Fire!

2008-08-08T21:51:00.003-04:00

I've just finished making my own ballpins using sterling wire and a butane torch! This may not sound exciting, but I'm quite titillated. I use tons of ballpins in my cluster earrings, and finding them premade in a gauge you like is difficult.

Below, a short clip of me making one. You'll see a thin piece of wire -- 24 gauge -- come in from the top, turn red hot, and then pull up into a ball on the end.

New Toys

2008-08-07T23:11:00.002-04:00

I love bead shows. They're exhausting, both mentally and physically, but they're chock full of wonderful things. I went to one a couple of weekends ago and came home with a bag of beautiful treasures. Sometimes I think I really just like looking at them, and I make jewelry because I can't afford to keep them all. They'd make wonderful wall treatments.

Here's a sneak peek at the lovely new gemstones that will be soon making their way to a website near you!

Dreamy chrysocolla

Gorgeous turquoise

Luscious pink crazy lace agate

I've forgotten what this is, but it has beautiful veins.

Nearly-edible ocean jasper

Turquoise pendants

I'm still giddy.

Saturday's Treats

2008-07-21T18:27:00.000-04:00

The fruits of my Saturday, newly available at Jellybug Artworks!

Turquoise, Tigereye and Pearl Rope

Three thick strands of green apple turquoise, tigereye, and creamy cultured pearls studded with pewter. Matching earrings mirror the rich stones and renaissance-style pewter. Wear the necklace in a twist, or in graceful parallel strands to show off the luscious gemstones.

Byzantine Turquoise Bracelet

Renaissance beauty! Three strands of hand-woven byzantine chain fasten with a sterling clasp featuring an imitation turquoise cabochon. Each strand of chain takes an hour to weave.

Rock Garden Symphony

Striped agate in black, gray and cream is spiced up with fire-crackled red agate on hand-wrapped wire links. A crackly stone pendant on a sterling bail provides a lovely centerpiece. Matching earrings complete your look!

Nectarines and Cream Necklace

Tubes of striped agate and cultured pearls on hand-wrapped wire links pair with a deep red fused glass pendant. Don't miss the matching earrings and bracelet!

Wild Rice Salad

2008-07-21T08:24:00.002-04:00

Every Sunday, a small group of friends coalesces for a potluck dinner. According to my mother, when I moved out on my own, I insisted that two pots was too many, but the high cooking standards of my foodie potlucking friends have led me from barely able to make pasta to loving to cook.

This week's recipe was Wild Rice Salad from Elise at Simply Recipes. It is a scrumptious blend of crunchy rice, crispy veggies, toasted pine nuts, and dried cranberries with an olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing.

Elise's salad is cold. I prefer such concoctions hot, and the groups prefers brown rice over white, so I've made modifications. This one's a keeper!

Flurry of Inspiration

2008-07-20T12:02:00.001-04:00

Having passed the week tired, grumpy, and spending all of my time doing things for other people, I went crazy on Saturday. I've got a ton of photos to process, but here's a preview of pieces which will become available soon!

First, we have a lovely red stone on a sterling bail on a necklace of hand-wrapped striped agate balls and fire-roasted agate wavy coins. (They're really fire-crackled agate, but it tickles me to call them fire-roasted -- like peppers!)

Next, a rope of tigereye, cultured pearls, and green apple turquoise studded with pewter accents, pewter cones and an ornate floral toggle clasp.

the Purpose of Beaches

2008-07-09T11:39:00.000-04:00

I've never been a beach person. I don't swim or sunbathe. But I figured I'd go across the street and walk along the beach since it's right there.

Crescent Beach is your average beach.

I watched people poking in the rocks for sea glass and shells. I meandered down to the water and a shell caught my eye, and I realized what a beach is for: jewelry! These people are going to take their shells home, put them in a box, and ignore them. People are going to wear mine.

I left with nought but a camera, and I came home with a double handful of sea treasure.

This particular beach also contains Mammoth Seaweed. Probably sabertoothed seaweed from some prehistoric undersea forest. I have included my foot for scale.

The fruits of my labors, having sat in a dishpan of soapy water overnight, are now drying on the back porch.

Can't Keep a Good Grass Down

2008-06-29T10:34:00.002-04:00

The gutter outside my house was recently re-paved. A fresh new black swath of asphalt over everything. Now, I'm not complaining -- it needed it! The concrete gutter hadn't been tended to in .. well, decades, from the look of it.

This isn't your normal street-height gutter -- it's a paved channel, nominally a few inches lower than the road. Big chunks of the bottom were missing, creating 10-inch-deep chasms which swallowed the ankles and tires of the unwary. Parallel parkers frequently ended up with a wheel in the gutter. A friend came to visit once, pulled too close to a particularly deep portion of the Grand Canyon, and couldn't get back out. We tried to build a ramp, but I didn't have enough miscellaneous timber in my shed. A passerby volunteered to help, and returned with lumber that he'd borrowed from a neighbor. My favorite incident involved a tow truck which got stuck there for days after accidentally backing into the chasm.

So, at long last, a new gutter. A wide, smooth dip at the side of the road, easy to walk through and to park next to without fear of maroonment. Amusingly, though, only a cursory attempt to clear the area to be paved was made, and small clumps of grass were left. Small clumps of grass tend to become large clumps of grass. It is their wont. As I walked home today, I noticed this idyllic urban watering hole. I imagine weed whackers and skateboards congregating for a drink from the coursing water during a light rain.

The iMac Returns .. Sort of

2008-06-27T21:58:00.001-04:00

The folks at the Apple Store apparently weren't able to rescue anything off of my old hard drive (despite the fact that they successfully accessed it while I was at the store dropping it off). I hadn't checked on my backup program in a while, and unfortunately, it appears that it hadn't been working. Most of the full size photos of my recent work ... gone. Many I can retrieve from Etsy, fortunately. I'm not sure when the backup stopped working. I'm afraid to open my mail program and to plug in my phone, which syncs with data that might not be there anymore. New daily task: glare at the backup logs. Sigh. Maybe I should bite the Leopard bullet and hope Time Machine works better than this other apparently-questionable thing I was using.

New Show!

2008-06-25T09:38:00.003-04:00

I've just received my confirmation for a show in September. I'm trying a new venue, going relatively far afield, and a new market -- this will be the most expensive show I've done to date.

Third Annual Harford County Wine Festival

I'm very excited about the show: it's a combination wine tasting and craft exhibition at a historic manor house north of Baltimore. Tickets are $25, and that gets you a number of wine tastings. There's also food and live music. You can buy tickets online now to secure your entry!

The festival is held outdoors, rain or shine, at Rockfield Manor on Churchville Road in Bel Air.

I'll be bringing plenty of wine bottle serving trays -- they'll make great gifts in combination with the wine available for purchase at the festival! I'll also have a selection of my fancier jewelry.

Cutting Glass with Scissors

2008-06-22T14:31:00.005-04:00

I was just nosing around on the website of the Spectrum Glass company, and I ran across this gem: an article on cutting glass underwater -- with scissors! Good for a giggle.

On with the Art

2008-06-21T18:42:00.006-04:00

Yes, that's Art with a capital A! I made my first wire melt!

Wire melts, pot melts, and aperture pours are all names for a hot glass technique that produces fairly unpredictable but completely awesome results. Instead of arranging the glass in a flat stack exactly how you want it to come out, you suspend a bunch of glass in the air, crank the kiln up to 1700 degrees, and let it flow in a viscous liquid down onto your kiln shelf, where it spreads out like a vitreous ganache.

If you have a tall kiln, you do a pot melt or an aperture pour. You load a vessel with glass, prop it above the kiln shelf using refractory bricks, and the glass dribbles through a hole in the bottom of the vessel. The vessel is commonly a clay flower pot, and I've read that Italian flower pots are preferable.

If you have a short kiln, like me, you do a wire melt. Since there isn't enough vertical room in the kiln for a pot, you make a hammock out of high-temperature kiln and suspend it between two refractory bricks which you have raised above the kiln shelf. You can then place largish chunks of glass in the hammock, and as it liquefies, it simply goes around the wire.

To Battle

Armed with and inspired by Prizmatic's wire melt tutorial and a suggested firing schedule, I decided to make an 8-inch round melt, which would be a nice dessert plate. Liquid glass likes to be one-quarter of an inch thick, so I calculated how much glass I'd need, picked a nice complement of greens with a few black accents, and loaded up the kiln.

Liquid Runs

You know how water pools on the low portion of a non-level surface? Well, so does glass, and due to floors, kiln stands, and kiln posts, your average kiln shelf isn't level. Instead of an 8-inch circle, I have a sort of stunted semicircle with a definite slant to it.

It's very pretty though, and I intend to chop it up and make pendants or insets for other works.

After much frowning, turning of shelves and swapping of kiln posts, and measuring with a wee short level, a calculated application of shims has brought the kiln shelf into a greater state of balance. It is ready for its next trial!

The Coaster of Rebirth

2008-06-21T18:05:00.006-04:00

I go through cycles with which one of my creative outlets interests me the most. Back in the winter, it was earrings. I made big chunky earrings, and they made me very happy. In the early spring, I discovered chain maille techniques and had great fun incorporating my own hand-woven chains into my jewelry designs, and I made lots and lots of fused glass pendants. In the early summer, I lost my inspiration for earrings and concentrated on necklaces and bracelets. Now, I've swung back to glass again, but to bigger pieces of art.

Back to the Beginning

When I decided to start working with fused glass, I wanted to make useful things. I'd been working in stained glass for a few years, and I found it unsatisfying for two reasons. First, it's enormously labor-intensive. You break, you grind, you wash, you dry, you hand-foil and burnish each wee bit of glass individually, you flux, you solder, you wash, you patina, you wash, you wax. If you're going to sell your work, you're hard put to convince most people that it's worth as much as you need to charge for the hours you poured into it. I was in a guild with some other local stained glass artists, and everyone agreed that you basically worked for free.

The second reason for my dissatisfaction with stained glass was that you can't use stained glass creations. You can hang them in windows. You can put candles in them. You can admire them. You can't eat off of them, which is one of the most common things we do, and one only has so many windows. You can make very nice lamps, which are useful, but then you're back to the problem of convincing anyone to buy them!

On the other hand, when forming your art from pure glass, you can use it for food. I found this thrilling. I can make useful things! Colorful, wonderful, usable everyday things!

Before I got my own kiln, I'd spent a month or two excitedly designing plates. When I started buying fusible glass, though, I found that it was quite expensive. The glass factories have to put a lot of R&D time into developing and testing dozens of colors of glasses that have the same coefficient of expansion. The coefficient of expansion (COE) is the rate at which the glass expands and contracts as it heats and cools. Glass, like water, changes in volume as it changes from a solid to a liquid. To add to the complexity, different types of glass need to be raised to different temperatures to cause them to soften and flow. If you're going to heat multiple glasses together, they must all heat and cool at the same rate so that they don't strain against each other and crack. All the testing that goes into the compatible glasses offered by manufacturers causes them to be quite pricey. Dismayed, and noticing that many other glass artists make almost exclusively jewelry and small candle holders, I tabled my dishware aspirations.

It always bothered me, though. I wanted to make plates, bowls, dishes. Neat plates. Awesome bowls. Not your average dishes. I'd never been content with your average stained glass, so why I was acquiescing now?

Reinspired

It started with a request for coasters. A good friend's partner saw some art glass coasters in a museum gift shop and thought, "Those are pretty awesome. I bet Karen can make better ones." Pictures were sent, favorite colors were issued, and expectations were high. With that proclamation to live up to, I dithered a bit, then dug into my stash of plate designs. I found one of my favorite geometrics, applied the designated colors (blue and orange), scaled it down to coaster size, and marched upstairs, carefully-measured bits of paper in hand.

Ta Da

I like it. They like it, although with the accent glass, it came out a bit bumpy for a coaster. I'm going to order some thin glass and try again, as the request has morphed into combination coaster/candle dishes. I think I'll make some plates!

Credit Where Credit is Due

2008-06-19T18:40:00.002-04:00

For years, I've used Paint Shop Pro version 4 on any Windows computer I have to use. It was, in my opinion, the last good version of the program, before they started trying to be Photoshop back in 1997. It's a good program, but for art photography, it unfortunately sucks rocks, lacking any good white balancing or color correction features.

Since I'm now stuck with a Windows computer for who knows how long (see my previous post), I googled for Windows photo editors and ended up downloading Google's own Picasa. I must say that I'm extremely impressed. Not only does it white-balance (they call it the "I'm feeling lucky" button), but the highlight and fill light functions are very good at restoring true color to the photo. Not bad for a photo organizer! I wish they'd separate the photo editor from the photo library, which is an irritating piece of software, but I'm going to use it anyway.

Poor Dying Hard Drive

2008-06-19T17:35:00.005-04:00

As my first foray into actual advertising, I purchased a spot in tomorrow's Etsy Travel Showcase where I planned to highlight vacation-themed jewelry. I have several pieces that I just photographed this morning and haven't posted yet, so I arrived home from my regular job with a mission! Process the rest of my photos, compose charming write-ups, and get those pieces into the public eye! Oh, and write a blog post for my friend Sharon of Mana Moon Studios, who is always pushing me gently to market myself. :) I've never met Sharon, but she's such a nurturing person that she makes you glow from afar.

After an hour's commute, I pranced in the door, was scolded by three felines for neglecting to bring home a swordfish steak again (honestly, how many times do I have to be told?), and woke my beloved iMac from its slumber. And .. it clonked. I walked around it and peered at the back, gave the cats the hairy eyeball, then walked around it a few more times, unable to believe that the source of this mechanical thwacking was my computer. Unfortunately, the frozen screen that greeted me confirmed that which I wished fervently to deny: my hard drive was clonking. I turned it off, turned it on, and glowered at it in dismay as it displayed a gray boot screen, clonked to itself, and did little else.

All is not lost -- I have the raw photos on the camera's flash card still, but .. argh! My good photo editing program is on that computer, and as any self-representing artist can tell you, a photo editor with a good white-balancing function is absolutely essential to correcting for the incandescent camera flash. I'd already put time into photos which I now must choose and process again before tomorrow's travel showcase with the inferior functions available to me on my laptop. Poor timing! Bad Mac!

Wind Resistance!

2008-04-28T18:25:00.004-04:00

A quarter-inch of Plexiglas mounted with screws on the back of a riser will protect the earring racks from wind from the back. I'm hoping that gusts from the sides won't catch enough to lift anything so that I can get away with not taping the cards down. But you can bet I'll have a roll of masking tape just in case!

The pendant board has been wind-proofed with a 1x2 board as an outrigger on the front, C clamps at the bottom of the board, and a bungee cord hooking over the top and then passing through the easel hinge.

I have decorative glass bits to weight down my business card and next-show fliers.

My new table cloths (bright-colored sheets) are coming this week, and a friend who sews is going to put weights in the hems.

Bring it on!

Booth Shot!

2008-04-23T22:25:00.003-04:00

The camera has been located! Here I am a couple hours into the show. Hat hair already! (That rainbow feathery object hanging from the rafters is the offending headpiece.)

I've just finished a couple of nice summery necklaces -- I'll get pictures tomorrow when the sun comes back. My car has a flat tire (grumble) so I can't go into the office (yay!). Having a car for which no garage stocks tires is a mixed blessing.

Craft Show Outtage

2008-04-21T08:32:00.003-04:00

My first real craft show was Saturday! I spent every evening last week frantically getting things ready, then arrived to find that the situation was not what I'd expected. I'd signed up for a small show in the back room of the local cooperative cafe where you got one small table, but the cafe had been closed for renovations that day, so they'd tacked the craft show into an outdoor musical festival two weeks later.

I'd been thinking that we'd get the same amount of space outside that we'd had inside, but it turned out to be a free-for-all. We were told that we could set up anywhere within a giant amount of space on one side of a plaza. I arrived at 10am to find the area already hot and in full sun, and the fellow jewelry maker I'd met at the previous small, unadvertised back-room show urged me to go get my Tent. I waffled a bit, having received the Tent in the mail only a few weeks before and not even taken it out of the box as I didn't expect it to use it until May 4th. "How long will you last in the sun?" she asked. "I'm ready to pack up and go home now," I replied, having only gotten my table out of the car.

This was deemed an untenable situation, so I scurried home for the Tent. It's an EZ-UP, which -- if you have one and recall your first interaction with it -- is a misnomer. The directions are not altogether helpful, but with much hemming and hawing and the assistance of a bystander, it was erected. This was a great boon, as the day proceeded to be Wretchedly Hot.

There were more Exciting Incidents involving all of my earring racks and then a big bulletin board on an easel loaded with fused glass pendants going over in the wind. I may have uttered certain bad words went the easel went over, but none of the pendants broke when they hit the concrete. Littering the ground around my booth with broken glass would have been a catastrophe! Much masking tape was applied, and plans are afoot for easel outriggers and a windbreak for the earring racks.

I learned a lot. Much of it was regarding wind (are those my business cards blowing away AGAIN?!). I filled a couple of pages in a notebook with notes on what to do differently next time. Fun! I'll have a photo of the booth when the photographer finds his camera.

Design-a-Day: Hill Tribes Silver and Cobalt Briolette Pendant

2008-04-15T20:47:00.011-04:00

I think I've just finished a custom order (it's out to the customer for review at the moment). This completes the earring/bracelet/pendant set I mentioned in my byzantine weave post. The rings I got from The Ring Lord worked really well in the bracelet:

I used some new thicker rings in the earrings, too:

We went through a couple iterations of the pendant. I made an orange one with agate teardrops first to complement the customer's intended bright blue outfit, but it turned out that we weren't on the same wavelength regarding the quantity of orange that was desired, so I located a set of cobalt blue briolettes that I think will match her dress perfectly.

If you'd like a piece or a set of custom jewelry, please don't hesitate to !

Design-a-Day: Dichroic Earrings

2008-04-12T22:44:00.006-04:00

I do not have the promised "after" pictures of yesterday's pendants. Bad Karen! I was on a packaging tear today, manufacturing earring and pendant cards and mounting finished pieces for the show I'm going to next Saturday (come visit me! Saturday, April 19th in Greenbelt, MD -- visit my show list for directions). I used the scrapbooking paper border idea from Barb Macy's fabulous tutorial, and they look pretty nice.

As a consolation, I have a "before" photo of today's first kiln load: dichroic earrings. I don't have a saw, so my earrings always turn out blobby, so I avoid making them. Today, though, inspired by the pine-tree-shaped pendant from yesterday's pendant run, I made a bunch of tiny versions. I put them in in the morning, so they finished annealing and cooling in time for me to design another load of pendants that's cooking now.

The earrings turned out great, but they're so delicate that I have no idea how to put them on something that can be attached to ear wires! The traditional dangly earring hardware used for attaching glass is very chunky, and these, with their wee little points on top, don't cover up the backing. The best idea I've come up with is tiny drop charms. There are itty-bitty diamond-coated drill bits for this purpose, but I don't have any. It might be time!

Design-a-Day: Tack-Fused Glass Pendants

2008-04-11T21:49:00.005-04:00

I have a bunch of little glass balls that I made from snipping up the glass rods that bead makers use for flameworking. Put the chunks through your kiln on a full fuse, and they pull up into balls. Fun! I made them last week, and tonight I decided to employ them.

I felt it would be best to only tack fuse them to pendants, as they'd melt into the base glass on a full fuse. Since I hate waiting, I didn't want to make a set of fully-fused pendants and then tack fuse the balls onto them, so I designed a load of pendants that I will only tack fuse. Come tomorrow morning, when I see the finished product, I may find that patience is a virtue!

Below, my kiln-load of pendants, pre-firing. You can find more of my pendants in my store.

And the disaster that is my workbench after a pendant session! This one's fairly controlled by my standards.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a post-kiln photo!

Design-a-Day: Lucite and Hill Tribes Silver Pendant

2008-04-10T22:14:00.004-04:00

I've fallen in love with Hill Tribes silver -- and not just because we share a name. The Karen tribe in Thailand makes beautiful silver beads and focal pieces using historical techniques, resulting in an organic feel and funky, ethnic styling. It's very different from the polished, ornamental Rajasthani silver of India.

Tonight, I was eying a stack of large vintage lucite beads that I got at the Baltimore Bead Show in January. These sea green beads were rescued from a Rhode Island factory that closed the 1960s, and they have a very cool crackle pattern sealed under a smooth outer coating. I also wanted to dig into the shipment of Hill Tribes silver that arrived last week!

When I design, I often start with one piece and then go through everything else I have, holding things up together and muttering a lot. In this case, though, as soon as I'd picked the big piece of lucite, I knew exactly what the next piece would be -- a particular Hill Tribes silver flower. A good start, but the composition was bare. I didn't want to detract from the flower with beads, so I tried some twists of hammered wire. All of my hammered wire wraps are textured using locally-available resources (which is to say -- my kitchen floor).

I toyed with combinations of pearls, shells and hematite chips for the necklace portion, but, feeling that a beaded necklace would detract from the coolness of the pendant itself, I chose to hang it on chain instead. A plain chain also seemed bare, so I accented it with hematite rings and tiny bits of turquoise.

I often get ideas for other pieces while implementing a design. I frequently make one earring and then run off and make some completely different before coming back to finish the other half of the pair. Sometimes I end up with three non-matching earrings and the beginning of a necklace at the end of an evening! While I was assembling the hematite and turquoise accents, I found myself shaking them and thinking how pleasantly dangly they were. A matching set of earrings seemed like the natural vehicle for this dangliness, and so the Creeping Vines Pendant and Earrings Set was born!

Design-a-Day: Dragonfly Cluster Earrings

2008-04-09T20:17:00.003-04:00

Lately, I've been overjoyed by cluster earrings. I can't stop making them -- they're just so darn simultaneously fun and elegant. They feel nice swinging from ears, and they make soft tinkly sounds when you turn your head. I'm sorely tempted to keep every pair I make!

Clusters are small but time-consuming to make, as each bead must be individually wound and wired into the cluster by hand. There's a temptation to make big, bountiful clusters, but I take the weight of the finished piece into account and try to hold back.

I went on a cluster earring tear one day last week and made them out of agate pebbles, agate donuts, and orange mother of pearl.

Byzantine Weave

2008-04-08T20:22:00.004-04:00

Several weeks ago, bored with my bead collection, I went looking for something more interesting than chain to put between beads. I found a great tutorial (which I have since lost) on byzantine weave, which is a pattern for attaching jump rings together to make nifty 3D chains with a nice medieval luxury look to them. I promptly made a turquoise necklace (no photo yet) and some dangly earrings with lapis-colored howllite (pictured below - you can find a bigger photo on the product listing).

I happened to mention my weaving foray to the lovely Sharon Henry of Mana Moon Studios, who I'd just met through Flickr. She pointed me to The Ring Lord, a supplier of rings for chain mail. It turns out that these weaves require a particular ratio of wire diameter to ring diameter, lest the links just sag into a mess of disorganized rings when you lay the piece down. It doesn't matter so much for earrings since they're constantly under tension, but for a necklace or bracelet, having the right ratio counts. It's called "aspect ratio" by chain mail suppliers, and The Ring Lord lists the optimal aspect ratios for many weaves and provides a search feature for finding rings of a particular aspect ratio. At the time, I didn't understand this aspect ratio business yet, so I just stared at the vast array of rings and then fled in terror.

A few weeks later, though, I received a request for a bracelet to go with the Byzantine Pool earrings. Fulfilling someone else's jewelry desire is always a great motivator to me -- this is why I like doing custom orders. With the impetus to do a proper weave, I tore off to The Ring Lord to puzzle out this aspect ratio business. Once I understood, it was straightforward to select some fine silver rings of the prescribed aspect ratio. I chose 18 gauge fine silver rings with a 5/32" inner diameter. The company is in Canada, so the rings took two weeks to arrive, but they came on Saturday, and they worked fabulously! The links are nice and tight. If you're looking for these rings, products on The Ring Lord website don't have their own URLs, which is silly, but searching for "SXSFN18532" (the item number) will locate them.

I'll have photos of the bracelet once I get some daylight.