Making a Glass Garden

I have many boxes like this full of beads. So fun! These are pressed glass beads in various shapes: leaves, moons, flowers, stars, etc. that I use in my glass garden bracelets. 

A glass garden bracelet starts with 12 inches of wire and size 6mm or 8mm seed beads. I use small wooden clothes pins to keep the beads on the wire. A velveteen pad serves as a work surface and I always have a ruler handy to measure my work as I go.

I use 180+inches of thread for a row of fringe. I sew in and out of each bead on the wire, adding seed beads and various shapes for the fringe row. I design as I go, trying to vary the colors and shapes. 

I have finished the first row, added a bead cap to hide the crimp that will be added when I add the clasp. I go back into the beads on the wire to tie off my thread using 3 sets of back to back square knots. Now I am starting on the second row of fringe with another 180+inches of thread. It takes patience and skill to keep from getting tangled in the existing fringe. 

Now I scrunch the beads to together to make the bracelet full and to get it to about 7 inches in length. 

Next  I add a  strong magnet clasp. The last step is to use thread glue to secure the knots. This dries clear and can not be seen once it dries.

All have been  SOLD

Finished products. These have been very popular this summer and the only one I have left is this fall colors version. Time to get busy in my studio!

View from my Tent

Last weekend I was at the Taste of Hood Canal and my view included the tent of Botanical Creations by Kathryn Sherwood. She makes beautiful creations with pressed flowers.You can see more of her work at her online store. Her newest items are of leaves - one of my favorite subjects.

New Account!

Today I sold several pieces to a new store in Port Orchard - Juliana. You will find it at 1541 Piperberry Way #105 - just down from Koi's Bistro. Check out the shop on Facebook. I will wait a few days and then go back and take photos. The owner, Sheri was very friendly and really seemed to like my things. We hardly made a dent in looking at my merchandise before she had spent her allotment!

Here are a few of my items that you will find in her shop......

More Art Beads

I had time recently to use the last of my beautiful art beads. 

All are $45. Contact me for more details.
All have been  SOLD

This one looks a bit tribal. 

Fall colors.(Sold)

Simple and elegant. 

I love the muted blues in these glass beads.(Sold)

Freshwater pearls in a long version. Very classy.(Sold)

Another simple and elegant one that is shorter. (Sold)

Peridot chips and black glass beads. Peridot is the birthstone for August. (Sold)

I love this tree pendant. It sold the first day I had it on display!

View from my Tent

Last weekend the view from my tent was of Kamilla and Holly.

 

Kamilla is the artist behind Raven Lunatic Studios. Click on the link to go to her website and see her other work. Her crows are made with polymer clay. They have such personality! 

Ensign Expendable was my favorite. 

Star Trek fans will understand the meaning of the red shirt and "expendable"!!

Holly was showcasing a collection of small paintings. 

 This was my favorite.

Autumn Glass Garden

I made this bracelet last week. It sold on Saturday! I am going to make another one today. With all of the events I have been doing I have been neglecting my online store. It takes time to photograph and create descriptions, and since things have been selling in my booth it does not make sense for me to take time to list them online. I will try and get caught up this fall so the store is well stocked for the holidays. Anytime you see something posted here on my blog that you like feel free to contact me about it. If you wait for it to get listed in my store you may miss out!

Indoor Rain

Friday I set my booth up at the Magnolia Summer Fest. In the grass on the floor of my tent area there was a small depression in the ground with a white circle painted around it. We were worried someone might trip over it, but decided to ignore it.  Saturday morning I got a call from one of the organizers - the city staff had neglected to turn off the automatic sprinkler system. Well I bet you can guess what that small depression was - yes there was a sprinkler head INSIDE my tent!!!!!

My sign was toast. This is the back.

All the rest of my signs were a mess and the table coverings drenched. 

So much for business cards. The power of the sprinkler tossed things off onto the ground. Look at all the water standing in the top of the tub. Luckily I take my merchandise home every night.

Thanks to how secure my tent is I spared all my neighbors any damage. The guy next door was a wood worker so I had him take a look at my tables and chairs. They are toast as they are laminate and once they dry out the laminate will curl and bubble. It has already started to do just that.

I called my sister - help I have a tent emergency! She arrived with towels, sheets, paper and crayons. The girls across the way liked our new sign. Despite the mess we were able to open for business on time.

Today I am working on a claim form to file with the City of Seattle for new tables, chairs and signs. 

Wish me luck!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Boy has it been a busy month - already 4 events under my belt and 2 more this weekend! Saturday was exciting - I got to test the waterproof-ness of my tent from the INSIDE!!! Watch for a blog post this week to explain that one! I have a long list of things to make. Here are a few more new necklaces using those fantastic porcelain beads. I hope to have time next week to get some posted in my Etsy boutique, but in the meantime feel free to contact me if you see one you like. All are $45. All have been  SOLD

The blue one has sold.

This one has sold.

Beadmask

I met Andrea, aka Beadmask, via the Seattle Etsy team (Etsyrain) - and she also has a booth at the Fremont Sunday market. I made several masks for a friend one year - one was in feathers, the other sequins. I thought they were pretty cool, but they do not compare to the incredible leather masks that Andrea crafts!!  I took a few pictures but to really get an idea of her work you need to check out her website http://www.beadmask.com and then click on leather masks on the left hand menu. 

If you have ever been in my house you know I have a thing for leaves (and rocks and shells!) so I also fell in love with this leaf barrette.

Porcelain Art Bead Necklaces

I love these beads!! They are made by Kenneth Chen, a landscape architect and jewelry designer from Princeton, New Jersey. Each bead is a masterpiece, painted and decorated by hand with vibrant colors with 24K gold or platinum glaze and fired at temperatures of over 1000 degrees. I like to use them as a single pendant. To direct the focus to the art bead I select a mix of seed beads for the necklace that highlight each art beads colors. Here are a few.....

All have been  SOLD

Fused Glass Art

Another new friend I have made via my booth is Terri Young, a fused glass artist. You can see more examples of her work on her website. All of her pieces are one-of-a-kind, hand-cut and kiln fired multiple times to achieve stunning results.  She teaches classes too.....very tempting!

View from my tent

A friend recently compared my Beadware tent to her office cubicle. She said my "cubicle" is bigger (10 x 10 feet) and I have an ever-changing view and cast of characters. 

West Seattle July 9-11 2010

Mukilteo July 17, 2010 - waterfront!!!

Fremont Sunday Market April 2010

Found a Better Magnet!

Thanks to input from fellow etsy jewelry makers I have found a better magnet clasp! It looks the same as the ones I was using, actually a hair smaller, but boy are they stronger!! The brand is Mag-Lok. The tip I got was to be sure that the clasp has Mag-Lok imprinted on it.

After researching prices I opted for a local internet bead retailer - Artbeads - in Gig Harbor. I ordered a few 6mm and 8mm to see if I liked them. The 8mm are too large for my tastes - and I could barely get them apart! Today I placed an order for more of the 6mm size in silver and gold plate. They are plain, but most of fancy ones I have seen are just not strong enough. Sometimes function is more important than looks! For my glass garden bracelets I will only use Mag-Lok magnets from now on.

If you have one of my glass garden bracelets and have been unhappy with the strength of the magnet please contact me and I will replace them with these new stronger magnets free of charge.

"Gone Fishing"

My online boutique will be closed until next Thursday. In the meantime you can browse thru the posts and pictures on my blog. Thanks for looking!