This Christmas season I participated in my first ever online "Secret Santa" game. I was assigned someone that had given no extra information. So I turned into "Stalker Santa" and looked her up online. I googled her name and came up with an interview she had given and finally some extra information so I could make something just for her. So I designed a bead to match her love for Stephen Kings' Dark Tower series and I also sent along some really incredible catnip for her two cats, Roland and Cuthbert, named after two of the characters in the books.

About that catnip... It was sitting in a sealed container, in a bag on top of the television, about 5' off of the floor. Our cat walked into the room an started sniffing the air. She then proceeded to jump up onto the narrow ledge beside the television and climbed up next to the bag with the yummy smell.

I put her back on the floor and gave her a little pinch from her own container :)

Happy Holidays!

A couple more of our spoon bracelets. This one is stamped "eternally yours" inside. I am sure that is the name of the pattern~ How romantic is that?And of course I saved the best for last but that is only my opinion. I will always have a "thing" for seaweed sparkle glass and its tiny bits of inner sparkle~ and the spoons on this one ahh... :)
Things only my camera can see!!! phhh See the bits of hemp fuzz on this bead? I have great vision and didn't notice them with my eyes until after I had taken the picture and loaded it for resizing etc...
The bead is lovely and I am really pleased with how it turned out. The other five pictures I took of it have no fuzz in them :)
Snow, no snow, then some more snow. We went for a walk this morning because it was snowing. I dropped everything, had my girl bundle up quickly and we walked in the falling snow. I try to make the most out of it because you never know how long it will last here. Usually it melts off fairly quickly in a day or two at most. I am not a fan of driving in it and usually just won't period. This morning I drove to the Post Office in a rush and left a package that has to be in the mail in the morning and that was it. Now looking out at the solid colored clouds I wonder if we will have more tonight. It sure looks like it. Another walk is in the making I think :)

Great minds really do think alike! I was inspired by another ega member in a discussion. She was talking about using laminated cards for her pendants. So Sue and I got busy, she printed these out for me I punched tiny holes in them and strung our pendants on with hemp twine. Then while I was visiting flickr looking at pictures and preparing to post some of my own I came across another ega member who had done almost the exact same thing as me!!! She even used hemp like I did. Worried that she would think I had copied her I sent her an e-mail and we had ourselves a little chuckle over it. Really gives you food for thought on the whole issue of copying :)
Then there are these!!! I have been thinking about making some lampwork headpins for about month now. Thanks again to one of my wonderful etsy customers for the inspiration~

I just made a few to start and Sue and I used them all up on the pendants :)
Peacock inspired~
Vetrofond odd lot Lime Sweet! What a great color~
And I've saved my favorite for last :) It is difficult for me not to show my love for beads. If I love how something I made has turned out I will tell you. This is not a lack of humility on my part it is just my passion for glass coming through. I get very excited if something turns out fabulous. You will hear me say "Oh thats my favorite" a lot and it is never a lie. I love most all of them. I surely love some more than others. Yeah I am a glass freak. So? :)

School started last week so I will hopefully have more time to devote to making and listing!!
Kris

A new love for making focals has been awakened! Don't know if I can stop so I hope you like them as much as I do :) Some close ups of my most favorite ones...
mmm...
ahhh...
Just in case you are wondering and in a panic because you noticed most of the items in my etsy shop have vanished! I thought I would let you all know I have taken all of the jewelry items out of the etsy shop for a few days. They are way overdue for some fresh air so I am taking them to Lincoln City where they will have a day in the sun and feel the cool kiss of the ocean breeze...
Some of them will find new homes and never return...
The rest will be back later next week~
Seeya!

Going to Lincoln City with me ~ Lovely shades of a rainforest safari~ Pretty topaz lovelies~ A custom request that wasn't exactly what the customer had in mind :)
Custom orders~ I love them as long as I get to have a bit of creative leeway~ Like color options! Choose more than one and it becomes an inspirational experience for me :)
Be specific! If you are after a certain look say so! It is okay, my goal is to make something you will love. Of course if I love them as well it will be easier for me, but I think I love most all of them~ lol...
I have been doing some custom requests lately and the reality is sometimes they work out and sometimes they don't. It is difficult translating a vision from an e-mail, even with pictures. I am learning to ask more questions and really get the specifics nailed down. But still I will make more than one bead set or pendant or whatever if I need to and it is allright, because like I said I happen to love them all and extra inventory is always great for me.
Have no fear! It is certainly okay to ask and never a bother for me.
Now seriously I must get down to the business of show preparation. Lincoln City is looming and I am starting to have a touch of anxiety! I may need to back off the coffee this week so I can stay calm and not get too excited. I'll burn myself out before Friday if my mind keeps racing like this hehehe... I am really looking forward to it. Matt and I will get a mini vacation and meet up with a bunch of other people from Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/index.php
It is going to be a fun time!

I have been working with turquoise this week trying to duplicate a reaction from another set of beads I made~ Here I paired it with elektra in an effort to get the creamy colors of ivory without the black reaction line~ I reduced to bring out the copper reds and then encased them in clear and shaped them into pillow beads.
Oh and here we are in my dungeon oh I mean studio :) Yes it is messy right now bleh... I usually keep it nice and tidy and never have this much glass out at once.
When I went to Frantz I bought glass that is to long to fit into the storage space. I am cutting it in half with the torch and putting them away as I have time and room. Who would ever think there isn't enough room? hehehe... :P
Time to kick it up a notch!!! I have two shows to prepare for, one is this coming weekend!!! I will be in Lincoln City in front of the Cultural center with a bunch of other people from Etsy! I am really excited to do this show and I hope all goes well~ Pray for great weather and small winds. Oh and of course that the event is hugely successful for everyone involved!!
More later~
Kris

What a gorgeous red! I was so excited to see this one when i pulled it from the kiln :) Metallic bronze! I cannot do this justice with a camera. Imagine my surprise and elation when my new muddy green glass turned into this fabulous color! I may never leave the studio again.
The last two inches of the Frosty Blue I won at Frantz last year. I have found a replacement made by CIM glass so I suppose it was okay to finish it off at last...
Ahh Silver Cinnamon~ With a name like that how could anyone resist? It sounds warm and rich and the color that I got out of it certainly follows that line of thinking. Yum!!!
A big handful of my Sunday Focal making craziness :)

What is a focal? Does size matter? I think it is a matter of perspective a 5' 3" woman would want a smaller focal than say a 6'2" man. In reality I believe a focal is any bead with enough "presence" to be used alone. A focal doesn't have to be huge it just has to be more.

I spent all of last Sunday (The day I usually take off :) making Focal beads. It was liberating and I had a blast. I usually make small beads in sets. Making a bunch of focals was new and I experimented A LOT :) I love the results, some of them a bit too much and they will be hard to part with I can tell, darn it... I am so infatuated with some of the colors I purchased at Frantz I have gone beyond being a glass nerd and entered the realm of glass freak. Yep full blown glass addiction. My daughter would probably ask for an intervention if she knew what that meant :)

Off to melt something...

my precious...

;)

Here are the rest~ Of course I just love this navy color! And Some more of this combo my new "old" favorite!
I don't have time to say much today as I am busy with my daughter and niece! My but they do keep me busy. You'd think they would keep each other busy right? huh! lol~ Ah well I am sure they will be too busy for me in time.
Seeya after Frantz!!!!
Except for you Amanda I will see YOU there :)

Beads, its always beads isn't it? These deserved a new picture at the very least. The first pix I took of them were just not right~ This sweet beauty~ hmm do I keep it? Sometimes the camera will pick up detail the naked eye doesn't. That being said most always they are prettier in real life. The dark color here is navy, dark enough to be almost black. I was going for black and the rod I used was extremely dark in color and one of my lightbulbs burned out... well your getting the picture now :) So the experimentals got some friends in this "new" color I accidently mixed. I was surprised when I went out yesterday morning and held the rod up next to the remaining lightbulb to look through it. It isn't even blue~ it is all about layers :)
Green has always had a special place in my heart! More to come in this mix for sure!
Then there are these little delights! They are big-holed ~ 3/16 and layered with silver foil that I decided not to burn off completely. Ahh serious Bliss!
How did my outdoor event for work go? I met "The Crime Dog" Other than that is was a very quiet evening. We had dark threatening rain clouds and some drizzle. Even free food didn't lure the people out. One of the managers, Marlene really made my day! I was scheduled to do the event alone and she put forth an extra effort and came along, good thing, I never would have gotten the canopy up by myself. A Big Thank YOU Marlene!!

So my vacation week is flying by way faster than it should. It is now Thursday and I have two days left. One of which will be spent here : http://www.frantznewsletter.com/August_Bash_07.htm
The other one will be spent preparing to go. I have a list to make ya know?!!!

Bright and Bold~ That is a change for me, of course I love them both even thought they really aren't "my style" I had a fairly productive morning today and I can't wait to see what comes from the kiln later :) I experimented a little and if the results are fabulous I will make my little experimentals some brothers and sisters so they will be sets.
Weather here is cloudy and cool and I am a little concerned as I have an outdoor event for work this evening. I volunteered to represent my employer at our local National Night Out event.
I hope it goes well~

Men who love babies and the women who love them. Matt is such a terrific Grandpa. He has more maternal instinct in his little finger than a lot of women I know (self included) Truly he is a gem with the wee ones! Alena came to play last weekend and we had sooo much fun having her over. She is very easy going and reminds me a lot of her dad when he was a baby~
I had a lot of custom requests this week so that is what I have been focusing on. Also I am preparing for a show in Lincoln City Oregon on September 1st. So let the preparation hustle begin :) I will keep you all updated on my progress and I will post a link with more info about the location and time of the show. Just in case anyone wants to drop by and say "Hi"
Gotta run again!
Kris

Vetrofond River Rock~ I still haven't decided what to do with this one :) Lemon Ice and Terra
Some more of these~ unetched and shiny :)
Whooeeey has it ever been sticky steamy and muggy here lately. Blech! We usually manage to avoid that in the Pacific Northwest. If it rains a little it normally just cools things down and gives us all a chance to freshen up a bit. Not last weekend, in fact Matt and I actually went to see two movies over the weekend just to get out of the hot muggy. We never do that :) I think we probably average a movie every six months or so. We watched Harry Potter and it was allright. We also watched Transformers and that was some seriously action packed and riveting entertainment. I wasn't really very excited to see it and went mostly for Matt. I am so glad I did it was really a great show :) The mugginess is gone now and it is warm and sunny again at least until this weekend when they have promised us some more rain. I have a few custom orders this week and I am anxious to get started. Rainy and cool weather will be perfect for flameworking~

I made some silvered stringer this week. This is done by heating the tip of a glass rod and then rolling it onto some fine silver foil. The glass rod, wrapped in foil that has been burnished on, is then heated in the torch flame some more until the silver "burns off" The heating continues until the end of the rod kind of balls up. Then it is removed from the flame, cooled for a second or two before you grab the tip and give it a gentle downward tug, creating a thin silvered stringer. I made mine with the Vetrofond odd lot River Rock. Here I applied it to Copper Green and superheated each bead so the silver would really work some magic. Then I gave them the briefest bath in etching cream and they feel just like cool silk... Bliss~

Love these!!!

I have been playing with copper foil and some of the new colors and this is my favorite set by far this week!

Post and run~

Seeya!!!