February 26, 2007

Ok - I admit it! I’ve turned into a self-confessed press junkie! I scored some great bargains lately and have been enjoying the new shapes. I have some new beads for sale on the beads to go pages if you wanna head over and have a look! There are a few different sizes in the new “tile” shape, the largest being 2.5cm square. It’s a beauty and would make a stunning focal bead for a special necklace.  Some new “smaller” tiles will be posted later on in the week.

As you may have noticed, I’ve  been on a bit of a cubic zirconia kick of late! I’m putting them everywhere - they’re looking the best in my Tokyo Blossom beads. The one below is a large lavender  tile, and if you look closely, you can just see the shimmer of the dichroic glass I embedded within the bead - just for that little bit of extra sparkle, and the cz’s too!

I haven’t had a chance to play around with the large tile shaped beads yet, but tomorrow I’m spending the day with my friend Monica who owns a cool beading shop not far from where I live. I’m looking for some inspiration - so check back in a couple of days to see what I’ve come up with!

February 16, 2007

Well...how did you spend your Valentine’s Day? Mine was pretty special, as always. Got a beautiful red rose and a yummy box of choccies from my boys. The chocolates are long gone but the rose lives another day. Don’t get me wrong, the chocolates will show up some time soon as cellulite on the upper thighs, I’m sure!

Onto other things red ~ and the celebration of the Chinese New Year is just around the corner. More “Asian influences on my work can be seen over the coming week. Its the year of the Pig! Maybe I should be focusing on “pink” beads? Red and gold will the theme so head over the beads to go page over the next week or so for new beads for sale. Stayed tuned and I will update this post over the weekend.

With the Chinese New Year festivities commencing today, I have made a lucky set of red and gold beads. I just love that Lauscha glass. It is sooooo luschious, and so are the beads! Red, of course is the Chinese symbol for luck and prosperity. Get more info on taboos and superstitions here. Gee, looks like I shouldn’t have done the housework today. I really didn’t want to do it the first place ~ maybe we can turn the clock back for 24hrs and start again!

February 9, 2007

Don’t we all just love a bargain? I’ve been checking out the online garage sales on the beading forums lately, both here in Oz and in the US. A few weeks ago, I scored myself a extra large lentil press. It arrived this week and I couldn’t to test drive the big beauty. It was an interesting journey to say the very least! I’ve not have much experience with big presses as I tend to work a lot smaller.  Boy, I was in for a real big shock!     This is my first super-sized lentil...took me just over an hour to get it right! Anyway, to cut a long story short, it cracked not long after I took it out of the annealer. I wasn’t too disappointed considering it was my first one. Anyone wanna guess what I’ll be doing this week?

On the bead front this week, I have some new pieces up for sale. A beautiful Queen of Hearts necklace and a bracelet to match. No prizes for guessing the colour story! St. Valentine’s day is fast approaching and my heart beads have been selling well. Then again, you don’t need an excuse like Valentine’s Day to wear heart jewellery, red jewellery or even eat chocolate for that matter!