Fun With Glass Jars

 

I love lazy Sunday mornings ......

lie ins

Tea in bed

Steve Wright Sunday Love Songs

 

and

a peek thorugh Pinterest!!!

 

This morning glass jars caught my eye!!

I love glass anyway and find lots of uses for glass jars

Store my glass rods

My frit blends

and the list goes on ...

 

After seeing the goodies on Pinterest an idea struck

Butterflies in a jar!!

 

So this is my proto type  .....

 

Here are just a couple of favourites that I found

 

 
 

 

and of course, I've started a new board!

 

If you want to follow it

 

simply click on any of the pictures!

 

Happy crafting!

 

Trudi x

 
 

Fresh And Zingy

 

 

When I look at these pictures, certain words come to mind including

 

Warm

Innocent

Sunny

Mellow

Fresh

 

What words would you associate with them?

 

Trudi x

Fresh & Zingy

 

More colour inspiration!

 

Green and blue are some of my favourite colours to use together, I find them so fresh and inviting.

Not just colours for spring, they bring zing to even the dullest of days!

 

Trudi x

 

Colour Themes

 

A few months ago I started using Pinterest. At first I didn't really "get it" but once I did, boy I was addicted. Sometimes it's nice just to be able to save pictures that take your fancy, some are just for pleasure and some are just very useful.

 

To help with colour inspiration posts by design seeds are wonderful.

 

I've started pinning some of my favourite combinations .. if you want to follow my board you can find it here!

 

Happy pinning!

 

Trudi x

Colour Trends For Spring 2013

 

 

Help to set the trend this spring by selecting beads in the

gorgeous colours that are tipped to be firm favourites!

 

 

These mini polkas pick out the blues from the chart.

 

While these mix up the cool blue and green with a warmer coral.

 

What mix of colours would you choose?

 

 

Trick Or Treat ....

 

Halloween is almost upon us

 

Are you expecting a

Trick

 

 

Or

a

Treat

 

 

Which ever way you decide

there are plenty of beads for

Halloween in my Etsy Shop

 

 

 

Happy Beading

Trudi x

 

 

Tickled Pink

October is almost upon us and with that is

Breast Cancer Awareness

 

To help raise funds and awareness I have set up a Tickled Pink section in my Etsy shop.

 

Here you will find a range of pink beads, and on each listing I will advise how much from each sale will be donated to Breast Cancer Charity.

 

 

 

I decided to do this on multiple listings instead of making say one set and donating all the proceeds for a few reasons. Firstly it gives more people a chance to participate and do their bit. And with having more than one set I can keep listing and talking about it. It's not just about the money raised, but also about raising awareness. Let's get people talking!

 

 

 

From experience from previous years, I have decided to wait till the end of October and add up all the donations and then pay that amount in one lump sum. When I have that amount, I will post it on here and on my Facebook page along with a copy of the receipt!

 

 

 

There are some beads already listed, with more to come. So please keep a look out.

 

Your support is greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

Trudi x

 

More Shimmering Polkas!

And there are a couple more shimmering colours to share with you.

 

First up is the custard yellow

 

now for the orange

 

 

light red

 

 

 

 

Till next time

 

Happy beading!

 

Trudi x

 

 

 

Shimmering Raspberry Polkas

And the polka pictures continue ...

this time it's shimmering raspberry!

You might see that the shimmer beads don't look as bright in the pictures, but I can assure you that they are still bright and have the added shimmer particles that reflect the light!

 Before picture ..

I've got a couple more test colours in the kiln, so more pictures to follow!

Till next time

Happy beading!

Trudi x

Pearly Green Polkas

And the polka pictures continue ...

As promised, here's another pair of polkas that have had the razzle dazzle treatment!

And so that you can see the difference, I've added a "before" picture!

Till next time

Happy beading!

Trudi x

Pearly Lavender Polkas

 

 

As promised, here's another pair of polkas that have had the razzle dazzle treatment!

 

And so that you can see the difference, I've added a "before" picture!

 

 

 

Till next time

Happy beading!

 

Trudi x

 

 

 

It's Been A While!

Hello there

It's certainly been a while since I blogged, I guess I've been guilty of posting quickly on Facebook instead. While I do love Facebook, it's great because it is so quick, I do find that I'm limited to one picture per post. Sometimes you want to post up a few and tell a story ... so for that the blog is great!

So what's new then?

Firstly, I've had a mini make over!

Well, not me personally, but my Etsy shop, my website and here.

I wanted to jazz up my banner in Etsy, and as I don't have the time (or expertise) I had a look on Etsy and I found a wonderful shop called Accentuate run my Marilyn!

She has pre-made sets that she will add your shop name and tag line to, and once sold to you she doesn't re-sell them so they are unique to you. With sets starting at $12 (about £7.70), I thought that this was a bargain. The banner also fits nicely on here and my blog! I like it so much that she's also designed an advert for me and I'll be getting some graphics for my next lot of Moo cards!

And the makeover hasn't stopped there!

The polka beads are very popular, and I was thinking about how I could jazz them up a little!

Well I mulled it over, and I gave them the "Razzle Dazzle" treatment

and they now have a lovely shimmering finish.

I'll admit that it's a little tricky to capture in a photograph, but in the flesh they have a lovely shimmering finish to them.

So far, I have only tried it on the blue ones but I plan to try it out on others very soon!

So watch this space!

Till next time

Happy beading!

Trudi x

The difference is clear

There's the old saying "you get what you pay for"

and this is particularly true when it comes to lampwork beads!

Like most people, before I knew about lampwork beads I was pretty happy with mass produced beads, thinking that they were pretty. Since I discovered artisan lampwork beads I now appreciate the difference!

To "prove a point" I've copied the design of a mass produced bead so that there is a direct comparison.

Both the beads in the picture are lampwork beads, but the one on the left is one I have made and the one on the right is a mass produced one. While you can only see so much in a picture I hope that you will see the difference in clarity! I always ensure that my glass rods are cleaned before using and I work in a nice clean flame. Already you can see the difference in quality.

What you might not also see from the picture so well, is that I have cleaned the nasty bead release from the hole. When you make beads, you need a bead release so that you can take the bead off the mandrel (metal stick). This leaves behind a dry dusty substance inside the hole. Any half decent bead maker would clean this out, and not only for aesthetic reasons - but also for health and safety ones too. Over time the dust comes out of the beads and as you handle the beads more and more it breaks up into particles that are really not healthy to breathe in.

Sharp holes are also often an issue with mass produced beads. If you use them in your designs they may well be fine for a short while, but over time they will cut through your beading wire and they will simply fall apart.

Now given the choice, I would much rather have 1 artisan nice bead than half a dozen mass produced ones. When I'm selling my work, my reputation is everything. I can't afford to send out a bead that I'm not happy with, and like most lampworkers I just won't do it. I want people to feel confident that when they buy from me that they're buying quality.

Less is definitely more for me!

I hope that you will agree with me, and please feel free to share this post and promote the beauty of handmade!

Trudi x

600 Likes ... Time For A "Freebie"

I noticed yesterday that I hit 600 likers on Facebook

A milestone to be marked I do think.


I wanted to give something away, but what .... so I have decided on a whopping discount. That way the lucky person can decide.

So here's the deal, all you need to do is to go and have a look at my website and leave a comment either on my blog post (on blogger) or under the 600 discussion tab on my facebook page saying which is your favourite item.

I will then pick a "winner" and that person will be offered that item with a 25% discount. I'll also offer up a "runner up" and they will get a 10% discount off the item of their choice.

The offer is for a discount on one item only, and applies to beads or jewellery on the site, and you must leave the comment in one of the correct places (So I can find them!).


I'll leave this open till end of play Sunday, and I'll announce the winners on Monday!

So what are you waiting for!

The Onward Journey

Last week I sold this pretty Poppies Bag Charm, and I received a warm email back from the lady that bought it from me to tell me about the interesting journey it will soon make! (I was intrigued for sure).
Her son if off to the World Scout Jamboree (once every four years and this time in Sweden) and staying in Holland on the way back with a local family. She wanted to send him with gifts for the family he is staying with in Holland that represented our area and our interests. She loved my work and the beautiful flowers reminded me of the poppies we get in the local fields, and indeed our own garden as we scattered some poppy seeds in the garden when our dog died last year. Perfect!
It’s emails like these that really touch me, and make me proud that my little piece of art can mean so much to someone else!

But as if that wasn’t enough, the proceeds from the sale also went to the Royal British Legion. It’s a charity close to my heart, they do so much work for people behind the scenes and they don’t always receive the recognition they deserve!

Change with your outfit!!

There's always been something very appealing about interchangeable jewellery, I can always remember being fascinated as a child when my watch had different coloured faces I could change, I think it's part due to the fiddle factor!!

Beside the fiddle factor, it's also very practical too!

I have a lovely red skirt, and at the bottom there are patches of red, orange and purple. These are not colours that I would normally wear together but they look great on the skirt! I had a special family occasion to go to, and planned to wear that skirt. Now it's not easy to get jewellery to go with these colours but the day before I planned ahead and made myself some big hole beads (BHB) the the colour combo and slipped them onto some chains!! The bracelet is a style that is designed for BHB's but for the necklace I just used a regular snake chain - quick and easy!

While I was at it, I made myself a few more in summery shades ... now I can chop and change polka colours to my heart's desire!

Where Inspiration Strikes

Inspiration can come from all sorts of places.

I've had this peachy pink glass for ages, gathering dust on the shelf!! It's not a colour I use much, but I was having a rummage through my bead stash and found some David Christensen cane glass slices .... they have a delicate pattern in the peach shade with blue and yellow ...

Light bulb moment .... I know what glass will look great with them .. and so the peachy pink ribs were born!

Now listed on the website www.glitteringprize.co.uk

Happy beading!

Trudi x