NEW FIRING...

Just a small one with more beads coming this weekend.  I gotten so far behind between Bill's Woodfire Workshop and then my son Ben and his wife renewed their vows last Saturday.  My sister and neice were here for the event.  We had a blast!! 

My beads, however, dwindled in my shop...which is a good thing, but a stressful thing at the same time. 

These newest pendants will be listed in my shop today and tomorrow, hopefully......if all goes as planned and I can sqeeze some glazing in between. 

Some Blues...

Some Reds...

Some Teals....(I see turquoise ;o)

Some Greens...

I've got some wonderful people to blog about, but, that too, has fallen by the wayside....Hopefully, I will find some "me" time this weekend :O)

testing~tap~tap~tap~testing: BEADS-OF-CLAY!!! BEADS-OF-CLAY!!!

Stay tuned tomorrow for some giveaways from the same artists that have made these designs...... A chance to receive 3 packages with items from 3 artists  in about 3 weeks.....

Hey~That has a little ring to it and I didn't even plan it that way!  Here's a sample of what's to come.....RUSH ON OVER to Beads-Of-Clay and start following TODAY!!!!! 

Haven't seen enough?  Check 'em out:  Natalie, Mary and Me :O)

I'M IN THE DOGHOUSE!....again

With this firing, that is......The white shepard was a custom order.  The only thing that I wasn't happy about was that the white glaze was a little more dominant than I had expected.  That's the kind of thing with clay that you have no control over once the decision to turn that kiln on is made.  I thought I knew that glaze and I guess the glaze really had the last say!!   Crooked ear shepard was for a necklace that I made for my good friend Pam!  Don't forget to head over the Bill's April 3rd Post to win a free mug.  He's drawing a name for that tomorrow!

IDEA SUPPLY THAT NEVER RUNS OUT...

 Depending on the request and the person making it, I'm sometimes a fan of custom orders and sometimes not.  This time was a definite ....  "YES! YES! YES!!"  Not only was this request pretty simple and straight forward, but also gave me an idea for taking a former style and tweaking it.  From, what were once just pendants, these little lovelies have become connectors, links, or whatever else you might have a use for.  I've got some creative talent, but it wouldn't be what it is without other people who share their creativity with me.  So thanks everyone for your ideas that help me to keep current and keeping those ideas cells flowing!!!

NEW PENDANTS

I got this idea from Kelli, who has become a friend (even though we've never met) :O)  I've written about her before.  She lives in Indianna and our online friendship started through etsy.  Anyhow...You can see more of her work at my website.  With that said, I started making beads by tracing beach stones.  My husband is like, "Why don't you just make a ball and press it into shape?"  Never thought of that I guess ;o)  Actually, I'm liking my method because they are imperfect and have an edge to them more than they would if I started with a ball.  Here's a few pics of them incomplete, one that I made for a customer and one that Kelli put into a necklace....  What'd'ya think?

Working Dog in the Works...

Can you guess what this will be?  One is a custom order for Alyce who has purchased some animal pendants for me in the past.  She's made them into frames!...Very cool idea.  I'm looking forward to seeing her pics when she gets the time to send them.  The other is the same kind of dog only this one is for my girlfriend. 
Her loving, sometimes annoying pup...
Has an ear that has never stood up...

Just realized that rhymed so it had to be put in poem format ;o)  Anyhow, the end result will be a little more obvious once the glaze is applied.  I started making these pendants when Kristy from beadykeekjewelry requested that I make a circle with ears to represent her beloved cat.  It eventually developed into more life like animals.  I only make these on request since I think that you either love them or you don't....not to mention, it's usually a personal love for a specific animal......woof!

DRESS 'ER UP!!

I decided I try something different in terms of pendants.  I got this idea from one of my favorite jewelry designers Kelli Pope (mcpeanuts).  In almost all of the necklaces that I have seen from her, he uses more than one piece where the pendant hangs.  I thought, "Wouldn't it be kinda cool to have coordinating pendants that are shaped similiar to beach stones....nothing too busy, since it's up to the jewelry artist to complete the design?"  I can't remember when this one popped into my head, but it was probably during either my ride home from work or while exercising.  I seem to get many ideas during those times.  I also thought that it would be kinda silly to come up with a pendant like this, but not have coordinating beads to go along with it.

Happy Heat

Another Happy Firing. I'm pretty tired after a marathon glazing on Saturday. I don't usually do that, but had an urge to get them all done and ready to be fired on Sunday. These will be gradually posted in my Etsy shop. Since I work full time besides making beads, my postings aren't done quickly. If you're interested in anything that you see here, feel free to convo me for more pics and or inquiries. Happy Beading!!! Mary Ann

ETSY CONTEST...

CONTEST
Only 190 sales away from reaching 1000! Be one of those sales that helps to get me there and win all the beads pictured! I will enter names for a random drawing that will take place as soon as I reach my goal :O) Happy Beading!!!! MaryAnn

The Results Are In...

Although, the picture really doesn't do these any justice, what I mostly experience are many little lovely's, in many different shapes and sizes. I like to make small sets of a variety of shapes and colors. The beads that are the most time consuming are when I use mulitple glazes. Trying to figure out what might look good together and not clash can sometimes be a challenge. I love challenges so I'm also loving making these little works of art.

Hot Hot Hot

This is my little electric kiln. The other pic is an inside shot of Bill's woodfire kiln. Those were the turquoise beads that were grabbed shortly after listing them on Etsy. They were very cool. I have pics listed in an earlier post. Hopefully, we'll have another bead woodfiring in about a month or so.

For right now though I'm excited to see what this bead firing brings. I'm passing the time away before I can take them out. I'm usually happy.....

Decisions....Decisions....

I'm trying to decide how to make this quarter note into a necklace that isn't tacky....Here's some of my first ideas.....I think I'm going to try to make it asymmetrical. I have a hard time putting jewelry ideas together. Between teaching and making porcelain beads, blogging, etc., my brain has a hard time adding any more to it.