I'm still doing the Wii Fit thing. I'm particularly enjoying the jogging and the hula-hooping. I haven't fallen off the balance board for the past couple of days but I made up for it this morning by falling over in 'real life'. I went down to the shed to switch the kiln on and to fetch my full-to-the-brim-with-dead-beads-and-bits-of-glass water jug and on my way back up the garden I tripped on the patio step and went flying. I dropped the water jug, banged my head on the wheelie bin, grazed my shin against the edge of the step and then put my hand in the spilt water-and-bits-of-glass mess. Plus it was raining. Not a good start to the day! But things got better after I'd picked myself up and then removed bits of glass from the palm of my hand. The postman arrived with the new Marian Keyes book which cheered me up no end! I'm already well into 'This Charming Man', which incidentally has the most beautiful purple spangly cover!
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
'Strawberry' Rococo
I'm still doing the Wii Fit thing. I'm particularly enjoying the jogging and the hula-hooping. I haven't fallen off the balance board for the past couple of days but I made up for it this morning by falling over in 'real life'. I went down to the shed to switch the kiln on and to fetch my full-to-the-brim-with-dead-beads-and-bits-of-glass water jug and on my way back up the garden I tripped on the patio step and went flying. I dropped the water jug, banged my head on the wheelie bin, grazed my shin against the edge of the step and then put my hand in the spilt water-and-bits-of-glass mess. Plus it was raining. Not a good start to the day! But things got better after I'd picked myself up and then removed bits of glass from the palm of my hand. The postman arrived with the new Marian Keyes book which cheered me up no end! I'm already well into 'This Charming Man', which incidentally has the most beautiful purple spangly cover!
Labels:
Beads,
Enamels,
General Waffle,
Marian Keyes,
Rococo
Sunday, 27 April 2008
New Design
I've been having fun with Nintendo Wii Fit this weekend! I say fun, but in actual fact I'm starting to detest my virtual 'personal trainer' with quite a fierce intensity. I'm calling him Dirk but most of the time he gets called much more unsavoury names. I was doing the yoga exercise where I had to balance on one leg like a flamingo with my hands up in the air. I fell off the Wii balance board and Dirk said to me 'I see you're taking a break!'. The cheeky bugger. But Dirk's witty comments aside, Wii Fit is very clever and really entertaining!
Labels:
Beads,
General Waffle,
Rococo
Thursday, 24 April 2008
'Vogue'
I had a slight mishap the other day. I was making some frit beads and as I was unscrewing the lid off a jar of frit I sneezed. I didn't even feel the sneeze coming on - it just happened! I jumped and threw the entire jar of frit all over myself, my workbench and the floor. That was a lot of fun to clean up!
Labels:
Beads,
General Waffle
Monday, 21 April 2008
Flame Off
It was a great day - very nice to meet lots of people who I've been emailing for ages. It's always good to put faces to names! I finally met Manda from Mango Beads after more than three years of speaking to her and she gave me one of her beautiful silver cores. It was also lovely to meet Pam from Maple Glass who gave me one of her fab beads too. Thank you both!
I'd like to say that I enjoyed doing the demos but I was such a bundle of nerves I was concentrating more on stopping my hands shaking than actually enjoying the experience! For those that watched my demos I apologise for the lack of decent commentary but I found it very tricky to make beads and talk at the same time.
My favourite part of the day was later in the afternoon when I was downstairs making beads where I was able to answer your questions and show you the beadmaking techniques that you wanted to see.
Martin Tuffnell and everyone else involved with the organisation of the day did a wonderful job and Towcester Racecourse was a great venue too.
Finally, I want to say a big huge thank you to my wonderful boyfriend Chris who was fantastic moral support and a general calming influence on a very nervous me. He was also an ace photographer and handbag and coat minder too! ;o)
Friday, 18 April 2008
Off to the Flame Off!
I've spent my last couple of beadmaking days in the shed 'rehearsing' what I'm actually going to do and say during my demonstrations. It's actually really tricky to describe how I get those lines and squiggles on my beads. I'm hoping that my stringer-applying actions will speak a little bit louder than words.
If you're coming along to the Flame Off tomorrow make sure you come up and say hello!
Oh, and here's a fun link for you. I spent ages (too long, in fact) playing with this! Just click or drag your mouse anywhere on the page.
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
Maurice
As you know, I like things to have a name so I've called him Maurice (pronounced Moh-reece, like a French person would say it) and he's currently sitting on top of my monitor. He seems quite at home there.
Make sure you head on over to Caroline's blog and take a look at what she did with my Fugly beads from last week. I think she's worked wonders with them!
Labels:
Caroline,
General Waffle
'Elegant'
I can't believe how fast this year is going. It's the Flame Off on Saturday and I think it was about September time last year that it was first mentioned. Where does the time go?!
I had a lovely surprise on Monday night. I entered Caroline's prize draw on her blog and I actually won! I never win anything, unless you count a £5.00 WHSmith voucher when I was eleven and a Nintendo pin badge when I was fifteen. So thanks Caroline!
Labels:
Beads,
Caroline,
Flame Off,
General Waffle
Thursday, 10 April 2008
Goodbye Fuglies!
Yes, they're all packed up and ready to go to their new home!
Mary, I didn't wake up and look at the beads in a different light. Instead I liken it to waking up and finding Paul Daniels next to you. But as I said yesterday, one woman's fugly is another's ideal. Debbie McGee needs some kind of award . . . . .
Anyway, rancid magicians aside, all your reasons for wanting the beads were great and in the end I couldn't pick a favourite reason so I did a random drawing. Not an off-the-wall sketch I hasten to add, but a name-in-the-hat type affair.
Thanks to all who joined in. It was a bit of a laugh, wasn't it?! Hopefully it'll be a while before I do a Fugly Giveaway again but I have plans for a Flovely Giveaway in the near future. (I told you I'd be using that word, Lydia!)
Labels:
When beads go bad
Wednesday, 9 April 2008
So Fugly!
I hate them with a burning passion.
I hated them as I was making them. I don't know why I carried on.
Maybe I thought they'd magically metamorphose into beautiful beads after annealing.
But no.
I opened the kiln and they were still horrible.
I don't even particularly like this shade of blue so goodness knows why I even used it.
I thought maybe I'd warm to the beads once they were cleaned and strung.
Didn't happen.
One last ditch attempt - a photo. Maybe they'd look good in a photo? Like some of those scrag-ugly models who look awful in real life but are totally stunning in a photograph.
Negative.
I detest these beads so much that I put them in the bin.
Then I took them out.
One woman's fugly beads are another woman's ideal beads. Or man's. Didn't mean to be sexist there. It's just I've only ever sold beads to three men in my whole entire beadmaking life.
So, here they are. Do you like them?
If you do, post in my comments section and tell me why. Then I'll pick someone's reason for liking them sometime tomorrow morning and that (un)lucky person gets them. Free.
And then I'll be free of these fugly beads!
Labels:
When beads go bad
Tuesday, 8 April 2008
'Sankara' Spanglentils
I've been a bit quiet again, haven't I? I've actually been doing things apart from sitting in a shed melting glass! Shocking, I know. Saturday night I went round my friend Helen's for dinner and we ended up playing on the Nintendo Wii. I pulled my left hamstring and bashed my right hand against the sofa in the process but it was so much fun! So much fun in fact, I had to go out and buy me a Wii! So now I can pull hamstrings and bash hands in the comfort of my own lounge. Hurrah! Actually I made a complete tit of myself today. I came in from the shed for my lunch and I thought I'd have a quick game of tenpin bowling on the Wii. So there I was in the lounge throwing imaginary bowling balls and punching the air with glee whenever I got a strike when I noticed a lady outside just standing and staring at me. She obviously had no idea what I was doing - all she was seeing was a mad person throwing ridiculous shapes for no apparent reason. I stopped dead and then ran over to the coffee table out of her sight and crouched there until she'd gone. She must have thought I was a complete and utter nutter!
Labels:
Beads,
General Waffle
Friday, 4 April 2008
Thursday, 3 April 2008
'Spectra' Lentils
'Pleats'
Thanks for all your congratulations and well wishes re the birth of Nephew. He still hasn't got a name yet . . . . .
Labels:
Beads,
New Nephew
Tuesday, 1 April 2008
I'm Auntie Laura all over again!

The baby doesn't have a name yet, bless him. Robyn seems very pleased with her new brother and he seems very content and quiet... at the moment!
The photo above is me with my new nephew (he needs a name!) and Robyn.
Labels:
General Waffle,
New Nephew,
Robyn
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