Beady stuff and unbeady stuff

I've not got a lot to report on the bead front. It's not so much that I haven't been making beads, but more that I've been making lots of the same beads over and over.

I made lots of the 'Shoreline' hearts pictured above and I turned some of those into necklaces.

Now I'm on the Bumblebeads. I don't know how many of these I'll make. To be honest, sitting in the shed in these temperatures, making the same bead over and over again is already starting to do my head in and I've only spent two beadmaking sessions on the bees, so I'm not holding out much hope for vast amounts of them.

That's why I'm not taking orders for the bees. I've found that I can bear the shed heat until it hits about 36°C and then my brain gives up which makes my hands give up so that's why I'm only making as many as I can make. I appreciate that people are disappointed that they can't order as many of the bees as they like, when they'd like to, but hey, you should have realised that I'm an awkward pain-in-the-arse beadmaker (and person in general) by now. You can tut at me and call me ridiculous – it's fine.

I did make a one-off red heart bead that I love. The glass here is CiM Heartthrob and it's such a glorious shade of red.

In other news, running in the heat is HARD. I ran seven and a bit miles in it yesterday morning and sweet flipping Jesus, it was difficult. The heat has got me to the point where I'm walking back from runs in my sports bra like some kind of runstrumpet and I don't even care. We're due to have this weather for another fortnight so I'm not discounting the idea of actually running in my bra at some point.

I finished reading J.K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy and oh my word, that is some moving stuff. The book is like a cross between a gentle Sunday night BBC1 drama and Trainspotting. After that I read Cara Hunter's Close to Home, which is gripping, compulsive reading and quite short, and it's good but I'd only give it four stars due to its ending.

I also listened to the audiobook of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. I'd seen so much talk about it that I had to see what all the hype was about. I was expecting it to be typical chick-lit, but it's not really. Well, the general feel of the book is quite chick-lit I suppose, but the main character is an unusual one which made for a refreshing change. Well worth a read or a listen, I'd say.

Last night I started the first of the Harry Potter books. I know I'm even more behind in this than I was with the House-watching thing but I was missing J.K. Rowling's writing so much I just had to Potter up. I'm about a third of the way through The Philosopher's Stone and I'm really enjoying it.

Right, enough tippy-tappy-typing as my dad-in-law calls it – I must go and make Bumblebeads. Enjoy the weather, if you like that sort of thing, and if you don't, stay cool.

Beads and stuff and more stuff

This week has mainly been about the Return of the Bumblebeads. I hadn't made any for a while because the CiM Hollandaise glass I used to use for them is now pretty much extinct. This new wave of Bumblebeads are made in CiM Goldenrod.

I've made the Bumblebeads available to order for a short time. They're £5.00 each and can be purchased here.

Speaking of extinct glass, remember I mentioned I was recently given the gift of some assorted glass? Well, some of that was Z-99 Purple Rose Special - a rare, beautiful, no-longer-produced glass by Zimmerman. I did a bit of a Google and discovered that it's highly sought-after (I know, I'm a very lucky beadmaker) and I also realised that I've had a jar of it as frit sat in my drawer for about a decade.

See? This is what I get for being a bead hermit and not interacting with other lampworkers. If I did, I'd have known about this sooner. I'm working on that, by the way. I've joined a few Facebook lampwork groups and am being more 'social' which is something that I struggle with. But anyway, yes, I had a play with my Z-99 frit and some Effetre Opal Yellow and made these 'Painted Sunset' beads.

A friend told me these remind her of Edvard Munch's The Scream. These have sold already but I will be making more, both for my Edvard-loving friend and for sale, so keep an eye out for some next week.

In non-beady news, my garden is starting to do stuff. Seeds are sprouting and there are tiny green leaves appearing in pots and tubs. I think I might have planted the world's slowest-growing tulip bulbs but they've finally flowered this week.

Tulip from the Sarah Raven 'Brandy Snap' collection

Food-wise this week, I have rediscovered the joy that is sardines on toast. Simple pleasures. Whenever Mum used to make herself sardines on toast she'd always do an extra slice because she knew I'd be there, hovering around unable to resist the toasted fish deliciousness.

I've been pescatarian/pescetarian (choose whichever spelling you prefer) since October last year. This is mainly for health reasons - I have one large gallstone that measures about an inch in diameter. I call him Trevor (as in Trevor Bolder, as in Spiders From Mars, as in 'boulder', as in large rock) and it would appear that I've had him for many many years. Because I have just the one stone my gallbladder only really plays up if I overdo the saturated fat, so Trevor keeps me in check diet-wise. I could have my gallbladder removed but I've not had an attack since September and I don't really want surgery (and I know it's a doddle of an operation, but still, I'd like to avoid surgery if I can) so for the time being I'm happy to control it with diet. Cutting out all meat except fish has really helped and I'm totally surprised to find that I'm not missing meat in the slightest and no, not even bacon. I can't eat eggs, though. Eggs are Trevor's nemesis. They're okay if they're in something, but pure egg, or an egg-centric dish like quiche, is out. Oh, the pain! I'm fully aware that I've become the annoying person who people dread feeding but seeing as how I hardly ever eat at anyone else's house, it's not really a problem. I don't do meat substitutes, though. Quorn and fake meats can do one. I don't understand the logic behind that stuff in the slightest.

Television-wise, oh my word, did you see the Line of Duty finale? Blimey me. I flipping love that show and I will miss its drama and twists and turns on Thursday nights.

(Photo via world-productions.com)

Ted Hastings needs his own show, Steve Arnott is so good at being not-Scottish, Kate Fleming is my new ladyhero and I think I might fancy Matthew 'Dot' Cottan. If you've never seen Line of Duty, go back and watch all three series and enjoy.

After Thursday night's police telly drama, Chris and I went to a midnight screening of Captain America: Civil War. It was SO good! We saw it in 3D, which I'm normally underwhelmed by, but the 3D-ness of this film was spectacular.

#TeamIronMan. Obvs.

Right, after all that waffle I'm off to pack up some beads for posting. Have a great weekend, and fellow British people, if you have Monday off work, enjoy this extended weekend. Right now the sun is shining but seeing as we've had all the weather flavours this week, including snow, who knows what this weekend has in store for us?

Have a good'un!

And it was all yellow

The last couple of days have been sponsored by the colour yellow.

I bought a couple of bunches of daffodils on Saturday and I was expecting them to be bog standard, all-yellow, classic daffodils, but when they opened they had pale yellow petals and deep orange trumpets. Pretty!

I took a few photos of them using my Olloclip macro lenses.

Daffodil gubbins

There was a tiny little fly inside one of the daffodils.

I also took a photo of a bright yellow dandelion on the lawn.

Reminds me of fire

Then while I was putting glass rods away I found a rod of yellow Creation is Messy glass from a couple of testing bundles back. I don't quite know why I never got around to testing it, but I thought I'd give it a go because I need a new yellow for my Bumblebeads. I used to use CiM Hollandaise for them but that is long gone now, so this bee, the flowers and the yellow spacers in this set are made with CiM Goldenrod.

Goldenrod is a touch brighter than Hollandaise, which was a bit more mustard with a tad more orange about it. Goldenrod is a very yellow yellow, but not in an acid yellow kind of way. It's just a bright, happy yellow. It works well for my Bumblebeads as it's not streaky. Some opaque yellows get transparent streaks in them but Goldenrod is a nice 'flat' yellow. I've ordered some more so I can make a few more bees.

Buzzzzz

They're back! The constantly perturbed Bumblebeads have returned and they've settled in various sections of my bead shop.

They're available as ... 

... single loose Bumblebeads (£4.50) ...

... Bumblebead and spacers sets (£7.00) ...

... charms (£5.50) ...

... knitting stitch markers (£5.50) ...

... crochet stitch markers (£5.50) ...

... stitch marker sets (8.50) ...

... and as part of a 'Honey' bracelet (£50.00). This bracelet features five Bumblebeads, half a dozen honeycomb-esque rounds and some honey-coloured spacers. The two in the shop are silver plated ones but I can do a sterling silver version if you'd like.

I've had a little shop clearout and switch around. Nothing major but you can now find all of my beads-with-eyes in one place.

'Honey' Bracelet

I made this 'Honey' bracelet this morning. The idea for it has been buzzing around inside my head for a while now. (Ha! Buzzing. Get it? ROFLOLZ!)

Anyway ...

Five Bumblebeads, some honeycomb-esque rounds and an abundance of honey-coloured spacers make this a totally shimmysome bracelet.

The chain and all findings are silver plated. There is just one in stock right now but I can make more and I can do a sterling silver version too. (That option will cost extra though.)

The 'Honey' bracelet is priced at £50.00 and is available here.

Bumblebeads

Good morning! I've just made my Bumblebeads available for ordering. Each one costs £5.50 and for an extra £1.50 I can turn your bee bead into a pendant or charm.

All the ordering details can be found right here.

Have a good day,

'Summertime' Bracelet

I've been planning this bracelet in my head for about a week. Today I made it a reality and I am beyond pleased with the finished piece.

It features white floral beads, strawberry beads, a bumblebee, a ladybird and a smattering of brightly-coloured spacers. I reckon it's summer in bracelet form! It makes a gorgeous glassy rattle too.

The 'Summertime' bracelet it priced at £60.00 and it's available here.

Bzzzzz

He's not for sale but he insisted I took his photo and showed it to you.