'Big Red Heart' Focal

It's big. It's red. It's a heart. Not just a clever name!

I'm going to have to make myself one of these. I quite fancy one on a long chain.

It's a very clean and simple-looking bead - one of those ones where the shape and colour does the talking as opposed to any surface design.

It'll be for sale in the normal place at 8.30pm tonight.

Heart Focals

These beads are pretty much an exercise in shape and the sheer loveliness of glass, as opposed to intricate design. Each heart is shaped by hand - no bead press was used. I spent ages getting each one just right. It may sound pretentious but I can honestly say that these are perfect heart shapes. Symmetrical, even and smooth.

These would make gorgeous pendants. Very weddingy, too.

If you'd like to buy one they'll be for sale, along with a few others, on my website at 8.30pm tonight.

Slowly Un-Funking

Thanks for all the 'welcome back' comments on the Easter Giveaway post. They're very much appreciated.

There is a reason as to why my bead production levels have been virtually sub-zero recently but it's far too boring and yawny to explain so I'll just say that I've been getting back into making beads this weekend and I will have a few for sale on my website tonight. They're nothing exciting but hey, they're beads. That heart focal up there is one of tonight's offerings.

Just so you know, from now on all 'normal' Freshly Baked Beads will be sold on my website and any lonelies, jewellery and spare Cupcake beads will be available over in my Etsy shop. Why Etsy? Because number one, I like it, number two, I can add things whenever which means I spread the bead love about a bit and number three, it enables me to reach a wider audience with my work. And I know things are priced in US dollars but if you pay by PayPal it does all the conversion for you.

I'm going to go off and knit now before I work on the site update. I've got two Christmas present projects on the go at the moment and they're coming along nicely. And it may surprise you to hear that they're not socks .....

A Real Fun-guy!

Toadstools don't get much cuter than this - a mushroom with a kawaii-style face!

'Jelvehesque' Focal

Yep, this one is totally inspired by Jelveh and her beads. Jelveh gave me a large pair of mashers so I could make big focal beads as my old mashers were only 20mm square. The bead is a mix of purples with glittery goldstone stringerwork and raised multicoloured bumps.

I took the photographs in the sunlight. This beauty would make a marvellous pendant, don't you think? It'll be for sale in my Etsy shop shortly .....

Thanks for inspiring me, Jelveh!

'Firework' Focals

Here are those aforementioned beads. These comfy-to-wear squeezed beads contain fine silver and are decorated with 'fireworks' in various colours. At the centre of each one I've set a twinkly cubic zirconia. These focals are only decorated one one side so that they'll sit nicely when worn.

More focals .....

..... because making a whole matching set requires concentration and patience that I just don't seem to have this week. These big'uns are about 18mm in diameter. Chunky!

Twinkly Focals

These are my take on the 'Barbie Bling' tutorial from Sarah Hornik's Think Pink! E-Book.

Swathes of colour and ribbons of glittery dichroic glass for a touch of twinkly loveliness, encapsulated in crystal clear glass and shaped into smooth cylinders. I spent more time shaping these beads than I did layering all the glass!