All the pumpkins

I've been making only pumpkin beads for ten days now.

See? Look at them all.

And this isn't even all of them. These are just the ones I could be arsed to photograph.

And there's another batch in the kiln as I type this.

Pumpkins.

Anyway, I've just about had my fill of pumpkins so if you'd like pumpkin beads or pendants, what's left in the shop is probably the last of them for this year.

I've just looked and I last posted in July. Since then, amongst other things, I have run a half marathon and turned forty-one. Last time I blogged I was halfway through Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Well, I finished that and now I've read all of the Harry Potter books and Hogwarts library books (and have started re-reading them), watched all the Harry Potter films - as well as Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - and I now own a wand, some Hedwig pyjamas and a Gryffindor sweatshirt. So yeah, you can call me a convert. I've also finished the new Strike book. Job done.

Talking of books, I'm in one! Harriet of Harriet Kelsall Bespoke Jewellery has written a book called The Creative’s Guide to Starting a Business.

Harriet’s book contains case studies from the worlds of fashion, ceramics, perfumery, sculpture, bakery, upholstery, photography, lino cuts, jewellery and beadmaking. I’m the beadmaking case study. The book is very comprehensive and I have picked up some useful tips and advice from it. It's also really great to read about other creative people and the way they work. The book is available on Amazon and all the usual places, and also from Harriet's website.

Strictly Come Dancing is underway. I don't watch it but I know that when it's here we are on the downward slope to Christmas and it's time for me to start thinking about festive beads and all that, so that is what I will be working on next. Deck the halls etc blah blah blah.

Flower power

*Monty Don face*

Welcome to the blog post where I bore you with news of my uninteresting garden. Don't worry, there are some beads too, but first, let me show you my munchkin pumpkin. (Oooh, Jeremy.)

I grew munchkin pumpkins for two reasons:

1. The name 'munchkin pumpkin' which I sing to the Oompa Loompa song as "Munchkin pumpkin, pump-a-di-doo"... obviously.
2. Because who can resist the idea of growing an actual tiny pumpkin?

The plant itself is like a triffid; massive leaves and curly-wurly tendrils aplenty. I was starting to think I would never get any pumpkins because it's done loads of flowers but those just wither, leaving no offspring behind (which I can totally identify with because that's how I'm living my life) but then I read about it and they have male and female flowers. Nature.

My sunflowers are an embarrassment. I couldn't get the same seeds that gave me the amazing ones I grew last year so I have eighteen weak and wimpy sunflowers that are no more than three feet high. I did intentionally grow micro sunflowers, though, (I'm clearly all about the miniature garden stuff this year) and they've turned out really well.

My favourite plants this summer have been my poppies. There's one at the top of this post and look, here are some more:

Poppies making the grotty fence look nice

Poppies refracted in raindrops

Raindroppy poppy

I've also grown chillies and tomatoes and wild strawberries and mint. All the mint. Mint-mint, peppermint, spearmint and watermelon mint. So. Much. Mint. Oh, and catnip, which I'm having to grow in hanging baskets out of Nigel's reach as he goes totally Renton for catnip.

Anyway, beads. These are flowery too.

I made these beads ages ago. I rescued them from a jam jar of odd beads I found in the cupboard under the sink. I don't know why I 'rejected' them. (See? That's how annoying my pernickety faff brain is; I can't even remember what I thought was wrong with them.) The only reason I can see is that a couple of them have small, harmless bubbles in the encasing but that's pretty normal for encased florals so I'm fine with that. For today, anyway. They're in the shop as I type.

I don't want to be a premature idiot, but I'm pretty sure I can smell a slight whiff of autumn. Something about the weather's mood has shifted and I like it. Don't get me wrong, I think there are some summery days left to come but there's something different about the morning light and the coolness of the breeze this week.

Now I must away to the shed where I will spend the day blowing glass bubbles and chair dancing and singing along to Lucius.

Have a great Friday! (Of course you will. It's Friday.)

Autumnalness

I adore the colours about the place at this time of year; rich reds, vibrant yellows and oranges and glorious coppers and bronzes. I made these enamelled beads and turned them into a bracelet as I liked the idea of wrapping all those beautiful autumn colours around your wrist.

And I also made this super-cute pumpkin pendant. It'll add a splash of autumnal loveliness or a touch of Halloweenery to your day.

 

Both of these pieces are available over on my Freshly Baked Beads page right now.

CiM Testing : Pumpkin

You know how I feel about yellow beads - I blogged about it a few weeks back. As I said in the comments for that post I am drawn to warmer, slightly orangey yellows and CiM Pumpkin is one of those.

Pumpkin is a rich, smooth mango colour. It also reminds me of tinned peaches! Below is a set of test beads that I made in order to show you how Pumpkin compares to other yellows and yellow-oranges :

Beads from left to right : Pumpkin, Pumpkin etched, Pumpkin thinly encased with Vetrofond clear, Pumpkin thickly encased with Vetrofond clear, CiM Creamsicle, Effetre 412 Dark Yellow and Effetre 416 Bright Yellow.

As you can see, the Pumpkin is lighter in colour and less streaky than the Effetre Dark Yellow. I found the Pumpkin very nice to work with - it's got a middle-of-the-road consistency. It encases really well too and looks absolutely beautiful when it's etched.

Pumpkin has an element of translucency about it and that is always a sign that the glass may not lend itself to the kind of fine, crisp stringerwork that I am do. My suspicions were confirmed. The photograph below shows Pumpkin as polka dots on a CiM Peace bead cased with CiM Simply Berry.

As you can see, the dots have lost a bit of their yellowness and as linework the stringer loses its crispness and definition. That's not just limited to Pumpkin - a lot of the 104 yellow-oranges do the same thing. As I say, I think this might be related to its slight translucent properties.

But as a base glass and for raised dots and relief work CiM Pumpkin is a stunner. The Pumpkin beads below are encased with a thin layer of Vetrofond clear and the stringerwork and spacers are CiM Lapis.

If you're looking for a smooth and fruity yellow-orange then I suggest you give the lovely CiM Pumkpin a whirl. I can imagine that it would look ace with bright pink, rich purples and darker oranges and reds.