Earring Pairs

The beads for sale tonight will all be sets of earring pairs. Obviously you don't have to use them for earrings but I've taken every effort to ensure that they're the same size in case you do!

Tonight's pairs include the Storm Cloud ones above and the chocolate and lavender spotty ones pictured below.

These pairs and more will be for sale in the usual place at 8.30pm (UK time) tonight.

And I'd just like to say a huge 'thank you' to everyone who has purchased a copy of my Roly Poly Bead tutorial. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's Roly Poly beads!

Year-round Laurabeads

Chris and I may not have filmed any beadmaking movies this weekend just gone but instead we designed a Beads By Laura 2010 calendar. Erm, I say 'we' but in actual fact Chris did all the Photoshop designy stuff and I just sat there occasionally saying things like 'Too bright!', 'No. I don't like those beads!' and 'Can you crop that one there?' Mind you, I did decide what pictures to use for each month. I tried to theme them. For example, January has frosty blue Luminobeads, there's my Poppies for November and some pretty Starburst beads for December.

I ordered one copy of the calendar to see what it looks like. It arrived this morning and I am SO pleased with it! I used to work in the printing industry (so I kind of know what's good and what's naff) and this calendar really is top-notch as far as small-print-run type printing goes. It's printed on nice thick 200gsm satin paper and is wirobound for easy hanging.

The photograph at the top of this post is of the actual artwork Chris did and shows the beads that are pictured inside the calendar and the other two are of the real thing.

The calendar is A4 size so it's not too big but big enough to give a kitchen, studio or wherever a nice splash of colour. And the really good thing about it is there are no country-specific holidays and dates (like Bank Holidays) marked on it so the calendar will work wherever in the world you may be.

I'm going to order some of these for relatives and I thought I'd ask you if you'd like one too? They're a tad more expensive than your usual Clinton Cards Cliff Richard ones but that's because I'm not printing nine bazillion of them. The price will be £15.00 per calendar including postage to the UK and it'll be an extra £2.00 for overseas postage. Please email me if you'd like to buy a calendar.

A big massive thank you to my wonderful fella for spending aaaages making my first beady calendar. Love you, Mister G!

Gifts From Joy

I taught my last lampworking lesson of the year today and it was very fitting that my last student was also the first of the year. Joy Funnell came back (obviously I can't be that bad!) for more glass melting fun and she brought me some lovely gifts - a fab book about knitting and crocheting with wire and beads, some Art Clay Silver and a totally gorgeous fine silver button made by Joy herself.

Isn't it great? I need to create something that will show off its true shiny beauty.

Joy is an Art Clay Silver Jedi Master and if you've never had a look at her work I urge you to do so for it is utterly fabulous. Her enamel work is pretty dang spectacular too. Joy also teaches so if you fancy trying your hand at some Art Clay Silver why not book yourself a lesson with her?

I have no idea what I'm going to make with my Art Clay Silver. I've only ever had one go with it before (longtime readers may remember my Darth Vader earrings) but Joy told me how to make some simple beads so I may have a go at that. I'll make sure that I keep you posted and let you know how it goes .....

2010 Tuition

I know that 2010 is next year but it's really not that far away. Lots of you have been making enquiries about tuition and I've been uncertain about it as Chris and I are getting a place next year so I couldn't allocate dates because ..... well, I couldn't. But we had a big grown-up chat today about the moving thing (not easy for two people who are not very grown-up) and we even wrote stuff down and worked out numbers and things and now I can say for certain that I will be teaching in my conservatory 'studio' in Abingdon, near Oxford from January through to the end of April.

I travel to see Chris every other weekend so I will fit my teaching around that.

You can book either a three hour lampworking session for £90.00 or a five hour one for £130.00. The prices include all materials etc. I'm happy to teach total beginners or intermediate lampworkers looking to learn more advanced techniques.

Please email me if you'd like to book a lampworking session. I will need a 50% deposit (non-refundable) at the time of booking with the remainder payable on the day of your lesson.

Definite teaching days will be Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and I will be able to fit in some Fridays and Saturdays so do email me with any dates that you have in mind and we'll go from there.

Sorry if this sounds a bit vague. That's because it is. But basically, to sum up, I will definitely be teaching January through April but I have no concrete dates set aside for this. Just let me know if you'd like to come melt glass with me and we'll sort something out!

A little bit of luxury

When I saw that Stash Fine Yarns had some pure cashmere yarn in their sale I knew I had to have some. And when they had some mauve left ..... well, it was meant to be.

But what to do with just 75 grams of purply-pink cashmere? That's not a lot of yarn so I pootled around on Ravelry and found a sweet little pattern for a neck warmer. I set to work and completed the project in just one evening. It is sooo soft. Pure luxury!

It's going to be great for cold wet days. No soggy scarf ends. No under-the-coat scarf bulk. Just snuggly, gorgeous cashmere. I've ordered some more yarn so I can make myself a matching pair of gloves.