'Batik'

The base beads in this set are made with a translucent white glass. When I added the violet stringerwork it looked pretty normal but as I heated the stringer in flush with the surface of the bead it started to do this slightly wiggly, feathery thing. Sometimes glasses react with one another to produce such effects. You can use those reactions to your advantage but sometimes the effect that happens isn't quite what you had in mind. Normally I would have sworn at the bead, killed it in the water jug and made a mental note not to mix those two particular glasses again but I actually liked the effect. I think it's got a Batik kind of feel to it.

Muchos Typing

Hello Beadpeeps!

We're having the back garden sorted out this week (it's a right old mess as anyone who has been for a lesson knows) and as such my propane is out of bounds but I should be able to get to it tomorrow so beadmaking will occur then.

In the meantime I'm writing a little beadmaking eBook. Muchos typing. It's bigger than a tutorial but shorter than a novel so I reckon that it definitely qualifies as an eBook. It will contain step-by-step sections but on the whole it is more informative than instructional.

For the time being I'm keeping the subject of my eBook under wraps although I'd wager that some of you can probably guess what it's about .....

It'll be available shortly so do stay tuned for more information.

Engagement Ring

Well, Chris collected my engagement ring from the jewellers but it doesn't fit properly! It's too tight so we took it back on Saturday and they're going to sort it out so I should have it (and hopefully it'll fit this time) next time I see Chris.

Curse my big fingers .....

'Sakura' Focals

These are the first 'proper' beads I've made this year and I am SO pleased with them.

For almost four years (on and off) I've been trying to create a cherry blossom design on beads but I couldn't quite work out the best way to do it. This week I realised that I had been making things way more complicated than they needed to be. I've tried frit, encasing, enamelled stringers and more before but the effect always ended up muddy and blurred. I was aiming for a crisp, stylised but recognisable-as-cherry-blossom design and I've finally cracked it!

I wanted to give the beads a Japanese feel so I've used the traditional 'tombodama' olive-shaped bead that Japanese lampworkers favour and I've also given the beads the name 'Sakura' which is Japanese for, you guessed it, cherry blossom.

I'm chuffed to bits with them and I hope you like them too.

These focals will be for sale on my website at 8.30 pm (UK time) tomorrow night.

Jewellery by Nemea Designs

Mary at Nemea Designs sent me some photographs of jewellery that she's made with my beads. It's so nice to see my beads all made up into wearables and I do so love the thought of people going about the place with my beads about their person.

The necklace at the top of the post features a simple white heart-shaped focal bead and the gorgeous necklace below contains some of my bright red enamelled beads.

Mary has also turned some of my colourful plain lentils into simple earrings. The beads in these are made with a glass that is no longer made. Shame - it was really pretty.

If you have a spare moment or two, head on over to Mary's website and take a look at her lovely work. She creates wonderful jewellery for adults and children and there is also a great range of beaded gifts too.

If you've got photographs of work made with my beads then please email them to me. I'd love to see them and they may even get featured here on my blog.