Beads, Beads, Beads

It's been one heck of a busy bead week! Last night I had fifteen - yes fifteen - sets of beads for sale and they all sold very quickly. I'm very lucky to have such lovely bead customers.

I know I often say this but I really do wonder what becomes of my beads when they reach their new homes. I absolutely love seeing photographs of jewellery that my customers have made with my glasswork. So if you have any photos please do email them to me.

I like being in one piece

Yep - I'm still crazy about making enamel beads. Seems my lovely bead customers really like them too! The ones above are a selction of some of the beads that I'll have for sale on my website tomorrow night.

I went over to see my sister Sally this afternoon. It was beautifully sunny when I set out and I really enjoyed the ride over to her house. (For readers that may not know, I have a Vespa.) We sat in the garden and had a cup of tea (and a doughnut) while Robyn played in the sandpit. Then all of a sudden out of nowhere it became grey and overcast and began spitting with rain.

The drizzle turned into a thunderstorm and I had no choice but to scoot home in the rain. I tend to only ride my bike when it's dry but sometimes you've just got to face the fact you're going to get wet! Anyone who has ridden a motorbike knows that you need to take even more care on the roads than usual in the rain - things like white lines and drain covers become very slippery. So there I am riding carefully, not going too slow and sticking to the speed limits. But oh no, that's not good enough for some idiot in a huge BMW fat car (I call 4x4s 'fat cars' because to me they are just really fat cars) behind who insisted on getting way too close to me in an attempt to intimidate me and hurry me up. Well, I'm sorry but I'm doing 20 in a 20 limit on a road that is riddled with speed bumps as well as potholes and parked cars. Where is the problem with that? When I reached the traffic lights at the end of the road they were red but when they went green and I went straight ahead Mr BMW Man turned left and revved off in a right old huff. Dang - I pay my road tax and I have just as much right to be on the road as any other vehicle. Why do some drivers think that they can 'bully' others into doing what they want them to do? Grrrrrrrr - it gets right on my . . . . nerves. I love my Vittorio (the Vespa) so the last thing I'm going to do is ride my bike like an idiot and risk hurting him, let alone myself - I like being in one piece.

More enamel beads

I'm still having fun making enamel beads - I just love the orchid and purple tones of the beads pictured.

Oh, and my curly hair is officially back! Not that you're probably concerned, bothered or interested but I just wanted to tell someone the good news!

Bright shiny beads!

I purchased a full set of enamels last week and I'm having such fun trying out all the beautiful colours. These are a few of the enamel beads that I've made over the past couple of days. I just love the effect of enamels on glass - always reminds me of airbrushed paint.

So many colours to try - expect more bright and shiny beads soon!

Keyes, Curls and Cake

I haven't got any bead news today so I thought I'd witter on about other stuff.

First on the agenda is Marian Keyes. I absolutely love her books and I finished reading the last of her novels today. Don't you just hate finishing a great book? I kind of drag out the last few chapters as much as I can and then I feel all lost until I get into the next book. Thing is, there are only three Marian Keyes books left for me to read - her 'Under the Duvet' collected journalism two and her short story 'No Dress Rehearsal'. Then that'll be it. A long wait for her next novel. I'll be at a loss! My favourite Marian book is 'Anybody Out There?' which had me laughing, crying, laughing a bit more and crying a LOT at the end. I finished it on a train journey and I kid you not, I was snivelling and blubbing out loud. At a book. People stared but I didn't care! It was fabulous and if you're a fan of girly books I highly recommend it.

Next up, hair. Mine is naturally curly. Well, it was. This is my point, you see. I had it cut a few months back, treated myself to a set of GHD straighteners (thank the Hair God for those babies!) and made my teenage dreams of one day having straight hair a reality. From about fourteen onwards I hated my hair - thick, curly and prone to fuzzing up to the size of a small continent at the slightest drop of moisture. I eventually learnt how to tame it (well, as much as I could) and spent many a year with curls and people saying 'Oh, you're so lucky to have curly hair!' while I was thinking 'No I'm not - I want straight, shiny lovely locks that do what you tell them to!'. This time last year I had shoulder length hair that I could straighten (well, get my sister to straighten because she was the one with the GHDs) or wear curly. I found the perfect product that would do the curly thing well without turning my hair into crispy twirls. Then after Christmas I fancied a change (you know, that old 'New Year, New Me' thing that us girls occasionally do?!) and I had it cut into a bob. Not a Victoria Beckham arrangement, just a chin-length bob. And I liked it. It grew out pretty quick and I'd decided that I'd grow it long again so I went back for a trim and a few layers (layers are essential for us curlymopheads or we'll end up looking like a cross-section of a Toblerone) BUT the hairdresser obviously didn't understand my just-a-tiny-bit-off-the-length instruction and got all scissor-happy and ended up cutting it shorter than the first time I had the bob done. I wasn't happy but I thought that it would grow pretty quick. It didn't. And it's taken an age to get to a length where I can wear it curly without fear of it springing up and making me look like Leo Sayer. I bought myself a new bottle of my fave styling product yesterday and curlified my do. But something's happened - my hair won't go curly! It's kind of tousled and wavy but my old curly-curls aren't there anymore. I haven't over-straightened my hair. I only ever straighten it when I go out (not much then!) and at weekends. Rest of the time I wear it in a ponytail. I washed my hair again this morning and curlified it again, but no - just waves. It seems to have forgotten how to curl. Could it be that I'm mourning my frizzy, curly, unruly hair of old? Come back curls - all is forgiven . . . . . . .

Enough of my hair. If you're still reading, haven't nodded off on your keyboard and you're a fan of cake, confectionery and doughnuts (don't you prefer the American spelling of 'donut'? Our English version is way too proper) then I have a cake recommendation for you. Rolo doughnuts. Yes, Rolo doughnuts. I was in Tesco (grrrrrrrrrr) this evening and I saw them. A display of beautiful doughnuts like an oasis in the desert. They called to me and I gave in and bought a pack. Doughnuts, filled with caramel, coated in chocolate icing and decorated with chocolate chippy things. Seriously great doughnut innovation - hubba hubba!

It's been a warm one today - very hot in the shed. I did get a few beads made which I'll put on the website either tomorrow or Friday. I shall keep you posted!