The CiM testing continues

I'm still trying out the new Creation is Messy colours and I'm writing about them. Recent additions to the Tumblr are Painted Hills, which is pictured above, and there's also:

Denim

Quetzal

and Class M Planet

I've still got a few more colours to test yet. I hope people find the posts useful.

CiM Testing

I'm working my way through a bundle of new Creation is Messy glass colours, writing up my findings and thoughts as I do so. The first four testing posts are over on my Tumblr. The colours I've twiddled with so far are:

Bashful

Mockingbird

Envy

and Aloha.

All of the test findings can be found on my Tumblr blog, which is also where I keep a record of the glasses I use for all my beads.

Taraxacum officinale

This past week I've spent my evenings putting dandelion clock seeds into beads in order to make my Wishful necklaces. It's very time consuming. I sit there with the telly on, tray of dandelion clocks and beads 'pon my lap, and with a pair of tweezers I pluck a seed from a clock and then add it to a glass bubble, carefully feeding it through the 3mm hole. I keep on doing this until the glass bubble is full of dandelion fluffs.

Dandelion seed, or 'fluff' as I like to call it

Blown glass beads, wet from their bath

Beads, filled with seeds and made into pendants

Because I handle every dandelion seed separately, I've noticed how much they vary. Not all dandelions are equal. Obviously they are different sizes which means that the seeds from one clock head can be shorter or longer than the seeds from another. The fluffiness of the fluffs is also determined by when the dandelion was picked and how long it has had to dry out. The colour of the seedy bit of the seeds also seems to be affected by this. The older the seed, the darker the seedy bit is.

I've become a bit of a dandelion weirdo. I reckon this could be the thing that gives me 'local character' status. I'll be known as 'Dandelion Woman' or 'Her, You Know, Her, Who Picks Dandelions'. I'm constantly scanning grass verges and patches for dandelion clocks. I never leave the house without my dandelion collecting pot and as soon as I see a fluffy lollipop I dash over and pluck it.

In my head I have a map of where the big yellow in-bloom dandelions are because I know that in a week or so they will have transformed into clocks and then I can go back to collect them. I don't pick all of them; I always leave a couple there so their seeds can do the nature thing and float away to create new dandelions.

Now, in the style of a Year 7 science project about dandelions, here are some fun dandelion facts for you:

• The name 'dandelion' comes from the French 'dent di lion' which means 'lion's tooth' and this refers to the jagged leaves of the plant
• Dandelion seeds can be carried on the wind for as far as five miles
• In Victorian times, dandelions were grown by rich people and the plants would be eaten in salads and sandwiches
• Dandelions are rich in calcium, iron, and vitamins A and C
• The roots of a dandelion can grow up to half a metre long
• The leaves of the dandelion plant can be used to make purple dye
• Dandelion tea can be used as a mild laxative but don't be drinking it if you have gallbladder issues as it can also increase the flow of bile
• Dandelions are food for the caterpillars of several types of butterfly and moth
• Dandelions open at about five o'clock in the morning and close at about eight o'clock at night, hence the term 'clock'; they were once used as indicators of time

And of course, as with many flowers there are many myths and meanings and old wives' tales surrounding them:

• When you blow a dandelion clock the number of seeds left represent how many children you will have
• Another theory states that the number of seeds remaining post-puff indicate how many years you have left to live
• Dreaming of dandelions represents happy unions
• Some people think that the dandelion represents celestial bodies; the yellow flower is the sun, the seed head is the moon and the seeds are the stars
• Dandelions in a wedding bouquet will bring good luck
• Burying a dandelion in the north-west corner outside your house is said to bring favour and fortune
• Dandelion root tea can aid psychic abilities and prophetic dreaming
• In Victorian flower language, dandelions represent faithfulness, happiness and love's oracle
• You should make a wish before you blow the seeds off a dandelion clock

A lot of those are probably twaddle and I reckon if you bury a dandelion anywhere you'll just end up with lots more dandelions as opposed to favour and fortune. Actually, I am going to do that. Not the burying-it-to-bring-me-favour-and-fortune thing, but in order to intentionally grow dandelions. Most people try and get rid of them but no, I'm going to grow me some so that I can have a good supply for my necklaces. Right now I have enlisted friends and family for dandelion-picking duties and my necklaces contain Hampshire, Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire dandelion seeds.

There you go. More than you ever wanted or needed to know about Taraxacum officinale - the common dandelion. I've come to love these flowers. They're absolutely fascinating and I refuse to call them weeds. Hurrah for the dandelions!

Oh, and if you'd like to order you very own Wishful necklace, please head right this way.

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.)

Necklace full of wish

I'm well aware that I'm not the first person to put dandelion seeds in a glass bead/globe/bottle, but it's such a lovely idea I wanted to turn some of my blown glass beads into dandelion pendants.

Hang on, I've not mentioned my blown hollow glass beads, have I? Long story short, I make them on a 3mm hollow mandrel that has an air hole in it. By building a bead up either side of the air hole I can then inflate the bead by blowing air down the mandrel. This allows me to create a nice thin, even wall and I can deflate and re-inflate until I am happy with the shape. It's a bit like blowing a glass bubble. I'll go into it in more detail some day soon.

Me, blowing a hollow glass bead

Anyway, the 'Wishful' pendant is made from a blown hollow bead which I have filled with seeds from a dandelion clock. There are many myths and legends that surround dandelions but I think we're all familiar with the one that tells you to make a wish before blowing the seeds off a dandelion clock.

I'm not saying that this necklace will make all your wishes come true, but its delicate prettiness is sure to intrigue people.

If you'd like to order a 'Wishful' necklace, they're £15.00 and available on my website.