slight change of focus

I might not be able to make beads thanks to the limited vision in my left eye but I can still sew!

I used a few beads that were a set, added a focal and raided my stash! It was alot slower going than I had hoped but if my vision problem is caused by MS I might as well get used to it. I have no intention of letting it stop me but I will work with it if I have to!

You can see the back of the bracelet on the left. The beads are simply sewn onto that support -in no particular order I might add! The square shinney ones are some I picked up last year at a bead show but all the other larger ones are mine. The heart is a hollow bead from that cosmic storm color I was talking about before.

Check out out at my Etsy site!

Anyway, I'm counting down the sleeps until I head to England with my twin sister and her daughter. Our youngest sister is there ready to show us all the sites. I hope to take a few minutes out from visiting castles to find a bead store or two!

TTFN,

Marni

Pink Peonie

We are lucky to have a full garden bed of heritage Peonies and right now the pink ones are in bloom. The white ones are just about finished. The dark maroon ones are the first to bloom- they're my favorite but I was so busy making beads this year that I neglected to take a picture of them. Sorry!

I've decided to try and spend a more time outside for the next little while so I won't worry so much about why I can't see out of my left eye. The Ophthalmologist I saw said it is most likely MS. I'll be seeing a neurologist soon to find out for sure.

In the meantime I can't make beads. I can't get the toothpaste down the center of my toothbrush either! I have to say, not making beads is worse than a messy sink. But I can take pictures and plan to spend more time working with beads I've already made. Keep checking out my etsy site!

TTFN,
Nella

One more shot from the weekend....

This is the Saturday Morning group and yes, it was as quiet in there as it looks! No one was talking; everyone was working. Just about all of us came out of it with a bead or two to show for our efforts.

We were working in a single car garage that was open to the wind unless we kept the door shut. But if we kept the door shut, no one could get in and out. Ventilation was pretty bad without the door open, too. We compromised by bracing the door on a chair. When we needed thechair we swapped it out for an plastic bucket, which we smashed to smithereens by dropping the door on it. OOooops.

But maybe I should explain what Iron and Ink was and why the people in the photographs may not be dressed quite, well, normal.

This was an SCA event --the Society for Creative Anachronism. We're a bunch of Medieval history buffs. For fun, we dress up in medieval 'garb' and play at reliving various aspects of European history between 650 and 1650 C.E. It's great fun. I'll throw in more pictures as I find them.

TTFN!

Iron and Ink

It was a great weekend across the line! We made beads, beads and more beads!

Sour Apple Green

Early transparnet apples have always been a favorite of mine. They're sharp and tangy and full of flavor. It could also be that in a family of five kids, it was good to like something the rest of the kids didn't.

Anyway, I caught the flavor of the Okanagan Summer in this bead, or at least I think I did. It's been made into a necklace with accent beads that got in Ottawa. They're Czech, or maybe Chinese but they're certainly mass produced. You can see the mold lines clearly in the picture. The video I have on the process seems to be missing (Duh-oh) but this one at least shows the press process.

http://www.czechmarque.co.uk/thejewellery.asp

If I find the other video I'll post it. It really is quite interesting and it shows why mass produced beads are so cheap. People wonder why handmade lampwork beads are so much more expensive. Well, they're made one at a time and can take up to an hour to make!

This bead didn't take quite that long, but it was likely close to it. The light green and white had to be twisted together when they were molten and allowed to cool before they could be remelted onto the bead. Time flies by when I'm at the torch so I don't always know how long each bead takes. I've bought a small clock to set beside the torch to see if I can't solve that. Might be a good way to stop being surprised when Russ appears at the shop door and suggests it might be time to quit. He rarely goes to bed before 11!

Be well all,

Marni

The newest creations.....

Made these last week while I was impatiently using all the oxygen in the tank so I could switch to the concentrator! Before when the tank was getting low the feeling was of panic, not joy. With the new concentrator sitting at my side the feeling was all different this time.

I used handpulled stringer of Cosmic Storm, the new glass I told you about last time. The base is dark amber (like the heart). The biggest beads are hollow, so they are lighter in weight than they look.

The little beads are solid inside. They're an example of constraint. I'm trying to force myself to make complete sets of beads --including earring beads--instead of just making focals. The focals are the most fun but earrings sell! Guess there really are women out there who change their earrings more than once every few months. If I do that I end up wearing ones that don't match my outfit or not wearing any at all. Mornings are not me. The easier I can make it the better it is for all concerned!

Take care all!

Marni

hot times in the ol' town last night!

Life has changed dramatically in the bead department with the addition of an oxygen concentrator to the list of equipment in my shop. No more worrying about how much oxygen is left in the tank. It was difficult to concentrate on developing my own style when I was always worried about how much more time I had at the flame before I couldn't play any more.

I dealt with this fellow http://www.brentgraber.com/catalog.php?category=10 . It was a much easier process than I had imagined. Trusting someone on the internet is fraught with danger, isn't it? But here I was trusting someone a content away with not only my hard earned money but my hopes and dreams as well! He came through though, and for that I am gratefull.

So, onward! It's time to tidy up the house a bit --okay, a lot--and get some beads strung for sale. My Etsy site is a little bare of ready to wear jewelry. Take a look for yourself: Nellabellabeads.etsy.com


The heart bead is one I just made. It's a hollow dark amber with swoops and swirls of 'Cosmic Storm'. It's a new glass that was made in a limited quantity. It was a gift from some fellow glassmakers and I love it!

Off to clean!

Marni

long time --no see!

What can I say? It's been busy. The whole family was in Ottawa for a week watching the graduation ceremonies of our youngest, Mark. He graduated from the Royal Military College in Kingston and is now a second lieutenant. Pretty cool to watch people salute him! Looks pretty darned good in a uniform, eh? That's him carrying the RMC flag at a ceremony in which the 4th year students hand over the colors to the third year students.

Have been busy with spring and all that it brings since we got back. Made some wonderfull beads --check 'em out at Nellabellabeads.etsy.com . I'll try and get some pictures on line soon but if I want to be able to spend all my time on art it's important that we sell one of our businesses so ---I'm off to start a new blog on what Hunting Hawk Vineyards offers potential buyers!

TTFN!

Wow. That's a bad picture. It was night time and there wasn't quite enough light. Oh well, you get the idea. I'd do it again but I want to to make more beads.

later,

Marni

Good day!

Gave myself a full day at the torch today to make up for the busy next few days. Not that it evens out, mind you.

I still get crabby if I don't get to play with fire. It's not quite spring in the Gulch but it's sooooooo close! Our little valley keeps the snow much longer than everywhere else. We also stay cooler in the summer so it's not so bad. It makes it a lot easier for me to be in the same room as the kiln and a blazing hot torch in July.



This year I can't wait to get outside and dig in the gardens. I'll post pictures as soon as I can. No point doing taking garden pictures until the snow leaves. In the rest of Canada they still know what it looks like. Here in the Okanagan there isn't much left except for at our house!



Anyway, I'm working on getting more pictures posted. I'm just being way to picky. The one of Nicole and I in the shop is bad enough. Those are my favorite jeans to work in and it shows! Consider the tear in the knee ventilation.



Cheers.

Marni

Midnight at the Gulch

I should have been asleep hours ago but I told myself I wouldn't quit for the day until I had a blog. It's taken longer than I thought. That likely has a lot to do with being more of an artist than a computer geek. Though I have to say, I've really enjoyed learning more about computers and what they can do. It's a means to an end for me. I want to share my work with others in the art community and to do that I have to use a computer.

More about all of that tomorrow. I just took a quick dip in the hot tub to see if I could point my thoughts towards sleep. I could keep writing or I could snuggle in beside hubby all nice and warm and think of how pretty the stars looked.

Night.