I'd read the quote sometime ago and then I read the book a little while ago:)!..well am still reading it....

The frog's a metaphor fr the job that needs to be done first thing in the day,even if one finds it terrifying or revolting or....anything that enourages one to procastinate without feeling guilty...and thereby,reducing the possibility of feeling good about having done a major job that'll take care of a fe others by virute of having been taken care of:)...

Let's talk about my frog....it's a whole clan:)!been croaking and staring at me with their pretty bulbous eyes ever since I began working towards getting ready to attend a Silver clay conference and a glass bead gathering in the US...

It is so difficult to choose what to do first and then sit down to do it....in my case,metaphorically,when I pick up one frog to swallow,there are others that promise me the same kind of ,or perhaps even better, nirvana were I to "eat" one of them rather than the one in my hands...." a frog in hand is worth two in the pond"??lol:)!

Some froggies I've made meals out of are the charms and the beads I need to take with me...today,I've ahad a frog feast:)!

One super sized toad that tells me it's just a prince waiting to turn the magic on in the pictures I keep promising myself to click and put on the blog:)....still haven't done that:)....should ,in a bit.....hopefully in a bit:)...the froggie prince will surely be released...it's just a matter of time....or am I procastinating:)!?lol:)!!

More frogs have been promised freedom from their bodies tomorrow....and hopefully, we will celebrate the feast and the freedom here in a bit:).

Arrivederci:)!

The colors I will be looking at in this post are all transparent pink shades in the medium to very light variations.  They are: CIM C0915 Pink Champagne, Effetre 067 Rose Quartz, Effetre 082 Lavender Blue (aka Rosatto), Effetre 068 Pink and Effetre 082-A Amber Rose Odd.

You can see the color differences in this Pink Wheel.  While I tried really hard to get the colors right in the image, please note that colors may not appear exact on every monitor.  And the palest color, Rose Quartz, appears really washed out here.

So first, I want to talk about the new Effetre Rose Quartz.  This came out a couple of months ago, when Mike Frantz was going to send it back until someone talked him out of it.  (Rumor of course!) I think he just thought it was a lighter version of Effetre's regular transparent pink - also shown in the wheel. 

Not true!  Rose Quartz and Pink are very different in my view.  Effetre 068 Pink is much peachier in comparison.  Rose Quartz is a very cool, pale baby pink.  I would classify it as a tint - it's so light.  The rods look almost clear unless you look at the ends - that's where you see the most color.  Rose Quartz has replaced 082 Rosatto for me as a layering pale pink - for one very big reason.  More on that later.  RQ makes wonderful layering over Rubino and the various shades of opaque pink.  I've been using it a lot these past few weeks.  It's clarity is nice, it's got a medium amount of stiffness, and it encases well.  Plus - it's baby freakin' pink!!

068 Effetre Pink is the classic oldie of this bunch - it's been around forever.  However, I rarely use it these days, because it just isn't pink to me.  It's peach - granted, a pale, cool peach.  Vetrofond came out with its version of Pink a few years ago, and I liked it because it was slightly less peach.  I didn't have any to compare for this post though, because I had been using 082 Rosatto for so long. 

082 Rosatto was my favorite for a long time, when it came to transparent pinks.  It's official name, Lavender Blue, is really weird, since it's not blue at all.  It does, however, shine a tiny bit lavender-y when under fluorescent lights.  This is why I was so happy when Rose Quartz came out.  But Rosatto is a really pretty color - slightly darker and more lavender than RQ, and great for layering as well.  It's perfect for really berry-shaded purples and pinks in layering.  But for true pink, I love the RQ. 
 

I threw Amber Rose into this party just so you could see another medium shade - this one much peachier and warmer than pink.  In fact, I wouldn't really call this pink at all - but a dirty pinkish amber color.  This color is highly sought after, because of its rarity.  It's not made anymore, but if you can find it, it's well worth the money.  The color is strikingly strange, and makes really gorgeous organic bead bases. I'm on my last rod, and I have no clue what I am going to do with it.  Maybe hoard it forever!

Last but not least is the brand new CIM color Pink Champagne.  Oh, my freaking YUM.  This color is the darkest of the bunch, and delightfully weird.  I would classify it as a medium orchid pink with lavender undertones.  By itself, it makes absolutely stunning spacers.  As a layering color, it's perfect!  It also makes the most gorgeous floral petals when combined with opaque Dark Raspberry Pink (also a rare odd that I am quickly running out of!). 
 

Pink Champagne reminds me a lot of Rosatto, except darker and more "sparkly".  Seriously, CIM's quality is really impressing me.  This color of theirs has gorgeous clarity, a nice stiff consistency (but not Lauscha-stiff) and doesn't bubble or scum like most transparents.  It is a tiny bit more sensitive to temperature change, and likes a hot flame emvironment, as far as I can see.  And the color?  Off the charts gorgeous.  The 104 coe color line has a distinct lack of medium transparent pinks - and this color goes a long way towards filling that gap. 
 

In this bead I started with Opaque Dark Raspberry Pink, encased it in Pink Champagne, then decorated it with clear scrolls. 

So the new pinks - Pink Champagne and Rose Quartz - are right on the money as far as I am concerned.  I sure hope both glass manufacturers keep them in the palette!

First the photo - isn't he gorgeous

Now the earrings

 http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=330248576953&ih=014

I hope you can see where they came from... LOL

The Etsy Glass Artists (EGA) have put together a selection of sample sets for our summer promotion, a celebration of all things glass. Each collection will include 8 pieces. By one of 12 artists. The collections are composed of jewelry, gifts and designing components. Priced well below their value, it is a wonderful way to try out a variety of glass pieces. Shipping is included in the price of the EGA Collection and each participating artist has a different collection so be sure to check them all out.

The members participating are as follows:

http://www.studiomarcy.etsy.com
http://www.paulasstressart.etsy.com
http://www.shoozles.etsy.com
http://www.dogmawglass.etsy.com
http://www.chickadeebeads.etsy.com
http://www.groovyglassgirl.etsy.com
http://www.rwillisglassartist.etsy.com
http://www.monkeyblues.etsy.com
http://www.protege.etsy.com
http://www.flamekist.etsy.com
http://www.mycabincreations.etsy.com
http://www.susansheehan.etsy.com

To see all of the collections available search for “egacollection” or “egacollections”

EGA would like to thank Susan Sheehan for all her hard work putting the glass collections together and organizing this project.

I recieved this lovely parcel as a gift from a very talented lampworker - Janet Prentice - and turned a couple of the beads into a bookmark just for me.

The fantastic gift

My bookmark

Now my children can't make up there minds if the little animal is a Cat or a Dog - What do you think?

Here is Janet's eBay shop - http://stores.ebay.com/Artisan-Lampwork-Jewelry-Raku-Vases - her vases are to die for. 

and her Website - www.lampworkbydesign.com  

She is an amazing artist.

Thank-you Janet for such a beautiful and generous gift.  I will treasure these beads always.

Okay now that I have that our of the way, on to more fun stuff.

I have a title for my book:  Dead Sexy.

and a little sampling:

“So, you are saying Mrs. Keltons dead Golden Retriever, followed you home?”  Kat asked.   I watched while she pulled left over potato salad out of the refrigerator and dished it into two bowls. Handing me one, she cocked an eyebrow.

“Not exactly.” I said, eyeing Duke, the ghost dog, staking out a place on the couch.

“Not exactly?  So what, you dog napped him?”  The incredulous look on her face suggested she thought  I was joking.

“No, he jumped in the car and I drove him here.  He followed us up the stairs,” I said.

“Are you even allowed pets?” she asked, laughing.

“Oh haha…very funny.” Frowning, I grabbed a beer and slammed the fridge door.

“Oh come on, it was  a little funny,” she said.  “Do I get one of those?”  She tilted her head toward my Guinness.

I shrugged and  stepped out onto my balcony.

Jade, Dead Sexy (c) 2008

Don't forget about the 20% off three day Sales going on on my WEBSITE and ETSY!

I'm going to start adding pieces to Etsy and my website this week and the first thing I'm putting up is one of my seashell pendants. I'm always looking for new things to add to my jewelry and lately I've been incorporating the shells and stones I've found on vacations... I like to think I've created something a little unique! But we'll see...

Next up will be a Stone Dot ring using a Lake Superior stone I picked up along the beach at my cousin's home in the UP...

Etsy!

Website!

:-)

I love books and probably have more than I'll ever need or use. Being an art teacher, collecting books is part of the job description. At Corning, I purchased a book titled, Fire, by Dale Chihuly. He is America's most recognizable glass artist and his work can be seen practically everywhere.

After picking up this book I also received a magazine at school that spotlighted his work. Thumbing through the many images, I was then inspired to try and capture something Chihuly "ish" in a neckpiece. Since I chose to discuss Chihuly's Sunset Boat sculpture with my art students, I decided to limit my color palette to only the warm colors as he did. These are the wavy, ripply floral cups I made dozens of .....they became my starting point.

Although I had plenty of these floralish pieces, I still hadn't settled on how I was going to proceed. I continued looking at his work and noted what appealed to me.

This image I really liked since I recently made headpins with a similar feel. I made spiraled cone headpins and these, along with the plain round headpins, became the centers to my Chihuly flowers. Suddenly things were taking shape.

Here is my Sunrise Neckpiece. It took a minor direction change at the very end during construction but I think it was for the better. I plan on doing a series of pieces based on this concept. I hope you like it as much as I do.

You can visit my website at www.lindasbellabeads.com, my blog at www.bellabeadjewelrybylinda.blogspot.com and my etsy shop at www.bellabeadjewelry.etsy.com

When I last made beads, I was having fun with hollows. I love building the disks, pushing them together and watching them inflate with the hot air being trapped inside. But they take a little longer to make and being a bit impatient, I wanted to come up with something quicker. I mean, it's been six months, I had some catching up to do! ;) That's when I realized I could just leave them as disks... duh!

So, I started building disks. I can actually get five of them on a mandrel if I'm really careful and pay close attention to what I'm doing. And if I keep them simple, I can make quite a few in a fairly short period of time. In the pieces I'm making, they don't have to be perfect, in fact, I don't want them to be perfect. I want them to look edgy and unplanned, giving the necklace or bracelet more visual impact. I've even come up with a name for the series that is floating around in my head, something else I've never done before... Dsk! Dsk! Dsk!

So here I go, moving in a new direction, thrilled to have another chance at creating! Sometimes taking a break isn't all bad (although it feels pretty bad when you're going through it)... Sometimes it lets you open yourself up to new possibilities...

Nancy Sells Puffer is a lampwork bead/jewelry artist from Grand Rapids, MI. Check out her very own blog here and visit her website at www.nancysellsglass.com

It's good to be back.... more later!

While you were investigating, beads were still being bought and passed off as another artists work. You didn't stand up for your sellers or your buyers. That's not right and it's not good business. At least you got around to it-after at least several days of this occuring.

Etsy, you should listen better to your sellers and buyers when they tell you something is wrong. When they tell you that someone is passing glass beads off as a real stone, when they tell you that this work is mine and now it has shown up in this shop, when they tell you that they are being ripped off by another seller. You have a bunch of new investors and an influx of cash-hire more people to monitor your site while there is still a sight left to monitor.

I've been talking to several people who were thinking about opening an etsy shop because we know people who do well on your venue. Those thoughts are gone now because of the way you handled this incident and you have lost business because of it. With the attitude you have shown the last several days, I doubt if you will lose any sleep over it. It's still your loss, though. You can't spin this and make it look right and the word is out there-etsy won't go to bat for it's sellers or buyers.

From what I have read on your etsy forums, lampwork isn't the only category this has happened in. I've looked through "vintage" shops on etsy. Yard sale is more like it. What happened to the "handmade" idea behind your venue?  Gone with the wind and a lot of glass beads, I guess.

I am curious about one thing-this particular shop has been closed for 3 days now? Has she managed to slip past you and open another store? It's ok if she has. There are lots of folks watching for her and I'm sure they will let you know if that happens.

Trying to give myself the feel of summer I put away the bling (dichro beads) and have been making florals, and ya know what??  They do lighten my mood and make me smile when I make them....so that is a good thing.  My customers hopefully are enjoying the new crop...it has been quite some time since I made florals.  I have also been practicing my stringer work, both giving me a different feel at the torch, they are more relaxed and slow moving beads.

Here is my latest...I am in LOVE with these...they remind me of my childhood and my mother's garden...so I called them Nostalgic Garden, they are up on eBay right now. 

and Wildflower Blue's up on my Etsy

Well anyway, are you still waiting on summer to arrive??  Or...are you done with it and ready for winter??  Ok maybe not winter..but at least spring or fall?

Funky Chunky Charm Bracelet $25

www.jenniferbirge.etsy.com

One of the amazing things about glass is the ability to alter light.  Glass can transmit, bounce or reflect light.   Who doesn't love a good suncatcher in the window?  The magic of sunbeams dancing about a room is fascinating. To create light altering beads I employ texture. 

Not only can texture send light flying in all directions, but it can produce a look that begs to be touched.  Adding depth to my beads is a challenge I enjoy.  Using a varitey of tools, I can manipulate glass in sculptural ways.  The beads can bounce light as well as take on an interesting shape.

Texture in glass is not only a feeling, but a look.  Silky smooth glass can also appear to have texture. A mixture of transparant and opaque glass is a subtle way to create depth. 

Creating with glass offers possiblity and challenge.  Employing the concept of texture helps add dimension and interest in glass beads.  Focus on texture in your next work and see where it leads you.

Susan 

My dogs are are doing well to, for now - they went to their vet check to get cleared to fly (in cabin - NOT CARGO) and the only glitch was the medication we tried on my nervous little guy Buster it gave him 2 seizures - it was horrible - thank goodness there was no permanent damage.  China is a much calmer little girl so she can fly without any help.  For now we are looking into something a bit safer for Buster.  China is rescued Peek and during her check-up we found that she will need to have a tooth extracted - Peeks have terrible overbites and tooth alignment - and apparently I was missing brushing that tooth - poor little girl - at least it will all be resolved before I leave. 

Aside from packing I have been attempting to update my mom's address with all the various organizations - whew, what a job THAT is.  First I had to call Social Security, then her Bank, then Medicare, her doctor, her pharmacy - what a chore.   I have to run over and pick up her medical records this week so I can bring them to her new doctor in Murrieta - and at the same time I will request that my dog's records get sent to their new vet too!   Paperwork!  At least the post office makes it easy - they allow you to change your address online - it costs a dollar for each address change though.  

The hardest thing about doing all of this is the WAITING - every single place puts you on hold for at least  5 minutes and that is AFTER you have been through all the automated stuff - finally you reach a real person - and then the fun begins - lol. 

The last few weeks have flown by in a flurry of activity - I have been trying to finish up bead orders, as well as pack.  Then mom, who in the last 8 years or so has not had one cold - got one!  I was so nervous - kept thinking it would turn to something worse.  Fortunately, after giving her extra zinc, Vitamin C and Mucinex - as well as a bunch of other boosters, it appears that the cough is resolved, but it gave me a scare. 

In the midst of all this chaos I am trying to remain calm - NOT HAPPENING - lol.  My nerves are frazzled to the point of being on fire.  Just when I am sure I have gotten one situation under control there is another one that pops up.  Just getting my brother's paperwork in order has taken hours and hours.  Today I realized that he has been gone for over 3 months - that doesn't seem possible.  I can't believe that Doug isn't a phone call away anymore - that he isn't on this earth anymore.  I had two brothers Don and Doug and now they are gone - just leaving the two sisters - Carol and I.  It doesn't seem possible.  In the last few years death has taken it's toll on our family.  My sister lost her grandson, Jason - her daughter Kelly's oldest boy, then our dad, then our step-mother, Peg - then Doug.   Our family has changed so very much. 

I suppose moving has spurred a ton of memories - just unpacking old photos and looking at cards from Joey (my son) when he was a little boy - where did the time go.  Now Joey is Joe - and daddy to 2 beautiful little girls - and his wife Marcy is a mom - my goodness - I can still remember her as a little school girl.  Now she is a talented young mother.  At least Joe is still in the his twenty's but only for a few short years - my goodness an almost 30 son - lol.  How did that happen????

I think the hardest part of this move is not seeing Joe and Marcy's little girls on at least a weekly basis - thank goodness for the internet - but it's not the same.  I am hoping that I can stay a good part of their life.  At least in the "virtual" sense.  Of course my sister is leaving her grandson, Jordan too - and that is going to be hard for her - she has been his companion for over 10 years now.  

The great thing is we will have Grace - Tracy and Nigel's little girl - she is wonderful, sweet and talented and she will fill a huge void in all of our lives.  I am looking forward to going to her events.  And since she is also a dog and computer lover - like her auntie - we will have tons of things in common.  I have found Grace to be a very artistic and loving little girl and I am excited to be a part of her life.  Of course I am going to have to fight over her with my sister lol - SHE is the Nanny - and she has reminded me of that on several occassions - lol. 

Well I am off to clean what can be cleaned and then lug some of Doug's CD's upstairs for a guy to look at  - boxes of opera - I wish I could bring them with me - but at over a dollar a pound it would cost me too much to do it!  Hopefully this guy will like the CD's.  I still have over 13 boxes of hardcovered books I am trying to find a home for - did you know that libraries don't take donations anymore?  What the heck is that about??

See you all soon!! 

DeMarie

She is clever too.  I love bonehead.  Her beads make me smile and browse in awe.  The ones I keep returning to are the puppies.  They tug at my heart every time.  Only this time, I bought one.