The Winner is........

Debby Carey! Congratulations Debby! Your Sea Shell bead will be in the mail in the morning.

For the next freebie drawing thinking I'll do something new, maybe an implosion pendant! Check back here to see it posted... after I make it that is.

To be entered in my drawings for free lampwork and glass art, just sign up for my Glassbits Newletter (box in the right hand column). Winner are drawn from the newsletter subscribers.

Hint... you have to actually open and read the newsletter to win.

We Have A Winner!

Picked a winner this morning for this shell bead! I'll post the name as soon as I hear back from them. If for some reason I don't get a reply within a week or so I'll draw another winner.



I'm off to take a class this weekend and learn some fantastic new skills...YIPPEE!

Goddess Beads

I occurred to me a couple weeks ago that I've never made any goddess beads so thought I'd give it my best shot. Pretty happy with the results as none of them took a suicidal plunge in the cold water on the bench. Here's what I came up with.

















Not too shabby for my first attempts!

Charming Inn in Onekama MI

The Travelers Motel

A friend and I were up around Manistee MI this past weekend and stayed in this charming motel tucked away in Onekama (7 miles north of Manistee). Normally we stay at one the hotels in Manistee, however I didn't call early enough to book a room for Saturday night. A google search turned up this little gem nearby. Their blog let me know there was a room available so I called first thing the next morning and snagged it up.

What a great change of pace it was from the stale hotel experience! Had my morning coffee on their fantastic porch while doing suduko puzzles. If you're wondering, the rooms are clean, the rates are better than the hotel chains and the owners make you feel at home. Oh, and on drive back to the casino we saw 7 deer and a fox....bonus!

I'm sure I'll be back there sometime in the future, maybe the next time DH and I take the bike up there.

New Listings are Up!

After a relaxing weekend up north (more about that in my next post) I started listing a few new items to my etsy shop

I really like this shell focal bead, it has so much depth and sparkle with the
goldstone in it!



Here's a new silvered organic set in a great spree shape too.



And Silvered lentils with custom made glass shards that have a ton of sparkle!



Clicking on a photo will take you to the item page.

Handmade Wedding Favors

I had wanted to show you the wedding favors I made for a May wedding. The bride's mother had seen one of my candle holders on etsy and had contacted me by email. They wanted to be able to give their guests something unique and handmade. The dad even worked in the same town and picked them up from my work teasing that he was only following his wife's instructions and writing checks for this wedding....what a guy!



After this first bunch was picked up, they asked for a few larger ones and some extra small ones which I shipped to the other side of the state just before the wedding. I bet the table decorations were beautiful. Think I'll write the mom and ask her to email me a picture.

The Completed Kiln Project

The finished kiln!

I have it running on low to help totally cure the mortar and completely dry out the fire brick. You have to dampen the bricks to insure a good mortar joint. I used a shallow tray with water in it and dunked the sides of the bricks as needed. Probably overkill on the moisture

It has two handles for carrying and one for the lid. A flip-up bead door and a separate stand.

The lid was a bead collar I bought years ago because I needed a little extra height to do those kiln formed bracelets. Filled in the center with brick for a solid lid. I will never understand why Evenheat Kilns makes there extension collar for the Hot Box smaller than the Hot Box kiln. Guess they thought they were saving a ton of money being skimpy. Doesn't make any sense to me when you can buy firebrick for 1.50 a piece from your local refractory.

The small hole in the side (above photo) is for the pyrometer. Not using my digital controller in this picture and the pyrometer is attached to that. A bit hard to make out in the above picture but you can the heat shield between the red metal box and the fire brick.

The elements are up in the top ring, the bead ring has 2 tiles with holes for a bead rack. The elements are not encased in quartz tubing so you do have to put your mandrels straight into the tile. It would be very hard to point one up at high enough of an angle to get zapped by the elements.

The stainless I just got is brushed stainless instead of the polished type that is on the lid. I have the top vented right now to let any moisture escape while its running on low.

I'm sure it will get tons of use in the coming years. And I think its adorable as far as kilns go! Next up? Finished the little work table station I started today.... its always something!