MORE ACORNS....

& how about some lentils, too??

(click on images for detailed view)
Here's another batch of acorns... they just keep getting better & better. :o) The ones I have in line to be electroformed are probably even better! Colors, designs, etc... I love them. I think these are a bit more organic looking than the last ones. I'm excited about introducing them @ the Bead & Button Show...

I had someone ask me to make a red purple special heart w/ raku stringerwork similar to one I had made a while ago (it's probably in this blog somewhere, but definitely on my website)... it had been a while since I used that combination & ended up making 3 hearts (vertical holes) & loved them so much that I decided to do some lentils. Yes... that's raku, LOL, sometimes I get some color, sometimes not so much. Idealy it likes to be encased, but I don't encase much, so I get what I get. They still look awesome! And they're etched... my favorite look for red purple special. I had them @ my last two bead shows... they got lots of attention. It's such a rich color etched...

WHEN ACORNS GO WRONG...

(click on images for detailed view)

LOL... have I shown you guys my electroformed acorns recently? They're so freakin' awesome! I've had them for sale @ shows since last fall & I absolutely love, first of all, watching the reaction when they first get noticed...
& secondly, watching them look each one of them over very closely, trying to figure out which one is theirs. They definitely each have their own personalities...

Here is their display on my table...

Early March, while I was making an acorn, it ended up way too big, way too long to be an acorn.... I look @ it & think "now what?" & realized that it could very easily become a birdhouse if I added a perch & an entry hole.... but how in the heck would I make a "hole" in the front of the bead? I know there are ways... obvious ways ;o) ...but I figured out how to do it MY way! Lord knows I love swirls & spirals... so I figured that the entry hole just needed to be a "stylized" one... so the hole is a larger spiral & it's perfect!

So...that's how my birdhouses were born. I love them... everyone loves them! I hung them on a real twig @ the two shows I had these past 2 weekends & they were a huge hit! I think that the reaction to them is almost better than the acorn reaction. LOL. Some of them are electroformed & some aren't. (the two pictured here are so similar... there was a huge variety... different colors, shapes, etc... actually, two of them had tiny little birds on the perch... probably the only ones that ever will!!) I've never used Red Roof Tile glass before, had some, but never used it... it's PERFECT for these birdhouse roofs... etched, of course. :o)

So... there you are. I need to take some more detailed pictures of other birdhouses & acorns, but this is what I have for now...

What do you think??

Later...

~ Julie

BUSY BUSY GIRL...ALIVE & KICKING...

Yep... dropped off the face of the blogging world again! Sorry. Thanks for the eMails, I really appreciate it when people contact me to make sure all is well.

Yes... all is well... life is good! Really REALLY GOOD!!

Looks like I've been absent from my blog for almost 2 months! Yikes. I'm not supposed to do that. :o)

In February, I spent a fabulous long weekend in St. Louis for the first annual Midwest Glass Experience @ Third Degree Glass Factory. It was a blast!! I love getting to see my favorite Missouri people (yes, there are some Chicago, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Iowa, Arkansas & more people thrown in there too!)... spending time playing w/ fire... learning new things, etc. I took classes from:

Anastasia from Germany... what a doll & a fantastic teacher. I love her bead style & had a blast learning how to make her tree beads & work w/ enamels & super fine hair stringers.

Michael Mangiafico (Fig on LE)... awesome teacher, fun guy... made an awesome ant & naked lady. :o)

& Libby Leuchtman... another awesome teacher & co-coordinator of the event. I loved learning how to make complex discs & did some off-mandrel work for the first time.

Yes... I need pictures. :o) Will add some here in a bit.

.........got home & got busy building up stock for both the Twin Cities Bead Bazaar (TCBB) & the Art Glass & Bead Show in Madison these past 2 weekends.

Both of these shows were FANTASTIC!! Such a blast & very successful! (yes!) Left me thinking "WHAT RECESSION?" :o) My 2nd & 3rd bead shows on my own & the first shows of the year. I was seriously worried that people either wouldn't show up or wouldn't be spending... neither was the case in either of these shows. In fact, the TCBB had record attendance!! Gives me hope that the year will continue to be successful. I'm really loving getting my pieces out there... love the feedback... love meeting people.

Coming up next for me is an Art Festival & Farmer's Market at Nature's Nest Organic Farm and Bead & Breakfast in Montrose, Minnesota in mid May (see my SCHDEULE on my website for details) and then the Bead & Button Show in Milwaukee in June. (come see me & Coliebug Beads @ booth #1138)

...I'm also preparing stock for my first art gallery!! I've been asked to participate in a gallery on Madeline Island that will be opening mid-May, just in time for the busy summer tourist season! I'm so excited! My good friend & mentor Jennifer Ionta recommended me... we'll be spending some weekends up there throughout the summer doing glassworking demos on the torch & just being there to answer questions about our work. Check back here on my blog & the schedule on my website throughout the summer to see when I'll be up there... would love to see you!

Okay... enough catching up for now. LOL. I'll add some pictures soon... I have something new to show you. :o)

Till next time...

~ Julie