My Precious

I just wanted to share with you the bead I'm selfishly keeping for myself. Isn't it pretty? I think it might be the closest thing to perfect I've ever made. Not counting my kiddo.

Still Playing with Kalypso

Still loving this glass! I saw some comments around the net from other lampworkers that it was just the new Clio - the same thing as Clio - which had not been my experience when I tried Clio last time... so I thought I'd give it a comparison run. I have to say.. they are very similar... but not the same. I still love Kalypso more. Can you tell which one is which?



Here, too, are my latest offerings, available on Etsy today :)

Juicy Juicy

I am so happy to have braved up and figured out the scorpion's outer ring. It's my new happy place. The inner fire? - eh, it's just not enough, and I was beginning to think I'd made a mistake buying that thing... but then I turned on the outer ring, got the perfect flame almost instantly and have been convinced ever since that I got the right torch. It's big, yes, but that's what I needed. Fine control for stringers? I'll figure that out too, but for now all I'm playing with is Kalypso - and look! I got the bright juicy colors again!

Boom! Boom! Fire Powah!

Got the new torch hooked up yesterday - once I learned the dunk-the-hoses-in-scalding-hot-water trick, it went pretty smoothly. OH my goodness! Check it out!



That's with both rings burning - it's HOT. I managed to make three new beads with it, but I will admit, I was a little afraid to use the outer ring - as it is, I seem to be loosing some of the magical Kalypso pinks with just the center flame. I may need to crank down my propane a little to get more pressure - or just work a little cooler... not sure. Need more experimenting time!

Here are the new beads - all hearts, though... you might not know that about one of them if I hadn't told you.

A New Week, A New Bead

Or six, as it turns out. It was a very busy week, and no new beads got made, but these were finally photographed and listed on Etsy. Thanks for looking!

New Inspiration

The Bash, we love The Bash! In case you don't know, it's Frantz Art Glass's customer appreciation day - free demos, fantastic sales, lunch, glassy friends, the works. This year I got there in time to see Kimberly Affleck's demo for once and it was worth the drive and then some.

Her demo bead can be seen here - it's her seahorse, but done, this time, on a silver glass background bead. HUGE. I had seen her demo the seahorse a while ago, it was the base bead I was into. HUGE. Biggest bead ever! Like 4 inches by 3 inches or so. And gorgeous.

So, that was the best thing about The Bash this year. The next best thing was Double Helix. I spent a LOT of money on their glass. Plus I got the t-shirt. Why not? Kalypso is the glass of the month - if people thought they liked Clio, they are are going to go ga-ga over Kalypso. Mnnnnnnn.

Here are my Kalypso/Kimberly inspired beads. I'm heading to the studio next to make some more!