Linden Avenue Designs

The Conundrum of Time - Time for New Greek beads, Sterling Silver Findings and Trinity Brass compononents

2011-05-14T11:44:00.009-05:00

I really don't know where the time goes to. It seems to relentlessly fly by at a mach10 pace. Sometimes I feel as if I have a box that is time and if I could only keep the time contained in the box, time would slow down. But, instead little escape holes keep appearing around the box and I watch as time disappears. Which takes me to present time!

Not only did I add Sterling Silver and Vermeil findings to my shop which was and is as exciting as ever, but I also added Trinity Brass Findings and Components. When I started adding the Sterling Silver and Vermeil findings I didn't know that the Silver and Gold market were in a upheaval and prices were literally going through the roof. And, to make matters worse, originally the silver and gold were import duty free from Bali and China. With absolutely no fanfare that law ran out and wasn't renewed leaving us buyers with huge import fees. I still am not sure what I am going to do about this. I probably will still continue to carry the popular headpins and earwires.

In the meantime I had months ago fallen love with the gorgeous jewelry components from Trinity Brass. Their items are not plated, except for the Real Silver and Copper, but instead they are oxidized to get these gorgeous finishes of Antique Gold and Vintage. They are a wonderful product that every time I look at one of their items I can't believe how wonderfully they have been made. They have a lot of gorgeous fine detail.

Gorgeous Greek Ceramic Bead Designs

2010-09-10T22:52:00.004-05:00

I love color and these two creations are color intensified! Stacy who has a shop on Etsy called StacyGarrettJewelry makes the most luscious earrings. In this shop she makes just earrings, and did I say earrings! Tons of earrings! And, I mean tons! She has a wonderful sense of style and color and it shows in her creations. I love cruisin through her shop just to look at all the different colors! She is also opening another shop that is going to be necklace and earring combination's. I'm looking forward to seeing what the necklaces are going to look like!

Our New Family Member - Lucy

2010-09-08T19:28:00.002-05:00

This picture isn't the best, I took it with my phone, but it is Lucy having Acupuncture. And, that brings me to who Lucy is. She was rescued by the Austin/San Antonio Cocker Rescue and we adopted her a month ago. We don't have all the past info on her, but from x-rays the Vets could tell that she had broken her leg and it had been wired. At some point the wire broke and was poking her which made her stop using that leg. When the Austin/San Antonio got her they then had the wire removed. She now has an issue because she hasn't used her leg for so long that she has arthritis in her joints and her mind tells her that she shouldn't be walking on the leg. But, we did notice that when she ran she did put her leg down a lot more.

So, that brings us to her seeing a vet in our area that does Chiropractic and Acupuncture. What was funny is that Lucy discovered that if she can get up she can shake all of those needles right off of her body! So now, we have to keep her occupied so that she won't want to get up.

Lucy has been so much fun having around and she is getting Lady, our other Cocker to get up and move around. Maybe even a bit of chasing around the house!

Mykonos Creations from an Electric Penguin!

2010-09-03T20:39:00.010-05:00

The first thing you notice when you enter Pam's shop The Electric Penguin is what a cooool banner she has! Next come her creations which are very colorful as you can see from the two examples displayed here. One of the creations not shown here are these really colorful cuff bracelets that have beer labels wrapped around the wooden beads. Different! These two creations that are portrayed here are two examples of how she incorporated the Greek beads into her designs. Gorgeous creations in my opinion! Check out her shop on Etsy and be prepared for lots of color!!

Handmade Spark - Linden Avenue Designs

2010-08-29T23:46:00.001-05:00

Handmade Spark - Linden Avenue Designs Yep, I did it! I set up my Handmade Spark Mini Site! Super easy to do! Next, I'm working on my banner! I've been wanting to do this for so long and finally had a quiet moment. I've been so busy adding new items to my shop that it pretty much took over my life! But, I do love the new Bali Sterling Silver Beads and Findings that I have added. I also had gotten in a whole new batch of Greek beads, so between the two shipments it has been chaotic. Back to work for me!

Gorgeous Creation Using Varitey of Beads Including Chunky Disks

2010-08-13T17:37:00.003-05:00

This creation has so much color it is just demanding you stop and take a look! Julia of smARTgirrrlART definitely has an eye for design, don't you think! I was so sorry to see that it looks like she is taking a hiatus from her shop. I am crossing my fingers that it isn't a permanent thing! She has a wonderful sense of design. I personally am drawn to designs that have lots of color and a variety of components that peek your interest. I'm always looking at the finer details and seeing what the designer did that made the piece work so well together. So, thank you Julia for this wonderful creation!

Close To My Heart - The Humane Society

2010-08-03T22:05:00.004-05:00

The Humane Society is a wonderful group of people who save the animals that can't speak for themselves. One of my buyers, Roberta of bertaberta4444 has taken on this wonderful cause, making money for the Humane Society with the sale of her bead creations. She has been selling her earring designs at a coffee house in her area. As of July she was able to contribute $300 to the Humane Society from her profits on her earring sales. Considering she just started this past March creating for this cause I think she has done a wonderful job!!

Juicy Earrings Using Mykonos Ceramic Beads

2010-08-03T20:28:00.004-05:00

Everytime I look at these earrings I want to go find a piece of fruit or a super drink concoction with lots of pineapple and coconut OR something I haven't thought of for a while. A Tequila Sunrise! They are sooo juicy it is hard to not want to pick them up and and put them on! I like the variety of the many different components that made these beads. These wonderful creations are from LimeintheSky a wonderful shop on Etsy. Stop on in and take a look around!

Some More Glam Using Mykonos Greek Ceramic Beads!

2010-07-27T18:08:00.006-05:00

One striking thing I like about these two designs is how the photography was done. The second creation is photographed with a clean background showing off the beautiful bracelet created by Kristen of MJM Jewelry Designs on Etsy. The first has in the background her garden, slightly out of focus, but enough focus to give you the feeling of a country garden. This garden background includes a lot of color and lovely green which is perfect for the earrings she created. Two totally different styles of background which work very well with these two different creations.

Mykonos Greek Ceramic Beads meet the Pacific Ocean

2010-06-26T16:05:00.004-05:00

I know that I keep saying this, but I am again blown away by another of my buyers creations. Lynn of nardiesarttowear sent me these two pictures of her latest creations using the Mykonos Greek Ceramic beads. The fine delicate detail in these two pieces named Pacifica is just wonderful. I find myself going around and around as I look at the pieces picking out the different beads included in the two pieces.

I also had to cruise through Lynn's Etsy shop to look at her crazy quilt designs in purses. Her little change purses are so dear! It sure brought back memories of the 70's for me. I don't know if it was just a Southern California thing but I had a handmade purse, very large actually, that I had for years that was a crazy quilt design. What I can't remember is how it closed at the top. I have visions of two designs, one with a wooden dowel on each side where the purse attached with one inch wide straps running along each dowel. The other had a flap that came over to close the purse. I'm beginning to think that I might have had two purses from the same designer. They were very popular purses in the Balboa area of California.

So, be sure and check out Lynn's shop, nardiesarttowear.

OH MY! Just Love These Designs!!!

2010-06-02T19:43:00.010-05:00

Rebecca of Knee Deep Originals made these wonderful Wine Glass Charms. What a wonderful way to keep track of your wine glass during a gathering of a large group of people. With these distinctive beads all you have to do is remember what color yours were! Rebecca is a songwriter, painter, and jewelry designer. To me her most interesting jewelry designs are her scrimshaw pendants. They are made out of old piano ivory keys. You ought to check them out at her Etsy shop!

Mara sent me these pictures and I was immediately taken with them. She is a talented artist that does these wonderful drawings on a variety of objects that she turns into jewelry. Her Etsy shop maracardenas also carries dolls, key chains, pocket mirrors and a variety of buttons. Check out her Etsy shop! she has a variety of items for you to peruse through!

Creations

2010-05-12T20:53:00.008-05:00

Some more creations from my wonderful creative buyers. Helen of TheBeadSmyth created this lovely unique necklace! Included in the necklace are faceted green labradorite teardrops and big turquoise magnesite rondelles with handmade ceramic Mykonos washer beads as spacers. The two pairs of earrings were created by Anne of Glasshousedesigns10. She said that she used sterling earwires, resin and czech beads in her creations. It is always a pleasure for me to see what happens with the beads I sell. I always wonder how they will be used in a design, and as these many posts have portrayed, they all definitely are unique! You can't go wrong with a handmade, unique, individual design. IMHO it is much better then what everyone else is buying out of the chain stores.

Something New For Me - Project Wonderful

2010-05-08T00:16:00.003-05:00

Well, I have bit the bullet and dove in without a life jacket, (good grief!) and have decided to try out Project Wonderful. If you haven't heard of Project Wonderful it is an innovative way of advertising. I definitely admit right up front that I cannot explain how it all works, but in simple terms I would say in comparing it to Google ads; Google works on the per click theory, Project Wonderful works on the Auction theory. What does Auction theory mean? Well it means that whomever at that particular second wants to pay the most, which is usually pennies, for a spot on a particular blog, or website, gets the spot. It gives the person who is on a limited budget an opportunity to have ads all over the place for a very nominal fee. In theory you keep the ad until someone else comes along and bids a higher price. It is possible to keep it for quite a while, days, and other ads will only last for a little while. It just depends on the location of the ad and how popular the site is and how you set up your parameters which is something I am still trying to figure out.

There is a system called a Campaign which is more convoluted and I will get into that later. At the moment I am still doing the manual bidding which can be interesting especially when you discover that you are bidding against yourself!!! I found that out quite by accident the other day when I found an ad that I didn't realize I already had. Silly me, I thought I would snap that sucker up real quick before anyone else got it and lo and behold I find out the next day, it was me I was bidding against! To this day I'm not quite sure how I did that! Why I didn't see my ad there in the first place! Yeesh! What was I thinking! Though, there is a constant state of bidding going on. One second you are on, the next you are off. But, then you are back on, because someone else decided to back off. Yikes! It is enough to give you gray hair! Oh, sorry. I've already got that. You've got the idea. I think I will just let you dip your toe into the vast waters of Project Wonderful. Come on in, the waters fine!!

Some More Beautiful Creations!

2010-04-23T23:53:00.007-05:00

I'm a sucker for anything in blues and this piece that was designed by Lisa of dancingraindesigns definitely caught my interest. I really can't pinpoint down exactly what I love about it, but I think it is the combination of the variety of beads combining aqua, brown, and bronze which makes the bracelet just sing with color! Add her hand forged copper spirals and Shepherds hook clasp just finish off the piece perfectly! As usual, I am as always floored by the beautiful designs that my buyers create!

Another beautiful creation using a combination of beads including the Mykonos Aegean Tube beads. The one thing I do love about the Tube beads is that you really get to see the wonderful color combination's on this long bead. Jamie of HaiKorInc sent me these pictures of her necklace and I love the combination of beads she chose. And as I have said before, you really have to see these gorgeous designs in person. Pictures just don't do the creations justice! This necklace so full of color and definitely a lovely length to wear with the summer dresses and blouses coming out this Summer. Please check out these two wonderful designers shops. You will be in for a treat!

A Shawl With Pizzaz!

2010-04-06T20:48:00.002-05:00

Well, here is another unusual creation that has the Mykonos Greek Ceramic beads included into its design! I am constantly amazed at the wide diversity of ideas that turn into creations. This lovely shawl was created by Inger of ingermaaike. I am a total novice when it comes to knowing what and how Nuno Felting is done. When I received the picture of her shawl I had to do a little investigating into the subject. What an interesting way to create something so beautiful that is light and airy too! I like the idea that you can add additional elements to your design. To me it almost seems like a blank canvas that can be drawn on with whatever adornments you wish to include. Paint a picture! What a neat idea! For more check out Inger's shop on Etsy!

A Wonderful Way to Use Mykonos Greek Ceramic Beads!

2010-03-16T13:27:00.005-05:00

I was stunned to see this very unique way of using the Mykonos Greek ceramic beads! When Lizz of pawshdogwear on Artfire contacted me about the beads I was so fascinated to see what she was going to do with the Mykonos beads. I tried visualizing how she would use them, but I never would have come up with this wonderful creation! I had to use the second picture too because in the background she has a Cocker Spaniel that looks like my first Cocker, Lady. As I have said repeatedly, my buyers are a wonderful group of artisans that create some of the most wonderful, unusual creations! Check out Lizz's shop. I think you will love her creations as much as I do, especially if you have a furry creature in your life!

Earthy Collection

2010-02-23T20:23:00.003-06:00

Another great design from one of Etsy's wonderful jewelry designers, Rebecca of KneeDeepOriginals! A lovely combination of lampwork beads, gemstones and sterling silver beads. The focal is a carved feldspar leaf; all strung on leather. Another example of the wonderful designs these great designers create using the many different components that are available. Chechk out her store and stay awhile!

Wowza!

2010-02-12T23:25:00.006-06:00

I was completely blown away by these designs! When I got the e-mail from Sandra, saying that she had just gotten the beads the night before and here were the designs she had created I was amazed! What would have take me forever took her an evening! She did a wonderful job of incorporating so many different elements into her designs. I'm a sucker for turquoise so I think that is my favorite creation. I know that I am always saying this, but I am humbled by the creativity of my buyers! They never stop amazing me with their designs. Sandra has a shop on Etsy and it is called zsazsazsu1963. I'm going to have to ask her what the meaning is behind her unusual name for her shop.

Does anyone know how to get the pictures to line up next to each other. So frustrating! Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. There is no rhyme or reason to how the pictures behave!!

A Poll

2010-02-03T17:07:00.002-06:00

I want to ask my buyers and anyone else out there who has an opinion to please give me some input on this situation:

After you purchase an item online do you expect or want to hear personally from the seller that they have received your order?

I ask because I've been comparing the many different places that I have purchased items from online, from Amazon to Office Depot, and when I compared the different businesses I felt that Amazon was the most similar venue when comparing to Etsy and Artfire. On all of the sites when I purchase, the host site sends you, the buyer, an e-mail confirming your purchase. I have looked back through my purchases and I can't find any additional correspondence from the actual seller concerning the sale. That's to say I haven't heard from them if everything is going smoothly. If they have a problem with my address or there was a problem with the order, then I heard from them. Up to this point I didn't think it was necessary, but I am now curious to see what everyone else thinks.

If this interests you please leave a comment!

A Burst of Color With Peyote Stitch

2010-01-31T21:04:00.008-06:00

Oh, my goodness! I do love this bracelet! I have tried Peyote stitch and loved the look, the flow of the design, and that you didn't have to be perfect. Which brings me to this style, the Freeform. I didn't even know that it had a name! My first exposure to this medium was from a book one of my neighbors lent me, Exquisite Beaded Jewelry by Lynda S. Musante. That was my first look at incorporating lampwork beads within the design. But, what really captured my interest was how she had designs that flowed all over the place, stopping and starting new rows that weren't connected. Definitely my cup of tea!

This wonderful bracelet was made by MaryLou who has a shop on Etsy called time2cre8. The bold use of color drew me in for a closer look, and then I found myself meandering around loving the changes in the color and size of the beads. Gorgeous!

I had promised myself that this year I was going to break out of my lampwork fixation and get back to my roots of doing watercolor, prismacolor, or even back to oils. And, I have all of my Scratchboard's just waiting for new designs. I even moved them so I should really use them. And, then I saw this bracelet and it reinvigorated me to pick back up that bracelet I started a couple years ago. Boy, does time fly! So thank you MaryLou for figuratively giving me a kick in the hiney!

ETTA HAS ARRIVED! The Continuing Story of the Traveling Meerkats Journey Around the World

2010-01-29T22:25:00.031-06:00

Etta, that world traveling Meerkat from the British Isles arrived late in the evening tired and world weary from all of her travels. She had just left Kansas where she had visited Jeannie a wonderful jewelry designer on Etsy. Etta was ready for a nice lazy evening when she smelled something unusual. I caught her leaning over the pot of Tortilla Soup ready to take a header into the pot. After rescuing her from her almost untimely dunk in the soup she settled down for a nice snooze.

That quickly became impossible when the girls rallied around her wanting to know about her world travels. But, first they had to get over the obligatory sniff to make sure they recognized each other.

Lady and Callie then sat down to hear about Etta's latest adventures traveling throughout the USA. She had left her Mum, Heather, in England who has a wonderful shop on Etsy called NiftyKnits, to become a world traveler visiting the many great locations around the world and visiting with her Mum's variety of friends during her trip. Etta's sister Treasure, also being a world traveler, and Etta had both left their Mum at the same time and were making their way around the world planning on meeting back up with their Mum at an unknown later date. One can't rush a Meerkat while she is seeing the world!

Etta continued her story, but Callie being a cat and way too independant, slinked out of the room when Etta wasn't looking. But Lady, being the lady that she is, stayed to hear about Etta's adventures.

The next day Etta and I went out to do a bit of sleuthing! I had a bit of mystery shopping and auditing to do and she came along to see what all the fun was about. When I came back to my car I found her positioned on the dashboard with a birds eye view of everything that was happening.

As we were making our way back to home we took a detour over to downtown Main Street in Pflugerville Texas. It was a beautiful day so we took a slow walk around the small square checking out the old buildings and stores.

We continued on making our way back to home and Etta insisted on sitting on the driver's side of the car! She told me that first I was driving on the wrong side of the road and second the driver's side was on the wrong side of the car!

Back at home she joined me in my studio getting things ready to torch. I took my eyes off her for one minute and turned around to find her completely covered in beads! It was obvious that she couldn't make up her mind what she liked. I personally thought they were a bit big for her. Oh well, one can't agree with everyone's taste in jewelry!

Then I showed her the new necklace that was made especially for her which is made out of the smaller version of the Chunky Disks that I love to make. She sashayed around a bit, trying out her new necklace and then spotted the beads I was getting ready to photograph for one of my buyers. Etta insisted that she wanted to see how I photographed beads so we went to out to my big fancy photography area; the outside patio! She sat down to watch how I set up my fancy setup; a clipboard.

After we finished up that small task, back to the studio we went for torching. Etta was super interested in why I had this big glass shield that I looked through when I torched. I explained that it was a Didymium shield that reduces sodium flare and enhances the viewable colors while protecting me from UV/IR emissions. In English that means I can see the glass being melted because the normal occuring flare that happens when you work with glass is basically erased while you are looking through the shield. Of course she had to have a look herself so she let me give her a lift so she would have a better view.

Etta then cruised around my studio checking out the area while I did some work. She finally settled down and found a perch sitting in with the glass rods. I had to admit that her choice of location for the best view was outstanding! She was high enough to view what I was doing, but far enough away to avoid any flying glass that could occur when one mixes glass with a flame 1700 degrees or higher.

The next day we loaded up all of her luggage and the various presents she has acquired during her trip. With a last look at the rolling landscape passing by the car Etta then settled down for the drive to the next stage of her journey, visiting Lindi of Lin Designs. For more fun and info on Etta's journey and her sister Treasure's journey around the world check out this Facebook account of their adventures!

Jewels of the Nile

2010-01-24T01:33:00.003-06:00

Sometimes I think that my approach to beadmaking might be a little different then other lampwork artists. I'm fascinated with how a glass can change so drastically when melted with another glass. There are times when I have taken just one color of glass and done test beads where I have melted on a variety of other colors of glasses either just adjacent to it, or one of my favorites is to swirl the two colors together. It is amazing how another color can influence the outcome of the color of the original glass.

These crystals are a perfect example. The outer layer is a glass call Aurae. Aurae is a pink flavored glass that changes to a golden silver when it is passed through a high propane flame. What I found interesting is how it influences the base glass that it is put on. These crystals were a base of a pale pink but when the Aurae is added it changes to a golden pale yellow.

I just love what Donna of donna8 has done with these crystals. The pairing with the Bali beads is just gorgeous. Donna has named this creation Jewels of the Nile a fitting name for her creation. Check out her Etsy shop for a variety of designs!

GLITZ AND GLAM

2009-12-29T23:38:00.011-06:00

There is one color combination that I just love. Blue with brown. Especially a baby blue with a cocoa brown. Elizabeth of eagamsky put together this combination with a variety of lampwork and mykonos beads, and a lot of others that are just gorgeous. Every one of these creations is so different from the last one but at the same time they all go so well together. Love them!

Wood and Ceramic - Gorgeous!

2009-10-20T21:48:00.004-05:00

Karen of Wendywood sent me this photo of her wonderful combination of the Mykonos ceramic beads and her handmade wooden beads. She said that she makes the rustic walnut wood hoops by hand using a Dremel tool and sander. Anything that small and I believe I would put a hole right through the wood! This is another example of the wide diversity that these jewelry designers portray in their designs. Wonderful!

Can you say BUSY!

2009-10-20T21:21:00.005-05:00

It has been quite a month. Was in an accident, had out of state company come for a visit, and got a whole bunch of new beads in. It's been a wee bit crazy around here and I'm just starting to feel like I can get back into some kind of a routine. And, finally the weather changed from it's normal 100 degree days to nice pre-Fall weather. What is pre-Fall weather? When it can't quite make up it's mind if it wants to be Fall or not. Some people call it Indian Summer, but here in Texas we go from 90 to 70 to 100 to 60 to 100 back down to 70, all in a matter of days. Forget about knowing what you are going to wear the next day, it can change on a dime. And, all I wanta to is torch, but so much other stuff had to be done I just had to be patient and wait it out. So, I am hoping to have new lampwork beads to share in the near future. But until then check out this pendant that I made in one of Vickie Hallmark's classes. We were actually her test class, for the class she is planning on teaching and I learned so much about PMC and painting on glass. I'll have more on this in a later post after I get a chance to finish this little lovely!

Have You Ever Done .....

2009-09-25T18:34:00.003-05:00

Have you ever, by mistake of course, followed your own blog? I did.....and it was the funniest thing! I thought that I was following someone else. I saw that I had a new follower so I clicked on my followers to see who it was. And, this is where it gets a bit fuzzy. Somehow, instead of following her, I followed myself?! Then, when I saw that I had done that I tried to unfollow myself. I have yet been able to unfollow myself. I'll have to get out the big Blog manual for that one.

I'm still not sure how or what I did. I've gone back and tried to duplicate it, just so that I could describe it, and I can't do it. Nothing happens the same way it did the first time around. I'm not getting the same page that made me follow myself. Does this all have to be so complicated!

I'm sure you are wondering what this picture has to do with anything. Well, it doesn't. I thought I should add a picture so here is Callie sleeping in her favorite place, the bathtub. The life of a cat!

Latest Treasury - GLAM

2009-09-23T00:53:00.004-05:00

This is by far my favorite Treasury that I have put together. It was just one of those things that everything fell together perfectly as I was looking for the items to include. I'm part of the Etsy Treasury Team and I only had two items that weren't part of the team. And, even those two fit right in as if they belonged right from the beginning. Amazing! Oh, and click on it and you will see a much larger version of it.

A Marriage of Components

2009-09-22T21:14:00.003-05:00

I've been bugging Pam of ferrarioriginalbeads for a picture of her designs. When she sent me the picture, the first thing that struck me was that I felt that I could reach right through the monitor and pick up the bracelet. Excellent photography! This bracelet also looks yummy enough to eat! She has used a combination of her lampwork beads and Mykonos Ceramic beads with copper components. Great combination!

Did somebody say Earings?

2009-09-15T11:48:00.002-05:00

Laura of Mountaindreamers sent me this picture in a convo. For you non-etsy people that means a message via the Etsy system. She has made a wide variety of earings using some of my beads in their designs. I love the variety of components that are also included. Such a nice variety of looks to choose from. I can see the Pond Green spacers, the River Rock Spacers, and I think one of the Mykonos Greek Washers. Lovely!

Some Designs with Greek Components

2009-09-12T22:40:00.007-05:00

Sharon of Seedlings Jewelry tweeted me about her lovely finished earings that she had posted to her flickr account. I was really curious to see what she had done with these organic, earthy looking washers from Mykonos Greece. I personally love the green patina of these Copper washers and when I look at the beads I wonder how they are going to be used. I never would have thought this design up! So original!

A Little Bit of River Rocks

2009-09-10T21:02:00.006-05:00

When I got the convo from Julie of juliethelen that she wanted me to make some nuggets out of the same types of glass I use for the River Rocks, I had no idea her designs would be so different and original! I absolutely love how she incorporated the beads in the watch bands that she made for these two watches. The real stones are just a perfect addition. I'm always amazed at the diversity of my buyers creations.

These are the earings that she made with the beads and I love the copper elements used with these beads. They work so well off of each other. I often look at my beads and wonder, what will these beads become?

Different Types of Creations

2009-08-29T23:08:00.016-05:00

Again, I am just in total wonderment of the gorgeous creations that my buyers have come up with. From beaded creations to sparkly bracelets and earings, I never know what will be made next.

Pat of GrandmasJewelryRoom used some of my Sunshine Swirled Nuggets, my first Series that I tried to duplicate the gorgeous glass used in Tiffany lamps. If you have ever seen the sheet of glass before it is cut you will notice wonderful transitions between the colors. I love how the lamps just radiate color whether they are turned on or off. Pay took my beads and made a bracelet and earings that are so full of color. I also love the handmade silver clasp that has that hammered look. Wonderful pieces.

Susan of Dreambeadweaver made a gorgeous beaded cuff and then added my disk beads to the top. She integrated the clasp to have it connect with one of the beads. I love the color of this cuff. It reminds me of the warm colors of summer transitioning into Fall.

New Glass

2009-08-18T22:45:00.006-05:00

This new glass is so unusual! I tried out some different applications and mama mia, this reminds me of how impressed I was with Aurae. In these beads I tried three different bases then added the glass to the top and then encased all with clear. You really have to see them in person to get the full effect, but it reminds me of something I saw about a fish that lives way down in the depths of the ocean that has this eerie swirl of color. I could be dreaming that I saw that, but it was that image I remembered and then also a telescopic look at the heavens. Looking at these beads can be a little hypnotic, if you ask me! There is all kinds of color that swirls through them.

Here is the same glass integrated within a focal with two other glasses. It is the lighter blue on the bottom. I wasn't sure what I was going to get when I made this focal, but I thought I might get more of the ethereal look I got in the disk beads. I think that because it was mixed in with all of the other glasses it reacts differently, but still has a striated look to the glass. Then there is the last bead set!

Since I knew that it was a high silver content glass I figured that it should turn metallic if I waved it through a high propane flame. Very pretty! What will be interesting is to see what color it looks like on different color glasses.

Design Using Greek Beads

2009-08-01T15:26:00.004-05:00

Joanne Feissle of Designer Linx Jewelry sent me these pictures and I am in love with the simplicity and elegance of these designs. If you love silver and lapis blue you will love this necklace and matching earings. I always wonder what is going to happen with the beads my buyers purchase and as usual I am so impressed! In this design she used the Mykonos Silver Washers as a striking contrast to the Blue Lapis Rondelles. Gorgeous combination! Now I am looking at my chunky disks and thinking, hmmmm, I should do a necklace with this same idea of interspersing the silver disks to pop out the color of each bead. Months back I had made for myself some silver disks out of PMC, my first attempt at trying to figure out how that clay worked. And, then I got busy and didn't make anything more until just recently. That will be another post.

Earthy

2009-07-08T20:46:00.002-05:00

Mary Jane of mairedodd asked me to do a special project. She wanted me to make up some smaller beads that are similar to my Granite focals. I wasn't sure I would be able to get the whole effect on such a small canvas, but in the end it did work out. If was interesting, though, because I was trying to get this veining effect and it didn't want to cooperate, totally, at first. But, in the end it did. So now you have to guess which is one of my beads! hehe

Just In Time For The 4th!

2009-07-05T18:17:00.002-05:00

I got a message from Traci of BerylBlue that she had made a necklace that was in a treasury. I was super excited for her, it is so much fun being chosen for a treasury, and she added that she had used my beads. I wasn't sure who I should be more excited for, her for getting her gorgeous finished design in a treasury, or me for having my beads in it! And, to boot it was a great design for the 4th of July. So here it is in all its glory!

What in the heck have I been doing?

2009-07-03T10:55:00.009-05:00

Boy, is that the question of the day, week, year! Mary Jane of mairedodd gave me a challenge which I had to try out. I'm still working on it when I get a chance, (that brings up what in the heck have I been doing), but it involved trying out making large holed rings. What an interesting proposition! I so far have made them on the 1/4 inch mandrels which I usually use for the silver cored large holed beads. I need the larger hole so that the silver core size I like will fit in perfectly. What is different about the beads Mary Jane was looking for was a thinner band and thicker in depth if that makes sense. I got a few that I liked and now I want to make some on the 1/2 inch mandrel. Unfortunately, I only have one of those so I can only do one at a time.

At the same time I decided to go ahead an stock up my Artfire store. I have been torching like a crazy person getting my stock pile of goods available for each store. And, to add more excitement to the pot I got in my order of Mykonos Greek Ceramic beads. I have drooled over these beads forever! I love the colors and the silver beads are amazing! Do you know how long it takes to add that many beads to two venues? Forever....

So that is what I have been up to, and trying to get ready for the 4th. So, I better run for now!

Great Use of Color!

2009-06-29T01:11:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite things to do is to see what the talented jewelry designers do with my beads and the many other wonderful lampworkers work that I see on Etsy, Artfire, etc. I usually have some kind of vision about how I would use the beads, that's if I ever got the time! And, then when I see the finished product I am blown away by the variety of styles that showcase the beads. Denise and Katie of livilubaby took some of my chunky disks from a variety of sets and put together this wonderful bracelet. I love the bright colors and the silver components that are included in this bracelet. It really does remind me of a fiesta!

We're Having a YART Sale!

2009-06-09T18:54:00.003-05:00

What in heaven's name is a Yart Sale! Well it is an artistic slant to a traditional Yard Sale: Yard + Art = YART. Etsy is having a Yart Sale starting on June 10 and running through the 14th. Great idea! It is a great idea to bring the whole community of Etsy together in a common goal.

So all you wonderful people come visit my store Linden Avenue Designs on the 10th thru the 14th and see what all the excitement is about! It should be fun!

More Buyers Creations

2009-06-08T20:45:00.005-05:00

Mary Jane of mairedodd is one of my wonderful collaborative buyers. She has given me some interesting projects to work on and I never know quite how it is going to end. She takes what I and many other lampwork artists make and turns them into her own wonderful designs. I love how each designer takes these components and makes them her own!

Buyers Creations

2009-05-30T20:56:00.008-05:00

My buyers are a talented group of Artists! They take what I make and do a little magic with all of their wonderful components to make a new one of a kind design. These beads are part of my Old Paint series and I love what Diane of
dianeh2468 has done with these beads! She hasn't opened a store at Etsy, but after seeing these two creations I believe she should consider it. I love the red coral she used with these beads. Perfect color coordination. When I see what my buyers do with my beads I get more ideas of what I can do with the glass that is available. It is so much fun!

Vicki Murphie of Sasha321 took my simple Tomato Bisque crystals and turned them into these beautiful earings! She wrote to me and told me that she used Higher Chakra Supply earing wires which are those twirls of metal you see above the bead. I'm very impressed with how these components all work so well together.

Priscilla of PGsGemspiration took some of my blue marble beads and turned them into this wonderful creation. She calls them Blueberry, which is fitting! I have to reiterate again that I have the most wonderfule buyers! They keep me thinking out of the box and challenging me to come up with something unique that they can use in their designs. Even the simple bead is turned into something gorgeous in their designs! And, I thank them wholeheartedly for their continued support and friendship!

Ongoing New Designs

2009-05-27T21:30:00.005-05:00

This bead is one of the larger focals that I have tried out various cuts just to see which way things would go. Interesting effect. I love the contrast between the silver and the blue. The hard part is taking the photograph of these lovelies! That's why when I list items for sale I take lots of pictures so that you can see them at different angles. All of these silver glasses can be tricky to capture the beauty of it sometimes.

I really prefer more of a freeform look to beads, odd shapes and interesting cuts in the glass. At least I think they are interesting. When you cut glass it can spring apart like these two beads did. I've been working on perfecting the actual number of cuts and the proportion of the base glass to the special glass - high silver content, and then seeing how the base glass influences the outcome. The blue in the left on really does influence the color of the bead. These silver glasses are partly transparent so you see the color as you turn the bead. On the right it is a pale pink base which I think adds more color to the iridescence. I felt that if I used a pale yellow it would be too yellow. Really interesting.

More Mama Mia! Aurae in Two Forms

2009-05-23T20:46:00.012-05:00

Aurae is one of the newest glasses out there and I am still finding ways to use it. For the focal I made some glass shards out of it and then applied to a base bead the broken up pieces of thin glass. If you don't know what or how a shard is made I take a hollow mandrel, think of a straw made out of stainless steel, and then melt around the end over and over again th Aurae glass until I have made a ballon of glass. The hole of the mandrel is not closed over during this process which gives me the ability to blow into the metal tube making the balloon of glass expand to a thin walled balloon of glass. Then after knocking this ball off of the mandrel I then break up this really interesting balloon into pieces. Next time I will take a picture of what this looks like. On the focal you can see some of the pieces that ae laid across the base bead. The shards are left raised and then after getting the look I'm going for the whole bead is waved through a high propane flame (reduction flame) to bring out the shine. This glass is the most beautiful gold glass. It is so rich and shiny!

Then we have the spun glass effect. I've done this with burgundy, deep purple and silver and love the effect of the spun glass. I do believe that this is going to be my new favorite! The spun glass on these beads really shows up the shiny and irridescent properties of this glass. The glass reflects whatever is around it and seems to take on the hue of the glass it is covering and at the same time reflect back onto that glass the gold hues. Very pretty!

Wonderful Buyers - Great Ideas!

2009-05-16T23:54:00.014-05:00

I have wonderful buyers. I could exclamation this but it really is a simple statement with a huge story behind it. My buyers prod me with requests for new color combinations like Mary of fabmosaics did with the Burgundy and Purple Spun Glass Beads. That little request had me checking different reds to find the right color that would sparkle. The Purple I knew would because it was clear, but the reds were a mismatch of opaques that I wasn't sure would do the bead justice. Luckily some of the newer reds are coming out part opaque and part clear giving that coveted sparkle I was looking for! My latest request has been a hoot! Terry of teresavainoris wanted beads that looked like lettuce and cucumbers... Well, to say it hasn't been interesting would be an understatement. I'm hoping that I can beg, borrow or steal a picture from Terry once she is finished with her bracelet. Which brings me to my latest style of beads. The SLICE. It really isn't new. I have been making them for the River Rock Series, but I thought that it would REALLY be pretty to have THIN slices of color. I've discovered that glass other then River Rock can be extremely soupy when it comes to making the slim slices. I was having bead release issues and glass that completely let go from the mandrel! The bead would be finished and off it would go sliding across the mandrel as if being chased by the flame! I thought it was a fluke the first time it happened, but when it happened over and over again, me desperately attempting to stop the skidding wheel of glass from leaving the mandrel completely, I became convinced there has to be something to the percentage of glass adhering to mandrel and any force applied to it. If it is a small area, IT DOESN'T LIKE IT. I have to giggle, because it is just me, Lady and Callie watching these spinning wheels as they desperately attempt to escape. I shout out, here comes another one girls! (there are a few choice expletives that have been deleted for the general public) Usually, any shouting gets Callie to high tail it out of the room to safety and Lady follows figuring Callie must know something she doesn't. By that time I have wrangled the rascal back to the end of the mandrel where it belongs. Oh, I didn't mention the fact that the bead FIRST comes running towards me, my fingers, and then when I tip it to not hit my hand it turns and runs back towards the end. It's like trying to manage a seesaw! Luckily I have these wonderful tweezers that aren't really tweezers, not sure what you would call them, no serrations, and I use those to grab it, set it back on the release and reheat and polish. Just another interesting day in the Linden household!

Mama Mia - Can you say Aurae?

2009-05-08T01:11:00.004-05:00

Gorgeous is all I can say! I tried this glass out with the bubble effect and I am so pleased with the results! It has so many subtle shades of color, irridescence, reflection, I can't say enough good things about it. It reflects everything around it and the base color also gets reflected color. There are so many possibilities that this glass can be used in that I don't know where to start first. One for sure will be blowing shards of this glass. I made another bead that I left the glass raised and it is extremely shiny and colorful but I wasn't happy with the end results of the beads shape. I'm thinking of reheating the bead and seeing if I can do a little magic on it. That ought to be interesting.

Crazy, Crazy, Crazy!

2009-05-04T19:54:00.010-05:00

Just when I think things are going to calm down, I couldn't be more wrong! Unfortunately, in the middle of it all are TAXES! Am I the only one who is still working on their taxes? The combination of moving last year and that my computer crashed has not been fun! Do I need to say more?! What has been fun is working with some new glass and seeing the interesting results I have been getting out of it! One of my favorite new glasses is giving me the variety of River Rock bead styles I love to make. I really would like to get feedback on these beads as I add different styles with this glass. So far I have nuggets, slices, chips, disks and spacers. Most of the time I etch the beads for that satin river rock look I'm looking for.

What has been really fun is being able to stretch and find new ways to use this glass. I love the slices because they are such a simple easy way for someone to wear an unusual bead that will definitely be a conversation starter. IMHO of course. I have to find my html book, but where it is after the move, who knows. I can't remember how you get two pictures to align next to each other. I keep getting these big vast open blank spaces of white. So I guess I will have to move the picture to the middle. If anyone who reads this knows how to get two pictures to align next to each other please comment. PLEASE!!

As you can see in the slices they are perfect for earings or even as part of a necklace or bracelet. I have made them two ways; with the hole up more towards the top or more centered. Since they are an irregular form centering isn't really a perfect center. I'm taking this style and incorporating it now into using it with other types of glass. I will be posting more pictures later. A regular disk which is just glass that has been melted being wound onto a mandrel shows the glass in its first originally melted form as it leaves the rod. That is a very interesting way to see the variations in the original glass. But, I have discovered making the slices that it is like actually taking a slice out of a fully melted piece of glass where it has had a chance to melt, change color and all the weird gradiations are there to be seen. Interesting development.

Spun Glass Rounds

2009-03-15T20:27:00.001-05:00

This is the latest in the spun glass series and I really like the way they came out. This time I did a combination of dark royal blue and the Lustre and it really sparkles. It took a few trys to get it right on the rounded form instead of a barrel, which is so much easier to do the spun glass. On a round you can't do the same type of stringing of the bead like you do with a barrel which is a continued rounded area. I also discovered it was better to have a real round bead instead of a more donut shaped bead.

Made it myself

2009-02-17T01:28:00.006-06:00

I'm trying out this site for selling called madeitmyself.com. It looks like it is another new website similar to Artfire that is in the beta stage. Though this one doesn't have same type of individual stores like Etsy and Artfire, as far as I can tell. It gives you a page with your listings at the bottom, but so far it doesn't seem to be as detailed as Etsy or Artfire. It will be interesting to see how it develops!

Earth Glass

2009-02-14T23:22:00.007-06:00

Really interesting glass that reminds me of Terra but I've never been able to get any pink out of it. It will give you a lot of purple, blues, yellow to mustard, browns, and greens. It seems to do better when it comes in contact with metal; somehow the color pops better. It is similar to Terra in getting the color to come up after the initial heating by going back and heating it again with a slight warming of the top layer of the bead. You can go too far and have to start over, but I've noticed that it seems to wear out the color if you do this too many times. It's like a pair of jeans that gets washed over and over again and starts losing its color. I call it Earth when I sell it on Etsy because it reminds me of what the earth would look like from an airplane.

Some more Spun Glass

2009-02-14T02:13:00.005-06:00

This set was first a special order and then I liked it so much I made it again for my Etsy store. The burgundy glass that is used in this set is a CIM glass and is a rich, deep burgundy that turns almost all opaque but leaves part of the glass clear for that wonderful sparkle effect. This glass reminds me of a lot of the Vetrofond oddlot glasses that have that effect of the partial clear and the sparkle. Really is pretty to see in person!

Unusual Reaction

2009-02-14T01:52:00.012-06:00

This is Red Copper Green when I got an unusual reaction; shiny! I haven't been able to achieve this same reaction since. I have talked to glass suppliers and other lampworkers and haven't been able to come up with why or how I did this in the first place. What I get now is the usual; see below. This golden red is sooo gorgeous that I spent the better part of a two weeks going through two to three rods of glass while at the same time changing the setting on my propane, concentrator, and cleaning my torch. All to no avail! I can't get the same result. And, I remember distinctly that it happened right away. I have some disks that also had the same reaction and that tells me that I really had to do it quickly otherwise the disks would have shattered in the cold air, and/or I would have lost the design of the spiral on the disks.

What this reminds me of is a haze of turquoise over the dark red, which barely shows. If you saw the rod of glass before it melted you wouldn't believe the difference. It is dark red with a core of turquoise. These are pretty in their own right, I just wish I could get the original effect to happen again! I also discovered that getting this result is varied if you notice that some are redder than others.

New Bubble Color

2009-01-06T23:04:00.003-06:00

Here is the end result of working with a couple of glasses, terra and another one I can't remember the name of right now. Interesting how the dots are a variety of colors. Pink, blue, green, very interesting. Everytime I make one of these beads I get a different reaction. It definitely makes a difference what base color the bead starts out being and then how the high content silver glass reacts to that color. It's like a house of cards all reacting to the next card that is added. I need a journal just to keep track of what does what!

What a YEAR!

2009-01-06T17:02:00.005-06:00

I don't know about everyone else but it was quite a year for me and my family. We sold our house last year, moved, did all that fun stuff you do in a new house - yard, inside shelving, patio, etc., and I worked on my business. It is slowly coming together and I'm learning something new everyday. Glass is like that, you can never learn everything, which is why I love it so much! I found some of the treasurys I was in that got into on the front page. Super neat! I'm the beads on the bottom left!

Being on the Treasury Team has been a blast! I've gotten to visit a lot of interesting shops to pick out items that I want to put in my Treasurys and we have ways that we meet online to talk and exchange ideas. I love working with color and the subtle nuances within each color. Now if I could just figure out how to capture the picture of the Treasurys that I make so I could post them! These have been posted onto Flickr so I downloaded them from there.

2008-12-28T22:34:00.000-06:00

Find more photos like this on Beaders Showcase

Etsy Treasury

2008-12-24T00:48:00.003-06:00

I am part of a group of Etsy shops that work together to make Treasurys. What a blast! This is one of my newest that after a vigil, literally, I was able to capture one and post my picks. What a hoot! It's like waiting around for the water to boil, it is just not quite ready and then p

Ideas

2008-11-05T21:13:00.005-06:00

I've been working on different reactions that I get in the Bubble beads. What a variety of reactions! I need to start a way of keeping track of what I did, because the variation can be so different. I think my first job will be to name the mandrels as they go into the kiln. The top focal came out perfect! It has all the color combinations, a great shift in the irridescent color hues, and the darker looking bubbles. The three are almost the same except for the color of the bubbles which didn't really show up as much in this picture. Even though they are all ivory glass, there is one that is different. The next two are the same reactive glass, same base bead, but what a different color!

Bubbles

2008-10-23T00:27:00.002-05:00

This is my new style that I finally got down in this focal. I really like this bead!!!

Cool Glass

2008-10-23T00:23:00.004-05:00

I have wanted to put these two colors together for a while. As far as a transparent colors go they really work well together and almost melt and make a new color which I really love!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Elektra Gems

2008-10-17T01:48:00.004-05:00

Elektra glass, another glass from Double Helix, is my favorite glass that they make. Not only does it change into an irridescent glass when it is put into a reduction flame, if you don't let it go that far you will get the most unbelievable blues out of this glass! They vary from turquoise to deep navy to and aqua, all in the same area. It really is like looking down from a plane and seeing the ocean with land cutting into it. Very pretty.

Kronos Magic

2008-10-17T01:38:00.002-05:00

This was an experiment that I conducted using Kronos, one of Double Helix's high silver content glasses. In the past I haven't gotten much out of it, but when I did this little experiment I was very impressed with the glass. The picture doesn't really show that a couple of the beads are almost a solid center of the Kronos and it really made a difference in how it reacted to the reduction flame. I like the organic look that was the end result because of the reaction between the ivory and the kronos.

Fiesta Spun Glass

2008-10-17T01:33:00.002-05:00

This is the first set that I made of the spun glass beads that are totally covered. In the past I only covered portions of the base bead letting the base show through for contrast.

Spun Glass Focal

2008-10-15T20:01:00.002-05:00

This is another of my spun glass beads. This first picture is of the focal bead and I still am in the process of finding different ways of using this technique. This is what I would call the bird nest style. It is more irregular and not intended to be perfect. It will be intersting to see how this would look with crossovers of different colors.

Pretty in Pink for October

2008-10-15T19:40:00.002-05:00

These disk beads are a variety of pinks that I made up for the pink lover. I thought that it would be a good time to post these because of October being breast cancer awareness month. Personally, I love these colors. They compliment each other even though the colors run the gamut from a dark rasberry to a very pale pink.

Unbelievable Past Few Months!

2008-10-13T03:01:00.000-05:00

I will be updating a little more in the next few days but a lot has happened since I last posted. We finally got moved into our new house, where I have my new studio! Yeah. I getting more and more ideas of things I want to make and now that I have some new ideas that I can integrate with the high silver content glasses, keep a look out for the new beads that are coming! It has been a wild ride the past few months but I think things will, maybe, start to calm down now.

Etsy

2008-01-22T01:09:00.002-06:00

Etsy

2008-01-04T23:12:00.000-06:00

Glass, glass, and more glass

2008-01-04T22:35:00.000-06:00

Somewhere out there is another Blogg that I started which was all about Tiffany lamps. Well, I finally did something about my love of glass and started my own business making lampworked glass beads. I have always loved glass and after I visited the Wimberley Glass Works in Wimberley I became even more fascinated with the whole process of making glass items. It was when a friend of mine, Vickie Hallmark, who is famous in her own right showed me how glass beads were made that I knew that I had found my niche. I have always been a dabbler in the arts, primarily in oils, watercolor, scratchboard, pen and ink, and colored pencil. What I like about lampworking is that you get an immediate result the same day you make your glass item. What a rush that is to see the finished product within hours after putting in the kiln.

What is so neat about this medium is that you never stop learning new tricks and techniques. Also it is one medium that the possiblilities are endless when it comes to what your end result will be. I can make a bead using the same colors as someone else and the beads will look completely different. I am hooked!! It you want to find me check out Etsy under LindenAvenueDesigns and for E-bay under Linden Avenue Designs.