Beads By Laura

More 'Scarlet'

2012-01-23T18:59:00.000Z

I reckon a lot of you are as taken with red-with-white-polka-dots as I am so I've made a whole wodge of them. They're over in the usual place.

New polka dots

2012-01-22T20:21:00.001Z

These cheerful 'Clementine' beads plus a couple of other sets will be for sale on my website at 8.30pm (UK time) this evening.

New Beads

2012-01-17T18:30:00.000Z

I've got some more sets of five ready for you. These will be for sale over in the usual place at 8.30pm (UK time) tonight.

Fives

2012-01-13T11:27:00.000Z

I've been making sets of five in lots of different designs and colours. I will be adding them to the website over the next couple of days starting at 8.30 pm (UK time) this evening. Each set of five will be £13.00 including postage anywhere in the known universe.

'Verdant'

2012-01-07T11:00:00.001Z

Could these be any greener?

(I said that in my best Chandler Bing voice.)

These are available here right now as I type.

Happy Saturday!

'Kumquat & Indigo'

2012-01-05T17:57:00.000Z

Like orange? Like bluey-purple? Then you'll like these!

If you do like them and you fancy turning them into wearable wonders of glassy joy then they will be for sale along with a few others at 9.00pm tonight. They'll be in the usual place.

Recipe: Cranberry & Orange Cookies

2011-12-28T12:08:00.000Z

I had an orange and some dried cranberries left over from Christmas cookery stuff and I wanted to turn them into some biscuits but I couldn't find a cranberry and orange biscuit recipe that I liked so I got my Joliver on and I made up my own. I'm really pleased with how they've turned out so I made a note of my recipe and I thought I'd share it with you lot too.

Cranberry & Orange Cookies

Makes about 16-20

Ingredients

110g softened unsalted butter

100g caster sugar (I used golden caster sugar)

50g soft dark brown sugar

150g plain flour

1/2 beaten large free range egg

100g dried cranberries

Zest and juice of one orange

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Method

In a large bowl mix the softened butter and sugars with an electric whisk until creamy and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix in.

Add one teaspoon of grated orange zest and two tablespoons of the orange juice and mix again.

Stir in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt. The mixture will be quite thick so you might need to switch from the electric whisk to a wooden spoon at this point.

Add the cranberries and make sure they're mixed in really well and are evenly distributed.

Roll heaped teaspoons of the cookie mix into balls and place onto a baking paper-lined baking tray. I put about six biscuits on one tray. You need to space them well as they do spread.

Bake in the oven at 180°C (160°C for fan ovens) for about twelve to fifteen minutes until the edges are golden. Remove cookies from the oven and allow to cool for five minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack.

The cookies will crisp up as they cool but they should have a nice soft, chewy centre.

Merry baking!

Dottiness

2011-12-22T20:57:00.000Z

I've just added three more sets of Freshly Baked Beads to the website. There are the pretty blue and pink ones up there ...

... these lime and mandarin ones ...

... and these deep red and blue ones. Polka dotty madness!

'Carnival'

2011-12-22T08:57:00.000Z

I've just put these bright and vibrant lovelies on the Freshly Baked Beads page. Proper jolly beads!

Citrussy

2011-12-20T16:15:00.001Z

I've just added these bright and breezy 'Clementine' and 'Lime' beads to the Freshly Baked Beads page.

'Zing' & 'Starshine'

2011-12-16T15:12:00.001Z

Just like the television schedules, my bead listings go all to cock at Chrimbletide. They're all over the place.

I've just put the zesty 'Zing' beads above and these shimmering 'Starshine' beads ...

... on the Freshly Baked Beads page.

A splash of colour

2011-12-13T18:28:00.000Z

I thought it was about time I made some beads that were actually colourful, as opposed to clear and white. I've made these cheery-looking ones which are available as a mix (above) or in their individual colours as sets of five. Please click here for details of how to buy.

It's been mega-hectic here. I've been working 'double shifts'; starting early in the morning, letting the beads cool whilst I clean and package others and then I go back out the shed and make another kilnful. Yes. Hectic.

I have done nothing - and I mean nothing - Chrimbletide-wise. Nothing at all. This will not end well. I really hope that you are more organised than me and that all your festive preparation is coming along nicely.

Have a good evening!

'Snowpourri'

2011-12-06T18:48:00.001Z

Yep, even more white and clear beads. These ones include some spacers made with a gorgeous transulcent white alabaster glass.

These are £18 per set and are available on this page.

December

2011-12-01T10:11:00.001Z

Oh my sweet Father Chrimble. It's here. December is here.

I'm not even going to remark about the fact that I'm not even going to mention how woefully unready I am for Chrimbletide.

Instead I will just tell you that I've added some more chilly-frosty-brrr beads to the Freshly Baked Beads page. Great for last minute jewellery. Get yours whilst they're ... cold and icy-looking.

Brrrrr

2011-11-24T09:29:00.001Z

I've been spending a lot of time in my shed. In fact, today is day eleven in an unbroken row of shed days. I've been making beads like a mad thing, getting up early to clean them and rushing to the post box or Post Office at the last minute in the evenings. My candle has been flaming at both ends.

Anyway, I've just updated the Freshly Baked Beads page with some winter favourites. There are another five sets of each of the Sugar and Snow beads above ...

... and there are ten strands of these White Shimmer spacers.

All beads are £10.00 per set including worldwide postage, and can be found here.

Blue-tiful

2011-11-23T09:49:00.001Z

These flowery beads are for sale right now (yes, as I type!) along with a few other sets.

They can be found in the usual place.

Winter is on its way

2011-11-21T17:38:00.001Z

It's getting chilly. I spent almost the whole weekend in the shed and yes, my feet can definitely confirm that winter is on its way.

To celebrate this weathery fact I have added some icy-looking beads to the Freshly Baked Beads page. These would be wonderful for wintry creations and Christmassy jewellery.

PhotoGRRRaphs

2011-11-19T09:59:00.001Z

Blimey. These beads have given me a right old headache! They were supposed to be for sale last night but I just couldn't get a decent photograph of them. This is because some of them are red. Red glass in a bit of a pain to photograph so I waited until this morning so I could take advantage of the daylight.

Hmmmm. They still didn't co-operate. I've spent far too long taking bazillions of photographs this morning and these are the best I can do.

These red and burnt orange gems will be for sale at midday today.

Have a great Saturday!

'Festive'

2011-11-16T18:48:00.001Z

I have several strands of these dainty bead pairs for sale at 7.00pm (UK time) tonight. At only 9mm diameter these little lovelies would be great for Christmassy earrings.

Crème Brûlée

2011-11-15T20:51:00.001Z

Next time you're in a Costa do yourself a massive favour and try one of their utterly delicious Crème Brûlée cupcakes. The sponge is filled with custard and the cake is topped with vanilla icing, a dusting of chocolate and a chocolate button. I love these cakey delights so much I made some glass ones:

I also made some pretty 'Cosmic Purple' nuggets that need to be seen in real life - the colours in these are so pretty. I reckon if they have gemstones on Saturn then they might look like these, hence the spacey name.

All of these beads are for sale right now in the usual place.

For Sale

2011-11-09T20:42:00.000Z

I've just added the very berryish beads above ...

... and this flowery key bead ...

... to the Freshly Baked Beads page of my website.

Blue Sky Thinking

2011-11-05T11:03:00.000Z

I do quite a bit of cloud gazing.

Whilst I sit in my shed and wait for glass to melt or beads to round up (because the key to this malarkey is all about the glass teaming up with gravity and them working together, you know) I sit and watch the clouds.

Daydreaming.

During the week I took the photo at the top of this post and the puffy cloud fluffs reminded me of some cloud beads that I made years ago. I decided to revisit those and yesterday I made a bunch of cloudy glass gems.

These blue beads are decorated with delicate white 'clouds' and are encased with a thin layer of crystal clear for sparkle and depth.

The cloud beads will be for sale, along with some other glass lovelies, on my website at 8.00pm this evening.

Have a happy Saturday!

Spotty

2011-11-01T19:09:00.002Z

I'm in a spotty kind of mood and there will be a couple of spotty heart focals and some spotty beads for sale on the Freshly Baked Beads page at about 8.30pm (UK time) tonight.

Have a great Tuesday night!

'Autumn Gold'

2011-10-20T20:08:00.000+01:00

When my beardy (beardy, not beady) friend Max (@allinafunk on Twitter) posted this gorgeous photograph on Instagram the other week I knew that I wanted to make some beads that echoed its beautiful autumnal colours.

I came up with these 'Autumn Gold' ones:

They have clear and pale amber-coloured bases that I've rolled in frit (crushed glass) that I've left slightly raised for a bit of texture. Some of the beads have been bathed in a propane rich flame which has brought the metals in the frit to the surface and given them a pretty metallic pewter-coloured sheen.

These are currently for sale in the usual place.

Big thanks to Max for giving me some inspiration and for allowing me to use his lovely photograph on my blog.

'Autumn Berry'

2011-10-13T19:25:00.000+01:00

Look! I made some beads!

I know, I know, this is what I do but as you know I've been finding it tricky lately. If you like these autumnal-looking pretties they can be found in the usual place.

Thank you to everyone who commented on and sent me emails and tweets regarding my last blog post. I will address those all in another post very soon.

Best wishes