~Something About Mary~

In my etsy shop today!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:04:00 +0000

Removing riveted tubing bead cores

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:54:00 +0000

So I'm getting into the cored beads pretty heavy. I'm a late bloomer. Anyway, I'm not exactly a master at it yet so I end up with a few good beads that have sucky cores that I'd like to give another go. Unfortunately, removing those cores is HARD and you can hurt yourself and the bead. (I stabbed myself with the wire cutters I was trying to gouge it out with.)

This morning I figured out a way to get the core out much more easily. Still a fiddly process, but easier.

So you have a bead that you ripped the core or it flared crooked or whatever. Here's my most recent victim:

I use a jeweler's saw to cut my tubing because the little wrap around tubing cutters taper down the cut and I don't like it. The saw gives a nice flush cut that is easier to polish and makes both sides the same. I also use this saw for cutting jump rings. I take silver wire and coil it into a spring around a dowel. Slip the coil onto the saw blade and cut the whole coil at once.

Light bulb moment.

If you thread the slop cored bead onto the saw blade...

...and tighten it up...

..you can saw through the core in 2 or 3 places (I sawed through 3 spots--if it were a clock face it would have been noon, four and eight).

This weakens the core so that you can easily pry it up and pull it out.

Rosemarie Hanus, a fellow lampworker you probably know, brought up a great point. Try very hard not to cut into your glass bead. You don't want to score the bead and weaken it or it could break in half.

You can try to hold the bead still and saw through it, but it was much easier for me to hold the saw still and move the bead up and down the blade.

Hope this helps someone else.
~~Mary

Applying hair thin stringer...

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 18:44:00 +0000

...when you're no good at applying hair thin stringer. LOL

OK, so I'm not great at the teeny tiny stringer that seems to be all the rage right now. I adore the look of it, but if you don't do it well it isn't worth it. This is definitely a skill we should all strive toward, right? Yeah. It is...but how about those of us that have shaky hands or bad eyesight or bad fine motor control? LOL

If you stick to geometrics and straight lines it is easy to get the hair thin stringer but you have to plan ahead!!

This is kinda off the cuff so I don't have pictures. Hopefully my explaining and language skills are such that you will get the drift anyway. If I fail miserably I'll come back with pictures. LOL

What you need:
white school glue
a heat-proof, smooth surface (I use a steel lid from a jar--it has to be completely smooth with no ridges and non-porous)
stringers in whatever colors you want, pulled as thinly as you want
a geometric design thought out in your head (think like a starburst or a zigzag to start out)

1- draw your design on paper TO SCALE...remember it has to fit on the face of your glass bead so keep it small and simple for this first time out.
2- take nippers (I use my wire flush cutters for these superfine stringers because regular glass nippers don't close tightly enough to cut them) and cut your stringers in segments that are the same length as the line segments in your drawing.
3- lay out your pieces of stringer over your drawn design to test fit them and ensure they fit together correctly.
4- take a small drop of elmers glue on your fingertip and smear it uniformly and thinly on your smooth, heat-proof surface.
5- pick up your pieces of cut stringer and arrange them in the glue in the same way and pattern as they are in your drawn design.
6- use tweezers to fine-tune the design. work quickly before the glue dries. Once your satisfied you can set this aside and the glue will continue to dry.
7- begin making your base bead---a tab shaped or flat-faced bead is best while you learn how to do the pick-up
8- Once you have your base bead well-shaped, you will want to heat the flat area where you want to apply your stringer design until it is glowing and soft. It has to be hot enough to pick up all that stringer from the glue.
9- don't worry about the glue. It will vaporize when your hot glass touches it. Press the hot molten face of your base bead completely and thoroughly down onto your stringer design being sure to firmly attach all the bits of stringer especially at each cut end of the stringer pieces.
10- introduce the stringer design far out in the flame to gently soften it then use your marver to press it deeper into the face of the bead.
11- gently melt in your stringer design until smooth.
12- you can choose to put small dots at the end of each stringer or leave them plain if they look nice and sharp. Proceed with finishing your bead as desired.
13- practice makes perfect! Before long you'll be able to do pickups even on curved beads, and you'll be bending your stringers when you pull them to get curved lines. Play around with it and have fun.
14- also thought I'd mention that you might want to try drawing your design with sharpie marker on a piece of aluminum foil, then spreading the glue right over the design and putting your stringer pieces in the glue on that. Then you can pick up the stringer design right from the layout without having to draw it on paper for the test fit. I haven't tried it like that, but I will next time!

New Beads!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 02:31:00 +0000

Been torching like a crazed glass maniac the last few weeks. I just can't get enough. I haven't felt this motivated since I very first started lampworking almost 7 years ago! In the beginning I would see bead patterns all around me. In fabrics, in the sky, on cars and billboards. I kept a little notebook in my pocket to jot down ideas. I would fall asleep at night thinking about what I'd make the next day. I would DREAM about making beads while I slept. I would wake up with amibition to make those dreams real.

I'm back to carrying a notebook in my pocket and it feels GOOD.

All at once I have the solutions to all the glassy frustrations that plagued me last year. I was looking for realism in my mushroom beads and they went from this:

To This:

Quite the leap, I think.

And it wasn't just the mushrooms- my jellyfish have improved as well, but it was a more subtle change. More of a refinement actually. I have my passion back and I hope it shows. I feel like it does:

Thanks for checking in on my blog. It is nice to have something to write about again.
Have a great week!
~~Mary

Etsy Holiday Pledge!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 03:07:00 +0000

Etsy has begun a program called Holiday Bootcamp. Each week it is supposed to help us get our shops ready for the rush. Here is my pledge:

I, Mary Lockwood, pledge to participate in the Etsy Success Holiday Boot Camp to the best of my abilities. I vow to check in every week, do my homework and support my fellow Holiday Boot Campers. I will read the weekly newsletters and blog posts, check in on the weekly forum thread, read the weekly blog post, check off the checklists and salute the mascot. I promise to share what I've learned with those who need it, support my fellow Etsy indiepreneurs and, most of all, have a positive and persistent attitude. I understand that together we can spread the word about our handmade and vintage goods, making this holiday season a more unique and meaningful one to gift givers and give-ees everywhere!

You wanna join in with me? Here's the link:
http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/etsy-success-holiday-boot-camp-getting-started-10576/?utm_source=bronto&utm_medium=email&utm_term=the+Holiday+Boot+Camp+Pledge&utm_content=etsy_success_092310_a&utm_campaign=etsy_success_092310_a

Walk in the Woods with Riley

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 17:49:00 +0000

Escaped yesterday, into the woods with my dog. Click to see 'em bigger.

Was a lovely time.
Made some beads yesterday too.

Thanks for visiting my blog, have a great day!
~~Mary

Cougar

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 06:01:00 +0000

Cougar
Originally uploaded by notdotcalm

My newest endeavor...fancy little purses! This one is on etsy!

Birthdays and Marathons...well, half marathons. And a fairy dog.

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 02:45:00 +0000

Claire has done it. She turned 7 and had two parties to prove it. She wanted this huge castle cake that cost $40 (that wasn't happening- I haven't been working) but I found the kit for sale online to make it myself for $18. I made her a carousel cake for her actual birthday this past Friday, and I made her the castle cake for her family party today. Here are pictures of my big girl and her cakes.

And here are two more pictures of just the cakes because I'm kinda happy with how they turned out. ;-)

Been a while since I had any new Riley pictures, so here is my oldest daughter, Faith, with Riley wearing a pair of Tinkerbell fairy wings. As you can see...he was kinda diggin' it. Silly dog. Don't mind the dead plant in the background- I forced tulips in that pot and haven't transplanted them outside yet.

Here is another Riley shot...he was working the camera at the birthday party. That's Jacob on the left and my hubby, Gary, under the dog. Gary is the one running the half marathon this coming weekend. That's 13 some odd miles. We always joke that I only run if something big is chasing me...but even if a bear was chasing me I'd never make 13 miles. I'd lay down on the ground around the 1/4 mile mark and just yell, 'Eat me!'

Thanks for checking in with me. Was a good week, posting pictures is fun.
Kirk out.

Happy March!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:00:00 +0000

The snow has stopped, the sun is shining and spring is on its way.

Noticed the geese making their way travels back this way, saw some beginning to nest down by the lake this morning. Will be keeping my eyes peeled for my first robin.

Life goes on.

~~Mary

Peacocks

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:17:00 +0000

Well, had a great night at the torch last night. Kinda stuck to a peacock theme, at least in color.

Neck is still killing me so I don't know if I'll be working today or not, but here is what came from the kiln this morning, I'll have some of them on etsy sometime today:

Thanks for visiting my blog!
~~Mary

Going to be featured on this really cool blog!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 01:10:00 +0000

I have a piece on etsy that I really love that I thought maybe nobody else cared for. I was wrong- turns out it's all hip and darkly beautiful! My Ekho in a Bone bead is being featured here tomorrow:

Cool!! I added this blog to my blog list so I can follow it.

TM- if you read this---Thank you!!!
~~Mary

A real pain in the neck...literally!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:36:00 +0000

I'm serious- this really hurts! Right at the base of my skull is a big 'knot' and ouch. I'm on excedrin back/muscle pills and ice. Sometimes this happens, but never quite this bad...not sure what I did to it, but ouch. I hope it gets better

I hope my husband gets me something sparkly for valentine's day. Usually I don't care much about these types of holidays- valentines, sweetest day, etc...but for some unexplainable reason I'm just sucked in by all the commercials this year. I want sparkly stuff and flowers and a big box of candy. Why? Am I finally turning girlie after all these years? LOL Oh well- with no precedent set for me caring at all about Valentine's day, it is doubtful I'll get anything sparkly, but that doesn't stop me from wanting it.

I didn't torch over the weekend. It was the Super Bowl dontcha know. Trust me- I wish I had been torching. Someone asked me who I was rooting for and I said, 'The spareribs and the nachos.' LOL I didn't care who won- my team wasn't in it this year, but I love parties. We had spareribs, sloppy joes, supreme nachos, turkey subs, cheesecake, lime jello surprise, baked beans, a football shaped cheese ball, rootbeer floats and sweet potato french fries. It was just us and my parents so I didn't even have to clean. LOL For the record, I am glad the Saints took it- they had it comin'. ;-)

I did sneak a few hours at the flame Friday night after everybody went to bed and I made some brand new jellyfish that I've been talking about. I'm not ready to show them yet, but I'm excited about them. I can't show them because I'm working on getting them smaller. Right now they are the size of New Guinea..

Have a great day...I kept my two youngest home from school today. I love having 'em here.
~~Mary

TGIF!! and a pair of mittens

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:37:00 +0000

Thank goodness we've made it through another week. I didn't get to torch as often as I wanted to, but all in all was fairly productive.

REDUCTIVE too...I lost 3 pounds. And it wasn't even hard. And I'm not starvin' or anything. Riley is good for me, he gets me off my butt and outside which not only helps the backside of me, but also the topside--my brain. Fresh air is good. You know what else is good? The new Flatbread crackers from Wheat Thins. If you don't have some, get some. I bought the Tuscan Herb variety and they rock. Good protein and fiber too. Lotta crunchy. Big flavor- small footprint. ;-) Me likey.

BIG TIP for people who don't drink enough water: One of the best health tips you'll ever get is to drink more water. The bad thing is that water is boring. If you don't like the taste of your tap water I've found a natural way to make it much improved. One packet of Sun Crystals (these are 5 calorie packs of a blend of stevia and cane sugar- I can't stand artificial sweeteners) and one packet of True Lemon (this is crystallized real lemon juice...alternately you could use fresh lemon juice, but I like to carry these with me and it is easy). What you end up with is a slightly sweet, mildly lemon tasting glass or bottle of water. If you want it to be stronger, just add more packets of lemon and sun crystals until it is right, but I kinda like it to be just a hint of flavor.

Basically I'm just letting people know about Sun Crystals (which are awesome) and the True Lemon packets (which are awesome). I started doing this because all the packets of drink mix I could find had artificial sweeteners in them. Not to mention, doing it this way is cheaper than buying Crystal Light or the other brands of drink powders and STILL has only 5 calories and is natural. So, that's my long winded tip.

I finally took a picture of the mittens that I knitted for Faith (my eldest-12). The problem was that everytime I was wanting to take a picture of them, she had them on and was off to school or somewhere. We're having a mini heatwave today so she left them home. They are very plain, but they are my first ever pair of mittens and I'm tickled with how they came out. I figured out the thumb and everything! These were knitted on 4 dpn's and were a cinch. Made with Paton's classic merino in dark brown to match her coat.

I guess my next knitting hurdle would be turning the heel in a sock. I've knitted socks before...but they were tube socks- no heel to turn cuz I was chicken. Now that I have a couple of thumbs done, I'm feeling cocky and want to try a heel. LOL

Well, have a great weekend!
~~Mary

Taxes are done, man.

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:20:00 +0000

WHEW. Ya know...I'm a pretty particular record keeper, but even I hate tax time.

For those of you who dread it, I've been doing this a LONG time. Way longer than beads. The easiest way I've discovered to keep track of this crap is with an envelope system.

At the beginning of each month I write the date on the front of a huge manilla envelope. All through the month I slip receipts and odd pieces of paper into that envelope. At the end of the month, I print out a paypal sales report, calculate my total shipping for the month. Add up my fees and expenses and write it all on the outside of the envelope. Last thing I slip into it is that month's utility bills (because I claim home office and there is nothing more frustrating than trying to find a 10 month old electricity bill), then I close it up and start the next month.

At the end of the year, I total up all the envelopes, print out a year end paypal report and hand it all over to my accountant. Takes me about 2 hours at the end of the year to double check my totals, calculate my inventory (I do this by weight because there's no freakin' way I'm counting all those rods of glass. I just weight it all and multiply it by $10 a pound) and that's it. What a relief.

It's gone off to the accountant now, I've done all I can do. Either I'm doomed or I'm not, but it's done. Good thing I have so many kids because I didn't pay quarterlies this year. Praise kid deductions! LOL

For those who don't know about it- I have a super cheap tutorial as a Valentine gift in my etsy shop---the bleeding hearts. You oughtta pick up a copy! ;-)

I want a cuppa joe REALLY bad. Why? Because my husband broke the coffee pot (AGAIN). So now, all I can think about is coffee. I even have myself convinced that I can smell it occasionally. I just know I'm gonna be in that McD's drive through gettin' a latte before the night is over.

How did he break the coffee pot (AGAIN) do you wonder? Oh, well let me tell you. It is very original, much improved over the last time when all he did was smack the pot up against the counter and smashed it. No, this time he got creative. He put on a pot of coffee, but left a pound of butter sitting on top of the coffeemaker. The heat from the brewing coffee melted the butter which proceeded to drain and drip INTO the coffee machine, ultimately getting pumped through the system and forcing it all to a grinding halt.

Not to mention all the melted butter that ran across the counter and down the side of the cupboard. Now all the coffee maker will do is gurgle and smell funny.

Who does this? Who????

~~Mary

Today is Jellyfish Day!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:41:00 +0000

Because of my studio arrangement right now it is easier for me to keep my supplies organized and on-hand if I focus on one bead type for each torch session. If you've noticed I had a day of mushrooms, then fish, then hearts; today is jellyfish day. Makes me think of Spongebob--"Let's go jellyfishin'!"

These aren't going to be normal jellyfish beads though. I've got some awesome IDEAS (aka future failures and obstacles to get over) that if I can get them to work will be something brand new from me. I really really hope they turn out and that I get at least a couple pieces I can show.

Speaking of showing off good work, check out this guy that I found this morning. I've been googly-eyed over paperweights for almost 10 years now, but of all the thousands I've seen- these are my all time favorite. Man do I wish I could do glass like him, Mr. Gordon Smith: (scroll down a bit for the picture gallery)
http://www.gordonsmithstudios.com/Paperweights.htm

Well, I'm off to the torch. Happy February!
~~Mary

Vessel Winner!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 04:54:00 +0000

Annnnnnd the winner is:

Donna Dorman
Beadblossoms LE

Thanks everyone for entering and congratulations to Donna!!

The usps first class delivery confirmation number for Donna's prize is: 9101128882300991853554
~~Mary

Love potion #9...you can put it in here:

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 20:25:00 +0000

A blood red, hugemungo hollow vessel in the shape of a heart. It has a heart shaped (kinda) handle and will take a 1/2" cork to stopper the top. She holds about 10ml of love potion, 2 teaspoons to us yanks. Simply make a comment to this post and you'll be entered to win- but be sure to check back for the announcement if you don't leave an email for me to contact you. I'll pick the winner Sunday afternoonish and post it here.

Free shipping anywhere in the world.

Don't forget to check out my etsy. I'm going to quit saying that my listings will be done in an hour because they never are.

~~Mary

Hearts....that's funny.

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:53:00 +0000

I don't know what got into me yesterday but I just had a sudden urge to make hearts. Big, hollow vessel hearts, little offhand ribbon hearts, all kinds of hearts. I hardly ever make hearts...it must be valentine's day sneaking into my subconscious.

Here is a group shot of what I made. I will be back with another post later about that big huge red hollow vessel. The hole is too big for any of the corks that I have. I don't want to make a glass stopper for it. By the time I order a larger cork- I will have missed Valentine's day market so I think I'll be offering that one up as a free giveaway. When I make the post, all you have to do is comment on the post and you will be entered to win it. Then I'll draw a winner and send out the heart. More details later.

These will all be up on etsy in about an hour...except the red vessel, of course.

On the home front- we got more snow as you can see from the background of the picture above. That's my front porch. I can honestly say that as much as I LOVE winter and snow- even I am getting a little sick of snow. We had a mini-heat wave last week here. It was warm and sunny and all the snow melted. Then BAM...3 more inches over night. The sun is shining so I will take that blessing and run with it. LOL I moved all my houseplants into the bay window and they are happily using their chlorophyll and gorging themselves on sunlight.

On the business front-if you order from me you will notice a change in my packaging. Before- I would ship all beads wrapped numerous times in bubble wrap, a piece of tissue and your invoice in a white poly bubble mailer.

Now- anything sculptural goes in a box. Anything non fragile gets a bubble mailer BUT there is still a difference. I've gone from the plastic mailers to white kraft heavy-duty mailers and all purchases are packaged like little gifts to yourself. Enjoy...I know I'm having fun packing up beads. Feels like a birthday. ;-)

Have a great day...I'll be back again I'm sure.
~~Mary

Etsy treasury...

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:09:00 +0000

Thank you Liz of Mountain Home Pottery for including me in your Fish-themed Etsy Treasury! You selected lots of fun, colorful items that I just loved!

Here's a link to the treasury- be sure to click and comment, please... and don't forget to check out Liz's etsy shop (the link is above).
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=108825

~~Mary

An Ekho in the bone and a school of fish

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:11:00 +0000

I'm a reader. I read anything and everything I can get my hands on. Fiction, Non-Fiction, it doesn't matter I love it all. Unless it's poorly written but that's another topic all together.

My favorite Fiction writer is, by far, Diana Gabaldon. If you haven't read her novels you are missing out on some rich description and well-developed characters. If you HAVE read her Outlander series then you will understand the reference to the bead I made last night. ;-)

Here is the handful of beads I made yesterday- there are fish and a dotty focal, but the one on the far left is a 'femur' bone made from a shade of glass called Ekho. Well, I can't hear 'ekho' without instantly associating 'An Echo in the Bone' so that is where this bead came from. Hope you like it.

I'm gonna work on taking real pictures of this batch as soon as I log off here then they will all be available on Etsy as soon as I can get them done. Thanks for checking in with me again today.

~~Mary

I think I figured something out...and a lampworking tip

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:03:00 +0000

If you follow this blog, you are aware that a hippo sized hunk of ice pile-drived my ventilation fan and killed it dead. If you know ME, you know this is a deal breaker. I'm a safety NUTCASE and won't work without my ventilation running.

I've taken a cursory look at the situation with the fan. I did manage to lift the cover and un-dent the top enough that I could reach up inside and the fan blades spin freely. I'm thinking, "YES...I am woman, here me roar. I fixed the fan." I go down to the studio, flip the breakers back on, turn on the fan switch. Nothing. Nada. Zippo. Zilch. Crud. So I will have to make a more in-depth assessment of the situation. In the meantime, I'm not working. Which means I'm not selling my beads. Which means I'm not reaching the goals I set for myself for 2010.

The options open to me are- 1. buy a new fan. 2. fix the old fan (unlikely). 3. move back into my old studio temporarily (I never took out the old ventilation system).

BINGO...it's just a couple of hoses, some clamps and a bit of awkward lifting. I moved my torch, oxygen concentrator, hoses and the bare essential tools/glass back into my old studio so I can work until my ventilation is fixed. If you've stuck with that drawn out account of my ventilation epic you've come to the revelation part---I missed my old studio space.

I moved into the basement last summer- new ventilation, new work bench, new everything. It was shiny and exciting and HUGE and everything I thought I wanted. But my work has been suffering. I thought I was just mental or something. But I struck the torch alight yesterday afternoon, sat down on my stool in the room where it all started- the spot where I learned how to melt glass. The place where all my best ideas came to life. The 5' x 6' unheated, un-airconditioned enclosed back porch with the wrap-around windows and I made more GOOD beads in one session than I've made since I moved. The loud, clangy ventilation fan. The cold draft hitting me in the back of the head. The frozen toes. I was HOME. Check these out:

Sorry for the rough photo, I just took them out on the front porch and snapped this shot. I'll be listing these over the next hour or so on Etsy so you can find better pictures there eventually. The earring pair is going to be today's recession buster listing at $5.

I'm tickled, but I also wonder what this means for me. Am I going to ever fix the broken ventilation? Am I going to move back to my old studio? Is this just a fluke? I don't know. I'm going to take it as I can get it and enjoy whatever happens.

And finally- the lampworking tip. If you're like me (and I suspect lots of you are because I'm not so unique) then you have several little dishes of assorted frits/powders/etc. sitting on your workbench at any given time. Personally, I use baby food jar lids. I keep the frit in 2oz baby food jars and I use the lids as trays to pour the frit into to roll the beads. When I'm done with a color, I pour it back into the jar, screw on the lid and Bob's your uncle.

However, if I have colors I use frequently sometimes I pour them out into the lid and they never get poured back into the jar. Sometimes other flotsam makes its way into your little tray of frit. Bugs, glass shrapnel, bead release, dog hair---whatever. If that gets mixed in with your frit then it makes it kinda useless. You don't want to roll your bead in flaked off bead release. There was a time when I would just dump that tray into the trash and pour fresh. Then I got smart.

If you dampen the tip of your finger and touch it to the impurity on top of your frit tray, it will pick up whatever intruder is there and get rid of it for you. I used to try to pick them all out with tweezers, but that is hard because you end up not being able to close the tweezers on the 'litter' very well because it closes on the frit first. After you have the litter (and a small amount of frit too) stuck to the end of your finger, just dip your finger in a bowl of water and all the frit and litter will fall to the bottom of the bowl. Then you can dip your finger back into the frit and repeat until you have it all clean. Usually that litter only gets on the top of the frit, not mixed in, so it only takes a few seconds to save your tray of frit from certain doom. Besides, it reminds me of when I was a kid and used to stick my fingers in the sugar bowl. ;-)

Thanks for reading!

~~Mary

Mandrel Day...yuk

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 19:34:00 +0000

The bane of a lampworker's existence---cleaning and dipping mandrels. I could probably find a handful of beadmakers who SAY they don't mind doing mandrels but they must be lying. LOL

I've noticed lately that my torch time has depended too much on the fact that I only had 3 mandrels in use. I would make three beads, say 'Oops, I'm out of mandrels...guess I'm done for the day". LOL Then I'd quit. I was almost using it as a crutch for days I didn't actually want to be working glass. (Yes- it does happen.)

I would clean and redip those three mandrels and use them again the next day because I had a whole stack of mandrels with chunks of glass on them, half-made and abandoned beads on them. Color tests and all kinds of rejects that I just did NOT want to deal with.

Since my ventilation is busted and I'm not in a position to fix it today (I don't relish working with oudoor electricity in the pouring rain), I decided to tackle that stack of mandrels. A year or so ago I had probably 200 mandrels that I would clean and dip all at once and not do it again until I was completely out. My stash is getting depleted. Here is what I have left and the sorry shape they were in:

I lost 12 more of these that were too bent to fix. There were a small handful that I managed to straighten out. The thicker rejects were put into the 'punty pile'. I will press those into service pulling twisties, canes and stringers. The rest cleaned up rather nicely. It had been so long since I dipped a big batch of mandrels that my bottle of bead release was completely dried out. I had to reconstitute it and mix it before I could even dip these. But, I made it and here they all are happily waiting their turn in the flame:

That sight makes me want to torch. LOL All those mandrels just beggin' for it! Blasted ventilation fan, stupid ice. Grr.

Maybe now is the perfect time to take the bead door layer out of my kiln and do a little fusing. Hmmm...now my brain is humming.

Hubby has taken the two older kids to the matinee so now I'm off to make a huge pot of minestrone. I can't wait to eat that!

~~Mary

ps- I just came back to add a link to these adorable baby slippers I found on etsy. She is a brand new seller too and I thought she might could use some extra traffic. I wish I had a baby to buy these for!
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=39074619

One Jive Turkey

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 22:48:00 +0000

So I hear a huge crashing noise a few days ago. Ice falling from the roof. Super heavy, glad I wasn't standing there type of ice. Happens all the time in January in the snow belt of northeastern Ohio. No big deal, right?

WRONG.

It totally SMASHOLA'ed my ventilation fan for my studio. My 1200 cubic feet per minute ginormous roof ventilator fan that I depend on to keep my lungs safe is DEAD. Talk about breaks. Stupid ice. Now I'm going to have to fix that.

So what does a flame addict do when they can't flame? They cook. Or knit- but I wasn't in the mood for knitting I wanted to bring some heat.

Enter, One Jive Turkey. He was on sale for 86 cents a pound and I plan on feeding my family for a week on his sleep-inducing protein and when his meat is gone I'll boil his carcass for stock. Bwahahahaha.

He smells yummy! Tonight he will be paired up with a lovely combination of mashed gold potatoes and turnips, some beautifully long, thin green beans and a sourdough bread I made from a starter I invented. I'll share the recipe for it later if it doesn't suck. I should have made a pie.

Back on the glass front, I wanted to post a few quick pictures of beads made with the blue version of the faux silver glass thing.

As you can see, you can really vary the look of the reaction by what you put behind it. If you put a pale transparent behind it the reaction appears subtle, but based with that dark black it really pops. It just depends on what look you're after.

That's it from me today.

~~Mary

Latest Glass to show and a color recipe for my glassy peeps

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:36:00 +0000

Been back to the torch a few times since the holidays and here are a few of the pieces I've made.

First, a candy apple cardinal. My goal for this year was to take some of my larger sculptural pieces and adapt them into a more 'jewelry friendly' variation. I've done a few fish successfully ie. they are smaller and the fins were closer to the body. This is the first adapted bird. His wings go straight up instead of out to the sides, he is about half the size of one of my regular birds and his connection points are thicker. I can see him easily as a pendant.

The next one I have is a dichroic floral. I went through and archived all my old online gallery images and noticed that my past work was a lot more 'girlie' than my recent work. I'm fine with that, but looking at all those beads from my past put me in the mood to do something super girlie. This is a base of black with some new pink 'splinter' dichroic that was a dream to work with, some tight twisties and really thick 'paperweight' style encasement. It is huge, but I really like it. I like big beads and I cannot lie.

Last but not least, I have a frog. One thing I can't figure out and some of my closest lampworking buds are crazy for them...is all the different odd lots of coral. I have 4 or 5 of them and for whatever reason they NEVER look like what I'm expecting them to look like, they NEVER look like the rod color and they ALWAYS end up looking the same. I'm sure this is user error because my buds can get these fancy corals to do all kinds of tricks. I am coral challenged. So, this frog is coral with lapis dots, but he isn't the part I want to draw attention to here. No, I'm liking the base on this one.

Another of my 'projects' for 2010 was to find a way to use cheaper, everyday glass and make it look like the $100/pound high-silver glass that is all the rage. So far blue has been easy. If you have any knowledge of glass chemistry at all, anyone can get the silvery blue to happen. (edited to add: I've gotten comments in several places asking about how to get the blue silvery colors. For more detailed information you can search for 'faux boro' on Lampwork Etc, but the idea is that you take a layer of straw yellow or pale brown, roll it in iris gold frit, melt that in very well, then encase it. The reaction between the straw yellow and the iris gold forms the halo-ish glowy blue colors. I did not 'invent' that reaction, nor was I the first one to share it which is the main reason I didn't include it in this recipe. I didn't want anyone to think I was claiming it. LOL I wasn't trying to be a tease, honest.) GREEN is harder. This is my first successful (in my opinion) mock silver glass green.

The recipe for this base bead:

*effetre pea green is the core

*encase the pea green with straw yellow

*put hair-thin stringer wraps of transparent mosaic green around the straw yellow

*melt those smooth and roll in iris gold small frit (that is a reduction frit most of us already own)

*melt that in for a good long time

*the longer you melt it in the heavier the reaction....but don't boil it for the love of pete

*encase it in clear, do your final shaping and voila...all that green in the mosaic green bleeds into the blue haze reduction you would get from the iris gold/straw yellow combination and turns it GREEEEN.

These beads will all be available in my etsy shop within the next hour or so- I'm working on the listings right after I post this. The dot frog above is one of my recession buster beads at only $5!!!

Thanks for checking in with me.

~~Mary

If you build it, they will come.

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Lockwood) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:08:00 +0000

Apparently tweeting, facebook slamming, forum networking, flickring, etsying and having a website are no longer enough of a web presence. I need a blog too. OK, so now I have a blog.

I vowed my first blog post was not going to be lame. So far I've been staring at the screen for five minutes trying to think of something that isn't lame. Why is it so hard to find something about myself that will be interesting to other people? I'm happy. I'm busy. I have plenty to eat, lots of yarn in my stash. Glass out the wazoo. Full tank of propane and a dog. I'm not lame.

Speaking of Dog, I just snapped a picture of Riley this morning:

Riley is my new australian shepherd mix that I got from one of my husband's coworkers. As a puppy, he had been running stray and was hit by a car. My husband's coworkers trapped and caught him and have been looking for a forever home for him for months and he finally found it with US! We love him to death and he is a great dog. He has really helped me to transition into this quiet house since my youngest child started kindergarten this year. Now I'm not so lonely- Riley is a velcro dog and is constantly stuck to my side.

Another thing helping me pass the time, besides for my glass work of course, is knitting. I've been knitting for years- but I am not a 'knitter'. A knitter to me is someone who works yarn with ease, creating beautiful items and even designing their own. What I do looks like I'm in misery. I don't hold the needles right- but that is how I learned and I'm not interested in changing it. I knit really slow and really tight. My mom said it is actually painful to watch me. SO...nobody is ever allowed to see me knit. LOL However, I do manage to produce some useful items for myself and family. Here is my latest; a tea cosy knit with 100% cotton yarn following a pattern in Debbie Bliss magazine.

Oh, I also knitted the mat that is underneath the teapot but it is just a simple moss stitch placemat that I made to use as a hotmat for the dinner table. So, technically I CAN knit- but I'm not a knitter. Maybe someday. LOL

Well, I'm off to the neighbor's to teach her how to thread her vintage sewing machine. I hope I know how to do it. LOL

~~Mary