The NIght Before Mistletoe

I cannot believe that my show is already upon me, and I have so much to get done yet.

However, I did want to personally invite you to come out for it. If you're in the Bartlett, IL area, stop by and check out the Mistletoe Magic show tomorrow, Nov. 8th at the World Overcomer's Church Gymnasium (follow the link for all of the details and a map).

As you know, this year has been challenging since this is my first show of the year, and it's nearly over. Hopefully, next year will bring many more shows and more prosperity to all.

More pictures and web updates coming very soon!

Have a great night, and thanks so much for all of your support.

See you tomorrow!

Time For A New Leaf

Well, it's been a while since I've posted onto my blog, and it's about time. Don't you think?

I needed to seriously take some time off from all of the Internet posts and just unwind a bit. Sorry to leave so abruptly, but it wasn't you. I just needed some time off.

However, now that I'm back I have a great new set of leaf beads to show off. They're a custom order so they won't be added to my Etsy Shop, but I do want you to get to see them.

This set, called "Autumn Treasures", consists of ten leaf beads in Amber, Purple and Green. It's the most colors I've used in my leaves before and I love how they turned out.

I varied the order of the colors on the leaves, but kept the bead portions all the same for uniformity in the set.

I may have to make some more leaves in three colors and see what else I can come up with.

Hope you're all doing well and had a terrific summer!

A New Album In Facebook- A Show In November

Hello everyone!

No, I haven't abandoned you, but I have been on vacation for a bit. Today was my first day back to work and my blog. So much has been going on here.

I got some new photos taken of my beads being created and added them to my Facebook page. The album shows how the grape and tree beads are made. You can view the album by clicking HERE.

If you have any questions or comments, please do not be shy.

Mistletoe Magic

I'm still working on getting ready for my show coming up in November. The show will be held in Bartlett, and I cannot wait to see how it turns out. More information is on my Burning Scentsations Facebook page, so be sure to check out all of the details.

More updates are coming to my web site once I get bead pictures taken, so stay tuned folks.

Have a great night!

Celebration Sale This Weekend!

As you may know if you're a regular reader, my partner, Robert, has been performing all summer up in Door County, Wisconsin. He will be returning home on Monday after being gone for two and a half months and it will be great to have him home.

In honor of his return home, I've decided to hold a sale at My Etsy Shop that starts on Friday, August 22nd and runs through the weekend through Monday, August 25th (CST). During this sale, all purchases totaling $30 or more will receive a 30% discount.

And for my CGGE members, you can take an additional 5% off any item in my shop. During checkout, put CELEBRATION SALE in the comments.

DO NOT not make your payment at the time of sale. I will send out a separate invoice to your e-mail address with your adjusted total.

If the sale is successful, I do have more items that I will be adding to my Etsy Shop as the weekend progresses, so stop by and see what's new!

I don't hold sales very often, so take advantage of this while you can.

Have a great weekend!

Summer Midnight In The Vines

I've got new grape-themed choker coming to my Etsy Shop later tonight (possibly in the morning) that I thought you'd like a first look at.

This choker's focal bead has a rich, sparkling background of blue and green Dichro that shimmers behind a thriving patch of grapes ready for harvesting.

The encased background's colors remind me a peacock feather while the green leaves, purple grapes and brown vines add a great look to the piece.

I wish the pictures would show up the dichroic glass more, but the sparkling of the background is really wonderful to see in person. It's like a vast array stars that twinkle in the night sky.

I'll be posting it to My Shop later this evening, time permitting, or in the morning. I hope you'll swing by and check out all of the pictures.

Have a great day!

Let's meet under the Rain Tree!

Tonight has been very busy and very productive. I've completed a picture reorganization on my computer, pushed the new pictures up to the website AND I've got a new item for Etsy tomorrow.

Website Updates

After a few weeks of being gun-shy about updating my web site with new pictures since the MobileMe upgrade that gave me so many problems in July, I've updated my web site with LOTS of new pictures--many of items that have never been in Etsy or shown here!

Be sure to check out the new stuff on the site. Click HERE for the blog post about the new items!

Rain Tree Choker

Do you remember the Rain Tree commercials from the late 70's/early 80's? Apparently, I do since the tree on this bead reminded me of it so much that I named it, you guessed it, "Rain Tree".

The product was for a facial moisturizing creme, if I remember correctly. However, I think this choker will be much more memorable than that old commercial, don't you?

I've been playing a lot with the mottling of ivory glass to look like natural stone this week, and I really like how all of the choker focals have this really interesting and warm background.

My first successful tree bead, which I kept for myself, has this type of warm ivory background (without the marbling design) and I never wear it without someone--guys and girls--stoping me to ask about it or comment on it. So, I guess it was time to make a few more in a similar design, and that is how the trees this week came about.

The branches and trunk of the tree have lots deep, warm colors which adds more variation to the piece.

I'll be adding this choker to my Etsy Shop in the morning, so please be sure to stop by when you get a chance.

Have a great night and take care!

Ready For The Last Flowers Of Summer?

Ready or not, here they come.

This new choker has a new floral design that I'm trying out and really quite happy with. Entitled, "Summer's Last Flowers", it features two flowering plants with orange and blue flowers similar to forget-me-nots or hyacinths.

Swaying the last of the warm summer breezes, each plant has two last bunches of flowers showing their beauty in the last golden days.

The base bead in this choker is a very interesting ivory with mottled tans and dark lanes of color for that stone look.

As with all my chokers, its strung on a nylon coated steel cable with a magnetic clasp that holds the necklace quite securely since the clasp is interlocking barrels instead of the traditional magnetic clasp.

I'll be posting this lovely to my Etsy Shop tomorrow around lunch time (CST), so please check in to see more pictures of this piece.

I hope you're having a great night!

If You Love Boro...

...Then you have got to check out this new treasury on Etsy.


What is a treasury? Well, for those who aren't used to Etsy, treasuries are collections of items that are currently for sale on Etsy. These collections are created by the user community, buyers and sellers, and put on display for the rest of the users to enjoy. They're typically created around a theme, but do not have to be.

It is made up of beads and jewelry using Borosilicate glass and the items are amazing. This is a great chance to see all of the great colors and what can be done in this amazing glass.

I was contacted by its creator since I'm lucky enough to have been included in the collection as you may notice from this preview picture. See "The Boro Gang" set of my beads in the lower left corner?

To view the actual treasury, just click HERE. You can also visit My Etsy Shop and see all of the creations I've put into the shop as well.

Treasuries last for a limited time only, so please be sure to check it out before it disappears.

Have a great day.

This Design Is Cursed

I love this bead. It's the second one I've made with a similar design since the first one met a dark fate.

I picked up the bubble bag it was in when I took it to work, and I failed to realize that I was holding it upside-down. The bead fell out of the bag and hit my desk. Instant grapevine pruning.

While I would rather have me break a bead than a customer, I was still rather upset about it. So I canceled the gym that night (any excuse, right?) and got back onto the torch. I made this bead and two organic focals.

Last night, after etching and cleaning the bead up, I took some pictures, and that's when I noticed it. It's amazing what the camera sees and what our eyes see through the camera that we didn't notice before. The bead was cracked, in several places!

YIKES.

Atop the bead, the vine was cracked, by the hole there was another crack and again across the blue grapes. So I will not have this bead design to show while in Door County. The fates are working against me.

That is why I have to tell you, that this design is cursed.

Will I try to lift the curse? Absolutely, but not until I get back from my trip to Door County.

While I'm up in Door County, I wont be able to post any new blog entries, but I will be back late next week and will hopefully have lots of fun stories to relate to you.

Have a great weekend and a better week!

You Won't Want To Fight These Summer Blues!

How many grape and vineyard names can I come up with?

I don't know, but we'll just have to see. This latest vineyard bead is called "Summer Blues" and features a new grape color--pale blue.

I love how the colors of this bead came out against the ivory background and the bright blue bunches of grapes.

As you can see, I also carried over a few tendrils onto the back side of the bead for more detail.

The blue in these beads is almost electric and seems to shine on its own power. More grape colors are coming soon!

There seems to be no end in the number of colors that grapes come in--at least in my world!

I still have more beads to photograph before I can post them. Don't worry, I have already pictures of more beads that I've made recently.

I've really been bitten by the glass-bug this week, and I'm so glad that I'm getting so much done and created. In a few days, I'll be displaying my wares in Door County to a few shop owners and we'll see what happens then!

Have a great night!

Standing Against The Fire

That's the name of this new tree focal bead I created this weekend.

A lone tree grows on a patch of ground while a roiling fire rages in the distance, and the tree does what it can only do--stand there and live life to its fullest. No matter how much time it has, it will enjoy every minute of it.

I can only hope to be as brave and resolute as this tree in my life, and I think we can all use this focal as an object lesson for life from time to time.

The back of this bead shows the rich colors and swirling "flames" of the background, and I suppose the bead could be worn with either side facing forward, depending upon your mood.

This is one of the beads that will be going with me to Door County in our search for a gift shop outlet.

Have a great night and don't forget to stop by my Etsy Shop if you have a chance!

Enjoying The Sunshine

Here's another one of my creations from this past weekend that I'm taking up to Door County.

I've entitled it "In The French Sunshine" because I'm envisioning these grapes are from France and loving their life in the wine country.

This focal has the classic purple grapes draped around the bead along with the twisting vines and leaves of the plant. As you can see, this bead is designed to hang horizontally instead of my usual vertical designs.

Grapes are so much fun and they come in such a wide range of colors.

The ivory background on this bead has been capped in black for additional drama against the crackle-like color variations of the ivory. There so much to see and feel on this bead.

Have a great night!

Please Don't Eat The Daisies

Creatively, this has been one of the best weekends in ages. I needed a weekend like this in the worst way, so I'm glad to have finally gotten it.

I had three successful torching sessions where I created a variety of items that I'm planning on taking up to Door County, a tourist resort in Wisconsin, with me next weekend. Hopefully, I can get my items into a shop up there.

Two of the items that I'm not taking to Door County with me are a pair of daisy focal beads that were commissioned for fan pulls by one of my returning customers.

While I've never done daisies before, I had an idea of how to do them. These beads are the results.

I will have more daisy and floral designs coming in the weeks ahead as I work to enhanc the pattern further and add my own spin to it.

My customer, however, loved the pictures I've sent her and that is always my goal--customer satisfaction.

More pictures of my new creations will be coming all week, so be sure to check back. Also take a peek at my Etsy Shop for wonderful items that are for sale!

Have a great day.

Don't Get Stung!

This summer, you'd better be on the lookout for Yellow Jackets! No, not the insects, but this fun little set of beads.

This is the set, for those of you that read this blog regularly, is the set of beads that just about drove me nuts. I was using my new tool on this set while you only see five little beads, I worked for quite a while just to get these.

That's why each bead in this set is $20.00. JUST KIDDING!

The beads are a black base with bright yellow patterns created by raking the hot glass around the bead. It's a cool effect and gives the beads some real punch!

If I can get the hang of the new tool, I'll be able to make more of these with lots of color variation and designs. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

I'll be posting this set to my Etsy Shop sometime tomorrow, so come check them out.

Sleep Well!

Fall's First Leaf

Updates have been a bit scant lately since I've been experimenting so much with new techniques, glasses and tools. You've been very patient and now I have something new that's coming to my Etsy Shop in the morning.

May I present: Fall's First Leaf.

This leaf pendant is a mixture of two different colors of Borosilicate glass which is partially what created the cool mix of colors that drape across this bead.

Working with the hard glass is very interesting and challenging, but I'm sure I'll get used to it soon. One thing is for sure, I will definitely need some new shaping tools since boro is so much stiffer, I had a terrible time getting the leaf pattern pressed into the glass. Now I know why they make such a wide range of leaf presses; one size does not fit all!

I'll be adding this pendant to my Etsy Shop in the morning, so please stop by to see the rest of the pictures and check it out.

Have a great night, all!

One Lovely Bead

The new tools sparkled on the workbench, beckoning him to try them out and see what new creations he could create.

The first bead he made was fairly good, although not as symetrical as he would have liked.

Beads two and three went right into the water can with a couple of curses.

Four went into the kiln, only to later be thrown into the trash when it came back out as its shape was a complete disaster.

The new tools did not seem to be helping at all. "Practice makes perfect", he thought and pressed on further.

Five showed real promise, as did six. However, the final step in the beads design sent them both off kilter.

Hours passed and more and more beads went into the water can. More curses followed them and more glass was wasted with little to no improvement in the success rate of the beads.

Growing ever more impatient and ever more doubtful of having any skill with glass whatsoever, it was time to quit. Put the new tools away, turn off the torch and stomp out of the studio.

A small, still part of his mind, which was wiser and calmer than the remainder of his cognitive abilities, suggested making one last bead, but not with the new tools. The old way.

He grabbed a few different colors that he would use in the new bead and began creating one focal bead.

The glass melted as can be expected and the pattern blossomed with ease. The glass flowed and he balanced it with years of practice as he had done so many times before.

The water can sat silent and unnoticed. No curses were hurled.

And into the kiln went one lovely bead.

Abracadabra! It's Magic!

Or at least it looks like it has magical powers.

Sparkling with supernatural shades of color, this borosilicate focal bead must really be seen in person to be appreciated.

I've entitled it "Sand & Magic".

A double encased core of tans and cremes is surrounded by layered dots of the same core color and clear boro for a great texture and maximized light refraction.

The raised dots feel great on your fingers as you rub them around the bead.

I'll be adding this my Etsy Shop tomorrow morning with more pictures and complete specs on the bead.

Thanks for stopping by!

Meet The Boro Gang!

That's the name of my new set of beads that I made using Borosilicate (hard) glass. I love how these beads came out with their bright cores and clear encasing. The colors just jump off the beads.

These accent beads will look great in just about any design, so don't be shy. Play around with them a bit.

Each one is an experiment in color and design to see what the colors I've got can really do. Notice how the colors are not solid, like in my other glass designs, but actually look like threads of color that varies in each of the sections.

One of the blue colors I used has created an almost sapphire like brilliance that reflects the light out of the bead like a mirror. Very cool.

I even have one bead that has a series of punged dots (on the left end of the strand) against a background that is peacock blue and purple. It's all one rod of glass, but came out in several shades of colors.

I will definitely be playing with Boro much much more!

Be sure to see these beads in my Etsy Shop tomorrow. There'll be lots more pictures and information about the beads.

Thanks for stopping by!

My First Boro Listing - Sky City

This afternoon at lunch, I listed my first boro bead in my Etsy Shop.

This bead is an encased creation that kind of got away from me a bit and didn't turn out like I was expecting. However, it did create a really interesting formation in shades of blues, greens and tans that I think is pretty cool.

Unfortunately, since I didn't get the pictures taken until I came home for lunch, I didn't get a chance to post advance notice for Sky City.

You can see the listing and all of the pictures of Sky City HERE.

Let me know what you think!

The New Adventure Begins!

My first boro beads are out of the kiln, cleaned and drying downstairs. I'll be able to photo them tomorrow and begin loading the first of the new beads into my shop.

After the first couple of attempts at focals, I ended up focusing on accent beads. Simple designs in many colors to let me get the hang of working the harder glass. The bead colors are really cool and unique looking.

One of my mistakes actually looks pretty cool and I think I'll be calling it "Sky City", since that's what it looks like.

Would you like to wear a city around your neck?

Since Borosilicate is a harder glass--much harder, I had turn up the flame a lot higher than I usually need to with the soft glass. It's an interesting sensation to be working with that much heat, but I love how the colors came out...more will be coming soon.

Have a great night, All.