Sunday, September 6, 2015

Jumping Back In


It's been a busy summer for me with long periods of solitude and time to make beads and jewelry.
I am so surprised that it's turned into a full time job for me.
I decided to dig out some of my Thai silver hoard and use a few pieces from time to time.
These were some polymer pieces I made using Blue Bottle Tree's Rustic Beads tutorial.
How wonderful it is to have a stash of your own handmade components at the ready.
    
I picked out some of my own torch fired numi-sticks for this set and dug into what was one of my first ever bead catalog purchases (before online catalogs even!)
Those little jasper heishi beads are from that very first haul.

I've been making some extra large and bulbous "end of the rods scraps of the day"  headpins that I call my "embonpoint " series. I've been selling some of these in my etsy shop from time to time.


 You don't need to add much to call them earrings. I used a couple of my "Spacey Crusters" and some Faerystones earwires here with a few little African brass spacers.

I found that Petra's Scorched Earth ceramic pieces were the perfect accompaniment to  these lovely geode slices.





In case you thought I was going too neutral on you I made these "Fruity Coodlers"
They are an offshoot of my "Spacey Crusters"


"Spacey Crusters" of course!


Just Crust if you Must

Or Lustrous and Crustrous

Extree Long Numi-sticks with abbreviated headpins (redo from another set) and some of RaggedRobyn's wonderful stoneware beads
Another set using beads from the beginnings of my bead hoard. Resin Filled stamped Thai silver beads that were brought back to me by a friend before I had ever even visited Thailand. 1995 or so?
It was before I was even lampworking I'm sure.

We took a trip to Lake Michigan to gather up some Leland Glass. What fun!
Leland Slag glass is a by-product of the iron industry  in the late 1800's when they mixed limestone and coal to extract the ore. The waste product was this beautiful glass that they deposited in Lake Michigan and it's still washing up to this day.

 I purchased this Leland slag glass cabochon thought from a  local shop in the town of Leland

OK, still a fan of creepy baby dolls here. Antique store score. 
She's squeezable and she squeaks!

Some of my first murrini ever. Yeah I've been making lampwork beads for almost 20 years and never made murrini. i think part of it was that I thought it was too graphic for my organic style. I've gotten over that now.

Cuz you can crust it up and do this!


Oh man, I just discovered this new "Avorio Lapis" glass too!
I can't seem to make enough of these Numi-Sticks. Who would think people shopping at our farmer's market would be buying them?

I have been on an etch-a-thon lately. Seems to befit the "oobers"






A little view of Bar Harbor and the Porcupine Islands from Cadillac Mountain
Sorry it's blurry - instagram to facebook to here

 An erupting poppy from the yard.

Summer is over already here in Alaska, we've had frost and snow already.
Just a few more months here before we head south for warmer climes. Missed you all!
Kim