Custom Bobblehead Pets

Meet Yogi and his mini-me glass bobblehead.  Yogi is a goldendoodle, which is a combination of golden retrievers and standard poodles.  He is already a media darling. He models in  his owner's landscape company advertising.  What a sweet face!

His owner saw my bobbleheads at Pismo Fine Art Glass in Denver and asked if I could make a custom bobblehead for her.  I worked from photos that she sent and designed my miniature Yogi Jr..  She took this photo of them together.  I fell in love with it and it will also be my postcard for this year's ISGB Gathering.  I just couldn't ignore all this cuteness in one photo.

With his new found fame, handsome Yogi might just need a talent agent.

Napolean Joins The Ranks

Ah, bonjour.  I wanted to present to you Napoleon, one of my latest glass bobblehead creations.  I thought he would be fun to make in glass with his big hat and his hand in his uniform. 

Currently he resides in Pismo Fine Art Glass gallery.  And yes, his head truly bobbles and mais oui, he is "available".  He has not yet met his Josephine.

Seasonal Related Beadmaking

This time of year, the pumpkins, ghosts and goblins are out in full force. Perhaps the kids aren't dressing up, but the beadmakers are selling their work to jewelry makers and private individuals.

I'm always interested in seeing what's being done. How does an individual take a basic theme and make it their own?

I like to use children's books as a resource for ideas. Usually there is a lot of imagination already there in front of your eyes and then re-interpret it to suit my taste and quite honestly, my abilities. Some stuff is just too hard for me to do.

This is a photo of my three little trick or treating bobbleheads that I made last year. (the dog bead doesn't bobble) I wanted to take the seasonal topic and skip the ghosts for a change, but still let the viewer know what holiday it is by the orange pumpkin candy buckets. I just imagined some of the cute little kids coming to my door and it always seems like the bigger sister is the the back row- watching over them. I entered it in FlameTree Glass's Halloween Contest last year.

So are you making Halloween related beads or crafts? What are you doing this year? Changing anything up, or sticking with the ones you know always work? Tell us about it.

Off With Her Head- Bobbleheads and Colds

Are there ever days that you think you'd be better off without your head?  Your throat burns, your eyes don't fully open,  your nose runs and your ears ache?   

Some days I'd like to trade places with one of my Bobblehead glass figurines.  Like this Marie Antoinette for instance, whose head can easily be removed.  She lost her head in the French Revolution and although I'm sure she didn't feel any better for it, at least these darn head colds can't get to her anymore.

Of course I'm kidding about ever wanting to trade places with sweet Marie, (even if she is carrying her own cake),  but I do wish there was an easier remedy for full tilt boogie colds. If anyone has a favorite remedy out there or even product, feel free to post it.  I'd really like to bounce back soon. I miss making beads.  Strong cold medicine and 2000 degree torches do not mix.

Trick or Treat ~ Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!
Here is my band of trick or treaters that are in the FlameTree Glass Halloween Bead Contest. There are so many wonderful entries, that I have no idea whether I'll even place. But I'm still glad to have entered.

The three children are miniature bobblehead beads. It's cute when you wiggle the stand and the heads move. I tried to include plenty of details to make each one interesting. The child in the bunny costume is wearing a mask, and bunny slippers. She also has a bunny tail. To make her trick or treat bag, I bent a small piece of copper wire around a glass rod to give it the handle shape. After laying down the "palms" of her hands, I placed the wire and then added the rest of her hands to hold it in place. By swiping the orange glass, I could make the base of the trick or treat bag. If you're going to try something like this, be careful about not holding the copper wire in the flame too long, or it will melt.

The little devil boy is wearing sneakers and carrying his teddy bear and trick or treat bag. I gave him some fake facial hair, because I was remembering the year I made my son an Elvis costume. I used doll hair on peach felt to make an inset for his rhinestone sparkley shirt, so he would have a hairy chest, which was pretty funny on a first grade little boy.

The ballerina big sister is standing on one foot. She was made on a 1/16th mandrel, so her leg could be slim enough for the size she is. Her other leg is bent at the knee and the ballet slipper is resting on her calf.

I placed them tightly together on the green stand for a few reasons. Most importantly, that's how kids always appear at my door. Packed together and in groups. And I also wanted the beads to stay pretty firmly in place. Because they are on an open table to be displayed at FlameTree and not in a case, I thought it might keep them a little safer, so they don't move around as much. Each bead can be removed for packing and shipping and then easily set up again.

The rest of this vignette is made from beads too. The dog, the stand and the little pumpkin (which is behind them, so the back side has a little more interest), are beads as well.

But this is only one half of FlameTree's contest. They have even a bigger one for sculptural glass. Check out their website for the down load-able pdf in that area too.
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And don't forget my 20% Off SECRET SALE going on in my Etsy shop, just for my online friends. Come on over and read the details in my Shop Announcements .
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Finding Inspiration in....Legos?

If you enjoy making character lampwork beads, your inspiration can come from anywhere. But who thought it would come from chunky brightly colored kids' toys like these?

Looks like Lego Toys views inspiration similarly. Here are a few historical or celebrity images that have made it into their toy line.

It makes me smile, because I've thought many times that I'd like to make a Ben Franklin Bobblehead glass piece and I've already made an Amy Winehouse bead. Her hair style and facial features are just perfect for it. I just haven't put it up for sale, as she's such a mess and it doesn't seem right to take advantage of it at all.

The final Lego picture is of movie character, Indiana Jones, who has great characteristics for glass interpretation. But because he's a movie character, I'm sure he's copyrighted and I can't make him.

When choosing a character for interpretation, I look for something that makes them easily recognizable to the general public. What facial or body features, or clothing makes someone know who they are immediately? Is the image off limits because they are owned by someone already? Who would you like to see as a bobblehead or a bead?

Don't forget to come back tomorrow for this week's Online Coaching. We'll be looking at Rosebud 101's Santa face and I'll offer some ideas for improvement.