One Tree Bead

Do you ever make something because you want to see if you can do it?  Well that was the basis for this Tree bead that ended up morphing into more,'

I wanted to see if I could form a horizontally oriented bead with a hole in the middle.  (yes I can!)  So the hole runs sideways with the tree's hole in the middle.  It was kind of like making a green donut!

This fun bead is available in my Etsy shop, just click here.

Pine Branches and Pine Cones

I know some of you have seen my pine cones already, but I wanted to show you one of the variations of Branch Bails that I have been making to coordinate with them, my acorns, owls and other Mother Nature items.

You might just call me the new "Branch Manager".

I have been working on ways to coordinate beads to be worn together. It just makes sense, doesn't it? I would think this would be pretty on a copper bead strand as well or many other choices- but I found some not too expensive natural beads that gives it a woodsy feel. (perhaps real "seed" beads?

I'll show you my other lampwork "bails" a little later. Different styles to go with different beads. Animal, nature, funky and fun ones all in various stages right now. They'll be debuting soon. I say, why not? All are made to be worn alone, or with some of your other lampwork treasures.

If you have any special requests, feel free to post or email me. I'm adding to my Etsy shop again after a lot of time off. It felt great with all the teaching I've been doing, but it's time to rock and roll again. I just have too many ideas that are percolating.

See you tomorrow for more blog chatter. And don't forget, I take Saturday off, but return on Sundays so my blog is 6 days a week.

Glass Challenge Still Going On

Have you entered for this latest edition of the Glass Challenge? I have. My little owl on a branch is right here.

It's in two parts. I made the owl sitting directly on the wood stump and branch as one of my "exercises" in heat control. I do that type of thing regularly. How can I keep everything the right heat and still add unevenly weighted sculptural additions. It's a lot of fun for me- like a puzzle. The base is a second bead, like my typical bead stands with the steel rod holding up the bead. Each one is cased with silver glass to give it that wonderful color combination. The owl was designed with silver ivory to fume it and add details.

The current Glass Challenge has some cool prizes as always. And it's so easy to enter. Just click here to check it out.

And just so you don't make the same mistake I did, below each entry are a series of little dots for rating the submissions. Big blonde moment, I accidentally clicked on the 0/5 dots, instead of the reverse. And you can't erase! Oh duh. So do me a favor, if you're rating them, be careful and don't mess up like I did. Worst is to the left and best is to the right. Snap!

See you on Sunday (remember, I'm now taking Saturday off) here at http://www.StudioMarcy.blogspot.com

Turn Glass Into Wood

I love so much about nature. Plants, flowers, birds, cute little animals all intrigue me. (well, except for some weird bugs which give me the creeps).

Sometimes it's fun to give them a place to hang out. Often trees, stumps and vegetation fit into that concept, so what's an easy way to make glass look like wood?

I use some silver glass that is from Striking Color on Etsy. I use it over a transparent base and just encase that glass well, so I don't waste the more expensive glass.

Here is an example. It's my "Owl on a Branch" which is in my Etsy shop. (I know, real original title. I must not have been feeling verbally inspired when I wrote it.

Only two beads make up this piece. The owl and tree are one piece, (boy was that fun to make. Talk about heat control!) and that bead sits on top of a flat stand to counter balance it.

So play around with the glass in a different way and see what you come up with. I like this for wood, but next, I want to make some birch trees, and of course there's this one plant in my yard, and of course the Crape Myrtle bark.....the list goes on and on.

See you tomorrow at http://www.StudioMarcy.blogspot.com

Bead Makeovers- Taking Your Art In A Different Direction

I love cupcakes. Pink frosting with sprinkles sounds pretty yummy to me. And obviously a lot of other people like them too. This style and others tend to sell well in my etsy shop, http://www.StudioMarcy.etsy.com.

But other people make similar cupcakes and in an earlier blog, I mentioned that it's a good thing to reconsider beads that you make, that perhaps could be restyled, or taken in another direction. This can be good for you as an artist, and maybe add a little zing for your sales too.














Between watching Ace of Cakes, and wanting to incorporate a little of my surface decoration and sculptural approach, I decided to give one of my cupcakes a new twist. This one has a small branch made of aventurine with multi shades of green leaves. A sculptural butterfly in transparent aqua and a touch of lapis give it more dimension. To add a dollop of whimsy, bright pink transparent glass dots the surface too.

There are so many directions to try. I'll be adding more cupcakes over the weeks to show you more makeovers on them, and other beads.

In the meantime, if you are on Facebook or Twitter, please add me as a friend. I'm either under Marcy Lamberson or StudioMarcy. See you tomorrow....