Rooster Beads

I just had a request for a glass rooster lampwork focal bead.  I wanted to show you how Google is such a big help as I design what I want to create.

For this one, I chose a face close up, to get the eyes and those hanging things (ha ha, I am such a technical person), as well as a good look at a the comb.  (I got one of the terms correct!)

And then I chose two real roosters as much for their coloring as well as their profile.  I love how the shape reminds me a bit of a heart.  And the final two pictures include two that aren't real.  I like to see how other artists capture the essence of what they see as important to the bird.

What I don't do, is look at other glass artists' renditions of roosters.  Even though this is a special request from Beads of Courage, I don't want to even accidentally take on any characteristics of their work.  I want to keep it my own.  If I happen to end up with a similar style that has been done, I always know in my mind that there wasn't an influence from my glass friends.

Is this the way you work too?  Would love to hear about it.  (or if you know what those hangy down thingys are called.)

Now I'm off to make one or two and get them in the kiln.  I'll show you the results in a day or two.

Tiny Magical Elves

I never knew that elves were so tiny, until one of my customers asked, "can you make tiny elf charms?"  Of course I could.  So here is the gang.   Left to right...Conor, Faervel, Thalon & Fred.  There's always one in the bunch!

That is a penny that Conor is leaning on.  He's not really lazy, just "resting".  They are quite small.

And they are available in my StudioMarcy Etsy shop.  You can click HERE to find them.

Bead Soup Blog Party Celebration!

Welcome. In case you don't know me, I'm Marcy Lamberson a flamework glass  bead maker and instructor.  I was paired up with Melissa Clarke, who who does wonderful bead embroidery....lots of seed beads.  So we are pretty different in styles, but have really enjoyed getting to know each other.

Melissa sent me a variety of beads and I only used two in this piece.  I anguished over the selection and knew that the focal is the most important part.  But being a beadmaker instead of a seasoned jewelry maker, I went back to my roots and made lampwork companion beads for her pink and  black dyed agate focal.  Yep, those smaller ones are all glass.  I've helped out friends before when they couldn't match a stone, so I decided to take that skill to make a necklace that I wanted to wear.

Now my remaining goodies will be another piece or two of jewelry when I have a little more time.  I'm looking forward to that.  Here is a photo of my huge selection of beads for future jewelry.  I'll post photos when I make those.

 Visit Melissa's blog (I sent her some cool bee/garden style lampwork!) to see what she made...click here!

And to view the rest of the participating BEAD SOUP Party blogs, click here!

Thanks for visiting my blog...Marcy Lamberson /Studio Marcy

Recent Itsy Bitsy Commission Work

I make a lot of commission work.  I love doing it.  So when I received an email from someone who asked me, "can you make me 20 Christmas bulb lights that are 1/4" long?"  I decided to give it a whirl.

If you are a flameworker, you know that is a pretty tiny scale to be working in.  But always loving new challenges, I got out my tape measure and turned on my torch.

I found that I could reasonably get to 3/8" of an inch using a 1/16th mandrel. (non- glass folk, I know you secretly love tech talk).  And made an assortment of colors for her.

So in case you're wondering what she is doing with them, here's the answer.  She is needlepointing Christmas stockings for her grandchildren with a house that has lights hung from its roof.  She tried the plastic miniature ones for embellishment, but decided that glass would be better.

And I couldn't resist taking a photo of them, so I added my little trailer that I got years ago on Etsy, and one of my new Santa design beads and made a little vignette.  Might just be my Christmas card this year too.

Stay tuned for my next commission blogpost . I'll give you a hint.  It has to do with a Spirit Animal.
See you tomorrow!

Found: Custom Stenciled Portraits

I saw this Etsy item featured on iVillage and had to take a closer look. What a great idea!

For those of us who tend towards "non-traditional", this could be a lovely substitute for the pastel portrait of children. (although I have wonderful ones of those too which my Mom painted).

I can't see this arriving in time for Mother's Day, but why not keep this idea for other gifts? This kind of personalization, is what I love. Faces, places, memories...and reminders of those special times. Here is the link to the Etsy shop. You'll find other options open too.

Pandora Puppies

Pandora bracelets with the big center holes have been around for quite awhile. I love their chunky yet delicate look and how the glass lampworking community has been able to tap this market.

Pandora, Biagi, Trollbeads and other large holed bracelets are perfect avenues for our industry's beadmakers. Whether your personal niche is encased flowers, boro, organic or silvered glass, there's a place for you.

So needless to say, I love making custom beads for pet owners. I'm showing you a little Bichon Frise that I recently made.

For me, the hardest part is is getting enough detail in the tiny bead. Even though they have a big hole, they still need to be quite small and sit properly on the wrist. Because of the head being relatively large, I try to balance it out with widespread feet and a bit of a tail, if appropriate.

I've found that some breeds don't translate as well for me. Skinny dogs with long slim legs- like greyhounds, just don't have enough room on the bead to fold up the legs and make them look like what they are. Too small a palette. Dogs with easy to spot features seem to always work well and I love the ones with lots of fur- perhaps because I really enough adding the texture in glass.

I've also made lots of beads that are theme beads for customers, whether it's college logos, pets, grandkids, babies, beads that represent favorite sports, hobbies and other pastimes, it's all been fun. Custom work is a favorite large part of my business, because each order is a new puzzle to figure out.

See you tomorrow, here on http://www.StudioMarcy.blogspot.com

Does This Bead Match My Bag?

One of my customers constructed this bag and she is aiming to embellish it a little more. So she contacted me with the bottom photo and asked if I would design a bead to go with it.

Well of course I'd give it a try. I love looking at custom orders a bit like a puzzle. It's good to mentally and physically challenge oneself to figure out how to make something new.

Before accepting the commission, I look at the colors. Do I own rods that match, or can I layer or mix these shades? What about the shape? Is it within my realm of expertise? And technically, can I figure out how to attempt to do it...at least on the first try?

Often it takes more endeavors than just one. And I know that I don't usually charge enough to cover those extra efforts, but to me, the custom orders almost always are worth it.

Each one teaches me and that's one of the elements that I love. Foremost is the customer's happiness, when I'm able to create what they want. It makes me just as joyful. But definitely secondary, is stretching my boundaries in a different direction to practice looking at the 2-D object and interpreting it into a 3-D shape- boldly going where I have never gone before. It's like a mini class for myself.

Do I ever have to call it quits? Sure. Not often, but I have. Once someone wanted me to make a specific NASCAR racing car less than an inch tall with the numbers and some of the intricate details. What was I thinking? Suffice it to say, it didn't work. I imagine if I had chosen to continue on and make enough of them, I'd get it, but I didn't quote a price anywhere close to the hours I was putting into it. That car is still on my bead rack to taunt me.

Some of the more memorable custom orders? Well I delighted in concocting someone's cat dancing on two legs, wearing a pink tutu and a black pirate patch. Creating pets, or the grandchildren face beads, school mascots, special mermaids and fairies or funny requests like Easter bunnies wearing viking helmets makes me grin. Bringing others' imagination to life is very rewarding.

So this swallow, (which matches a tattoo as well as the tote), is ready to be sent. Just wanted to share a portion of my art with you. These custom orders are a pleasing challenge in many ways of almost every day that I am at my torch.

If you have a custom bead you'd like to discuss, please contact me through my StudioMarcy Etsy shop, http://www.StudioMarcy.etsy.com. I'd love to chat.

From Photo to Pandora Bead

 I get some fun requests around the holidays and this was one of them.  One of my past customers had bought for her Mom, some large hole sculptural beads that were significant to her for Mothers' Day last year. 

Well, I received a frantic email a few weeks before Christmas telling me that her Mom knew every gift that she was going to receive and that she had an idea for a surprise.  Her Mom had just gotten a new puppy and she wanted to add to her Mom's Pandora bracelet with a bead.

Meet Katie.  Isn't she a cutie.  She's a Shih Tzu  

I love seeing everyone's pets.  They're all adorable and some day I'll tell you a funny story about one of them.

Katie is a very tiny bead.  She has the large hole bead that fits that specific type of bracelet, but she is only about 8 mm wide.  So when you see the large picture of her, imagine how tiny I was trying to work to get in some of her coloring and the general feeling of the new puppy.

Here's to cute pets, surprise gifts and of course custom orders which make people happy.                                                                                    

If you'd like your pet made into a bead, please contact me through my etsy shop, and we can discuss it.

Need An "Easy Button"?

Late this fall, I noticed lots of television and print advertisements for a particular office store talking about how complicated it can be when getting simple tasks completed. Their tag line was to use their large, red "Easy Button".

Drawn in, I imagined what life would be like if we actually could make life easier. And I've come to the conclusion that definitely there are times when I'd love one, but sometimes the journey to get where we want to go, is the learning that enriches our lives more than the goal or destination.

I feel that way when I take on custom orders. I love the challenge of figuring out new ways to achieve a desired outcome that I haven't done before. It's like little individual puzzles which stretch and enhance my knowledge of glass.

Making this Easy Button reminded me of a few things.
1. It's hard to write on a very small space
2. I need to case my stringer, to keep some separation between the letters
3. We still don't have a great way to make a shiny silver look and that our silver plum makes a dark pewter no matter what I try.

And to make it "easy" on my customers, I have FREE shipping in my Studio Marcy Etsy shop for orders over $25 through the weekend. Why not?

...and that I still want an "Easy Button" when dealing with phone calls when I have to push a different button 12 times to get to speak with a live person to ask a simple question.