Mad Scientist Handmade Glass Beads

Each year, I love making Halloween beads  I just don't want to make just the traditional ones, but add in a few different styles.  Black cats are expected and of course I do them, but it's good to have some unexpected ones too.  So years ago, I started making "Mad Scientist" beads.  I love designing crazy hair that stands up- kind of Bozo the Clown meets Einstein, and of course add in goatees, beards and the important flask of undetermined chemicals.  I'll be making a few more this year, so feel free to contact me if interested. 

Charm Exchange Bracelet

Do you love the diversity of charm bracelets?  Often, they say a lot about what you like.  Some people have topic, color or style specific ones.

This one was a lot fun, because it came from a charm exchange on Lampwork Etc.  Hosted by Mallory Hoffman and Deb Batten, it had a lot of beadmakers participating.  The maximum number we could submit was 15 charms with receiving the same number in return.  I loved it.  Any material was fair game.

I'll take a better photo next time, but I was so excited, that I wanted to show you.  Having a wire base, it was necessary to have spacer material between the charms, to help prevent them from bumping against each other next time.  I really like being able to use up some of my little lampwork donuts that were hanging around and I added in some of my fun rubber O rings from Yvonne at MyElements on Etsy.

So now I want to know what do you like in charm bracelets?  Do you have one (or more)?  What materials is it made from?  Does it have a theme?  And of course, I'll take any jewelry making suggestions you could toss out.  I have so much to learn!

My Valentine's Day Laugh

As some of you know,  I was away for Valentines Day on a trip.  I wanted to show you the fruit basket from my husband and especially the note that was sent with it.  My son Grant is his assistant at work, and apparently was assigned the task of ordering it for me.  He decided to inject a little humor into it and write the direct quote.  And honestly I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time. (and just in case you're wondering- we had already celebrated an early Valentines Day and this was an "extra".)

Inspiration Monday Part Deux

You saw Monday's frog costume for inspiration, now here is the bead.

Meet baby Abby who is wearing it. She is currently living in my etsy shop and if you'd like more views of this little cutie, just click here.
Of course she would be perfectly happy to hop over to your house too.

I thought if I wrote about inspiration, perhaps it would be a good idea to show you my final translation too. And if you missed Monday's blog, just scroll down to see the original photo.

Catch you tomorrow!

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Twins Zelda & Imelda Witch Finally Arrive

Meet Zelda and Imelda Witch. They must be fraternal twins, because their bodies are the same, but their features are different. Each are posing with the family pet, Gerta the owl.

Zelda the first (and she swears that she's the older twin too, but who cares when they're over 600 years old?), has a little spider hanging from her hat. Her nose wart is solid green, so you can compare between the two witches, which style you prefer when making your own.

She also has two-color eyes. Instead of having whites, her base eye color is orange with a black pupil. Red berries and green leaves rest on the orange hatband. A small spider is hanging from her hat. She is attached with a small piece of 1/16th mandrel directly into the hat. I added a small dichroic glass stringer to somewhat camouflage it and add a touch of sparkle if the light hits it right.

Although her head was made on an atypical mandrel so it is concave, I still made it to look rather "bicone" shape. See how the chin looks "witchier" when pointed. Purposely, I left her mouth as a thin line which adds to the effect. Full lips would have made her look friendlier. I added a few extra lumps on her nose and an extra one on her chin which makes it more asymmetrical and bumpier.

Imelda looks closer to Pam's original witch. I wanted to try what Pam did and sure like the effect. I personally prefer the black wart on her nose over the green one on Zelda. She has a lumpy nose and black dots for eyes. Imelda has a very simple flower and two leaves on her hat.

Both witches were made in a sitting position, which I did as a challenge to myself, to see whether I could do it. Next time, I'd do it differently. I made a base bead and then starting extending her legs horizontally and then built them down at 90 degree angles. Problem was, that I didn't measure the stand first, and I made them too short. Now I need to make her a special stand, instead of using my existing commercial one.

The girls are wearing a Victoria's Secret Bustier made for witches. It laces in the front and is a sexy light grape shade. It really shows off their glowing green complexion. They are wearing striped tights from Urban Outfitters and black Baby Phat hip hop shorts. Rather eclectic, but what do you expect from these wild and crazy girls?

If you have any questions about any techniques that I employed, please ask me. You can contact me through my website, http://www.StudioMarcy.com, or you can post here too.

Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate having people read what I write.

Coaching Witch Is In the Kiln - Here's A Temporary Substitute

What is that saying about the "best laid plans"?

I finished my bobblehead witch body to show you, and there was a problem. I couldn't solve it by warming up the body and mending it in the flame. So I tried my favorite 2 part epoxy, Epoxy 330, (which I buy from RayDichroic on Etsy). That just didn't make it right either. So I said "adios" and tossed it in the you-know-what.

There's a new one in the kiln and I need awhile longer for the cycle to complete, before I can photo and post it later today.

I noticed quite a few people stopping by to look, so here's a temporary witch for you. She was in my Etsy shop, but has flown to a new home.

Look carefully at her broom handle and you'll see that I just popped one of my canes in her hands and added more of her "hand" glass to adhere it carefully. At this point, you want to be careful not to get it too warm because it will bend. You can see a slight bend in the handle on this one. BUT, you still need to be very careful about keeping it warm, because it's all out there by itself and will lose its heat very quickly.

Think about other ways that you can use pieces of interesting canes or twisties. What are they? Please post and let us know. One of the fun things about seeing my use of them, is for them to inspire you to use this technique in a different way.

So please stop by later today. I'll have Zelda ready and uploaded then. I just want her to be whole and ready for viewing. Meanwhile, feel free to visit my etsy shop and see my latest dessert- Apple Pie with a lattice crust, a la mode with caramel sauce over the top. http://www.StudioMarcy.etsy.com
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