Happy 4th!

Taking today off for a little barbecue, fun and of course my favorite...fireworks!  Wishing you all a safe holiday and for non- US folks, happy Wednesday.  See you tomorrow!

11/11/11....Santa Is Watching You!

I know, it's not even Thanksgiving and the holiday beads are up.  I thought because today is 1111111, or  however many ones there are in it, it would be a good one for him to be watching out for us. 

Santa is currently living on my bead rack and is hoping to be adopted to a home where someone will give him sweets and finish getting him ready for his special day.  He knows his belly is supposed to shake like a bowl full of jelly and unfortunately for him, I've given up the sweets for awhile.

Santa can be found in my StudioMarcy etsy shop HERE.

Christmas Ornament & Bead Class at Blue Moon Glassworks in November!

I wanted to let you, my blog readers know first, that my 2 day Christmas Class in Austin, TX at Blue Moon Glassworks will be the weekend of November 19th & 20th.  This is going to be a blast, because I love Christmas and so do owners Jim and Rose Berry.  So we're going to do it up BIG!

We'll be making really fun glass beads and ornaments in which you will be able to put your own special twists on.  Elves, angels, dogs dressed up with hats and antlers are not only a blast, but you'll be working with a variety of sculpting techniques that will give you the skills to make lots of wonderfully unique miniature ornaments, focal beads and special treasures either for others or to keep for yourself.

Of course heat control is one of the most important techniques, but we'll also be working with some silver, reactive glass, setting a CZ or two, canes and other ways to add sparkle and magic to your beads whether wearing them yourself or making them into tree ornaments.

You can email or call Blue Moon Glassworks to register  -  512-380-0770.  I hope you can join me for the fun and holiday magic.

Making Pets Into Glass Beads

Meet Jasmine the Hamster. She's a likable sort. Soft, fluffy, and this one doesn't escape, unless it's your idea.

Jasmine is a glass bead- oh about 1.5" long and a little more than half an inch tall. She's a great little focal bead for hamster lovers, but would also look delightful on a stand or sitting by a computer. I think she'd make a great ornament too.

Jasmine used to live in my Etsy shop, http://www.StudioMarcy.etsy.com along with a fun selection of other glass goodies. She's been adopted, but stop by and say hi to her friends.

I Didn't Forget Thanksgiving!

Just so you don't think that I've forgotten Thanksgiving, please meet "Punkin". She's one of my "sweetie pies". Perfect for any time, and available in my Etsy shop.

Don't forget, I love custom orders and now is the time to let me know, so your dream bead can be made in plenty of time for Christmas. I can make them into pendants if needed or ornaments too. And in case you're a Pandora bracelet type of person, I make sculptural big hold beads as well. Just contact me through my Etsy shop or email me at StudioMarcy@gmail.com.

Happy Fourth of July

Happy July 4th !

Wishing you hot grills, good friends.... and colorful fireworks of the very best kind!

See you tomorrow!

It's Here!

Merry Christmas to one and all. Wishing you a happy day with friends and family.

And to my daughter Sparky - I miss you-bunches! Hope you kick some serious you-know-what in your holiday Cribbage tournament. We're all rooting for you a couple of continents away. (and almost as cold here too!)

Love,
Marcy
ps if you want to see a funny website, click here. Sketchy Santas.

See you Sunday!

SNL- Christmas on Hulu

Some folks can't miss Frosty and others prefer Charlie Brown. But I like a variety and this show always has it.

Yes, it's a little naughty and quirky, but always gives me a good laugh in these stress filled days.

You can find it on hulu.com. Here is your link.

Hope you enjoy and remember, if you are easily offended, please don't click and watch.

Not Mistletoe Already!

Every year I debate whether to bring out my Christmas beads before Halloween. It's a tough call, but some folks are early birds.

It's not that I'm out for the worms, but I do know that holiday craft shows are coming up and it's nice to have your inventory ready in advance. Or at least I prefer to operate that way.

So I'm slowly stocking my shop with holiday items. This year, once I rev up, there will be lots of new styles to choose from. I've got my drawings completed and now I just need enough time to execute them.

So if you are looking for the holiday sculptural beads, keep checking out my Etsy lampwork bead shop. I'll be adding at least a few each week as we gain momentum towards Christmas. And of course, please don't forget my BOGO 1/2 OFF SALE (buy one, get one half price sale) that continues until Oct. 26th. You can be both the early bird and get a great deal on worms, too!

See you on Sunday for more glass and creativity chat...http://www.StudioMarcy.blogspot.com

Neiman Marcus Christmas Wish Book Is Out!

If I had my choice, the term, "bah humbug!" would be outlawed. Yes, I'm one of those crazy Christmas lovers.

It's not the gifts that I'm to receive, nor is it exactly the buying of gifts...(I'm one of those who loves handmade- both giving and receiving). But it's more the magic and child like joy of the holiday that I love the most.

So I have to say, I'm always delighted when the
Neiman Marcus Christmas Book makes its debut. You see, they work really hard to find some very unusual as well as down right gorgeous items to place inside of it.

Before writing this, I wondered if I should just focus on the "sublime" items. Yes, jewels abound, high tech gadgets and things that you will probably never need in all of your life. But instead, I chose some objects that appeal to me.

The double page of blues really caught my eye. I love the deep jewel like colors and the interesting pattern on the blouse and the textural qualities of the funky jewelry.

And what I would really delight in are the cupcake cars that are pictured below. Oh what a hoot!
This car originated at Burning Man, (another item on my bucket list-maybe someday I'll be the oldest person in attendance) and was designed as an art car that tops out at 7 mph. Oh how I'd love to toodle over to the grocery store in this sweet little vehicle and putter around the neighborhood giving little children and fun adults a nice ride. It only retails for $25,000.
Maybe it's time to start buying lottery tickets?

So give it whirl and stop by the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book

And I'll see you tomorrow. Right here, http://www.StudioMarcy.blogspot.com

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.

Rock the Vote for Studio Marcy and Other Holiday Beads

Our Lampwork Etc. Street Team (LEST) Holiday / Winter Challenge voting has just started and I invite you to come join in the merriment.

There are 13 wonderful submissions- some are focals and some are bead sets. All of them are connected to Etsy lampwork bead shops.

So come by here, and be sure to scroll down for the photos of the beads to vote for your favorite. If you are undecided, my elf and I would love your vote.

And if you want a quick search for LEST team members on etsy, just type "LEST team" into the handmade search and it will bring up this page. I can always be found in my shop at http://www.Studiomarcy.etsy.com.

I know some of my readers also have beads in this contest. Feel free to comment and mention which bead is yours in the contest and why not add its url if it's for sale in your Etsy shop too?

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Pumpkin Cupcake ~ Bead on a Bead

Sometimes I make beads just because I want a challenge or the concept amuses me. This one encompasses both.

I was discussing pumpkin bread with someone and wondered if there are pumpkin flavored cupcakes. I thought it would be fun to make a Halloween cupcake that showed that.

For a long time, I've been messing around with stacking objects on top of each other in my beadmaking, so it was natural to add a pumpkin on top of the cupcake. I needed to watch my heat control to keep it nice and distinct between the two and yet make sure that it is totally fused on, so that it doesn't crack off. That sometimes happens if they aren't heated enough together. But I didn't want the pumpkin to look like it was melting into the frosting.

I solved this problem by melting a smaller first wrap into the frosting pretty well, before adding the rest of the pumpkin. This is just one of a couple of methods that I use when attaching a section that needs to look separate.

This delicious pumpkin cupcake is available in my Etsy shop - here. And I've also recently added some other food items to make sure my specialty food shop has plenty of delicacies.
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New Tutorial in My Etsy Shop

I thought about all my online coaching and how much I enjoy it. And perhaps there are some people who would like to take it a step farther than the bits and pieces that I offer in my blog.

So here is my first tutorial that is listed in my Etsy shop. Meet Santa Claus. I go through step by step each part of making this bead as well as the preparation needed and some alternatives to how and why I'm doing things.

Santa would love to come visit you before Christmas Eve and he would make a great ornament, focal or even package decoration.

Stop by my etsy shop and enjoy.

http://www.StudioMarcy.etsy.com