Money Making Dog

Oh how I wish I had saved the link, but there's this dog in Alaska who rolls his tongue on command, and people pay a dollar to see it.  I thought this photo was so cute, that I had to post it.  

Do you have a pet that does tricks?  I'd love to hear about it.  Please post a comment.

Hope your day is perfect!  See you tomorrow.

Magic Erasing Tip for Beadmakers

Writing in Sharpie on your vent hood???

My good friend Kristy was designing beads for a special necklace and discovered something that helped her a lot.  She likes to keep measurements close at hand and right next to her, so she can hold her bead up close for comparison and really see it.  What a great discovery to find that her Mr. Clean Magic Erasers worked to clean Sharpie writing off of her hood vent after she wrote on it.

Now, before you try it, please find an unobtrusive corner to experiment- just in case it doesn't work on yours.  But for me, I love the idea of having a good clear place to make my markings when I'm doing sets or multiples.  Nice job Kristy and thanks for the tip!

Come Vote For My Glass Entry, Skylar the Bird

Our Lampwork Etc. Street Team is hosting our January Challenge. It's for beads that make you think positively or make you happy.

There's quite a wonderful array, and plenty to choose from. I'm hoping that you will mosey over there and vote for the bead of your choice. Of course I always love your votes, but I'd be just as thrilled if you found another favorite or even voted for someone with fewer votes to even things up a bit.

This is Skylar the technicolor bird- my entry, who is currently living in my Etsy shop. Skylar is based on a heart shape before her extra feathers are added. I think I made her body from Check Glass, and the feathers from Moretti and her cheeks of course from my favorite cheek color, CIM's Gelly Pink. Love that pink. And if you look carefully at the wings, I used various shades of transparents and then blended them together, which I do for fins too. I think Skylar is even prettier in person.

Don't forget to vote and hope your Sunday is wonderful.

Ask Studio Marcy...Online Coaching Now Taking Requests

I woke up this morning thinking about all the lovely responses I received from offering a free mini tutorial earlier this week. Thanks everyone for your kind words.

So my natural progression both from being happy from hearing that, is to wonder what else can I do that will be nice for the lampwork community?

It came to me... Online Coaching.

I am a lampwork teacher. I love it. Helping beadmakers achieve what they want to do and then seeing their smiles afterward really makes me excited. There's nothing like it.

I can share my 8 years of glass experience and we can all learn from this. I know that there are lots of lampworkers out here in cyber land who don't have the luxury of classes being taught in their hometowns. (That's one of the things I love about Atlanta- we get great teachers here!)

So here's how I'd like to set this up:
a. I will do this twice a month - every other week to start. We'll see how it goes.
b. Hopefully, this will be a semi interactive situation. Where someone will offer one of their beads as an example and I'll both post their photo and comments and then provide suggestions that might include tips, techniques, color suggestions, etc. in a kind and supportive manner so it is a group learning experience.
c. And the readers who are following this, may offer their opinions also as long as they are in a kind and supportive manner. (I moderate all posts, so only those types of posts will be allowed)
d. I'd like to try to keep this to the sculptural area, to encourage more people to try it.
e. Now the nitty gritty.
1. Email me through my blog contact form on- www.StudioMarcy.com. You can send a photo, 72 dpi and no larger than 1000 x 1000. I can't choose everyone, but I'll try to find the photos which provide a great learning experience for everyone viewing it. I will respond to everyone though. Please include the word "Coach" in the subject line. Also tell me what you would like to know, your website or etsy shop name if you'd like, (hey, additional pr is always good), what kind of torch you use, glass type, and any other back ground info or pertinent info you'd like to tell me.
2. If you are chosen, your name will be placed in a hat for a quarterly drawing for one of my beads.

And I would be remiss if I didn't pop in a plug for my teaching gigs. As I mentioned, I love teaching. If you or your group would like to learn more about sculptural glass beadmaking in person, I'm an empty nester and love to travel. Please contact me for my class syllabus and other info at
www.StudioMarcy.com

Please share this opportunity with others. Blog it, post it in forums, or where ever we can get volunteers to try this concept. Now let's get this party started! Who will be first?
Cheers,
Marcy