More Leaves

That's all just some more leaves.

These were made using a tungsten to hot drill the holes.
The creamy look comes from Bullseye glass  special production rods from way back it is called Amber Surprise and I love what it does when mixed with an opaque color. The color looks opaque when it is held against a solid back ground but when you let the light shine through it becomes transparent or translucent.

I used it in some of the leave that were posted yesterday too.

Oh Frit

I have been making Frit beads like a woman possessed
You know how sometimes you do something very productive just to avoid doing something else you really need to get done? Well I think I'm avoiding finalizing my Gathering Presentation. Or maybe just trying to beat the heat and get some beads made. Whatever it is I have certainly gotten some Frit beads made.

It was on my list of things to do..........about 200 beads in all.
It does show off what the Bullseye frit blends I have been making look like!

More Murrini

Time flies when your having fun - yeah right - time flies no matter what! So I haven't posted in a while.I was busy with the doing and not the talking about it.
 Luminaria happened. I got downtown late after teaching class so Glass alley was going strong. SAGAG members were showing beautiful glass. Larry West and his crew was blowing glass.The Brother's of the Flame were dancing with fire. The SALSA members where busy making beads so I thought I'd do something a little different.We were on Hot Heads and the wind was blowing. That is my protect the public from flying glass screen. It helps a bit with the wind too.

I made a bunch of small sculptures,strange flowers, birds in tree's and such. I knew at the end of the night they would go in the trash  but sometimes it is just in the creating that is the art.

Now back to the Murrini I made about 7 different combinations so far and I am really liking what they do on a bead. They have a reptilian feel to them an other worldly reptilian so I'm calling them Dragon eye murrini.

I've also been making these earrings with the dragon eye beads. I like they way they look.

May is for Murrini

May is for Murrini

And  Graduations, Mothers Day and May flowers.
Today is just a short blog on the reactive murrini I've been making. I made about 5 different pulls of murrini and am testing them to see what they will do. Because they are made with reactive glass they are not going to behave like a regular murrini which means lots of test drives on different bead shapes and glass.
These are COE 90 Bullseye glass murrini - these 2 are my favorites so far.

I think it comes from being a scientist or maybe I was a scientist because of it. I take notes and make observations. I'm always recording what I did, how I did it, what worked and what didn't. It also helps me remember what I did several years down the road.
Here's a peek at a page on these murrini

Here's a look at them before they go on a bead.
Believe it or not the top right container is the top 2 beads above and the far right is the bottom 3

And here is the bunch of test beads from yesterday.

Fiery Friday is tomorrow so I think I'll make another batch and test them!

Someday I will get these murrini and beads in that etsy store I started.

As for Mothers Day - you have 2 more days to pick something up for Mom and I might just have something she wants here at the store.....Just saying. Mention the blog post and you'll get 10% my jewelry thought Saturday the 12th of May.

More on May flowers next blog.

New COE 90 Frit Blends

Dream Fire Glass has a New Product!
COE 90 Frit blends. I finally ordered all the frit I needed from Bullseye to make the frit blends I had in mind. I got to work testing them and working out just the the right mix. I am very please with the results.
I wanted to make sure there were no unpleasant reactions and that the colors worked well together.They have all passed the final tests and are ready for you to buy. The nice thing about using Bullseye frits on Bullseye glass is you can add as much or as little as you like and never worry about a compatibility issue.
I think the Texas spring is affecting the names.



Real Mountain Laurel in my yard

  Flowers are popping out all over so a few of the frits bear the names of our Texas wild flowers like Evening Primrose a pale delicate pink, Bougainvillea a robust almost in your face hot pink, Texas Mountain Laurel well it looks like the plant in bloom, Late Summer, you know those flowers, the yellow and orange ones that hang on late into summer and  Rolling in Clover blend of greens with sparkle.


Texas Mountain Laurel Frit

Here are just a few with more to come. Blends are 2 oz's of yummy color for $4.50-$6.00

The beads to the left of the jars are made with the blends.
The long floral beads have been rolled in the frit
a minimum of 3 times to give them an interesting background. Some of the frit blends are striking colors that show their true colors after they are heated.


Rolling in Clover




Evening Primrose




Late Summer




Bougainvillea



















More Blends are: Royal a Deep blend of purples, Marble Halls this is a reactive blend that gives your beads a marble look and when used with copper rich glass can give you reds, Blue Jean Baby has all the hues of blue jeans with a hint of sparkle, Troubled Waters has blues and greens with a hint of  "swirling water"


Royal


















Marble Halls





Blue Jean Baby



Troubled Waters



Evening Primrose, Troubled Waters, Rolling in Clover,
Late Summer, Blue Jean Baby, Royal, Bougainvillea, Mt Laurel

These little encase donuts were rolled in the frits a couple of times and then encase in clear . They have a French vanilla base unless otherwise noted

Bougainvillea,Mt Laurel, Winter Sky,Marble Halls on Steel blue- French V- turquoise, Royal again









Dream Fire glass will continue to also carry That Frit Girl COE 96 Frits
The more Frit the Merrier! Come on over to the studio and see them in person but be careful you might have to take them home with you!

Bullseye, Carlisle and Jen-Ken Thank you

You may already know that I am teaching 4 classes  at the Glass Craft Expo in Vegas this March.
I have been to Glass Craft Expo and assisted in some fusing classes but I have not taught a flame working class there.
So it is really my 1st year teaching at Glass Craft Expo. So I had a little learning curve. Each instructor is responsible for their own glass, kilns and torch set ups. The 1st call I made was to Jen-Ken  to get Chili-Pepper kilns for my classroom. Thank you Jen-Ken. Next on the list was my favorite Bullseye glass rods.They are sending all the glass we'll need for my classes. Thank you Bullseye But I was missing one important item TORCHES.
This week the phone rang and the caller ID said Carlisle I literally answered the phone "Oh I'm so glad you called I really need to talk to you". So now I have my torches for the classroom set up and all! Thank you Carlisle.

Vegas list is done!
Plane tickets - check
Room - check
Glass - check

Kilns-check

Lovely assistant- check

Torches check

Students - check
Ready set go!
I can sleep better now that Glass Craft Expo is all taken care of.

2 Days until the Grand Opening!

Wow time is flying.
My last post I had 10 days to get ready. By the time this posts it will really be closer to one day away.
I can guarantee I've been busy.
Just after the holiday break we made some changes in the gallery. Now there is a little bit more jewelry and glass displayed. I've added  few more tools on the wall.
The Bullseye glass order came in yesterday. I measure out the  frit  in 2 oz containers. It is just the right size for beadmakers who want to sample a new color. Those are now labelled and hanging on the wall. The rods are all labeled  and ready to purchase. The labelling of each rod is again a beadmaker thing. Most beadmakers use many different COE's of glass and having each one labeled is a great way to keep them from getting mixed up.
The pinata and its goodies are in the studio waiting for the "stuffing process". If you have never had a pinata before there are things you have to do before it is ready to have the stuffing beat out of it. You have to find just the right spot to cut a tiny opening just big enough for the largest item going in. Now you just can't cut a hole anywhere because you might compromise the structure and the last thing you want is the pinata to burst open on the 1st hit. So I've been studying it and the prizes and I'm not sure yet. I think that can wait until manana.
OK I promised I would post the schedule here. So loosely here it is:

10 am  the doors open and breakfast refreshments will be available
11 am  1st Demo
12 noon we break out the wine and other yummy things
1 pm Demo
2 pm Demo
3 pm Demo
4 pm We go out back and hit the stuffing out of that pretty little pinata
5 pm Demo
5:30 announce the prize winners
6 pm we will be drinking wine and enjoying each others company and wishing that it wasn't over.

Want to know more about the prizes?
This is how it is going to work when you come in the door you will get a ticket. You will right your name and contact information on the ticket. There will be several prizes each one will be in front of a container. You will put your tickets in the container of the prizes you want to win.
The longer you stay the more tickets you get- one every hour
The pinata will also have lots of tickets in it.
Now for those loyal customers who have purchased from me here at the new location.
Don't worry if you can't make it. I have tickets for you based on your purchases and those will go in the container for the $50.00 gift certificate to Dream Fire Glass for any purchase (except visiting instructors)

Can't Wait! Hope to see you there.

Yummy New Glass Colors

The Bullseye Special Production Rods are here.
They came in late last week and are now all labeled and waiting for you to take them home and make some awesome beads. I have sample beads below or come by and see them in person. This is the hardest part of having a Store I want to melt all this glass myself. But I have to share!

Below Left  Raspberry Rose a yummy translucent pink and

Right Astro Yellow a really nice bright yellow with reactive properties

Next is Left Purple blue tint this is a really pretty light blue purple tint.
Right Rainforest this batch is full of green aventurine with  nice streaky stripes in hues of greens

                                                               

Below Left Lavender blush tint is a very pale pink

Right Sunset sapphirine is a nice coral/with a hint of brown transparent a bit deeper in color than Sunset coral

 

Left Carnelian beautiful root beer transparent

Middle Deep Red very intense dark read opaque

Right Goldrush a fall yellow somewhere between sunflower yellow and butterscotch

Below is left Raspberry Rose middle Raspberry Rose over French vanilla

Right sunset sapphirine again

Below Left Carnelian Middle bottom carnelian over French Vanilla
Middle top Sunset sapphrine over French vanilla and Right Sunset Sapphirine

 Below Left Lavender opal a pale blue purple really pretty
 Right Tranlucent Sky blue when it strikes( the bead) it becomes translucent. If it does not strike( the disk) it is a pretty sky blue both are nice

Not pictured Mossy Oak- deep green with hints of brown

Wisteria- a wonderful transparent blue purple

Hematite Lustre I think the best of the Lustres

They are moving fast too. So come on in and get yours before they are gone!

SO MUCH GLASS SO LITTLE TIME!!!!!

The Glass is Here!

It is always fun when the glass rod shipment comes in.
Pounds and Pounds of Glass Rod!

Some of the Bullseye Glass

The Bulleye COE 90 rod is labeled and in the rack on the wall. It looks like a glass rainbow




The COE 104 is unpacked and waiting for it's labels!
That's the update for today!