Wow, has it really been 10 days since my last update?! I think about it every day but something always seems to deter me. Especially when it comes to taking pictures...I have lots of beads to show, but first they need to be cleaned--Sammy the goofball knocked my dremel off the counter and somehow it landed tip-first. I suppose that's a good thing in that it kept the motor from being smashed, but the bit is now at a distinct angle, no good for cleaning beads! So I had to order new bead reamers...on the bright side, I found a new and amazing type of bead reamer that is supposed to be much faster and better. It was pricey so I sure hope it works--and I hope they get here soon!

I guess I could show some beads au naturel...bead poop and all...okay you talked me into it:




As you can see, I went for a bright and cheerful octopus this time. I've gotten a nice response to the more 'murky' style, but wanted to try something else. On the reverse is a VERY happy starfish! I am so happy with this different brand of clear glass. It is truly crystal-clear and gives me that optical effect I wanted, really pulling the light down into the bead! Can you see the whisper of dichroic in that koi bead? Also part of this last big glass order. I haven't used dichroic with 104coe glass in a long time, the stuff I tried before burned and got scummy way too easily, but this is much easier to use and as you can see, the sparkles just float beautifully. The smooth, melted-in flowers were the result of a mistake initially, but I like the way they look and did several that way. The flowers really seem to be floating! That rich purple color is also a new one for me, it will definitely come in handy.

The rest of the new beads are soaking, just waiting to be cleaned, photographed and blogged for your enjoyment!

Because I've made a bunch of them...well it seemed like a bunch while I was making them and wrestling them off the mandrels...



Now that I look at them it doesn't seem like so many. I guess that's always the way it is, huh? Those new flat guys are in there, the lentils coordinate but probably don't exactly match. I've made perfectly matched sets in the past, like for a pendant and earrings, and what always happens is that somebody just wants one or the other, and I end up with mismatched beads anyway. Maybe I'll make some 'designated' sets for B&B, and try to be firm if somebody asks me to break them. It's hard to say no when someone actually wants one of my beads, though!

Next week should be fun. I have about 20 lbs of glass due to arrive Monday, including a bunch of that sparkling clear for koi ponds and some colors I haven't used before.

WooHoo!

It was time to revisit the idea of the Hula Monkey, she turned out really well I think:



...Penny's flip-flop shoes are just perfect for her!

I haven't made any more koi jewelry, but will certainly post it when I do. I'm actually trying to make beads other than koi--well I say that, but other than the monkey that's what I did yesterday--but anyway, I'm getting a big batch of glass next week and want to wait till my nice crystal clear comes before making any more 'swimmers'...So I should be making weebles and hearts and dolls and things now, so that I can spend my last week before B&B making spectacular koi beads! That's the plan, anyway.

Here are some pics of the new dragonfly beads. I really like this big flat tab shape--it's not quite a lentil, it isn't so rounded, and it has a flat edge. It's a nice surface for decorating, and I thought the simple dragonfly was nice on these organic-looking colors:



Of course, I couldn't resist some little lentils to go with them:



Regular blog viewers will notice that those colors are new for me, I'm having a lot of fun playing with this new glass, it changes colors according to the heat of the flame. I did some koi on the big tabs yesterday, just couldn't resist! I'll post those once I get them cleaned.

I had a great time at the SABOS show over the weekend, even though my husband didn't get to come--we had planned to make a fun weekend of it, but at 7:30 Friday morning the pet sitter says her car has broken down...typical!
So there was no time for visiting or checking out the other booths, which is too bad, because it looked like the Bead Society people really had some cool stuff going on. I also didn't get a chance to buy any raffle tickets, so no door prizes either! Phooey!


I don't think I got a chance to mention last week that The Collector was accepted into the Bead Dreams exhibition!!!! WooHoo! I can't wait to see him there, but I hope he doesn't misbehave and try to 'collect' beads off of the other pieces in the show...I told Wayne to give him a stern talking to before shipping him to Milwaukee.

Yesterday was dog renovation day, they looked like a bunch of strays roaming around , and today I'll finish up Emma and work on the house a bit. That will give me the rest of the week for MORE BEADS!!!!