Tutorial Tuesday - Pulling Stringer

I'm yet to have a go at making lampwork beads, mainly because I've used some of the best lampwork in the UK the world and I know I'd get very impatient with myself as my feeble efforts would be nothing like the beauties that Laura Sparling and Mindy MacGregor make! That doesn't mean, though, that I'm not fascinated by how the beads are made. I've mentioned Laura's tutorials and videos before now, and she posted a new one at the weekend. This one is on making stringer, the very fine threads of glass used to decorate the beads. Laura's stringer work is amazingly precise.



Laura has also posted the out-takes of the video on youtube. Go visit her blog at www.laurasparling.blogspot.com to see them - they're hilarious!!

A Perfect Picnic Weekend

We've just had a wonderful weekend - great friends and great weather, two picnics and a BBQ! Well, in this country you really have to make the most of the good weather as it never lasts long! Our visitors, Hellie, Jamie and baby Eliza are moving to New Zealand in a few weeks time, so this was the last time we're going to see them for a while. Hellie and I were at university together - same course, same hall of residence in the first year, same house in the final year and then we shared a house again a couple of years after graduation, and we graduated 15 years ago  - although in some ways it really doesn't seem that long ago. Hellie, I'm going to miss you so much, but I'm determind we'll get out there to see you some how!

BIke Racer Ben

T set up a rope slide between two trees at our local park yesterday!

My favourite photo of Jamie so far

Mummies and children!

The perfect April blue sky!

To-do list

My to-do list for yesterday read something like this:

• take Ben to school - check
• feed Jamie - check
• go to B&Q to get a couple of plumbing bits and pieces so T can finish putting the new sink in the bathroom - check
• feed Jamie - check
• washing, ironing, cleaning kitchen - check, check and check
• feed Jamie - check (you get the idea!)
• plant new hanging baskets - check
• work on latest magazine article - check
• catch up on emails - check
• go to PCworld to investigate new laptops because doing the last two items on the list on my five-year-old laptop was driving me crazy - ummmm.....check.....and I ended up buying a new one.....oops!

To be completely honest with myself it was pretty likely that I would end up buying one rather than just looking. In my defence I've been promising myself a new laptop for nearly a year as my old one if painfully slow - think over 10 minutes just for the laptop to load up properly plus another 10 minutes to get the internet loaded up, and editing photos on it is a nightmare.
 
Anyway, I love this one! For those of you interested in these things it's a HP Pavilion dv6 (I think I've got the right name!). For those of you who are more like me it's a dark metallic red, does everything I need it to, has a built in web cam so I can Skype my friend who's moving to New Zealand (what happened to moving to Reading Hellie?!?) and is lovely!

BTW

It has been the most beautiful day here - sunny and bright from start to finish! I love doing the school run on days like this. Everyone is so much more relaxed, mainly as there's no trying to encourage children to walk a bit faster through the cold and wet!

I'm always a lot more productive when the weather's nice. Jamie had a couple of good naps today, so I was able to get my jobs done round the house in record time and then head out into the workshop with the baby monitor. My main task today was to finish a couple of magazine projects, one short project and another with six pieces of jewellery in the set. The project including the necklace above includes two of my favourite things - hammering and making findings!

Tutorial Tuesday - Spiral Wire Clasp

I thought it was about time that I revived Tutorial Tuesdays! I don't think I've done one since well before Christmas - oops!

Photo copyright Cindy Wimmer

It was seeing Cindy Wimmer's Spiral Wire Clasp that started me off again. If you haven't visited Cindy's blog Sweet Bead Studio yet, go and do so now (and come back to me afterwards, pretty please!). Those of you who buy Beads and Beyond magazine will hopefully remember the beautiful necklace that she had on the front cover of the magazine last July. I always try to use handcrafted findings in my jewellery, especially if I can make them to match the rest of the piece I've made. Cindy's Spiral Wire Clasp is quick to make, strong and, of course, beautiful - and you can find the photos and instructions here.

Charity Auction in aid of Japan

How do you fancy treating yourself to a beautiful piece of jewellery, a fabulous set of designer lampwork beads or a piece of textile art and helping to raise money for Japan at the same time?

Mel Poxon of Kookie Designs has organised an auction full of fantastic lots, some of which you can see here, and you have until 8.30pm GMT on Monday 4th April to place your bid. Just follow the email link on the auction page and email your name, the auction lot number (or numbers!) you are interested and your bid in £ sterling.All of the money raised will be paid into a PayPal account which will then paid into the Japan fund via the Oxfam website.

Please do help us to raise as much money as possible!

You can find all of the items on offer and the full details on the auction page here.

BTW

No, not by the way, which is what I thought it meant when it started appearing on some of the other jewellery blogs I read. It's Bead Table Wednesday! There's a Flickr group full of photos that jewellery designers, bead makers and the like have taken, well, of their workdesk every Wednesday - and I thought that now I'm finding a bit of time to get out into the workshop that I'd jump on the band wagon.

My desk is it's usual messy self as you can see. I do tidy it up every now and then, honest, but then I start working on four projects at once (so I can sand one while the others are cleaning in the pickle pot etc) and organised chaos rules again! If you look closely though you'll be able to see a couple of magazine projects in the making and a pendant waiting for it's stone to be set.