It's that time of year - Beads of Courage

November is the month when Maggie Towne inspires us all to dig through our bead stash and sort out a pile for donating.  Thank you Maggie!  I finally waded through beads I'd been hanging onto for no good reason and came up with this little pile.  I'll be mailing them off to Beads of Courage on Monday.  For those who don't know what BOC is here is snippet from their website -

Beads of Courage is a resilience-based intervention designed to support and strengthen the protective resources in children coping with serious illness. Through the program children tell their story using colorful beads as meaningful symbols of courage that commemorate milestones they have achieved along their unique treatment path.

Here's my little pile-

Two items in my Artfire shop!

Yesterday I worked at getting my Artfire shop up and running. At the moment I have just two items there, but am planning on adding more today. I have to say, I do like the fact that when you add a listing all the information is on one page. Listing on Etsy involves several pages of info and often I'll have to skip back and forth between them as I remember something I'd like to add. Seeing everything on one page made the process much more streamlined.

Here's who's up there!
Baker Bill - Cake Tester Extraordinaire - (sounds better than Chef on a stick right?!)

Isn't he a happy looking fellah!

And a Monkee on a stick the Primary Primate Tester!



Up next I have a Kitchen Cat who always loves to make things from 'Scratch' - this one will be going on Artfire today (that's the plan at least!)



I was happy with the way this cat turned out.  My first one had no ears, because I figured they were inside the hat.  Well, it looked a little odd, a cat with no ears, so I like this design MUCH better.  She promises she will NOT lick the cake batter!

As Artfire are still in beta at the moment this is the link for my shop front

Art Fire - sign up and plant a tree!

I'm always on the lookout for new opportunities to market and sell my beads online.  I'm hearing a lot about two new sites for selling -

1000 Markets - who I believe deal with finished pieces only at the minute and that is not my strong point, so I am checking out Art Fire.

They are brand new and still in the beta stage at the minute, but look and sound very promising.  I have to say I was attracted by the name!  And reading their beta blog it transpires they have 'code monkeys' - I just hope they are well fed and cared for!



For starters, they have $7 US/month memberships at the moment, this is definitely something to consider if you are used to paying per item fees on Etsy and have a lot of things in your shop.

One of the things I've learned from Etsy is that in order to become successful you should post new items often, daily if possible. Artfire's $7/month is less than one daily listing a month on Etsy.

Unlike some online stores Artfire will not take a percentage of any sales you make, so once you've paid your monthly membership there are NO MORE FEES - except of course the Paypal thing!

There's also a free option with Artfire, that allows you to have a shop and list up to ten items in it. A pretty sweet deal for someone starting out, or who doesn't sell a lot of items. The benefits of joining for the paid version are unlimited items, more photos per item and access to areas of the site that aren't available for freebie accounts - including templates for your shop if you aren't into doing your own.

From what I have read much is still to come including Guilds, Contests and the opportunity to Mentor other members. It's going to be exciting to watch it grow.

A nice aside is that Artfire are working with Trees for the Future and for every new account they will donate one tree to be planted in an area of the world that is in ecological crisis.

I'm still exploring and have barely scraped the surface, so I'll write more when I know more!
Register on ArtFire.com

WC Calendar is DONE!

I volunteered myself for a project this year - creating a calendar for the Glass Arts section of Wet Canvas - an online community of Artist's of all medias.

[caption id="attachment_986" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="WC calendar cover"][/caption]

I hang out in the Glass Arts area a LOT, so it seemed like a natural thing to do.  I had good ideas and great input.

[caption id="attachment_987" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="WC calendar - down by the sea"][/caption]

I had a schedule planned of when I'd call for pictures and when I'd have certain months finished by.  Well, of course what is it that they always say 'the best laid plans...'

[caption id="attachment_988" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="WC calendar - celebrating Beads of Courage"][/caption]

Finally, finally, I have it finished.  It's uploaded to Cafepress and hopefully will print alright for everyone who orders it.  It's a nervous thing!! I just hope I have everything right and that it prints as it should and that people are happy with what they get.

[caption id="attachment_989" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="WC calendar - Black Tie and White Hat!"][/caption]

If you click on the images you should get to the larger versions of them.  All I can say is there is an awful lot of talent in our glassy section of the forums, and this calendar showcases just the tip of it!

The calendar is available at Cafepress - here's the link - no-one is making any money from the sales except Cafepress so don't feel obliged to purchase one, but if you are interested in seeing the other months, they are all up there!  ---I hope they are!!  Or I am in real trouble!

Historical Glass

I read a post on Watch Me Create this morning that included some great links for anyone interested in ancient glass.

My memory was jogged and I remembered I had this image of a bead on my computer that I took from The Museum of Bristol's website some time ago.



I am so in awe of things that were acheived in the past (not just beads), when people had so much less in the way of equipment and past knowledge than we do.  This bead was likely created with the use of a complicated cane, the precision in the dots is just amazing!

Look at this bottle from 9th Century BC Egypt -



taken from the Virtual Egyptian Museum.  Isn't it beautiful!  If you click the link to the museum you'll find that it didn't originally have the wonderful lustre that it does now, that is something that has happened over time.

This rare cup from the same site is even older!!



How wonderful it would be to travel back and see these craftsmen and artists at work!

The interesting thing about the Virtual Egyptian Museum is that they explain the techniques that would have been used to create each of these pieces.  Be sure to take a look at their bead collection!!



Examples like this from the Roman period are making me think I want to revisit dot beads!  I haven't made any for a while and I think it is time.  What fun it would be to try and recreate some of these early beads.

Here is a really interesting link on how Romans would construct their glass canes. romanglassmakers.co.uk , and here is part two

I've just spent over an hour reading and exploring this site and can't say enough about how interesting it is!  Go visit Roman Glass Makers!! You'll learn everything from how the Romans made window glass, to the canes, to blown vessels, blown vessels made with molds and everything in between.  Is it me, or do these guys have the best job in the world?  Combining archaelogy, history and glass all in one place!

There is nothing like admiring other people's work and art to get you inspired to go and create some of your own!

Monkees with freckles!

From time to time something goes awry.  Something unplanned happens, as with this guy



Isn't he good looking?!  I'll call him Murdoch.

Murdoch was born with looks to wow the ladies, and a cowlick that most bovines would jump gates for.  David says he has a Homer Simpson quality to his face, I happen to think he looks far more intelligent ;o)

All was well, until Murdoch was pulled from the kiln and I realised he has a blemish.  Yes, even the best of us can have blemishes.  The back of his head touched a hot mandrel in the kiln and it left a mark -



Barely noticeable right?  There's a small indentation up near the top back of his head, it doesn't feel sharp, it's just there.  Poor Murdoch!  He's got such a lovely face I still wanted to offer him for sale, and didn't want him to think he was somehow a 'lesser' monkee because of it.  So I decided to call it a freckle.  Freckles make me think of happy children, the word somehow doesn't carry the weight of 'FLAW' or 'DEFECT'.  Murdoch certainly doesn't have either of those - he has a FRECKLE!

Monkees with FRECKLES are extremely special, and because of this I've decided that I need to make them even more accessible to people!  In order to do this, I'm offering Murdoch at a special price!  If you think he's dashingly handsom and that his FRECKLE makes him super special, you can purchase him for $10.  He's delighted about the whole thing, because he feels that it lifts him above the crowd where he surely deserves to be.

Visit my Buy Beads page to find out how you can purchase Murdoch, Monkee with a FRECKLE!

Wings in Treasury

I got up this morning to find that Cyn has picked my bead called Wings for her Etsy Treasury.  Thanks Cyn!  I took a look at all the other shops and favourited several items thinking ahead to Christmas, it's fun to see all the amazing things people are creating!  Click the image to visit the Treasury!

Acobox.com has Monkeys!

"Will someone PLEASE tell her that REAL Monkeys don't wear scuba masks??!"

Thanks Rita for the info on acobox!
Acobox.com has all kinds of images that you can use for your blog!

Glub, Glub, and monkees on sticks!

One thing that I really enjoyed about the Ottawa Bead Show was hearing other peoples ideas.  One lady called my cake tester's 'monkees on sticks' and I though how perfect that was.  A nice catchy name that was rather humourous!

Here's an experiment - Scubamonkee!

First Ottawa Bead Show - A HUGE Success!!

I'm so excited to write this post.  Our Ottawa Glass Bead Artists Show was on Saturday and I am still on a high from it.

I think it's safe to say it was a wonderful success!  Thank you Valentina for all these pictures!

[caption id="attachment_929" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="Ottawa Glass Bead Artists First Show!"][/caption]

This was not only the first Bead Show I have attended but also the first Bead Show I have been in, and for me it couldn't have been better on both counts!  The attendance was amazing, I guess the word really got out, and the feedback we were getting from attendees was that this was something that was LONG OVERDUE in the Ottawa area, and also that many of the people visiting had no idea that there were so many talented beadmakers in the area.

[caption id="attachment_933" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="Crowds!!"][/caption]

So we definitely raised the profile of Glass Beads in Ottawa!

From the time the doors opened until mid afternoon there was a steady stream of people coming through, and it seemed to me that things only quietened down in the last couple of hours.  We had wonderful door prizes available and there have to be some excited winners out there somewhere.  I know I would have been thrilled if I'd won any of them.



From a vendors point of view, I feel as though I have learned so much!  It was really good to see other Artist's beads and see the size, quality and price.  That has helped me a lot because I was mostly guessing and hoping I'd got it right.  It was also very helpful to hear people's comments and see which beads got the most attention.  This has given me more of an idea of which direction to head off into next.



I have to say for me, my Monkee beads were the hit!  I had so many wonderful smiles and chuckles from people, and lovely comments.  One young attendee came to the show with her parents for the sole purpose of seeing and buying a Monkee bead!  I was so honoured!  Monkees in Space are also a hit and I sold half of my stock of them, so I will definitely be making more and thinking of ways they can evolve.



There are so many people who need to be thanked!  Grace Edwards, our Lauscha Lady , without her drive and determination this show wouldn't have happened.  Then there are all the members and volunteers who did so much to make sure we had a successful day.  I have to thank also, my good friend Valentina and partner Lou, who shared a table with me, and took lots of pictures!  Valentina's talent seems to be without end, not only can she create beautiful silver chain maille, but also makes glass beads, jewellery, and sings - watch out because she's about to hit Ottawa in a big way!

Of course, we need to thank every single person who showed up to see what it was all about - I do hope you'll all come back next year, and check out all the Artists in the meantime.

Lastly but most definitely not least -- I wouldn't have been at the show myself, without the help and support of my husband David, and best friend Jane.  Jane got up at 5am to be there at my side for setup and stayed all day, helping in many ways.  David lived through all the pre-show stress and jitters as we tried to figure out a display and make sure there was enough content, he stayed throughout the afternoon until the show was over.  It was David who created the postcards for the show, and also a poster that was setup out front on the day.



It really does take a lot of people to bring off such a successful event!

Last Day Before Show!

And as Scooby would say "YIIIIKES!"



Yes, tomorrow is  the Ottawa Glass Bead Artists’ (OGBA) First Annual Bead & Jewellery Show!!!

If you are in the Ottawa area, you should really try to get there, I know for a fact there are some extremely talented Artists displaying and selling their wares.

The show runs from 10am to 5pm at the RA Centre, 2451 Riverside Driv, Ottawa, Ontario - entry is FREE and there will be some wonderful door prizes, including a ready made collection of Artisan Glass Beads, and Free lampworking sessions at the studios of some very generous Glass Artists!

As well as Glass Beads, there will be other beads, beading supplies and lampworking supplies for sale.  It's really shaping up to be an incredible event.

That said, I'm down to the wire, I have a huge list to still wade through and that's today taken care of.  Since this is my first big event I'm feeling nervous but also excited.  I'll have beads, Space Monkees, and a selection of jewellery for sale, much of which is the result of a collaboration between myself and Meghann Gervais, who's work is of wonderful quality and style.

The weather doesn't look good for raking leaves or doing outdoor things tomorrow, so why not get a jump start on your Christmas shopping, and come out and meet the Ottawa Glass Bead Artists group and everyone else who will be there!

Never Get Your Hair Cut Right Before A Show...

And never, never go near a hairdresser who's having a baaaaad day!!

Yesterday I went to get my hair cut so I'd look tidy for the show on Saturday.  My usual lady wasn't there and a  younger cutter stepped in to do the job.

It's not that it's a bad cut, it's just that I feel like my my bangs are the longest hairs on my head and that the hairline follows them around above my ears and across the back of my head.  Do I mean neck?  NO I mean HEAD - I don't think my hair has ever been this short at the back before.

Imagine a scene from Edward Scissorhands

[caption id="attachment_894" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="It was EXACTLY like this!!"][/caption]

Except the cutter wasn't Johnny Depp, and there weren't crowds of admiring onlookers!  ...and I'm not blonde.

While the hair flew, the cutter ranted about all the things that weren't quite right in her life that day.  Oh my gosh, I didn't even have time to yell 'STOP'!!  My neck has never been so naked in it's entire life, I told David that I need to go and get some hair extensions before Saturday, either that or I need a really high turtle neck sweater!!

It will grow, it will grow, it will grow....

And one more!

Thank you Mallory for including me in your treasury!  Mallory is one of our newbie group on Wet Canvas, she does prefer the title FPM for Fairy Princess Mallory and that's the least I can grant her for this ;o)

You can see Mallory's Etsy Shop HERE .  Click on the image below to visit the treasury.



Two treasuries in one day - that is pretty sweet!

Etsy Treasury and news on a GIVEAWAY!!

I made it into an Etsy Treasury and I'm pretty pleased because it's beads that I consider nothing special, so it's nice to see them get a bit of exposure. Now if only someone would snap them up!
Thanks to Paisleybaby for including me!  Click the picture to visit the Treasury.

Big news brewing at Fireseed our FIRST EVER GIVEAWAY!!

I don't have all the details yet, but stay tuned, over the next day or two all will be revealed, I can say it will involve Monkees In Space!

Tag I'm it and a Brooch to go APE over!

Well, I woke up this morning, and you were on my mind... you were on my mind...  Oh sorry, too little sleep has me starting the day off with a song!  Let me try again.

I woke up this morning to find I had been tagged by Rita's Rambles - Thank you Rita!

What does this mean you might ask?  Well I will tell you, here are the rules -

Here are the rules of tagging
1. Link to tagger and display these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself - some random, some WEIRD.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by including links to their blog.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Now I have to find SEVEN people to tag!  Bet you are all quaking in your boots!

Before I do the weird stuff and tagging, I want to quickly share this wonderful brooch that Meghann Gervais made for my right before my very eyes yesterday!  I love visiting Meghann because she's super talented and loves too bake, so there's always something yummy on the go as well!  Yesterday she sent me home with a whole half of her delicious bundt cake that was still warm and moist and crammed with cranberries.   Ooooh I felt so special :oD

The brooch?  Oh yes, here it is!

[caption id="attachment_856" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="Marmite - Spread the World!"]

Go Ape over Monkees Brooch!

A BIG list of things to make

The Ottawa Glass Bead Artists show is now LESS than two weeks away.  I have a HUGE list of things I need to achieve, I don't know why I put things off.  Display?  Yeah... I'll get to it....  Now I really do have to get to it.  It's funny sometimes I work best under a deadline, some of my more creative ideas come to me at the last minute, which is not always a good thing because I seldom have what I need on hand to pull them off!



Sooo, I have to get with the display, I have some ideas, unfortunately they involve sawing wood which I neither have the tools or the expertise for, but I'll work on that.

Aside from a display I need to make more beads.  Monkees in Space are getting lots of wonderful comments, as are my regular Monkees so I want to try and get a bit of stock up there.  I have an idea for making cake testers too, which I think will be a popular gift item (unfortunately these involve sawing too!).  Oh, lets just go with the list -

1. Space Monkees


2. Monkees


3. Beads for Meghann to turn into a collaborative piece


4. Matching pairs for earrings


5. Cake testers


6. Display


7. A combination technique bead to show Marcy for her blog.


8. Other things for show - postcards - price tags - etc.

I think that will keep me busy today!

Oh and one more, but it might have to wait, I want to try a copy of a sugar skull bead - again Marcy posted an image on her blog and I'd love to try a copy of this skull!