Crikey!!  It's been ages since I've posted here!  I have been quite busy with family and work, but I'm sure that's still no excuse.  I must be more diligent about posting here, altho I keep up to date for the most part through my FB page (facebook.com/JeansBeads) - - so if anyone is ever looking for me, I am usually there.
I have also been creating a lot of Youtube how-to videos and currently have videos scheduled to be released every few days to a week apart thru the end of November.  And I am currently working on more - - please check out my channel  https://www.youtube.com/user/jeannie291.
If you are at all curious on how these lovely beads and glass creations are created or if you are a current
lampworker/glass blower, you might find some of my how-to videos interesting and inspiring - - that is my goal 
at least!  😊

These guys are available through my FB page, Jean's Beads.  https://www.facebook.com/Jeans-Beads-143968095775/

Getting ready for Vegas!!

I can't believe it's less than 2 weeks away already!  Been working away, but also experimenting (mostly unsuccessfully) with new glass, techniques and styles.  Needless to say, I have plenty of stock for Vegas, a bunch of new Dragon Eyes, vessels, hearts, etc., but there's still so much to do (isn't there always??)  Can't wait!
If you are in the area or planning to go already, please come by and say "Hi!".  March 26th - 30th - - Glass Craft & Bead Expo, South Point Hotel in Vegas (I will be at table D11 in the Bead Bazaar area, like usual - the exhibition floor is open Fri - Sunday, March 28th-30th).  It's a great venue for everything glass - - stained glass, mosaic glass, blown glass, lampwork glass, fused glass, cold-worked glass.  They have daily glass demos going on and there are classes available in all areas of glass as well as jewelry making, finishing, etc.  There are many glass suppliers there selling glass, equipment, tools, etc., and of course - - the amazing artists that sell ALL types of glassy things!  Come on by - it's a blast!

Keeping Busy . . .

I have been torching every day recently, keeping myself busy and doing what I love to do.  I have been working on inventory for my shows starting in early January and of course, I started with the hardest and most time-consuming pieces that I make (just to get them out of the way!).  These are my Dragon Eye pendants and they take several stages to make as well as 2-3 hours for each one.  Needless to say, I usually cannot make more than 2 per day, but sometimes I am extremely productive and make 3 or 4 (those are looooong torching days!).
I am running out of the clear and black I use for the bases of these guys, so I might have to move onto other things, at least for now - - but I have quite a few done, so I am happy (I have a few more that are not in this picture, too!)  :)

Tis the Season . . .

to get busy!!  YAY!
Been working on production pieces for my upcoming shows starting in early January, but got sidetracked with some orders (always welcome, especially this time of year!) and also was playing around with some boro tubing and making some ornaments for the holiday.
I have been taking a boro class at the Mesa Art Center here trying to learn a few things, mostly about tubing and blowing, which I don't have a lot of experience with (yet!), altho I do know the basic concepts.  It's nice to be able to work on tanked oxygen and really rage my torch.  I am limited at home by the oxy-con's pressure so I cannot go as big or as fast as the tanked oxygen.  It was still much fun making these ornaments at home, tho, and gave me a lot of experience with tubing, blowing and shaping.  These above are just a few of the many (probably over 30) ornaments I made.

Now, back to my production . . .

Not the Greatest Day . . . {{sigh}}

Well, yep - - at my title explains, I didn't have the greatest day today.   Tried doing a special, custom Dragon Eye for someone and it didn't quite work out.
I had high hopes, too, since the first eye I created for this year's shows turned out pretty dang good . . . (above picture).
So . . . I was confident and ready to go.  But, alas, the universe didn't feel the way I did.  My first DE cracked right at the end of an excruciating 2 hours at the torch.  Not to be deterred, I took a break and then tried again.  The second one came out alright, it's a keeper, but it didn't look "superb", which is what I really wanted the eye to be.  Oh well.  There is always tomorrow. . .

Production Season Begins . . .

Woohoo!  It's finally getting a little cooler here in AZ, so now is the time I start working my butt off in production for upcoming shows.
But, I haven't been just slacking here.  I have been torching almost daily, but not for full production days and not for specific pieces, mostly just making whatever comes to mind at the time, which is nice.
I have also updated my webpage with upcoming shows for 2014, and I also added a tutorial page which lists all my current YouTube tutorials with links to each one.  Here's a link to that specific page . . .
http://www.jeansbeads.com/tipstutorials.htm

I have started production for the 2014 year already, and decided to start with my most time-consuming and challenging pieces, my Dragon Eye pendants.  These are what the final pendants look like, in case you haven't seen them before.  They are large pendants, averaging about 2.5" long.

I make these pendants in a variety of background colors and with various eye colors, too.  I have been working on the eyes recently, which are made first and then later embedded in the pendants.  I am trying some new swirled and varied color backgrounds in some of them this year, so hopefully I will get some really unique-looking and enviable eyes this year.  Here are the eyes I have made so far . . .

Hopefully all, or at least most, of my pendants will come out well, and I hope to be posting some of the finished pendants in the coming days and weeks.  Right now, I am still focusing on the eye parts, but am hoping to start work on the pendants by this weekend.  Like I stated previously, these are very challenging and time consuming to make, so most days I can only complete one or two of these pendants, but hopefully they will be worth the wait!

Almost time for high gear . . . waiting . . .

It's almost time for me to get into my high-production gear again.  Well, actually, it's past time, but I am still waiting for this Arizona heat to calm down a bit.  Pretty soon the temperatures will plunge, like they seem to do each year here in October, but so far, it's still been in the 90s during the day.
I have been torching in the evenings/late night/overnight here when it's cooler, but just can't get many production hours in yet.  But soon, really soon!
I have several shows coming up early next year and am running a little low on stock - particularly Dragon Eyes, Dragon and other heart pendants and marbles -- some of my best sellers.  Need fresh new batches to handle next year's shows and maybe even try to develop some new designs, too.
Here are a few of my butterfly implosion pendants I was playing with the other day - hope you enjoy!
These may go up on my site soon, but wanted to make a few more, first -- http://www.etsy.com/shop/JeansBeads?ref=seller_info

Oh boy, haven't posted in a while again.  Mostly, that is because I haven't been up to much lately.  In Arizona, it's too dang hot in the summer to really do anything, let alone working less than a foot behind a 2000 degree torch while there's a 1000 degree kiln also spewing heat about 3 feet behind you.
I finally started up again just recently despite the heat.  One, because I have had a few orders (YAY!) and two, at least the daily temperature dropped to around 100 degrees versus the 110-115 degrees it was just a short time ago.
Been also thinking about Halloween and trying to come up with a new design to kick-start my muse back at the torch.  Came up with this design - - the bloody heart, bleeding heart?  Not sure, I might just call them dripping hearts since I have made several more with other colors besides red.  Those are in the kiln annealing right now, so I only have the red one at this time - enjoy!

Hot, Hot Summer!!!

Yep, it's hot!  Especially in Arizona!  We are now entering monsoon season, so it's getting humid, too.  My worst time of the year here, but luckily it only lasts a couple/few months.  The rest of the year in AZ is just beautiful, sunny and warm (well, in winter it can get quite chilly!).
Since it's so hot here, I haven't been torching.  I am getting that bad itch to torch often but it's just not viable right now.  I am hoping some good rains might come through and cool it off for a while so I can jump back on the torch - - there's still so much I want to do and learn - even after 7 years!
Here is some eye candy (literally, haha!) of a pendant I have up for auction now.  The auction will end Saturday at midnight.  If it's not sold, it will be heading up on Etsy, probably with a few more items.

Happy Summer Everyone!

Wasted Torch Time

It happens to all of us sometimes, but man, it can be so frustrating - - wasted torch time.
This happened to me last night.  I was going to work on more turtle beads (which I must post later, they're so darn cute!) for Beads of Courage, but I decided to make another complex flower murrini instead (big mistake!).
Everything was going fine until my last petal layer when I heard the distinct sound of glass cracking.  You other glass artists out there know what I mean - - that high-pitched, make-you-cringe, tinking sound.  Ugh!  Yep, my huge (about 3" round) murrini cracked in an underlayer.
I proceeded to heat the begeezus out of it and was hoping it would heal.  If anyone out there has made murrini before, they know the whole mass of glass needs to be heated to pull out into a usable rod size anyway, so it was heated thru-and-thru for that part also.
I pulled it into a 4-foot long rod of about 8-10mm thick, and everything seemed fine, until it cooled.  Then the cracking began - - little tinks here and there.  I was working on a turtle bead then, looked over, and half my murrini rod split in 2, lengthwise.  Oh boy.
I decided to test the remaining, un-cracked rod, and proceeded to make one test murrini bead which seemed fine.  I went to test a second bead and the rod just kept exploding in my flame, pieces of pretty pink and yellow flower murrini glass all over my workbench.
So much for 3 or so hours at a hot torch, what a waste of time, glass and electricity.  But, it happens sometimes, to all of us.

Here's a picture of the little glass chunks all around my torch and 3 pieces of split-in half murrini - ugh!

Working Diligently . . .

Been working hard lately, getting ready for the Glass Craft and Bead Expo, in Vegas, which is only in a month's time.
I have produced many Dragon Hearts and my new wig-wag hearts for this year's event, along with many blown vessels.
Now it's onto my Dragon Eye pendants since I just received my new order of glass.  I just hope I have enough time to get everything done!

I finally have gotten a new YouTube tutorial out there for soft glass lampworking.
It is a mini tutorial on Intense Black/Webbing effect which you can achieve with certain colors and a dense black, not the regular transparent black.

Intense Black/Webbing Effect

This is a really neat effect I learned when just starting out with bead making, and I still use it often today.  It can supply a unique background to decorated beads and also makes cool, organic-looking beads which looked laced like natural stones/rock.

In the video, I use dark ivory and Hades black from CiM.  You can also use Intense Black from Effetre (altho it might also be called Dense Black).  This also works on a variety of different color bases besides ivory.  You can try it with periwinkle blue, Canyon de Chelly (CiM), medium or dark gray, Stone Ground (CiM), and some opaque greens and purples will allow the effect, too.

I hope you enjoy!

Re-Vamp Time

I am currently re-vamping the studio set-up to give more space to the room (which is also our dining area) and to have easier access to my glass rack and tools/storage rack.
I think this new set-up will be much easier and with less cords and hoses in the way, too.  Still have quite a bit to do, but I am getting close to finishing and will finally be able to get back on the torch!

For-Ever!

Boy, it seems forever since I have blogged.  Well, almost forever, I think it was early this year the last time I sat down to write anything.
But, in the meantime, I have been keeping up with Facebook posts, did some YouTube videos and still listing on Etsy.

My recent works have been some blown vessels.  Been making some simple (altho still very shapely and elegant) vessels in mostly clear or transparent glass so that you can see what's inside.  I have some with mini marbles inside (shown above) some with sand and mini seashells, some with mini hearts and some with micro beads.  I have made all the marbles and hearts myself also.  These are very cute and the glass topper with cork can be removed so you can add your own items if you wish.  They will also hold perfume or essential oil if you would like.

I do have some available now at my Etsy shop - - - http://www.etsy.com/shop/JeansBeads?ref=seller_info
And I will also have some available at Coppper Con this coming weekend in Avondale, AZ.  For more info on the 32nd annual Copper Con Sci-Fi convention, look here - - http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/events/articles/20120822coppercon-32-convention-avondale.html
They also have a FB page.  These conventions are so much fun with different panels and discussions to attend, presentations, readings from authors, activities, gaming - and Filk music (can't forget that!).  If you like to read, write, game or watch anything Sci-Fi, this is a fun weekend!

Keepin' it on Track

Dragon Eye Pendant made with black and pure silver - now for sale on my Etsy (will come to Vegas if still around).

It's already almost a month into the new year - time seems to just fly by sometimes.  There are so many things with my glass art that I want to practice with, new things I want to try, and even new glass I want to experiment with, but I have to remember to keep myself on track.
I have an ongoing project that I am working on which will keep me busy working on beads thru June and I also have the big Glass Expo in Vegas coming up at the end of March, so I need to make sure I keep up with my production and don't stray too much from what I need to get done.
I usually make a list for each week, noting the stuff that needs to be done and also the stuff I want to get done for upcoming shows.  This helps a lot to keep me on track, but also allows some lee-way in case I get bored doing the same thing over and over and over.  I keep this list on my workbench as a reminder of my "plans" and it also reminds me of upcoming projects which might of slipped my mind.  That helps me stay motivated and always looking toward the future.  I think writing out your plans or dreams is always a great motivator and sometimes can break down huge projects (or obstacles) into smaller, more bite-size pieces.

Wow, January 2012 already!

Amazing!  I can't believe it's already 2012.  What happens to the time?  Sometimes it just seems to fly by.  Most of November and December flew by like a whirlwind to me, and now the New Year has already crept in.
I have been busy working away lately.  I have a special project for the Beads of Courage charity that I am working on now - - and I must say I am humbly honored to be asked to participate.  This project will last for a 4-5 months and will keep me busy at the torch.
Besides that, I have the annual Glass Craft Expo in Vegas at the end of March.  So looking forward to that show, which is basically the only big show I have done the last few years.  It is so much fun and I get to meet so many great and talented glass artists.
So . . . I will be very busy working on stock for the Vegas show as well as the BOC project, which is a very good thing.
Been working on a few new designs lately - - some Retro Ray Guns for mainly the Sci-Fi conventions I go to (but will bring them to Vegas, too), mermaids and various ocean themed beads.

Keeping Busy

I have been keeping busy lately, filling some orders and making how-to lampworking videos for YouTube.  I have several new videos online now and more to come soon.  Most of my recent videos are more intermediate/advanced techniques which might take a little practice for beginners.  But, I am also going to add more technique/color-reaction videos that will be more simple so that anybody should be able to use immediately.  I hope that I will be able to give some viewers and aspiring glass artists some tips and tricks to help with their creative processes to make their own cool beads!

Here are links to my last couple videos posted .. . .

This is the bead made in my Feathered Rainbow Tutorial on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h00_ntA8G7Y

Here is another tutorial on YouTube of on-mandrel implosion flowers.  The bead actually made in the video is the yellow one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_WvTs4Z6CY

This is a 2-part video, so be sure to tune into the second half, too.

And this is a little bunny bead which will be yet another tutorial coming up on YouTube  within the next few days!

The Scars of a Lampworker

Yes, being a lampworker can be exhilerating, exciting, fun and even exotic to some, but it also has it's risks.  Working with an open flame has it's dangers, but for me, all the cuts and burn scars are well worth it. 

Every scar tells a story, and I am glad to say that I am proud of my scars and that the more scars I build up, the more experience I gain at the torch.

This first scar was my worst burn ever.  It's hard to see, so I have highlighted the area.  The whole side of my hand was burnt from the first knuckle down to my thumb.  I was distracted by my son who came into the studio and ended up putting my hand right in the flame - - duh!  A fresh little burn is right above it and to the left, from a piece of flying glass.  I am surprised this scar is so small since such a large area was burned, but probably just the worst of it scarred up.  I now have a small lighter area there with a dark spot at the bottom.  And, of course, even after being badly burned, I had to finish the bead I was working on!

These are a bunch of little scars I have gotten over the years from little shards of flying glass when rods have shocked when first putting them into the flame.  These are no big deal, some hurt a little, but I just brush them off and keep on torching.

Here's a nice one.  This was a larger piece of shocked glass that flew right into my elbow area.  The piece of glass was triangle shaped so I have a nice triangle scar there now - - pretty cool! 

This is one I got just last week and it's healing up pretty well now.  A hot mandrel fell right between my fingers and both my ring finger and my middle finger were burned, but my ring finger got the worst of it.

And here is my newest wound.  Not from a burn, though.  I was playing with a little boro the other day and have a coffee can of rods I was using. Now that I am back to soft glass, I had the can of rods on the floor by my shelving unit.  Duh!  I walked right into a rod that was sticking out and got a nice gouge on my shin.

I believe scars have a big influence on who we are, whether those scars are visible or not.  And whether you have physical scars or scars of the heart, I hope you are as proud of them as I am.  We all make mistakes, we all slip up sometimes, but the most important thing to do is lift yourself back up and keep on going.  

Flowers For Fall

Been experimenting a little as I am trying to get back into a regular torch routine.  The weather is cooler now here in AZ (as least at night) and whether I have neck pain or not, I have to get back on the torch.

I have been playing with an old flower design I tried years ago - - think they look pretty cool.  I did not invent this design, tho, and I am not sure who did.  I have seen a few beads like these floating around from different

artists.  I am not sure if I make these exactly like others do since I figured this out myself, but they look similar to others I have seen out there.

I am hoping to get some of these online as pendants soon.  I will string them on a headpin with small beads and/or crystals and attach a spring ring so that these could be easily strung onto a corded or chain necklace, a key chain, bookmark, chain-pull, sun-catcher hook, etc.

 I am heading to the chiropractor again this Friday and I am hoping my neck issue begins to improve as it has been, altho too slow for my taste.  As for now, I can only torch for a few hours before the tingling and pain shooting down my arm from my pinched nerve starts being too much to handle.

Wish me luck and I hope you enjoy these floral beads as much as I enjoy making them.  I am also planning on making a set of these, but am trying out different color combos to find my favorites (so far, I really like the orange and aqua one).