3 New Summer Glass Goodies!

Yesterday was pretty productive in my studio, despite the heat and looming running-out-of-gases threat (I'm a worrier, but see I'm working on it! :D )  To top off that productivity, I actually photographed the new goodies this afternoon, wow! I know, it's really not that difficult, but for a procrastinator that gets distracted by all the shiny things, foodstuffs and electronics, this is an accomplishment for me.  Behold three of my newest summer jujees:

Beach Scene Shell Pendant

Green and Blue Sparkly Flower Implosion Shell  Sea Turtle

Orange and Purple Dragonfly Pendant

New designs on the way, so stay tuned.  I know these are a few of my traditionally awesome designs, but I have some new tricks up my sleeve... ;)

(Edited: Blogger made my pics darker with "Auto-Enhance" unbeknownst to me, so I had to re-upload them after turning that feature off)

Sunday: Showing Off

No lizard yet, but he's a coming!  In the meantime, here's a new seahorse from my studio featuring a red, teal, and purple blend.

Red, Teal, & Purple Seahorse Pendant

I know, the colors are pretty hip on that fella :)  

Next in line: my somewhat-scary (it's the eyes, I think that's what makes him scary) Black Dotted-Back Spider Pendant:

The bail is white like a little bit of webbing :)

Hope your weekend is as relaxing as mine: I finally have a day off, woohoo!

A Visitor in the Studio: Fresh Inspiration!

Our studio is a delightful place for Paul and I, and now for lizards!  Just kidding, though we did just have a visitor briefly adorn the wall behind Paul's torch. 

It was a fun surprise that delighted and distracted me for several minutes, causing me to somewhat inconvenience Mr. Paul as he was working on a project.  He was a great sport about it though, and I got some nice photos to share with you :)

He crawled down the wall and surprised us at first, then climbed back down, then up again!  He had a hard time deciding what to do, but we were really just glad that he avoided crossing the wall in front of the flame.  Maybe his cute little feet felt the heat on the wall... He does have a really long tail, which I can only assume is his original tail.  I like this pose, and he may serve as good inspiration for my next lizard pendant...

You know you want more!  Here are some good shots of his cuteness on the wall behind the glass rods and with his tail wrapped around a glass tube on the bench...

See he's checking out our glass rods... I think he was eyeing the Momka's Lustrous Blue :)


 
One with the tube-wrap for good measure before the full studio shot:

I really like his tail, and hope that he keeps it safe from the neighborhood cats.  Here's a final shot of my messy bench's many jars of glass rods around Mr. Lizard.  Hope we'll have more visitors, because this was fun and refreshing!

Beach Weather Ahoy!

It's that time of year again folks: Beach weather, picnic time, blue skies and nice days that you can spend outside enjoying the quiet beauty of nature.  It's a great time of year, and the mornings especially lend themselves well to outdoor exploration and tourism. Make sure you soak up some sun, but don't forget the sunblock.  Here's a final goodbye to my beach scene pendant I've had on display for a while that was purchased this past weekend, and went to a good home as a gift.

Beach Scene Pendant

Well, now that means I have to make another one, and I have just the idea...

As Promised -- Black Octopus and Mermaid Pendants!

First, our newest black octopus:

He's full of tentacled-fury, with blue and black eyes.  Adorable, yet not overly-cutesy like some of our sweeter-looking tentacled friends.  Feast your eyes upon him now; our last black octopus was snatched up in a flash!

Now on to our custom request mermaid pendant -- This is the one that was chosen by the customer, and she gave it as a gift 3 days ago for a birthday.  I'm sure the recipient enjoyed it, so now here's your chance to sneak a peek at one of our newest custom requests:

I know, the picture isn't the best, but it was taken outdoors at the show before I handed her over :)  Some pieces you just have to get a shot of before parting with them forever...

More to come soon, as I'll try to post some awesome glass on here to keep it interesting.  Have a great weekend!

New Mermaid and Octopus Coming!

I made two and gave the customer her choice ~ I'll be back on later today with a photo of the second-best mermaid I've made :).

Yes it occurs to me that in a Glass Art (and other nature-related stuff) Blog, it is appropriate to occasionally put glass in here.  I'm sorry, it's just hard for me to put it out here without feeling like I'm advertising to you.  This blog should be interesting first and foremost, and I don't want to just force feed a bunch of shameless glass promos at you.  In this wish, I have sort-of avoided putting glass on here for the better part of a year, so I guess it's high-time to pony up the glass goods, eh?  Later today.  Patience...  Once it's too hot in the studio I'll come in and do my photo'ing and posting and whatnot.   Always the whatnot.  Cheers!

Autumn is Here!

So what will you miss about summer?

Autumn is indeed here, and I'm pretty happy about it. The studio isn't air-conditioned, so it's sooo much nicer to be sitting in front of a torch when it's cool outside. It really is. I'm happy :)

With the fall comes harvest festivals, a great season of craft fairs, holiday shopping, and careful planning for all of us, I'm sure. I'm going to try to send out Christmas cards again this year, but I think I'm writing them over the next few months and then having them all ready-to go before Dec. 1. When do you actually put them in the mail though?

Paul and I are working on making our glass display a bit snappier, so look forward to those changes. I've got some new designs too, so our season is just beginning. It's exciting, but what I'd really like is a comment or two on this blog post ;) SO Share with us!

Now that the sweltering summer heat is mostly gone, what is the best thing about summer that you'll miss till next May?

Handcrafted Holidays: Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father’s Day!

To all the fathers out there, Happy Father’s Day! Now don’t say we never gave you anything : ) . We already called both our fathers and should see them within the next month or so, traffic permitting (one’s a trucker). The other one we should see near our next show, and his birthday is coming up. Our family is one that lumps celebration occasions together: We’re efficient! So, that will be coming soon, as we also don’t feel the pressures of society to celebrate all at once like the masses…Conformists… Hallmark didn’t win this round :P Oh, and now that we’re into Etsy we have access to all kinds of handmade wonderful cards. I’ll be stocking up soon in time for the birthday/Christmas rush.


Well, today is more or less for resting, as we got lots of yardwork done yesterday and some great glass pieces that included some wicked flowers and a cute flower brooch. It’s summer, so yard-inspired glass is where it’s at. The apricots are juicy and delicious, and the plums are not far behind. Peaches, well I think those don’t usually ripen till July anyway, but we’re waiting with baited jam jars… Paul made some great medium salsa the other day, but we went through 40 ounces of that in a heartbeat (a week), so now if I want to make enchiladas I’d better whip up a batch of my own. Again, have a great Father’s day and visit Etsy for handmade cards to express how thoughtful you can be that won’t be mass-produced as 50,000 other dads are reading the same card… lol. Here are some of my favorite shops for cards so you have options for the next holiday:


All Handcrafted Goodies, Too:
Ideadesigns Lovely Cards, Invites and Scrapbooking Bits
Freedom To Express Beautiful Photo Cards
Farouche Personalized Cards, Tags, and Notes