Wednesday 28 November 2012

Sunshine and happy Claude

Its been a funny week.  What with the flooding, Claude and more rain. This morning the sun has been shining.  I have walked the dogs down to the river and even though the fields have enormous great puddles in them, which Defi is sure are his private baths, we had a lovely walk and actually met other dog walkers braving the mud, but enjoying walking in the sun.  There was still a brisk breeze, which is slightly on the winter side of breezes, but...the sun is shining!!  I came home and cleaned out the chooks as they have had it worse I think, being outdoors whatever the weather, even if they have spent their days under the hedges and have put wellies on their Christmas lists, whilst eyeing up the ducks in an envious manner as they have webbed toes and the chooks don't, and still the sun shines.  It really lifts the spirits.  Talking of uplifting, I have good news on the Claude.  He is back to his normal old self, sleeping in totally daft places, this week he is choosing to snooze between the tumble dryer (which is on a side) and the oil fired heating unit, he is toastie!  We changed the litter in the tray, which seems to have made a difference to both the old cats and thankfully with Claude moving his sleeping quarters from the litter tray to inbetween the boiler and the tumble dryer, Megan is no longer trying to wee around his slumbering self, which is another blessing as we thought that he was sleeping in his own ..umm..waste?...at least we now know it was Megan, our elder cat (approx 21 -ish).  So with the litter change and food change, Claude is back to his normal old self, mugging me for breakfast and meowing for food whenever he sees a person, as obviously we are only here to serve, and now we know that he no longer chooses to eat food in gravy and has a preference to food in jelly, all is well in Claude's World!

I have been experimenting again.  I do enjoy a good experiment.  I have been flattening bottles, painting on them or decorating them with decals, which are then re-fired to fuse them into the glass.  These make fabulous gift ideas, great serving trays for cheese and nibbles or a wooden spoon rest whilst cooking, I even have them on the kitchen window sill with hand cream and soap on them.

Flattened bottle





These are available in my Etsy shop or you can contact me direct here if you don't use Etsy.  Fab gifts for Christmas and all recycled glass.


Another experiment was the rose buds above.  I used frit in multi colours and a base of creamy yellowy orange, I rather like them, they jazz up a dull day!

Hope the sun stays out for a bit, I am off torching!

Laney x

Monday 26 November 2012

Roses for Claude

 
 
This is our Claude, this summer.  A geriatric old mog at the grand age of 20.  We are having to keep an eye on him as this weekend he has started to decline, any healing vibes coming his way are gratefully received.
 
On a happier note. I have been re-visiting my flower designs and have listed a few beautiful rose sets in my Etsy shop 
Pink Roses
 
Caramel Roses

 
We have been having that rain, with flash flooding all over the county.  This morning the river was a torrent and the fields are so boggy as they are completely saturated.  We are forecast more later on today.  My poor chooks have put wellies on their Christmas list to Santa!
 
 
 
Hope you have a dry day!
 
Laney x
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 




 


Wednesday 21 November 2012

The last apple.....



Each day I walk my dogs down to the river, through the orchards, past the church and through fields.  Its a lovely walk and we are most lucky to do it every day.  This morning the lanes were flooded so we slooshed through the flowing torrents and skidded our way across the flooded fields, to the orchard at the bottom, avoiding the river that is about to burst its banks for the upteenth time this year - it has been a really wet year!
 
 
In the orchard I was mooching about, as you do, and the day was grey and dreary, everything shrouded in a layer of misty dewy veil, like a spider had been super busy and made fine silky cobwebs across the entire orchard which had collected the dew drops in the early morning, but no sun or warmth was there to dry them.  I spied this one last apple, still red and rosy, hanging from the leafless tree.  I didn't have my camera so its a picture from my phone.
 
I rather like it!
 
Laney x

Friday 16 November 2012

Festive spirit...not the drinking kind!!

 
I have been experimenting with 2D bead designs.
 
Yesterday I sat and made these cute Christmas beads into bag charms.  I am doing a local church fair tomorrow (Saturday 17th November) and thought they would be fun.  I found in my stash some silver tone Christmas trees and some really cute silver tone bells, like what you would get on a cats collar, added some bright white ribbon bows, red beads from a big bag of bead soup that I got from my friend Cazz aka Beadercollie
 
and Voila! bag charms.
 
 
The picture is a little rubbish as its just a quick snap shot!
 
I loved making these so much that I am already designing more 2D design beads for alternative, non festive, bag charms.  Who fancies a mog or a dog or a dragon....the possibilities are endless!
 
Laney x

Monday 12 November 2012

Its all new today!



 
I have been finishing off some of my bead weaving pieces.  I am a slow bead weaver, but I enjoy it in the evenings, especially now the nights are drawing in and the tv is just too rubbish to watch.  This piece has one of my fused glass cabochons and has been beaded around and a netted collar added.  Just don't ask me to name the stitches!
As well as a bit of beading, I have been wiring up some of my lampwork beads into beautiful pendants, just perfect for the Christmas gift giving season....and the church fair I have been roped into doing this coming Saturday...thats the day before I head off to Newmarket for the bead fair, nothing like keeping busy!!    

This cute toadie is all wired up and strung on a rubber tube necklace.




 
I went back to a my Netsuke styled beads for this gorgeous donkey.  I did one before, in ivory coloured glass, but this chap is a beautiful new glass called Biscotti - well new to me - it has the pale colour I like of the ivory but with a 'weathered' grey colour, perfect for this bead.  Finally I have been making people beads, lots of little people to go with the animals, I have done fairies and ladies that bathe and now a Centaur, possibly the most handsome one I have seen! 

Last but not least, I have been updating my new shop, its a Buegle store on Facebook, click on this link to take you to My new Facebook Shop add me as your friend and share my store, its getting quite popular!

Laney x

Tuesday 6 November 2012

Flower Fairies in glass

There has been a lovely monthly challenge on Craft Pimp that was on Flora. 



For a while now, I have wanted to do some 'people' beads to compliment my creatures and with my love of Cicely Mary Barker, her beautiful delicate painting of the flower faires and my love of fantasy, it was a good opportunity for me to push that boat out and experiment.
 
So here she is in all her floral glory.  Flora 



Now available in my Etsy shop, this beautiful collectable bead to make you smile and remember those childhood days of long hot summers and bright blooms.


Laney x

Monday 5 November 2012

And the winner is.......


JANE....whoo hoo!!

Which picture would you like Jane?  You can choose any one of the four pictures and I will send it too you. 

Thank you for being patient, its been one of those weeks!!




Jane
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Minute stopwatch | Remove name from list
Ahowin
Georgie
Jolene
Catherine
Jo
Nic
Kat
Sue
Vic
Leah
Beti
Jill
Elaine
Cat
Jane
Ahowin
Georgie
Jolene
Catherine
Jo
Nic
Kat
Sue
Vic
Leah
Beti
Jill
Elaine
Cat
Jane
Ahowin
Georgie
Jolene
Catherine
Jo
Nic
Kat
Sue
Vic
Leah
Beti
Jill
Elaine
Cat


Saturday 3 November 2012

Quick Update....

I have been off line for the best part of the last 10 days, so didn't draw the October draw, I will be doing that over the weekend, so stay tuned people!! 

Life is slowly getting back to normal this weekend, its been a long week!!

Lx

Thursday 25 October 2012

Polar Bears, Oak Trees and Tortoise

Post and run today, its been one of those days!

Just a couple of beads from me from yesterdays play, no more torch play now until after Harrogate bead fair this coming weekend, so if you are about come and say hi

Harrogate Bead Fair October 27th and 28th 2012



Mummy and Baby

The old man Oak tree I visit every day on my walk

Yet another Mandala bead this time with tortoise

Don't forget to click on the link, top left, to enter into my free giveaway at the end of October

Laney x

Wednesday 24 October 2012

More Mandalas, Dragons and Undines.

I am really getting into these Mandala style beads.  They take an age to make, each one a complex study of dot after dot after dot, to build.  They are taking at least an hour, and my new Undine one took even longer than that, not only did my arm ache but my bum did too, all that sitting still!!  Was worth it though.  What do you think?
 
 
Dragon Mandala



Undine Mandala

Undine Mandala

Its a biggy!
Undine's are water nymphs and come from mythology, they are water elementals.  Some versions portray them as having legs, like fairies of the water, some versions portray them as tiny mermaids.  I think my mermaid undine suits my glass.

Laney x

Tuesday 23 October 2012

Dragon Mandala



 
Mandala is the Sanskrit word meaning circle.  These are my dragon mandalas....or one of them!
 
Laney x

Monday 22 October 2012

Mondays Musing - Playing with Boro


Well, its wet, dreary, miserable and grey today.  I have walked the dogs down to the river, not seen a single soul even the squirrels were tucked up somewhere nice and dry, whilst I slurped and sloshed my way through what once was a track through the orchard and is now just a mire.  The dogs have dried off, well, Defi has, Iz will be wet for at least the rest of the day despite my vigourous rubbing with a towel and her sleeping in a warm kitchen. 
 
So.  Kiln is on, this afternoon I am in the studio, I have Harrogate bead fair coming up this weekend and my shipment of beautiful glass sculpture beads has been sent of to the gallery so I must make more.  What a shame eh?  Sigh, the life of an artist!  I will take the dogs in the studio with me, Iz might dry off a bit quicker with the heat from the kiln warming up a smaller space than the kitchen!
 
Yesterday, I cleaned the house, hence no blog post.  But I did get a chance to put into the kiln my boro pieces.  I have been having a play with boroscilicate glass, sent to me by Kevin at Melting Glass
 
My first attempts were nothing to write about, I did those a couple of months ago.  I only have the one oxycon so using boro glass is much slower for me and patience is not something I am blessed with!  But, I tried again..
 





The first piece is a flower and a butterfly, unfortunately I dropped it and the butterfly broke, I did manage to 'stick' it back on in the flame, but the join is far from perfect.  The little dog is a memory from when I was little and had a collection of really naff little dogs joined together with a cheap gold chain.  I was always told they were made of glass, but I think really they were plastic or resin.  Either way I loved them, they were clear and blue, which was the colours Kevin sent me to try, clear and cobalt blue.

I am now really wanting another oxycon, and some more boro glass! 

Dear Santa Claus, I have been a really good girl this year.....

Laney x

Saturday 20 October 2012

Not long now!

'Christmas' by beadercollie



Frosty The Snowman 2 Lampwor...
$15.00

Red Dragon Christmas Ornamen...
$22.00

Needle Felted Robin - Christ...
$6.00

Needle Felted Christmas Mous...
$6.00

Christmas Ribbon Wreath 2
$28.00

Christmas Santa Mesh Wreath
$110.00

Christmas Dog Collar Christm...
$16.00

Christmas Cookie Tin - Vint...
$16.00

Red Green Buttons - Polka Do...
$2.50

Paper Bead Large Focal Old ...
$4.00

Stained Glass Christmas Tree...
$26.00

Handmade Beaded Jewelry Earr...
$20.00

Round Santa Holiday Christma...
$10.50

Large Handmade Felt Stuffed ...
$6.75

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

I can't quite figure out if I am getting excited about Christmas, I do love putting up the tree and having the twinkling lights in the evenings, or if I am dreading the cold days, dark nights and wet and stinky dog walks, but, my lovely friend Cazz (Beadercollie) has made this fab treasury in all the gorgeous Christmas colours and included my hanging tree dragon ornament. Have cuppa and a browse at the beautiful items she has found. Laney

Thursday 18 October 2012

History Blog Hop - Pre-Columbian...oh my!

Leah, from Beady Eyed Bunny arranged this blog hop and let me join in, even though its an alien concept to me!  I have never done a blog hop before and have just spent far too much time going through the list below and seeing the beautiful creations already done and up on the blogs - at the right time, as the reveal date was the 13th October and I was...well I ....ok, I was busy and I forgot...sorry Leah x

So, the gist of the blog hop, as I see it, is that you choose, or Leah gives you (as in my case) a time in history, you research the era, you find out about the jewellery that inspired the time and you create a modern piece in that style.

All the pieces I have just looked at have been very elegant and very beautiful, without exception, take a look, some really talented ladies out there.  Mine, on the other hand, is completely me!

I don't do elegant.  I don't do posh.  I do...me.

Leah gave me the time period of Pre-Columbian, and if you look down that list no one else took it up!  Not surprising, I nearly choked when I researched the period.  The Pre-Columbians used anthropomorphic images in their jewellery, they did not have the way of the written word and used images to record their way of life, their religion and culture.

I was stumped.  What do I know about Pre-Columbian that could inspire a piece of jewellery worthy of the blog.  I was looking at it all the wrong way.  What I should have done was think, 'how can I put my twist on Pre-Columbian art?'

One of those Eureka moments happened by accident, on a piece I had already made for a different reason.  I wanted to make a piece that I could wear to the fairs I am doing around this time, this time being October, Autumn, Halloween.  I love the colours of Autumn, the oranges and reds and I love Halloween, all that witching and mogs...ta dah...I had done my piece without thinking about it!


 
 
I used my lampwork beads, what else!, and my anthropomorphic twist on Halloween.  How Pre-Columbian is that?  I am thrilled to bits, I am Pre-Columbian!! 

So Leah...you thought you could give me a hard task eh?  Hopefully next time will be a challenge, heheheh...

Do have a look at the list below and follow the links to their blogs, especially if you really do like grown up and elegant pieces, I can honestly say, no one, had a twist on their time period, quite like mine!!

Ahowin - Art Nouveau www.blog.ahowinjewelry.com
Alicia Marinache – Victorian http://www.allprettythings.ca/
Becca's Place – Renaissance www.godsartistinresidence.blogspot.com
Beti Horvath – Ancient Egypt and Art Deco www.stringingfool.blogspot.com
Cherry Obsidia – Ancient Mecynae Greece www.cherryobsidia.blogspot.com
Cooky – Renaissance www.shepherdessbeads.com/Blog.html
Jamie Shipp – Middle Ages www.celebratinglifewithdamamashipp.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Davies-Reazor – Medieval www.jdaviesreazor.com/blog
Kathleen Douglas – Indus Valley www.washoekat.blogspot.com
Kashmira Patel – Etruscan www.sadafulee.blogspot.com
Lady Grey – Victorian www.beadsteaandsweets.blogspot.com
Laney Mead – Pre-Columbian www.laney-izzybeads.blogspot.co.uk
Leah Curtis – Ancient Roman www.beadyeyedbunny.blogspot.co.uk
LiliKrist - Persia www.lilikrist.com
Melissa – Mesopotamian www.design.kcjewelbox.com
Melissa Trudinger – Art Nouveau www.beadrecipes.wordpress.com
Micheladas Musings – Ancient Romans www.micheladasmusings.blogspot.com
Paula Hisel – Victorian www.simplybeadiful.weebly.com/simply-stated.html
Sandra Wollberg – Art Nouveau www.city-of-brass-stories.blogspot.com
Sharyl McMillian-Nelson – Art Deco www.sharylsjewelry.blogspot.com
Tracy Stillman – Victorian www.tracystillmandesigns.com

Laney x

Wednesday 17 October 2012

Where do you get yours?

Inspiration, that is.

I read lots, from fantasy to fables, novels to comics, childrens books, they have the best pictures, to classic literature, poetry plays..I read everything, except cookery books, I loathe cookery books, because I loathe cooking.  My husband finally banned me from the kitchen last week, after setting fire to a tea towel and welding egg onto the hob, but that is another story!  Thankfully, he loves to cook and is good at it.

So.  Other than reading, where else do I get my inspiration from?  Funny tales I hear from other people, of minor catastrophes that morph into funny cartoon beads, and pictures.  All pictures.  I have boxes of photographs, from back in the day when you developed film, all the animals I have loved and now lost, the kids growing up, holidays, gardens, lots of pictures.  I also have pictures on my laptop, sadly I have lost as many as I have kept due to not backing up my systems often enough.   And the internet. 

I love the wildlife websites, National Geographic being one, and just recently this one, Project Noah  This is a great website, with fabulous pictures of all wildlife, fungi and plants.  I found this fabulous guy on there, he is gorgeous...


Philippine Eagle
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/8050935
Isn't he gorgeous?  Have a little look on the website, its brilliant, lots of lovely pictures.

Another picture to finish off and one that is exclusively mine...well whom else has a chicken in a bowl of water in the utility room sink, being stared at by an old mog?

Claude and Dave
Dave sadly, passed away not long after this picture was taken, nothing to do with the bath I assure you.  I was told to place her in a bowl of warm water, chooks love this when they are feeling unwell, it can revive them, and it did Dave for a few days, but sadly she didn't make it.  Still its a fab picture and a treasured memory, perhaps there is a chook in a bowl coming to an Etsy shop near you!!

For some of my inspired beads! visit my Etsy shop

Laney x