Pigs, Penguins and sons leaving home

Its been an exhausting week.  My son has left home, really only for the summer, he has gone to the Ardeche, South of  France, to work for Acorn Adventures as an instructor for outdoor sports, mainly water based sports, and he should have a fantastic time.  Still, was very hard to drive him to Liverpool Airport and wave goodbye to my 18 yr old son, my eldest has left home!  Was doubly hard as we, the son and I, got up at just after 3am Thursday morning and set off for Liverpool by around 3.30 - 3.45am.  We got to the airport around 6.15am.  Was amazing to see the dawn starting to break around 4.30am, summer really is coming, slowly, but coming. Still he has gone, we had first contact yesterday afternoon - apparently wifi is rubbish! - he is there, having fun and loving it!  Meanwhile me and the daughter have cleaned out his room, two bin bags full of rubbish and one full of old clothes that went to the recycling.  Somehow, clearing out their teenage mess puts it all into perspective and makes you dream of sweet smelling rooms with no dank odour of sweaty socks and mouldy tea cups!

Eggs-cellent clocks

What else this week?  Well, I have kept busy in the studio, I finished making my fused glass clocks and put them up on Etsy the cupcake clock found a new home as soon as it made an appearance in the shop.  I have lots more ideas for these clocks, my twist on keeping time! 

I have also been playing with glass lustre paints and using a brilliant tutorial from the very talented Jill from Kiln Fired Art I finished my plain fused glass coasters and now they are vibrant and not plain at all...

So summery, perfect for picnics and sitting in the sun having a cool glass of something nice and fizzy.  They are available too in my Etsy shop

I have also found time! to create my first lampwork glass tutorial.  This is for penguins and is available in Etsy and Folksy  Anyone can make sculptural beads, you don't have to make perfect round beads, wonky beads make great sculptural creature beads!

Penguin Tutorial

I have also made the decision to close my Ebay shop, the fees are so high it takes away the fun...and the profit!  I am having a big sale, as the items come up for renewal I am putting them to auction so grab a bargin whilst you can!

Instead of Ebay, I have re-opened my Folksy shop  I am slowly stocking it with beautiful pieces of glass art.  I hope that you can visit me there too. Here are a few pictures of what you can find there at the moment...

Fused glass pendant with black cats

Ginger puss, fused glass pendant

As many know, I belong to a wonderful forum, Craft Pimp which promotes some of the best craft from around the UK, from fusing glass to lampworking glass, fabrics to clay, photographs to painting and many more.  We are not always serious over on Craft Pimp and do find time to have a few giggles, which are invaluable when you son leaves home and need to smile a bit more and shed a few less tears (daft devil I am!)   During this last month, we over on Craft Pimp have been making our Chinese Astrology Animal in whatever medium we choose, it has been fun, and in some cases terribly rude - and I am referring to those that fall under the Wood Snake sign!  My sign is the Metal Pig.  Of course my first thought was heavy metal music and so the first Pig Rocker was born...then came the whole band, Metal, Earth, Wood, Water and Fire Pigs, or Pig, Mud, Woody, H2O and the un-named pig with flames coming out of his bum! 

Pork Us - the piggie heavy rock group

Click onto here to see some of the other..ahem..creatures!

And finally...even toadstool get blue sometimes.

Laney x

Husbands, tubs of sweets and rocking pigs.

5kg of sweets!

Yesterday, my husband very kindly picked up our daughter from school, the rain was relentless and I was cold and in the studio making beads, he was up in time, he works nights, and so he went, to save me going in the rain.  Lovely, isn't he?  I mentioned in passing, if he was going past a shop, I had a real craving for something sweet and yummy.  Its the weather making me feel like this, like you should turn up the heating, turn on the telly and munch your way through high sugar foods until the sun comes back, of this I am sure.  Anyway, he didn't bring any sweets back, so I had to do without.

 Disappointed. 

As I mentioned, he works nights, and later, around 9pm, he rang, as he always does, and said he had a present for me.  I got up this morning and there on the kitchen side was this enormous tub, 5 whole kg's, of my favourite sweets.  I have Love Hearts, Fizzy Cola sweets, Violets, Drumstick lollies and those two flavoured ones...oh yummy, I am gonna be soooo fat!  Isn't he sweet :D

On to beads....

 My Chinese Zodiac sign in the Metal Pig.  Metal Pigs are creative, the most of the Zodiac apparently, and hate housework...they got that bit spot on!  On the Craft Pimp forum, we are doing a monthly challenge, and my suggestion of Chinese Zodiac signs was decided to be the challenge.  This is all for fun, and over all the fabulous mediums that Craft Pimp promotes and has under one forum roof...so to speak. 

 Immediately I found out my sign was the Metal pig, I thought, Heavy Metal, Rock Music....

...leather jackets with names on, like the Pink Ladies in Grease...I sometimes wonder if I ever grew up!

Then, of course, is the gold earring!  All thats missing is the guitar and the band.  I have great plans for my band...Pigs...I think the next pig might have to be the Wood Pig, a hard working pig with a big heart...yup, Wood Pig is next to join the band!

Don't forget to check out  Izzybeads on Etsy shop, for pigs coming soon!

Laney x

Dragon Scales and Bulldogs.

Dragon Scale Beads on Ebay

Just listed on Ebay, these fabulous Dragon Scale beads, I do love everything and anything to do with Dragons and make believe, so much so that this afternoon will be Dragon making afternoon I think, the kiln is on!!

Henry English Bulldog

Also listed this morning is Henry.  Isn't he cute?  This adorable English Bulldog is wearing his red, white and blue necktie and just waiting for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations to begin, rumour has it, he even has tickets to the see the Long Jump in the Olympics, but I think that really he has other plans for the sand box!

Click on the link to go to my Etsy shop.





Laney x

Chooks, Dragons and Butterflies

Baby Red Dragon taken in the sunshine yesterday now on Etsy

Frankie enjoying the bugs

Its hard to believe that yesterday the sun was shining, we had a walk down to the river, the dogs had a swim, I took pictures in the garden of the girls enjoying the sunshine  the bugs in the grass and glass dragon  beads catching the sunshine and sparkling.  Then.   Today, after just walking in what can only be described as good old British downpour, both dogs are black and grimy from the grit and grime on the lanes, the three of us have been soaked to the skin, had to avoid the river due to flooding and fast flowing and now have the heating on to warm up and dry out!  Today isn't any old April shower!

I have been fusing some more bowls and have a few more fusing projects planned, but am rather taken with this Butterfly Bowl.

Fused Glass Butterfly Bowl

Today I am planning on finishing the practise piece I have designed to go on top of my Aunts wedding cake, my gift to her when she marries next month.  Its so exciting. 

One thing I won't be doing today is gardening!!

Laney x

Just another Monday....

Take...one Golden Retriever, one country park walk, one deep puddle, one wallowing hound and several towels and you get...

Before 


After

...and what he should look like, taken last year so he has slightly more feathers now...

Laney x

Guide dog puppy, fused bowls and dragons

Flame Off has come and gone, 'twas a long weekend, but a good one.  As well as putting faces to names, from the forums I chat on..and waste far too much of my day, not to mention getting involved with the seed beads!..many beads found new homes and it was nice to get away for a few days, but nicer still to come home to my dogs.  I did miss my dogs, and my chooks and cats and I suppose the kids!

There was a very special someone at the Flame Off, and I fell in love with him.  Bentley, a five and half month old trainee guide dog, is currently staying with Ruth and Andy from A&R Lampwork Beads, and for the next few months they will take him everywhere and introduce him to new sounds, sights, smells and experiences.  He was such a sweetie, all blond and playful and puppy and just yummy...I will be making lots of Bentley beads and rather than take pics of the lampwork on display at the Flame Off I took pics of Bentley, here is one of my favourites...

Bentley the trainee

Isn't he just so cute?  He was so excited. 

So other than the Flame Off, whats been up in the Izzybeads shed? This...

Yellow and blue fused glass bowl

My first fused glass bowl, that went to plan!  I have done a couple and they have worked, but not as I originally intended, happy accidents, but this one did exactly what I wanted.  Rather pleased with this, now just have to work on taking a decent picture, photographing fused bowls is not easy!

I haven't had much time for lampwork since I got back from the weekend, but have been listing some of the beads I have, this gorgeous guy is sold and is going to be on his way to America in the morning.

I just love making my dragons and dogs.  For now though I am working on some very special beads for a very special ladies daughter, for a very special event to be held this summer.

Laney x

VW Camper Vans and Orchids

Fused glass VW coasters



So its not just the boy person with his VW Camper Van now!  I loved making these fused glass coasters and am chuffed to bits with how they have turned out.  Definitely going to make some more.  The VW vans are decals which are fused into the glass in the kiln.  I have also made these beautiful green checker coasters...

Green Checker Board fused glass coasters







I was asked ages ago to make these coasters, its taken me this long to get the ones I wanted, these ones have worked!!  They look really good in the green too.

For my final picture of the day, some glass Orchids and Apple Blossom beads. 

Orchids and Apple Blossom


Laney x