New socks....

Pretty stripey socks! I got the yarn on sale for $5. This stuff is regularly around $16. A nice wool blend that took about a week to finish. Aren't they pretty?! I have another ball of the same brand - differant color that are just waiting to be crocheted. That was on sale too.

Felted bag with flower

Sometime ago I made myself a large felted bag. Of course it isn't finished yet, but I made another bag for someone else. Here is the bag in the colors they wanted. I used Cascade 220. Perfect for felting and doesn't cost an arm and a leg either.

Took about two weeks from start to finish. Not too shabby, eh?

Wall pockets....

The end of preschool is upon us and my daughter needs to give gifts to her wonderful teachers. I tried to go the non-glass route, but couldn't come up with anything. Then after a brief discussion on a glass related board, I thought that wall pockets would be a nice item to try (again).

In the past I have failed miserably when making these. Either the pocket would be too thin or the glass would fire and little sharp pointy things would emerge on the edges. That is not a good thing. So this time with a careful eye, I watched the firing process and stopped it before the pokey things emerged. I also used about four layers of 1/8 inch fiber paper. That made the pocket nice and big.

The dragonflies are done with a pearl mica powder and the glass is Spectrum 96. The hanger is fused to the back and out of sight.

Dragonflies...in gold

I played with some gold decals. They came out rather nice, understated, not too gaudy ( I hate the word "Bling" - gak). I would love to do a few of these and sell them. I usually sell my dichroic pendants at $15. Since these have the gold in them, they will probably go for $17. I really try to keep my costs down - I can't honestly see people spending $45 and up on a pendant. Why? I know what goes into these things, yeah, it is work and the materials cost $$, but I am not about to jack up my prices and take someones $$. I would rather sell them for that price and then they are able to buy more or maybe something differant or even save their money for gas.

So my prices may be less than others but it is the same quality. I know that people like pretty things and I am not about to alienate someone because of what they can afford.

Stamping on glass....

By using Glassline Paints and a rubber stamp I was able to stamp the images of dragonflies onto the glass, bring to a full fuse and then slump. One problem I do see is getting the paint onto the stamp without wasting any. Still working on that, but the end product is still really cool. When it is all done, the paint looks like it is the glass. Doesn't look like paint at all..

Glassblowing...

Two weeks ago the family went back to Wheaton Village in Millville, NJ to support me in my quest for learning more about glassblowing. What I came back with was this fantastic bowl. It is about 5 inches tall by 7 inches wide. The color is pine green, but really it looks more teal to me. Either way I am extremely happy with it.

Still looking for a nice place to put it. I could place it with my other glassblowing creation - my handmade paperweight. But that shelf is starting to get a bit crowded with the kiddos pictures and glass. Can't really leave it out in the open because of the one particular kitty. So, it is hanging out in the dinning room china cabinet until I find it a nice safe place to sit.

Bottle...Cheese plate

Ah, finally I can show off a slumped bottle/cheese plate. These are so nice and make perfect gifts. The last two craft fairs I did, these sold out within the first hour and a half. So this year I will have twice as many. I sell them for $12 each and that includes the cheese spreader. I get the bottles from myself, friends, dumpster diving, ect. Last year someone wanted tequila bottles slumped for cutting lemons and limes on. Came out perfect! You should see the Absolute bottles - now those look great!