Renovating a dolls house and a little bit of bead weaving

A couple of weekends ago I went to the GBUK AGM (Glass Beadmakers UK) and was lucky enough to have a class with Carol Passaro on how to make a beaded Bezel. It was really lovely sitting around with a group of gals and working on a project together, time just flew by with all of the cheeky chat and laughing, a refreshing change from making beads in the studio at home with the radio for company.

I finished my project at home a few days later and even though I had to unpick it and start over 3 times I learnt a lot and am pleased with it, especially as a first attempt. Needless to say this necklace featuring a lovely Cabochon by Debbie Dew was quickly smuggled away into my Daughters treasure box.

Last night I thought I would see if I could take the technique and use it on a bigger Cab and made this bezeled mirror for the dolls house out of a Haematite cab that's been kicking around here forever. It was thumbs up form the little ones when they saw it this morning.

Things are ticking along slowly with the dolls house renovations. I've sourced and bought some tile and brick paper for the outside of the house and my friend Sam has had a rummage and sent me a perfect front door and fancy yellow and white window frames too, exciting stuff. She also sent some very cute little bits and bobs for the inside including a tiny little loo roll holder including a roll of paper! These little details really make me smile.

 Learning how to bezel a cabochon also inspired me to have a go at making some glass cabs at the torch the next time I managed to get in to the studio. These are on a base of CiM Stoneground with powdered glass added for a shot of colour. These sweet cabs are currently available in my Etsy shop www.etsy.com/uk/shop/KitzbitzArtBeads and they were such fun to make that I know that I'll be adding more of this sort of thing to my shop inventory very soon.







This morning the kids and I spent a productive hour stripping as much paper as we could off of the walls and roof. It would be fair to say we trashed our living room with all the little scraps of paper and sticky flooring but the worst of the job is now done. I also took out some very old and defunct lighting fittings and wiring. I'm not planning to put in a working lighting system into the house this time around because the kids are eager to get on and play with it! Maybe next time....

One thing I am worried about it the damage on the roof, it seems to be splitting at the corners so I need to have a good google and read up on what can be done to repair it or stop it form getting any worse.


Wishing you a lovely lazy Sunday Jolene x

My work in print...

I had very much meant to blog about all of my lovely glassy moments over this past year as they happened but somehow when it comes to my work being in print I always feel a bit bashful. Here is a little catch up post of where I have had my work in print over the last year.

The first time I have ever had work in print was in the April 2012 issue of Beads & Beyond magazine when my Frozen Bonsai focal bead was shortlisted for a top ten place in the Jewellery Maker of the Year Competition (lampwork category). I took 2nd place and and was published again in the June 2012 issue when the results were announced. I won a fabulous prize, a CiM glass Shopping spree with Off-Mandrel. It was the first time I have ever entered a competition, colour me happy.

I also submitted pictures that summer to The Flow magazine and was completely thrilled to see one of my encased tree beads in the 8th Annual Gallery of Women in Glass. When I first began lampworking in the summer of 2007 I wondered if one day I might be good enough to be part of this brilliant Flow Gallery tradition some day.

In March 2013 I had my first ever magazine tutorial published by Beads & Beyond magazine, part of a special edition focusing on words in jewellery. I wrote a tutorial showing how to write in glass using a stringer and my word bracelet got a little feature on the cover too. Many thanks to Julie Fountain for recommending me as the right person for the job.

The next two places I have beads in print are the GBUK Journal (which I just adore) and Glasss 3. Both publication have just been released at the UK's biggest lampworking event, the Flame Off, which took place last weekend at Silverstone Racecourse.

GBUK is the UK's society for glass beadmakers and the journal is a wonderful perk of membership. Each year all GBUK members are invited to submit a picture for the journal. I love the fact that the journal is not a juried publication and that inclusion is open to all members. This is the third year I have been part of it and the journal has become a lovely record of my development as a bead maker. This years journal is the best yet with articles and tutorials included alongside the gallery for the first time.

Glasss 3 is the third in a series of innovative books published biennially by Miriam Steger. This publication is another that is open to all, a collection of work by lampworkers from all over the world. Although Glasss 3 is so new that it is not available for sale on the website just yet I was thrilled to see my page as part of the preview :-D Top row, last image, left hand page!

In a day or two my second ever magazine bead making tutorial will be out in the May 2013 edition of Beads & Beyond magazine. I am lucky enough to have received my contributors copy already and my Something Blue tutorial looks beautiful and is jolly easy to follow too so look out for it on the shelves.

Jolene xx

GBUK AGM

This past weekend I went to my first Glass Beadmakers UK AGM which this year was in Enderby just outside of Leicester. I have been a member of the GBUK for about 3 years  now, renewing membership as part of my Flame Off visit each April and submitting a picture each year for the Members Journal (which is fabulous and a real privilege to be part of).

I really didn't know what to expect of the day, I was invited to attend as a suppler as well as a member bringing with me a selection of handmade canes, shards and murrini. As you can imagine my bespoke glasswork is created for a very specific crafting audience and the chance to show my wares in a face to face selling environment where 100% of the people there really "get" what it is that I do was an amazing opportunity.

There was also free to enter "Best of British" a themed competition which attracted loads of brilliant entries from the members who attended the AGM. We all got to vote on the day and the winner was Angie Snelling with her stunning gold medal bead with Sarah Downton and her amazing portrait of The Queen taking the runner up prize. You can see all of the Best of British competition entries here.

The AGM itself was very interesting, and for the first time I think I have really begun to understand the GBUK's aims of educational opportunities in the field of glass bead making and the sharing of information through networking and just how much work goes on behind the scenes to that end.

After the meeting there were several opportunities to shop for glassy supplies and to get involved with a free for members PMC class with Leigh Armstrong and also attend a talk with ace photographer Richard Downton which was full of very helpful advice on taking good clear photographs under studio lighting. Richard also gave one to one tuition on how to find and set white balance and exposure on our own cameras. It was such a fun and worthwhile day, learning something new and meeting up with like minded people that I find myself already looking forward to next years AGM.

The GBUK is a lovely society, open to all with an interest in glass beadmaking and other lampwork disciplines including marble making and sculptural work. If you would like to find out more please visit the GBUK website or Facebook page.

Jolene x