goddess bead

The wedding gift was opened… shall we?

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IMG_2059Y’all remember the box right?

IMG_2081And the custom card?IMG_2080The keepsake box was decadently lined wth satin and crumpled tissue.  5689_225789180623_757255623_8229635_4669694_nEach bead came with its own organza storage bag…IMG_2063Both were wired as pendants with antiqued sterling silver findings… IMG_2070…the goddess decorated with freshwater pearls and the god with (the much more macho) hematite.  IMG_2067The pearls, hematite and glass used for their wings and armour are all beautifully irridescent – i wish it showed better in the photos… 5689_225789240623_757255623_8229639_3887945_nI also added removable antiqued chains to bind them together… 5689_225815765623_757255623_8230182_7566506_nIsn’t this a lovely picture?  This one too…IMG_2075And of course, most importantly… their reaction:

“Hi Evelyn, they were speechless and like WOW. They loved the gift.  They even thanked me 2 days later for such a unique gift, Marilyne noted that she loves and collects boxes so the packaging was great and the small skull on it Marilyne noticed right away. They said it was the the most unique thing they had ever seen. I think they were blown away by it and Shawn said, when you said you got crafted beads done, I just thought they would be traditional, this is WOW…WOW!”IMG_2042This was hands down one of the most enjoyable custom orders i have ever worked on – i had SO much fun both researching Goth culture and designing the beads and getting the packaging made for the final order.  

Thanks for your patience everyone, and I hope you all enjoyed this little adventure as much as I did.

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Tales from the Torch: Feb. & March (part deux)

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I’m back on the Teenager’s computer again as the kitten Busta finally finished chewing through my laptop’s power cable.  Now doesn’t having a cat usually mean no pets chewing random valuables around the house??? i might as well have a dog.

Soooo… until i decide whether to replace the power cable and harddrive on my laptop vs buying a new one, i’m trapped in that teenage hellhole again… damn cat.  Anyhoo, i did manage to backup most of my pics from the last meltdown so found a few more from February and March. (I didn’t torch much in April/May as I had the flu.)

These random beads were for a long bead exchange on LE.  They’re all about 2-2.5″ long (except the purple one) which isn’t huge for me at all – my beads are normally 1.5-2.5″ long.  I think the winner made a bead something like 11″ long.  not sure what one would do with a massive (and fragile!) piece of glass like that…  I wanted to try bigger but about 4″ is my max. anything larger seems to be beyond the limits of my current torch – i can get there but it takes forever to melt all that glass and the results are seriously ugly.

 

This Chocolate Goddess was part of a gift package for Valentine’s Day… 

 

My sister snapped up this Winter Garden pendant as soon as it came out of the kiln… Note my improved stringer control – that Corina stringer DVD has really helped.

I’ve been torching all weekend and have some new beadies cooling in the kiln right now.  I’ll try to post them tomorrow…

Tales from the torch: Jan. 26th/08

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Results from my last few torch sessions – a goddess and two pendants for a couple custom orders:

Hades GoddessHades goddess back

Hades Goddess:  (sold) Sometimes simple is best.  This is just black glass and silver leaf passed through a reduction flame to bring out the iridescence.  I had originally planned to tart her up with some frit and a latticino or two but once i reached this stage, i realized she’s perfect just as is.

Tempest leftTempest right

Tempest:  (sold)  Ever been on the beach during a thunderstorm?  As the wind rises and the sea slams against the cliffs, the water, foam, seaweed and sand all swirl together wildly. And if you’re lucky enough to find a good vantage point, you can enjoy this spectacle of nature from a safe distance but still be close enough to feel the salty spray hit your skin with each crashing wave…

Almond Blossom leftalmond blossom right

Spring Bloom:  My first serious attempt at a traditional raised floral.   Every single colour is custom blended – from the base to the premade latticino’s used for the branches and the flowers.  The branches have a bit of sparkle as i used green adventurine in the twist, then i reduced the bead lightly at the base to give it some depth.  A lot of work but i’m pretty happy with how it turned out.

And if you think it looks familiar, you’re right.  It’s inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s 1890 painting Almond Blossom.