Pantone Spring Colours 2015 Lucite Green and Scuba Blue

This is my next post in the series based on the new Pantone Colours for Spring 2015. Today it is Lucite Green and Scuba Blue.

Oh dear, as soon as I put this image up I can see that it is different from the one I printed out. To show you the difference I have taken a photo of it with my phone

as you can see there is quite a difference in the Scuba Blue and it looks even darker on the printout which is what I used to pick the glass colours. Oh well.....

I admit to being a bit lazy today. Rather than take the photo's using my studio daylight lights I used my phone and took them in daylight. We actually saw some sun today!

From the left Cim Mint Lozenge, very similar to one of my favourite glasses Kryptonite, Effetre light turquoise 232 and I don't know what this one is called but it's a veiled cane from GG Glass.

From the enamels I have chosen Oxford Blue and Gray Blue Green and the frit is from Val Cox and called Fairydust.

Looking through my Etsy store I have this pretty earring pair which match quite well https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/210726786/pair-pretty-blue-lampwork-glass-frit?ref=shop_home_active_12

I think my Seafoam spacer bead mix work well too https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/208747448/20-glass-spacer-beads-seafoam-mix?ref=shop_home_active_3

In my jewellery store I think this necklace fits the bill http://www.earth-shine.co.uk/product/daisy-necklace

Well that's it for today.

Thanks for looking.

Linda
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Pantone Spring Colours 2015 Woodbine and Treetop

It's the turn of the greens today Woodbine and Treetop

Looking here at the image on my computer it looks a bit different to the one I printed out, here it is more olive and on my printout more lime green, oh well what's a girl to do?

Here is the glass I picked out.

Apparently I'm a bit challenged at photographing green glass as well lol! Again, they look a bit different under my daylight studio lights than they do in natural daylight. Maybe I should try and take some during the daytime, it's just that the weather is so pants at the moment.

From left to right Effetre Lime Green 212, CIM Mojito, CIM Sherwood, Effetre Petrol Green and Effetre Dark Teal 027.

I don't have a huge amount in frit and enamels in the green but I chose, Enamel Moss Green 9350 and I'm sorry but the frit doesn't have a label, I think it's a Val Cox frit and looks like it might have some green aventurine in there. I had a quick look but couldn't see it.

I have these rings made using Petrol Green in my Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/211577033/pair-etched-petrol-green-handmade?ref=shop_home_active_9 I don't think they are too bad a match, perhaps a tad on the bluer side.

I also have this necklace which I think fits the bill perfectly. The focal bead in one of Bo Hulley Beads pendants and it's available to buy in my webstore: http://www.earth-shine.co.uk/product/wintergreen-leaf-necklace

And sadly that is all I have got to show you. Obviously green is not one of my favourite go to colours :-(

Thanks for looking.

Linda
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Pantone Spring Colours 2015 Tangerine and Custard

Yesterday I shared with you the glass colours I had found to go with the new Pantone Spring Colours 2015 Strawberry Ice and Marsala. Today it's the turn of Tangerine and Custard.

I didn't come up with a lot. It's not that I don't have a fair amount of yellow or orange glass in my stash, I do, it's just that they weren't quite the right shade. This is what I came up with:

I know what you are going to say, that middle rod looks nothing like yellow. For some reason it looked totally different under my daylight studio lights.

From left to right: Effetre Apricot Yellow E419 (I love this colour), Effetre Transparent Kelp 090 (which actually sounds like it might be green. I haven't actually made any beads with it so it may come out a completely different colour when used.) and Vetrofond Banana Cream. This is an odd lot which means once it is gone there will be no more :-(

I am definitely challenged when it comes to photographing yellow. I have selected Golden Rod enamel 9250 and Mellow Yellow frit by Cheeky Frit Blends. I admit I do not have a lot of yellow in my frit collection.

Here are a few items from my Etsy store that match these colours.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/184980690/pair-of-cone-bead-end-caps-hand-painted?ref=shop_home_active_17

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/211587965/hand-patinated-orange-antique-bronze?ref=shop_home_active_2

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/186437378/pair-of-opaque-yellow-handmade-lampwork?ref=shop_home_active_9

Thanks for looking.

Linda
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Pantone Spring colours of the year in glass! Marsala and Strawberry Ice.

So I've been reading a bit lately about the Pantone Spring colours of the year. There has been a couple of great posts by Rebecca Anderson of Songbeads over on the Art Bead Scene Blog.

http://artbeadscene.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/amuse-muse-monday-marsala-with-rebecca.html

http://artbeadscene.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/amuse-muse-marsala-beads-with-rebecca.html

The colour is quite yummy and is called Marsala

Having thought about it for a bit, I've decided I quite like it especially when it is teamed with Glacier and Toasted Almond as it is here.

I decided to have a look through my glass stash and see what colours I could come up with to match the Pantone Colours.

I printed out this handy colour chart

and took it to my stash to see what I could pull out.

Rather than go through all the colours in one go today I am going to share what I found to go with the first two colours Strawberry Ice and Marsala.

Here are the glasses I selected

From left to right (all 104 unless otherwise stated)

Effetre Sedona 257, Opal Magenta (veiled cane from GG Glass 96 COE), Flamingo (also veiled cane 96 COE), Reichenbach Opal Pink (96 COE), Reichenbach Pearl Pink, Reichenbach Flamingo, Salmon Pink Opal (Bullseye 90 COE), Reichenbach Coral Pink (96 COE), Effetre Copper Green Red 229.

I think the Reichenbach Opal Pink and Coral Pink are the closest to the colours I have on my print out.

Rebecca kindly shared my Copper Green Red rings in one of her posts.

I would say that these are more on the darker side of Marsala but look lovely etched as they are here. These are currently available in my Etsy store https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/209014442/pair-etched-copper-red-handmade-lampwork?ref=shop_home_active_1 and look great as part of a pair of earrings. These are available to buy from my webstore http://www.earth-shine.co.uk/product/rustic-birdie-earrings

I have a pair of rings in the Opal Pink as well https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/217588394/pair-of-rose-pink-handmade-lampwork?ref=shop_home_active_10

and I think this set fit's the bill too https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/186206844/set-7-pink-lampwork-glass-beads?ref=shop_home_active_8

I also found some frit and enamels I thougth went well.

From top left

Rose Sparkle Frit (no longer available), Bright Red Enamel 9840, My Funny Valentine and Love to Love You Baby frits from Cheeky Cherub (also unavailable at this time) and Cherry Blossoms from Arrow Springs.

I've picked out glass, enamels and frits for all the colours and will share them with you over the next few days.

Thanks for looking.

Linda
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Recent work

I've been so busy since I started selling on the Facebook Groups Lampwork Beads for Sale and Lampwork Bead Market that I don't often come up to smell the roses. I realised that I hadn't added my latest designs to my Flickr photo's, the 2 forums I frequent Craft Pimp and Frit Happens, my pinterest album or my Facebook photos of which I should have started a new one for this year and haven't. Wow! do I usually do all that stuff?

Well to remedy I thought I would create a collage and wondered how I could do so quickly and then I remembered Pic Monkey which I haven't used it a while. It did make it very quick and easy so here you go. One on my latest Toggle clasps and one on my headpins.

Enjoy!

Thanks for looking.

Linda
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Better luck next time!

Ok, so readers of my blog and friends will know that for the last two years I have travelled from the UK to the USA to attend the annual convention of Lampworkers organised by the ISGB called The Gathering. I am going again this year and it is is Albucuerque, New Mexico. I'm really looking forward to it, the weather should be great and this time the hotel is in a lovely location rather than in a central business district.

Anyway, the reason for my blog. Each year the ISGB has a commemorative bead based on a theme for The Gathering. This year the theme is 'Forging connections, celebrating community'

I don't go out of my way to enter these competitions, if I have an idea for it then I enter but I don't spend hours racking my brain for an idea. I might do a little research of images in Google to see if that helps but that is all.

Anyway here is the bead that I entered

I called it 'Togetherness' The bead at the centre represented the ISGB and the discs were brought together with the dots representing the members.

Each bead also fitted perfectly together with the one next to it.

I spent quite a few hours working on this, mainly trying to get them all the same size as the winner is required to make at least 50 of them!

Anyway, I didn't win. This is the bead chosen and it is made by Leah Fairbanks who I have met and taken a class with.

The ISGB said 'the winding vines around the bead remind us of community connections and make it a wonderful representation of this year's theme'.

Thanks for looking.

Linda
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The power of purple!

A little while ago I told you that I had started selling on two Facebook Groups, Lampwork Bead Market and Lampwork Beads for Sale. Most of the items I put up for sale are on auction which has made for some exciting times especially last night.

I put up this set of pink and purple orphan headpins on Sunday evening.

Let me just tell you about orphans. Orphans are beads (or in this case headpins) that were maybe experiments or odd ones from sets I have made.

I bought these cute little aluminium buckets from a garden centre and I put all my orphans in them in colourways, pink, blue, purple etc and when I have a little collection I put them together and then maybe make a couple of extra just to complete the set.

This is what I did with this pink and purple set. Now admittedly it is a cute set of orphans - but I didn't expect the response I got, it seems that purple is the favourite colour of a lot of people and you should see the comments and bids I got, here are just a few of them.

A bidding war ensued between one of my regular customers Noel Holub and a lady I have had the pleasure of meeting at The Gathering that I go to in the States Lisa Liddy. Now it seems that these 2 ladies know each other and Noel who already has a great deal of my headpins graciously bowed out so that the Lisa could have them as she was really determined. It was a close run thing as another bid was put in near the end but soon Lisa counter bid and won them for a whopping $67 that's £43.93 for us Brits. Lisa told me that she was so worried that she was going to get 'sniped' at the end but luckily she didn't.

I think I shall be making more purple 'orphans' in the near future!

Thanks for looking.

Linda
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Customer Challenge

New Year New Challenge.

I said I would have a little celebration to celebrate getting 700 likes on my Facebook Page but I've decided to have a BIG celebration instead but I can't do it without the help of you my customers.

I've set up a Facebook Group called Earthshiners. The idea is that you post your creations made with beads,  headpins or components that you have bought from me and share them with the group. Each photo you post will be an entry into the draw to win the above headpins but not only that, I will be adding incentives along the way.

So dust off your beads that have been sitting in boxes and drawers and make something with them. Dig out any photos you have and pop them in the group. I always love to see what is being made with the items I sell so this is an added incentive for you to show me.

You have plenty of time to enter as I won't be doing the draw until the end of February. So if you are not yet a customer now's the time to pop by my Etsy store and look out on my Facebook page for updates on auctions on the Facebook Groups. 

Entry into the group is by invitation only so pop me a pm on Facebook, message on my Facebook page, send me an Etsy convo, email me, ask to join the group or leave a comment below and I will add you.

Good luck and thanks for looking.

Linda
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Featured: ISGB Glass Bead Evolution Magazine

A little while back calls for submissions to the ISGB Glass Bead Evolution Magazine were made for creations with fiber and I had the perfect necklace to share. I'm not even sure if I have shared it on here before. I called it Flaming Desire and it is made using my glass headpins (of course) and the mechanics are hidden with needle felting wool.

Photo by Doug Baldwin

You have to be a member of ISGB to receive the magazine but I don't think they will mind if I share the page with my design on.

Thanks for looking.

Linda
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