Beads By Laura

Exciting!

2009-12-22T22:25:00.008Z

I've got some news.

The newsworthy event took place on Sunday but my mind's been all of a whirl ever since and I knew I'd have to blog it and this might sound a little bit silly but I didn't quite know how to say it.

It hasn't really sunk in yet.

I'm just going to come out with it and tell you .....

I'M GETTING MARRIED!

Chris proposed to me on Sunday morning and I said yes!

Nope. Writing it down still doesn't make it feel any more real. It feels like some kind of lovely magical dream.

So that's made my Christmas ..... and then some.

This will probably be my last post before Christmas as I'm off up to Manchester to spend it with my fiancé (yes, fiancé) and his family so I wish you all a very Happy Christmas. Eat much turkey (or nut-roast if you're a Veggie), lots of chocolate and many Twiglets. Have a good'un!

Winner

2009-12-20T19:07:00.007Z

Well, the Lego Engineer didn't get round to making the Mark 2 Lego Tombola so I had to do the old-fashioned, non-technical names mixed up in a bowl thing and the winner of the December Prize Draw is Celeste. Well done to you, Celeste! Please email me and we'll sort out some glass melting fun for the New Year.

Big huge thanks to all who entered the draw. I really had no idea that so many of you would think that spending time with me and my glass was a good prize!

There will be another draw in January so do check back, bookmark my blog or add yourself as a follower to stay updated .....

'Roly Mo' Socks

2009-12-19T08:42:00.008Z

Last night I finished knitting a pair of socks made from a really groovy striped yarn. The purple and green stripes remind me of Roly Mo, the similarly-striped storytelling mole from The Fimbles. Please click here if you're wondering what I'm on about .....

I bought the yarn from Sunnyside Ellen on Etsy and it's really nice stuff to knit with. The colours are very vibrant, more so than in the photo. I had to take my sock pictures in the warm comfort of the lounge today as the stone floor in the conservatory was way too chilly to be grovelling around on. Brrrrr! Please click here to visit Ellen's Etsy shop and click here to visit her blog.

I think that's about all from me at the moment. I settled down to make beads yesterday only to find that the glass I wanted to use was totally unusable but I'm not going to rant about it. Instead I shall take a deep breath and move on. Seeing as the next few days are going to be stupidly busy for me I don't think that there will be any more beads this side of Christmas. Oh, and don't forget that you've only got a couple more days to enter the prize draw. I'm drawing the winner on Sunday night and to be honest, I don't think it's going to be from the Lego Tombola. I have so many entries that the slips of paper won't tumble about as they should. I'm going to ask Dad Lego Engineer to see if he can build a bigger, mark two version so we shall wait and see .....

A Bit Of Glimmer

2009-12-16T19:53:00.004Z

I've been playing about with fine silver and I've made some more 'Storm Cloud' beads (always popular) and some similar to them but with a dark treacle-coloured base. Yum!

These will be for sale on my website tonight at 8.30pm (UK time).

Mince Pies

2009-12-13T09:43:00.018Z

I got up early this morning (because it's that time of year when you just need to make the days as long as you can) to bake some mince pies.

A few weeks back I made some mincemeat and jarred it all up ready for the mince pie making so all I had to do this morning was whip up a bit of pastry and voila - yumma, 100% homemade mince pies! I've just had one warm from the oven with a cup of tea and I have to say they are a little bit nice.

If you're planning to make mince pies, give the homemade mince meat thing a go. It's dead simple, makes the kitchen smell unbelievably festive and tastes so much nicer than the shop-bought stuff.

I used Delia Smith's recipe which can be found here and I stored mine in those lovely old-fashioned preserving jars with the metal clippy fasteners. I gave a jar to my sister Sally and I think she got more excited about the jar than she did about its contents!

If you click on the picture at the top of the post it'll open a desktop-wallpaper-sized image. If you like, right click the image and select 'Set As Background' and you can have Christmassy mince pies decorating your monitor screen!

December Prize Draw

2009-12-12T15:41:00.013Z

I've got a bit of a different prize for you this month. As it's the end of the year and I'm feeling (a little bit) festive I thought I'd make the prize a good'un and offer one of you the chance to come and melt glass with me in the New Year.

So if you've always fancied having a go at making beads, or if you already do and you would like to come and learn some new glassy things with me then leave a comment on this post or zap me an email and I will put everyone's names in the Lego Tombola for a chance to win.

The beadmaking session will be a five hour one (normally £130.00) and the resulting winner and I will organise a suitable date for next year.

I will draw the winner on Sunday 20th December.

Now, the draw is open to anyone anywhere BUT if you're not in the UK then I must stress that I am not going to pay for anyone's hotels, flights, ferries or other means of travel so please only enter the prize draw if you're up for travelling to me in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

Thank you and good luck!

I am working, honest!

2009-12-10T18:41:00.007Z

I may well be quiet on the bead and blog front but rest assured I'm busy working. I've caught up with all my Cupcake orders which means I am now free to make my 'normal' beads. The batch of cakes in the (very grainy) photograph above have all been made into pendants and dangles and are now winging their way to their new homes.

I should have some new beads for sale on Monday or maybe Tuesday next week .....

The Red Shoes

2009-12-08T09:23:00.026Z

I first saw this pair of shoes while I was out shopping with Nicky a few weekends ago and I wasn't able to get their loveliness out of my head. I'm very wary of pretty lady shoes (I live in Cons) as I'm a size seven and am not the daintiest of people. I've never been able to wear a pair of high heels for longer than an hour without moaning about my feet aching or without developing painful ball-of-the-foot blisters. So when I saw these glorious red patent shoes in Schuh I immediately dismissed the idea that they would ever be mine.

Whenever I've bought lady shoes in the past I've always needed to buy them in a size eight (and once in a nine) as my feet are quite wide so for a comfy-as-possible fit I go for the next size up. The thing is, not many places stock size eights and above. It's normally a case of 'We can order them in for you' but to be honest you want to try the shoes on before you pay for them and you want to try them on there. In the shop. Plea to shoe shops - please carry size eights and above. Most of you have them in storage somewhere but please don't be feetist against the larger footed ladies!

Anyway, after spending too much of my life thinking about The Red Shoes, last week I Googled about and discovered that they are available in red, black and navy blue but they only go up to size sevens in the red. I nearly ordered them online but I wanted to make sure that a seven would fit. So at the weekend I dragged Chris into Schuh in Cambridge and showed him The Red Shoes. Sensibly he said that the black would be more practical and would go with more things. I reluctantly agreed, knowing that they didn't have an eight in the red anyway so I asked the sales assistant if I could try on a seven and an eight in the black.

About five minutes later she reappeared carrying a pair of the red ones and said to me 'We haven't got any sevens or eights in stock in the black but you could try these red sevens and if you like we can order the black ones in for you?' so that is what I did. I was wearing striped socks (very attractive while trying on lady shoes) and even with those on The Red Shoes fit me. I looked in the mirror and instantly fell in love with them. Chris gave me the thumbs up and the sales assistant nodded with a big grin on her face! It was like in the movies when the lady tries on the absolutely right wedding dress and everyone just knows it's perfect. Yes, it was like that but with shoes.

And that was it. The Red Shoes were mine. And they're a size seven. And they don't have a high spindly heel but a slightly chunkier one instead so I shouldn't get blisters. I wore them on the walk home from town to Chris's (that's quite a walk) and only had minor, normal new shoe rubbage. They do up with satin ribbons which makes me think of tap shoes. I always wanted to do tap dancing as a kid but Mum said no as I think she knew that I only wanted to do it because of the shoes. But the best thing of all is, and you can't see this in the early morning light of the pictures, they have a very fine, subtle copper-coloured glitter in them which gives them a beautiful shimmer. Amazing!

'Blue Shimmer'

2009-12-03T20:41:00.009Z

These sparkly pretties have a new home now but I thought I'd post the photo anyway.

There'll be no new beads from me now until next week. Dad's back from his six week trip around Australia so I've got to get back into the swing of the Cambridge Commute as of tomorrow. Train knitting here I come ......

And talking of knitting I'm click-clacking away on my needles every spare minute I get. I have lots of stealth Christmas pressies completed and on the go that I can't show you pictures of because many of the recipients of said items read my blog. So be prepared for a post-Christmas knitting blogfest!

'Purple Prettiness'

2009-12-02T18:56:00.004Z

These lovelies will be for sale on my website at 8.30pm (UK time) tomorrow night.

Christmas Cupcake Deadline

2009-12-01T12:14:00.009Z

I thought I'd write a little post to remind you about my Cupcake deadline. If you would like to order Cupcake beads, pendants or dangles and you're going to need them in time for Christmas then please place your order by 10.00am (UK time) on December 5th because I can't guarantee that anything ordered after that date will be made and delivered in time for the holidays.

Thank you!

For Robyn

2009-12-01T09:07:00.005Z

When Robyn saw my heart necklace a couple of months back, she asked me to make one for her. I don't normally do commissions but when my five year old niece looked at me with her beautiful big brown eyes and asked 'Can I have a see-through blue heart with purple spots please, Auntie Laura?' how could I possibly have said no?!

Earring Pairs

2009-11-29T09:50:00.007Z

The beads for sale tonight will all be sets of earring pairs. Obviously you don't have to use them for earrings but I've taken every effort to ensure that they're the same size in case you do!

Tonight's pairs include the Storm Cloud ones above and the chocolate and lavender spotty ones pictured below.

These pairs and more will be for sale in the usual place at 8.30pm (UK time) tonight.

And I'd just like to say a huge 'thank you' to everyone who has purchased a copy of my Roly Poly Bead tutorial. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's Roly Poly beads!

Tutorial : Roly Poly Bead

2009-11-26T20:55:00.009Z

People are always asking me how I make these so I've written a Roly Poly tutorial.

They're relatively simple beads to make but you will need good heat control and nimble mandrel-turning fingers! The tutorial is available on my Tutorials & Downloads page.

It is in the form of a six page PDF and costs £4.99. Please click here for all the details.

Big thanks to my Dad for taking the step by step photographs.

Year-round Laurabeads

2009-11-25T11:17:00.026Z

Chris and I may not have filmed any beadmaking movies this weekend just gone but instead we designed a Beads By Laura 2010 calendar. Erm, I say 'we' but in actual fact Chris did all the Photoshop designy stuff and I just sat there occasionally saying things like 'Too bright!', 'No. I don't like those beads!' and 'Can you crop that one there?' Mind you, I did decide what pictures to use for each month. I tried to theme them. For example, January has frosty blue Luminobeads, there's my Poppies for November and some pretty Starburst beads for December.

I ordered one copy of the calendar to see what it looks like. It arrived this morning and I am SO pleased with it! I used to work in the printing industry (so I kind of know what's good and what's naff) and this calendar really is top-notch as far as small-print-run type printing goes. It's printed on nice thick 200gsm satin paper and is wirobound for easy hanging.

The photograph at the top of this post is of the actual artwork Chris did and shows the beads that are pictured inside the calendar and the other two are of the real thing.

The calendar is A4 size so it's not too big but big enough to give a kitchen, studio or wherever a nice splash of colour. And the really good thing about it is there are no country-specific holidays and dates (like Bank Holidays) marked on it so the calendar will work wherever in the world you may be.

I'm going to order some of these for relatives and I thought I'd ask you if you'd like one too? They're a tad more expensive than your usual Clinton Cards Cliff Richard ones but that's because I'm not printing nine bazillion of them. The price will be £15.00 per calendar including postage to the UK and it'll be an extra £2.00 for overseas postage. Please email me if you'd like to buy a calendar.

A big massive thank you to my wonderful fella for spending aaaages making my first beady calendar. Love you, Mister G!

Gifts From Joy

2009-11-24T17:08:00.009Z

I taught my last lampworking lesson of the year today and it was very fitting that my last student was also the first of the year. Joy Funnell came back (obviously I can't be that bad!) for more glass melting fun and she brought me some lovely gifts - a fab book about knitting and crocheting with wire and beads, some Art Clay Silver and a totally gorgeous fine silver button made by Joy herself.

Isn't it great? I need to create something that will show off its true shiny beauty.

Joy is an Art Clay Silver Jedi Master and if you've never had a look at her work I urge you to do so for it is utterly fabulous. Her enamel work is pretty dang spectacular too. Joy also teaches so if you fancy trying your hand at some Art Clay Silver why not book yourself a lesson with her?

I have no idea what I'm going to make with my Art Clay Silver. I've only ever had one go with it before (longtime readers may remember my Darth Vader earrings) but Joy told me how to make some simple beads so I may have a go at that. I'll make sure that I keep you posted and let you know how it goes .....

2010 Tuition

2009-11-22T17:17:00.010Z

I know that 2010 is next year but it's really not that far away. Lots of you have been making enquiries about tuition and I've been uncertain about it as Chris and I are getting a place next year so I couldn't allocate dates because ..... well, I couldn't. But we had a big grown-up chat today about the moving thing (not easy for two people who are not very grown-up) and we even wrote stuff down and worked out numbers and things and now I can say for certain that I will be teaching in my conservatory 'studio' in Abingdon, near Oxford from January through to the end of April.

I travel to see Chris every other weekend so I will fit my teaching around that.

You can book either a three hour lampworking session for £90.00 or a five hour one for £130.00. The prices include all materials etc. I'm happy to teach total beginners or intermediate lampworkers looking to learn more advanced techniques.

Please email me if you'd like to book a lampworking session. I will need a 50% deposit (non-refundable) at the time of booking with the remainder payable on the day of your lesson.

Definite teaching days will be Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and I will be able to fit in some Fridays and Saturdays so do email me with any dates that you have in mind and we'll go from there.

Sorry if this sounds a bit vague. That's because it is. But basically, to sum up, I will definitely be teaching January through April but I have no concrete dates set aside for this. Just let me know if you'd like to come melt glass with me and we'll sort something out!

A little bit of luxury

2009-11-20T10:41:00.014Z

When I saw that Stash Fine Yarns had some pure cashmere yarn in their sale I knew I had to have some. And when they had some mauve left ..... well, it was meant to be.

But what to do with just 75 grams of purply-pink cashmere? That's not a lot of yarn so I pootled around on Ravelry and found a sweet little pattern for a neck warmer. I set to work and completed the project in just one evening. It is sooo soft. Pure luxury!

It's going to be great for cold wet days. No soggy scarf ends. No under-the-coat scarf bulk. Just snuggly, gorgeous cashmere. I've ordered some more yarn so I can make myself a matching pair of gloves.

'Rusty' Lentils

2009-11-19T17:36:00.006Z

I visited my Grandparents yesterday and in their garden is a tree which has the most amazing autumnal orange leaves and red berries. I knew immediately that I wanted to capture those colours in glass bead form, so voila - here are my 'Rusty' lentils.

Silk Scarf V2.0

2009-11-17T19:58:00.007Z

Do you remember that gorgeous silk yarn I bought back in August? Well, I did start a scarf with it but to be honest I didn't like the way it was knitting up so I frogged it and have started anew. This time I think the pattern really shows off the beauty of the yarn. It's knitted on small needles so it's going to take a while but so far so good .....

Frosty Prettiness

2009-11-16T19:20:00.006Z

I've treated myself to a new jar of etching solution and to celebrate this fact I've gone a little bit Luminobead crazy! These will be for sale on the Freshly Baked Beads page of my site at 8.30pm (UK time) tomorrow evening.

Prize Draw Winner

2009-11-15T21:52:00.004Z

I've just done the whole Lego tombola thing. It took ages as this draw was the biggest I've done (with regard to the number of entrants) and writing all the names was a long job. I don't have a photo as my camera batteries are flat but the winner is ..... Summer! Well done you! Please email me with your address and I'll get your Lonelies in the post.

Thank you to all who took part. Make sure you check back next month for the final bead giveaway of 2009. I promise it'll be a good'un ......

I'm not superstitious but .....

2009-11-14T08:26:00.004Z

..... Friday the thirteenth turned out to be a really naff day all in all. Last night even my computer joined in on the whole let's-annoy-Laura-today thing. So, my apologies to anyone who was refreshing the Freshly Baked Beads page last night but to no avail. I was trying my best to get things to work but they just wouldn't. I think I've fixed my computer troubles and now the beads pictured above can be found in the usual place.

'Filigree'

2009-11-13T08:31:00.005Z

I definitely had to pull waaay more stringer than I thought I would need for these. All those swirly scrolls seemed to eat the stuff!

These pretty beads have a pale ivory-coloured core which I've cased in clear and the scrolls are a soft periwinkle blue. Such delicate colours.

They will be for sale on my website tonight at 8.30pm (UK time).

Random Poetry Moment

2009-11-12T11:14:00.009Z

I came up with this rhyming couplet while I was teaching on Tuesday and now I can't get the thing out of my head .....

"Always pull more stringer than you think you'll need,
For there's nothing worse than running out mid-bead."