All Fired Up..I Just Can't Seem to Get Enough!!

Ever get a itch to do something again and again?  Ever can't seem to get enough of something fun? Well,  I think I have the glass bug you guys, because I headed back to All Fired Up two weeks ago and made two more fused glass pendants...and this time, I used a friend as my excuse!

A good friend of mine had a birthday last month and I wanted to do something fun, other than your typical out to lunch work gift..boring!  We had decided on dinner and a movie, which would have been great, if I hadn't gotten my first pendant back a week before our planned outing.  I had an ah ha moment and she was all for it!  I originally introduced her to jewelry making years ago and she was on board for learning something new and fun...a little hesitate at the idea at first, I might add, but it turned into an evening of laughter and fun, and this time I didn't forget my camera! Follow us on our journey..........

"ooooooooh..this is how they draw you in (minus that special friend to persuade you if you don't have one)"

"Then we spent 30 minutes or more trying to decide on colors"

"Then we got busy picking out pieces to work with"

"Then the creating began"

"we measured, we swapped, we moved things around..."



"we snipped and clipped...."

"and glued...."

"and finished...then I started a second one!!"

"we waited two weeks and taadaaa!!! 



Yeahh me!! 

I've heard that the first step to recovery is recognizing that you have a problem..."WELL,  I HAVE A PROBLEM!!!" ...coz I just can't seem to get enough of fused glass, but I keep reminding myself that I HAVE to get my new camera first!! But there's a little angel on my shoulder that keeps whispering, get a kiln next!    

Tell me what you think of my new found love, then let me know what you're working on that's new and fun.



Unveiling and still having fun,

I'm At It Again.....

For those of you who really know me, you know that I can't keep still for long before I'm trying something new.  I'll try anything once, doesn't mean I have to like it or stick with it, but I'm adventurous and I will give it my best shot!

This weekend, I was in Carytown on a special mission (I'll be posting about that later) a popular area here in town.  Carytown is home to many interesting things, such as our Annual Watermelon Festival, antique shops, ecclectic boutiques, one of a kind shops, vintage shops, jewelry stores, consignment shops, pet stores, restaurants, bead stores and so much more.  It's the one place I always visit during Christmas, to find one of a kind unique gifts.

Typically, parking is a bear on a Saturday afternoon, but luck would have it, I found a spot directly in front of a little shop - "All Fired Up".  Well, curiosity got the best of me of course, because all I could see was color peeking out the little shop window at me, calling my name..."Dee, come see".  Naturally, I went in, what else was a girl to do? 

Inside was wall to wall ceramic EVERYTHING! It was a paint your own ceramic studio, with dishes, cups, coasters, animals, houses, fish, ornaments, you name it, they had it. I didn't know where to start looking, my eyes were shifting every which way they could.  But, then something said "stop...hold up...wait one minute"!  There was a little angel that had dropped by to remind me of all the decluttering I had just done! (we all remember this post, don't we?)  It was just as I was about to turn around and walk out, that something caught my eye....

 Directly in front of me was a bookstand full of not ceramic, but glass.  And over to the far right of that little bookstand was a little cubbie, holding something near and dear to my heart...a pendant (I say with a smile), not clutter, not something without a match, but a pendant..and now I was ready to ask tons of questions before my twelve o'clock appointment! After ten minutes of me firing questions and the shop attendant, happily answering, I was prepared to return in a couple of hours to make my first Fused Glass Pendant!

Two hours later I was back with sleeves rolled up and ready to go. Mind you..I had a camera in my purse that I was all worked up about taking pictures with for this post, BUT I got so caught up in the moment, I totally forgot to take my own photos.  The photos you see here are from the All Fired Up website, but I will be returning and I will take my own pictures next time. 

After arming me with all the essentials such as my base glass, my selected color glass (which I changed three times), a bucket of left over glass, glass powder, glass noodles,glass tubes, liquid glass, glue, cutting tools, marker, tray, table, chair and instructions, I was left alone to do some major damage.

(obviously, this is not me working on a pendant, but gives you an idea of the set up and the glass)

 Just a note to anyone thinking about giving this a shot..powdered glass, may look like powder, but it's still glass. My fingers can attest to that after my little sprinking ordeal. 

After an hour of glass flying on the floor, crocked cuts, and several design changes, my project was complete and ready to be fired. It is at this point that the nice ladies, come take your pice, label it, ring up your craft, and give you a return date to pick up.  If I know best, I'm certain they'll perform some magic behind the scenes to it (like straighten it up) , fire it up in the kiln and make it look really pretty!

So now I wait...10 DAYS!!!  But oh no, I won't just wait.  In the meantime, I've already been researching on line, perfecting the cuts in my mind, watching videos and reading, I'll be drawing up a design and planning my colors, because when I go back...I'm doing it all over again, but this time in style!!

This is a really cool glass pendant from Into The Lights Studio from Etsy, just to give you an idea of the possibilities if you aren't familiar with fused glass.  Mine will in no way turn out like this in 10 days, but I have a feeling I won't be giving up so easily on this project.

Unveiling something different,

Teaching what I know..Over, Under, Pull it Through

One of the things I enjoy most about making jewelry is teaching others how to make it. Whether it be the simplest technique to twisting wire. This weekend I had the opportunity to show my Meet Up Group how to make crochet necklaces with beads. If you'll remember, the last class, didn't go so well for me with the nemo thread, so we've upgraded to silk thread. A tad bit thicker and a lot easier to work with for me. I posted a necklace that I made after that class, and this past weekend, I shared that technique with the ladies.
It's always fun to watch and listen to how the ladies react to the different techniques. Saturday there was less talking than usual, as they had to count stitches in between beads. When we're doing chain maille, lets just say there's usually a lot of (^%)*&^*& going on. But we always have a great time and we've built some great friendships through out meetings.

A few finished in the alloted time, but those who didn't left with instructions and will hopefully be sporting their finsihed necklace next month. Below are some of the projects worked on.
If you have a craft that you enjoy making, try sharing a few techniques with some friends or strangers through a class or Meet Up Group. It makes for great fun and builds good friendships.

Unveiling and teaching,
Dee