fire and glass

Great post here..thank you Delamina ! A Girls Guide to Necklace Lengths Collar Necklace First we have the ‘collar’ length. Very snug. Very sophisticated. Collar length necklaces are great for formal occasions and look fab with anything strapless. To wear a collar, especially one on the smaller side of the 12-13 inches, you should have a thin neck, or a love of bondage. But if you can pull it off, this style looks fantastic. Even good with jeans and a blouse. Anything v-neck. Choker Necklace A little more relaxed than the collar, and more comfortable for those of us with thicker necks, the choker gives you a little more breathing room. This 14-16 inch length is great if you want to draw attention to your long lovely neck. And that hollow. Princess Necklace Now that just sounds right. And it often is. This 17-19 inch length is very common and the main thing to be aware of is that you choose the appropriate clothing. This necklace length works well with higher or lower nec

I like to re-create the same bead countless times, and while this may seem obsessive I like to think it's more correctly the desire to make the bead I see in my head. Mostly impossible. But I keep trying. Lately that obsession is the long tube shaped bead. The longer and skinnier the better. More a cigarillo shape. Here are a few of the latest. Still not quite the fantasy bead in my mind, but the latest...which is the copper green one with the pale green rose is the most satisfying. In fact, I may be happy with that for a bit~ all of the above handmade glass beads are available here: Green Bird Studio What's your favorite bead shape to design with? For most of us it seems to be the flattened lozenge shape. But don't disregard other perhaps more 'difficult' shapes, they afford an excuse to create something unique and truly one of a kind. Following are some beautiful necklaces using long tube shaped beads. Credits for jewelry design go to: http://thegloss.com/fashi

I hope that I may always desire more than I can accomplish. ~Michelangelo

Original Jewelry for Original women.. Pour yourself a cup of tea or a mug of hot chocolate and snuggle up to your laptops peeps. This is a fun 2 day event dreamed up by Shelly of MiShel Designs to help you keep your resolve to Shop H a N d m a de this season. Or just window shop if that's what strikes your fancy, but definitely stroll on by and take a look. ..a superb list of quality artisans all decked out for the holidays.. click the link below to go to the Blog Hop!! December 2011 and for those of you who have found yourselves here via the Hop from someones participating blog Please use the code BlogHopping2011 to take 25% off anything in my Etsy shop featuring handmade glass beads for your jewelry designs! Seasons Greetings and Much Happiness to all of you

As I'm sure I've mentioned in past posts, the food in Israel is definitely D elicious, and to make it even more palatable, following a Mediterranean diet is known to be super  healthy! According to the Daily Express: “Following a strict Mediterranean diet offers substantial protection against heart disease, cancer, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's” A Mediterranean diet is a diet that is high in olive oil or any monounsaturated fat. I've noticed a lot of avocado oils on the shelves here as well. I've not tried it yet, but it seems it must be comparable to olive. A Mediterranean diet also consists of lots of fish and chicken and much less..much much less, red meat. Lots of fresh..plucked from the lush  gardens fresh! fruits and vegetables. High in legumes. I've never eaten so much hummus in my life. Low in dairy. You cannot find processed cheese anywhere on the shelves. Not a can of cheese anywhere. There is however quite a lot of yogurt..greek with h

...using nature to inspire my Muse [this was originally posted last year at this time while we were in Boston] I know I've whined about this before, but I am mentioning it just once more...I am without my precious torch and glass. So. in the quest for more dynamic creative outlets I have found I am enjoying photography. The tools are few and simple. A camera. Photo software. An eye that sees light and dark spaces. An eye willing to see and ruthlessly crop the unnecessary. A fitting metaphor for life wouldn't you say? I find I like simple scenes with few distractions. I like to photograph the views that might be missed by busy minds... a literal, tangible 'ohm' ..so to speak~ And in some odd serendipitous way, it seems any creative expression folds back upon itself and feeds all of your muses... In other words, I see ideas for jewelry in each of these photographs. Enjoy your muses today everyone.. go make something ~ --All of the above photographs were taken by me i

If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. ~ C.S. Lewis Beautiful Haifa,Israel

'Randoms from my Favs' by kenzee Decorative Home Dec... TheClayTheory

I don't think there's snow in my hometown in northern Canada yet, but sadly..or maybe happily [if you're a snow boarder or skier]..it's not far away. There's usually a skiff of snow by Hallowe'en, sometimes even earlier. Not enough for snowmen maybe but enough to make you start putting your woolies on. I love making these little guys.. even though they all have the same features, each one is different and unique. Kind of like us. :-) Available now on Etsy , Canadian Snowboys [and girls]..each with a woolie toque and scarf. One piece bead to string as a wintery charm [at about 1" in length they're also very sweet as package accents when you wrap your gifts] or to use as a focal in your Christmas designs. I will be offering one free snowboy with every purchase totaling 40.00 or more in the Bead shop from now through to February 2nd. These will be surprise snowboys..so not the ones that are listed. Each will be just as sweet and cute as the ones liste

There's something outstanding about the bread in Israel. You would think bread is bread and that its all in the bakers hands and of course that's true, but there is something better about the bread in Israel than any I've ever eaten. true. Of course, as in all things..its about your ingredients. Israel imports nothing..all they have on their shelves has been grown here in Israel. The flour..the honey..the yeast. All home grown ingredients. That must be the secret. In my quest for recipes that reveal the secret of special Hebrew bread I found this bread makers blog.. Breadman Talking . I tried the pizza/focaccia one from the archives: 1 cup warm water 2 teaspoons active dry yeast a pinch of sugar or 1/4 teaspoon honey 2 1/2 to 3 cups all purpose flour 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt Cornmeal or semolina for sprinkling Tomato sauce olive oil for brushing (focaccia and outside of calzone) toppings 1. Pour the warm water in a bowl, dissolve the sugar (or honey) then

the beads the jewelry

There aren't too many glass artisans that I know of who do not covet and hoard rods of the very lovely silver glasses that are available out there. The term 'Silver' glass doesn't refer to the color of the glass but rather to the content of silver nitrates and metals in the glass recipe. These are very expensive rods of glass..sometimes costing 100.00 or more for a single lb. According to Abe at Northstar Glass there are several reasons for the value placed on these phenomenal rods of lampworking glass. This is a quote from Abe at Northstar Glass in April 2009 "Cost of Silver rich glasses. 1. $300-400 per pound for Silver Salts each batch might have 1lbs in one 30 lb batch. 2. $200 per crucible we try to change each crucible every 3-6 batches some times we ONLY get 1 batch out of a crucible because the silver metal drills a hole through the crucible, if that happenes it destroys the furnace floor and this is not cheap $300-500 just for the floor. 3. each f

Oh, the joys of discovering a new supply shop!..this one is in Tel Aviv, Israel and is full of silver findings that have been made here in Israel. I Love that.. My guy had to entertain himself while I bellied up to the wall of mmmm toggles, end caps, beads, clasps, connectors ..all hand stamped sterling silver, as well as stamped brass. Yes. Let's just say that I was there for quite some time... Here are some bracelets made using toggles found in the shop in Tel Aviv~ The first two have sold but  'Dragonfly' is available here on Deborah JLambson Enjoy your week people!

Coming soon to Etsy.. Just the beads ma'am .. Handmade glass beads waiting patiently for their beauty shots ..please stay tuned!