End of the Day Beads

What are end of the day beads? If I haven't said this before they are the beads you make with all the pieces you have laying on your work table at the end of the day.  The August issue of Bead Design Studio had an article about Lori Greenberg and the end of the day beads that she makes.  She was using her lentil press and it made me want to make some lentils.  I do not know why but for some reason I usually make round beads when I make end of the day beads. These were fun now I just want to make some more.

Sunny Sunflowers

 I do not know why but fall always makes me think of sunflowers.  I would think they are more of a summer flower as by now in the fields they are starting to dry them for seed.  The stores are full of mums not bright sunflowers, but fall and these flowers seem to go together in my mind.  So the other day I grabbed my favorite dark yellow glass and made a batch of sunflowers.

Now we all know that things like yarn and fabric have dye lots and you need to be aware of that when getting yarn for a project that you get enough of the same lot.  Well glass is very much the same and my favorite dark yellow comes in a different color each time I order it, I swear.  This time it has a very orange hint to it.  I am not sure you can see it in this photo but the ones on the right are yellow and the ones on the left are very much orange which is really pretty don't get me wrong but I wanted my lovely yellow. 

Glass has minerals in it to make the colors and since minerals might come from many different areas and the concentration of other things in those minerals might change so does the color of the glass.  So just because I order the same color does not mean I always get the same color.  I think sometimes that is the beauty of playing with glass and my attraction to it as a medium.

I almost forgot to tell you I am having a sale for the holiday weekend in my Etsy shop.  Make sure to check it out and get some fun new beads.

**Holiday and Back to School Blow out Sale...use coupon code HOLIDAY20 when you check out and receive 20% off your purchase. Coupon code good through Labor Day, Monday September 2, 2013.***

Bright colors of.......

...........flower beads.  I love this blue frit around the bright colors, weather on discs or flowers.

Joan's Necklace

One of my customers from Stitches Midwest, Joan Berenbaum, got the pendent in this picture from me a year ago.  She made this fantastic beaded kumihimo necklace to use as a chain for the pendant.  I love how the little white beads in the kumihimo piece make the white in the pendant pop out.  A very talented lady don't you think?

Disc beads from............

 ...........me today.  I have been playing with some disc bead the last week or so.  I have made these before but just not a lot recently.  I have an idea though for a necklace and I think discs might be fun....

 .........instead of flowers for this one.  Just a bit different.  Although when I look at these discs I still see............

.......flowers.  Just flowers that are more round maybe like roses instead of Daisy's.

And the winner is...................

Diane Massenburg Scott.  Diane won my first give-a way bead here on the blog.  You can see the bead here.  Make sure you check back on my blog or my Facebook page to watch for upcoming drawings.

Free Ship Friday!!!!!

Free ship Friday!!!! A special in my Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/shop/tanyamcguire for today only. FREE SHIPPING on domestic orders over $40. Use the coupon code FREESHIP at check out. For all Canadian and International orders I will refund at least half of your shipping after check out on orders over $40.

I'm in love........

 ..........with this new piece of jewelry.  It is one of those pieces where I had been working on something else and there were parts of things laying about on my work table.  They just called to be put together into a new necklace.

 This piece also came out with those great colors of copper and a patina. 

 I of course had to make a couple pair of earrings to go with the necklaces.

This pair also goes with a new statement necklace I showed you last week.
I want to remind everyone that there are only a few more days to get entered for the Free Bead drawing.  Check out the post here so you know all the ways you can enter.

A new Flower Necklace

 A couple of weeks ago at a show a good customer made the comment that many of my new pieces of jewelry were in the bright family of colors.  Boy is she right, however I had this piece started at the time and couldn't even show her. 

 I have been missing the copper and earth tones that I have always loved to work with but I guess have been having so much fun with the bright colors I didn't realize it until she mentioned it. 

 This color combination in glass is one I have loved for a long time I had just never used it on flowers until recently.  The amber glass looks like copper with the hints of green patina color caused but the frit.

Of course I had to make a little pair of earrings to go with the necklace.  They are the same as the little dangle on the extension chain in the back of the necklace.

There are certain beads...............

 ...........that I hate trying to photograph.  These Alice's Garden cone shaped flowers are one of them. 

 When you have them standing up this way they look fine but don't really give the person the idea of how big they are or really what shape they are.  They look really fun in person and I love the way they look in a piece of jewelry. (You can see one piece here.)

But when you try to show the shape or that the bead is a cone, the photos just really do not look the way I want them too.  I have tried to figure out what it is that I am doing that I am not happy with and can not seem to find the solution.

Now the Alice's Garden spiky beads you can tell just what they are and how they will hang with one picture. 

If anybody has some suggestions about working with the cone flowers I sure would love to hear them.

New Shawl Pins

Well it is almost time for Stitches Midwest in Shaumburg,IL.  I leave next Wednesday because it takes all day to get there.

 I have been trying to get some Shawl Pins made to take with me.  Seems I have only managed to make a few but they are fun and a little different.

 I hope to get a few more made over the weekend but I will just have to see how it goes.