Fire Divas Gossip Column!

I am back and smelling like roses! No really I have made it a point after a home disaster that caused a not so nice smell to permeate my dwelling, to have fresh flowers in every room and those scented candles EVERYWHERE!

I am so glad to be back and peeking around at what our Divas have been up to that I am just giddy with excitement! I can tell you now that sweet and saucy is what you are getting when you see what our Divas have been up to!

Lori Bergmann of Ashlyn Designs is showing us color like never before! Her color reference and help with the hottest Pantone colors are just wonderful. Stop on by and take a look at not only that article (which you will drool over!) but the rest of her Spring and Summer goodies!

Lara Lutrick aka Lampwork Beads By Lara Lutrick deserves a pat on the back for her work making it into a great ArtFire Collection! Great Job!

Sharon Driscoll of Right Turn Artwerks has a great article up about artists and their identities. I can honestly say I really did learn alot from reading this. Take a peek at this one and let her know what you think. P.S. She also has a great idea on her blog for a solar lantern!!!

Holly Dare of Holly's Folly Beads is making me so glad that glass has no calories!! Take a look at the yummy goodie she "baked" up complete with bail and shiny crystals! Tool Tip: Looking for a way to make larger bails make sure to scroll down (hard to do after seeing the "goodie") and see her new favorite tool!

As someone who has recently learned how chaotic life can be, Judith Billig of Icarus Beads has really come up with a blog post worthy of a looksie! This post is not only worth it's weight in gold (or glass) but has some super great eye-candy! Kudos to you Judith for a smart and positive change!

Last but certainly not least!! Patrice Shepherd of Shepherd Creations really tugged at my animal heartstrings with her post about a show she did "Art For The Animals." Not only will she have pieces being auctioned off at the end of the month ( I may have to slip the goods on where you can bid ;) ) but she took First Place in the judging! We need more people like Patrice helping to support our furry, four-legged friends!

So I have left you with some great treats and some words of wisdom! So enjoy your Sunday, Pet the pooch or kitty, Eat a cupcake, and just enjoy life!!! I know I will!

Fantasy Shopping Saturday

I love "Organic" beads. It doesn't matter whether they're round, tab shaped, lentils, or my favorite....free form.  And I love playing the cloud game with "Organic" beads.  In case you've never played the cloud game..... you lay on your back in the grass and watch the clouds drift overhead and try to figure out what animal, person, or thing you see.  I do this automatically  when I'm drooling over "Organic" beads.  Although, I'm not on my back! ;-)  .

Starting today, I'd love for you to play the game with me...  Over the next 3  Saturdays, I'll be choosing 5 beads from the Fire Divas Artfire or Etsy shops.  I'll post them here, and tell you what I see....but I really want to know what you see!  Join me....  Leave a comment to let me know.....It'll be fun!

Giapet ~ Karen Klomparens

The silvered ivory in the bottom left corner reminds me of a tidal wave on this bead.  Can you see it?

Spawn of Flame ~ Sonja McClung

There's so much in this middle bead.  If you look toward the left---starting with the blue and then it gets creamy... that's a caterpillar on a leaf... and just below?  The wing of a Monarch butterfly  with great dots!   ;-)

Uvanomos ~ Lluvia Brito

This one has the colors of the sky and earth, but what I really see  are trees with long trunks.  Look at the middle section with the speckled dots.. on the right side of that section begins the trunks.  They gradually turn green, and as you get higher, you will see the tops of the trees blowing in the breeze.

Lutrick ~ Lara Lutrick

This was is really fun!  Look over on the right side... its a man on a chaise lounge. He's and his pointy hat  are the yellowish-orange part of the bead(on the right side of the bead), he's got a really full chin, kinda' like a pelican, and the top lip recedes a bit.  His head is resting  just above a pink and blue section (that's the pillow).  Do you see it?

Susan Lambert

Check out the third bead from the left.  At the top there's yellow circle with a red section coming to a point.  Looks just like a little  baby chick with the beady eye at the top.. cute huh?!?

If you want to check out more "Organic" lampwork beads by the Fire Divas, check out everyone's site.  They're all listed on the left side of this page!  See you next week!

Glass Bead of the Day 5/20/11

I've been longing for a little sunny pink but haven't been feeling adventurous enough to play with it myself. Pink can be such a fussy color in the flame. But our fellow Diva Lara has pink down pat.... Just look at this bead!

The pink and purple and all that sparkling goldstone are just stunning! You can see more of Lara's fantastic beads in her shop.

I hope your weekend is just stunning too!!!

Lampwork Glass Bead (Ring) of the Day 5-19-11

This fun cocktail ring "Flowers of Atlantis" is today's bead of the day. OK, it is not a beaad, but it is still lampworked, just without a hole.

Susanne of BabsBeadsandDesign has created this ring with a cabachon on a sterling silver ring that is adjustable, so it will fit most fingers. Isn't that great?!?

Check out Susanne's store for more jewelry and beads.

Stop by the ArtFire weekly thread to see what the other Fire Divas are up to, or mosey on over to Etsy. See you next Thursday!

Glass Bead of the day: May 18

Murrini. It can be so beautiful - if you know how to use them.

I've never mastered them myself and the few times I've tried I've ended up burning them or smashing them into a unrecognizable smudge of... something. *sigh*

But others do it better. Like Amy from Amy Sims Designs. i love this strawberry red and murrini decorated lentil of hers:

Sweet Red Lentil

Makes me long for strawberry squash!

When you've drooled over all the goodies in Amys shop, you might also like all the diva items in the ArtFire and Etsy promotional threads.

Lampwork Bead of the Day for Tuesday, May 17th

Finally we're having a beautiful, sunny Spring day here in the Pacific North-West. The temperatures are still well below the average, but at least we see the sun and a blue sky and that's already something to make you smile!

And when I selected today's lampwork bead of the day, my smile was getting even bigger. This focal bead by Christine from FenG is called "Turquoise Crazy Cartoon":



This bead is bright, colorful, funky - it makes me happy :) And if you love hearts, you've gotta see the back side of this bead. Too cute!

Christine's Etsys shop is full of all sorts of funky and colorful lampwork treasures. Check them out here.

Lampwork Bead of the Day for Monday, May 16th

Happy Monday!  There's a lot going on lately, especially with the Fire Divas (check out the blogs on the left, there's a bead on the shuttle that launched today!), so this bead set seemed appropriate, as it's full of detail and very busy, just like the Fire Divas :)

Doubled Hearted means BIG LOVE by Right Turn Artwerks

This is an awesome bead set from Sharon Driscoll of Right Turn Artwerks.  It's so colorful and festive!  Sharon likes to make sets with color and detail, so be sure to see what else she has in her Etsy Shop here. She has lots of springtime goodies including hearts, bunnies, and birds, for starters...

See what the Fire Divas Team is up to on Etsy this week, then visit the ArtFire thread.  Have a great Monday!

Fantasy Shopping Saturday

OK.... What happened to "Spring"? I'm not complaining...I'm really thankful for dry pavements, bright sunshine, and no snow!  It's  just I don't remember seeing "Spring".  Almost all the trees are in full bloom. The crab apple tree has flowered, and the petals have fallen, leaving the pavement a really pretty pink.   Somehow, I never saw the flowers on the tree itself.  The grass is a "lushy" green and the only remnant of what should be Spring? ------ my flowers that generally bloom this time of year.   And although I appreciate the weather that we're having... I still want to experience Spring. I know, no better place to feel the gentle warmth of a Spring sun,  the soft colors of early blooming flowers, or the gentle breeze of the early morning, than a trip to the Fire Divas Etsy and Artfire Shops.  Join me,... just in case you missed Spring too! ;-)

RightTurnArtWerks ~ Sharon Driscoll

Shepherd Creations ~ Patrice Shepherd

Uvanomos ~ Lluvia Brito

SunDoorBeads ~ Michelle Viezaga

Susan Lambert

SpawnOfFlame ~ Rosmarie Hanus

Lutrick ~ Lara Lutrick

IcarusBeads ~ Judith Billig

SilverRiverGlasswork ~ Sonja McClung

FenG ~ Christina Stofmeel

RiversEdgeGlass ~ Barb Reed

AshlynDesign ~ Lori Bergmann

AbbieLyn ~ Abigail Castagnaro

Giapet ~ Karen Klomparens

HollysFollyGlass ~ Holly Dare

BabsBeadsandDesignArtisanStudio ~ Susanne Folin

Amy Sims Designs

Glass Bead of the day: May 11

Last wqeek was really cold in Sweden. This week has been really hot. Summer hot! The plum tree outside my window is in full bloom and today the cherry tree blossoms showed. A lovely, lovely time of the year!

An ice cream time of the year...

Pistachio Ice Cream Focal Glass Bead

This bead makes me drool. And the best part - it will not show on your hips!

Holly from Holly's Folly is the creator of this Low Carb Low Fat goodie!