Sugar Me Sweet ~ Pendant: Cindy Gimbrone, Enamel Bead: Sue Beads, Lampwork: J Savina Beads, Ceramic: Golem Studio.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Art (Bead) Education

I had an epiphany around 11pm last night and a sudden urge to re-work my website's homepage. Out of the blue I realized that my customer's may not have the same understanding or appreciation (gasp!) for artisan crafted beads as I do. The words lampwork, ceramic or polymer clay might not mean all that much to them. Could this be effecting my jewelry sales? Perhaps they don't realize how special these little works of art are?

I sometimes forget that the rest of the world doesn't always think the way I do. Just because I go gaga over a sparkly little lampwork wonder doesn't mean everyone else does. I felt at that late hour, that it was my job to share my passion and to explain how much work goes into each and every special little bead.



Artisan-Handcrafted-Lampwor
Art Beads by Loupiac De Gatteville, uvanomos, Golem Studios, Round Rabbit, Shaterra Clay Studios, Jade Scott, Radiant Mind, Lisalu Jewels and Josephine Wadman

Here is the explanation of Art Beads that can now be found on my website.

About Art Beads

Art Beads are any bead, pendant or component that has been handcrafted by a skilled artisan. These can include glass lampwork beads, ceramic beads and polymer clay beads.

Lampwork beads
are handmade one at a time by melting colorful glass rods in a flame and wrapping the molten glass around a metal mandrel. Each bead is then annealed in a kiln, cooling them gradually to room temperature creating a strong and durable bead. I buy lampwork beads from artisans all over the world and am always looking for new and exciting creations to use in my jewelry.

Ceramic beads and pendants
are very popular and I use them regularly in my jewelry designs. I purchase ceramic beads from skilled artisans in Canada and the US and have also started making them myself! They are created by hand sculpting beads and pendants from clay and then firing them in a kiln to create bisque ware. Each bead is then hand painted with a variety of glazes and then fired once again in a kiln to create a smooth, glassy finish. I only buy and make ceramic beads that are non-toxic and food safe.

Polymer clay beads and pendants
are made with a type of plastic clay that can be fired to maturity in a home oven. Polymer clay comes in a wide variety of colors and skilled artisans can shape and sculpt this clay to create an endless amount of effects.

Other artisan crafted items used in my jewelry include hand patinaed metals, hand-dyed silk ribbons, hand forged and soldered pendants, metal clay charms and beads as well as resin filled bezels. The time, effort and skill that goes into these handcrafted materials allow me, the jewelry artisan to create truly special and unique pieces of jewelry that you wont find in any store.

Jewelry made with Art Beads will always be a little more expensive than jewelry made with commercial beads because of the time and effort that goes into making each bead. To offset these costs I combine my Art Beads with commercial beads and stones for most pieces. The more Art Beads found in one piece, the more expensive the piece will usually be. The satisfaction of wearing a piece of Art Jewelry that has been crafted by several different artisans more than makes up for the slightly higher cost
.

I hope that by sharing the love my customer's will realize how special handcrafted jewelry is, particularly if that jewelry contains handcrafted beads and components.

On a side note: I opened my kiln this morning to a perfectly baked batch of bisque. This attempt was MUCH better than my first attempt. I can't wait to glaze these babies! I'm thinking shades of pink, orange and purple!

On another side note: Don't forget to tune in this Saturday, Feb 26 for the Bead Soup Blog Party! Myself and 209 other party goers are getting ready to share our delicious creations. I can't wait!

Happy beading everyone,


PS: I went into blogger to fix one tiny typo and my entire post got messed up. Weird. I tried to fix it but if it looks a little weird I apologize. :-)

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

And the winner is...

I'm pleased to announce the winner of the "just the way you are" bracelet is lucky number 7, Michelle G!! Congratulations Michelle! Please contact me with your address so I can mail your bracelet to you. :-)

Michelle's comment was number 7 after subtracting my own comments and a duplicate.

Thanks to everyone who posted a comment. I know it can be hard to give ourselves a pat on the back sometimes but I really enjoyed reading everyone's positive words about themselves. They really warmed my heart. :-)

Enjoy your bracelet Michelle!

Just-the-way-you-are;-Brace


Have a great day everyone!


Monday, February 21, 2011

Ribbon Love ♥

You may have already guessed this, but I am a girly girl. I love all things pink. OK, maybe not baby pink but fun berry shades of pink. I love hearts, I love flowers and things that sparkle make my heart flutter. But really, is there anything more girly than ribbons?

Hand Dyed Silk Ribbon by Flame Kissed Art Glass
I have been devouring ribbons lately. Particularly beautiful, hand-dyed silk ribbons. With their soft crinkly texture and smooth color gradations these handmade lovelies add a touch of elegance to any design.

Here are a couple of my own designs featuring Flame Kissed Art Glass's captivating hand dyed silk ribbons.

The Garden Path by Lisalu Jewels (SOLD)
Garden-Path-Necklace-Collag

This necklace features a gorgeous handcrafted ceramic pendant by Shaterra Clay Studios. I have combined it with freshwater pearls, Vintaj natural brass chain and of course, a beautiful silk ribbon in earthy shades of gold and green.

Black Tie Surprise by Lisalu Jewels
Black-Tie-Surprise-Necklace

This necklace features a set of stunning handcrafted lampwork beads by IrinaS. These citrusy hued works of glass art came all the way from Croatia! I have combined them with Swarovski pearls, a Thai silver toggle clasp and a sleek black silk ribbon.

Sugar Me Sweet by Lisalu Jewels
Sugar-me-Sweet Necklace

You may recognize this necklace from my last blog post. This necklace was my entry for the February, Love My Art Jewelry challenge. It features a polymer clay pendant by Cindy Gimbrone combined with enamel and lampwork beads and finished with a delicious coral and pink silk ribbon.

I have a colorful stash of silk ribbons just waiting to be made into something pretty and oh-so-girly.

Sparkle and shine girly girls!

Tied with a bow,

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Designer of the Week, and a Sneak Peek!

Hey, guess what? I'm Designer of the Week over at Love My Art Jewelry! Pretty cool huh? I've been meaning to share my February Challenge entry with you all week but I haven't had a chance until now. It's been a crazy week. I was really inspired by this month's color palette and you may remember my post from last week, Color Me Happy, where I shared my work in progress. Here is the completed piece! This is probably one of the most wild and crazy, over the top pieces I've ever made! I'm thrilled that the gals over at Love My Art Jewelry liked it enough to name me Designer of the Week. I have to say, it kind of makes my day. :-)

Sugar Me Sweet by Lisalu Jewels
Sugar-me-Sweet Necklace

I also wanted to share a little sneak peek of my necklace for the Bead Soup Blog Party coming up this Saturday, February 26. You can read more about the blog party and see all the participant's blogs HERE. It took me a little while to find myself on the list but I'm number 140 of 210! Remember all the goodies sent to me by my bead soup partner Nicole Valentine? Here's a slightly distorted (on purpose) sneak peek of my creation using Nicole's gorgeous beads. I can't wait to share the whole thing on Saturday!

Sneak Peek of "Goddess of the Deep" by Lisalu Jewels
Bead Soup Blog Party Sneak Peek


This necklace is also a little wild and crazy. Hmmm, it must be the kind of mood I've been in lately. ;-) I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone has come up with!

Have a wild and crazy day!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

just the way you are...

If you read my blog post from yesterday, you may have noticed that I was complaining about my first glaze fired batch of beads and how they weren't perfect. The glaze was applied more thickly on some than on others and my perfectly matched "pairs" didn't match so perfectly. I had even commented that I probably would never use these beads. After all, they're not perfect.

This morning when I looked at my little pile of beads I decided to look at them separately, not in pairs or groupings the way they were "
supposed" to be but each individually. When I did I noticed that they were actually quite cute. I thought to myself "would I ever criticize someone else's work so harshly?" Probably not.

Then why do I do this to myself
?

I realized that we are often our own worst critics. Whether it's our hair, our weight, a meal we've cooked or our art it seems easy to dissect ourselves and neatly categorize our flaws.

In honor of this realization I decided to make lemonade out of these self described "lemons". I gathered up a batch of my beads and whipped up a bracelet that's rather cute, if I do say so myself.



Just the Way You Are, by Lisalu Jewels
Just-the-way-you-are;-Brace

Now that feels better. :-)

I've decided to give this bracelet as a giveaway. But there's a catch.

First, you must answer this question;

What do you like about yourself today?

It can be anything you'd like, just say something nice about yourself.

Leave a comment and an email address and I'll pick a random winner on Tuesday, February 22.

Be kind to yourself today. :-)

Much love,


Edit: If you don't feel comfortable leaving your email address (I totally understand) just make sure I have a way to contact you if you win. :-) If you follow my facebook page I can contact you there. Thanks again!

Monday, February 14, 2011

And There Was Glaze...

Last night I was able to do my first glaze firing! Sometimes finding a solid block of 4 hours can be tough but I fired the kiln last evening and was able to wake up this morning to a cooled batch of glazed beads! Considering this was my first attempt I think they turned out pretty good! I learned a lot about how the finished product completely depends on how you apply the glaze. I think I need to work on my brush technique and do some test tiles but I couldn't resist glazing some of my first batch of bisque. Thankfully the glaze adhered to the beads, there were no beads stuck together or stuck to the rods, there was no pools of glaze in the bottom of my kiln and I didn't burn my house down.
All in all I'd label this first glaze firing a success! ;-)

Here are the beads before the firing
In-the-Kiln-Before-Firing

And after
In-the-Kiln


The beads!
First-Glaze

I doubt I will end up using any of these but I have learned a lot and can't wait to fire another batch! The best part though is that my kiln firing jitters seem to have disappeared! I can't wait to do it again!

Smiles,
Lisa

PS: Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Live and Learn

I'm a little bummed to report that the kiln gods were not smiling on me as I fired my first load of bisque last night. This is one of those "live and learn" type situations. I have discovered that the temperature inside my kiln does not match what shows on my pyrometer (this is the temperature gauge on the outside of the kiln). I ended up firing my bisque load about 250 degrees hotter than I should have. They look fine but this could effect how the glaze adheres. But all is not lost. They should be salvageable.

My first bisque load of beads
Bisque-1

I would like to thank the kind folks on the Beads of Clay Yahoo Group who talked me through this little mishap. There is nothing like picking the brains of people who've "been there, done that". I really thought this load was toast but hopefully they can still be glazed with a little extra work. Perhaps I will save this task though for when I have a little more experience with beads that have actually been fired correctly. ;-)

Live and learn,
live and learn...

Lisa

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Color Me Happy!

Today I had some unexpected time in the studio so I'm firing my first bisque load of beads! I'm so excited because after this I can finally glaze them! I've been getting tired of staring at these boring gray beads. It's time for some color!

Speaking of color, I just have to share a link to one of my new favorite blogs. It seems as though many of my jewelry designing friends and followers have already found this site but if you haven't seen it yet check out
Love My Art Jewelry. It's hosted by an amazing group of talented and well known jewelry and bead artists and the site's motto is "making handmade with handmade", right up my alley!

They have a
monthly challenge for jewelry designers and this months challenge inspiration photo is the cover of the book "Blue and Yellow Don't Make Green". I'm so inspired by this color palette! The colors are just so cheerful and bright, I can't help but smile just looking at them. I've been playing with my beads and putting together a selection of both handmade and commercial beads in this palette.

Love My Art Jewelry, February Challenge
Feb-Challenge

Check out the gorgeous heart pendant by Cindy Gimbrone! When she posted this pendant on her blog a few weeks ago I just had to have it! Like, now! It's a beautiful shade of fuchsia (LOVE) and it's a heart! Two of my favorite things. I know, I'm such a girl. ;-) There are also some beautiful lampwork beads in the mix as well. I'm really not sure what I'm actually going to do with these beads yet but I have a few ideas floating around in my head.

I'll be sure to share some photos of my newly bisqued beads tomorrow!

Happy wednesday everyone!
Lisa

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Studio Day!

Today I actually had a full day in my studio! It has been a while. On Tuesdays and Thursdays my son is in daycare and they are supposed to be my days to work on jewelry but lately other errands and obligations have been taking up my time. But today, I had a whole blissful day! I started off by firing my kiln for the first time! I picked it up last Tuesday and have been staring at it for over a week. I wanted to make sure I had a good chunk of time put aside because I didn't know how long it would take to reach temperature. I decided to fire it with only the kiln furniture for the first time just so I'll know how it works before I actually fire any beads. It took about 5 hours to reach temperature (cone 04) and it kept my studio nice and toasty all day. Next week I hope to bisque fire my first load of beads!

While my kiln was doing its thing, I was busy working on some new pendants and earrings. I received a nice little package last week that I had ordered from Lorelei Eurto. She has started selling her handcrafted vintage tin bead caps in her new shop called Tin Snippets. I ordered two sets from her and they are so cute! I love them. They are a nice way to add a little extra color to a simple bead. She doesn't currently have anything in her shop but if you follow her blog she'll let you know when she's having another shop update. Trust me, they will go fast!

Necklaces and Earrings Featuring Lorelei's Tin Snippets
Lorelei's Tin Snippets

I also made some more clay beads and test tiles that I hope to fire next week! I'll be sure to share some photos as I load my kiln for the first time. :-)

Smiles,
Lisa
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