Hello and thanks for finding this blog. I don't update frequently as you may see. As of June 2012, I am now just going to be posting to my Late Night Lampworks page on Facebook. Check it out and "Like me" if you wish. I will post information about upcoming street fairs and shows I will be taking part in as well as posting pictures of new creations from my garage studio. 

Vintage Button Earrings

Another type of earrings I will offer this year are made with vintage buttons. I featured some at the Vancouver Green Drinks' "Check em off Green" holiday bazaar last fall and they were popular with shoppers. So I have created more for the Recycled Art Festival. The buttons have all been mounted on surgical steel posts. 

New earrings!

Here are some upcylced glass earrings made just in time for the Recycled Arts Festival. 

Made from tequila bottle glass. 

Made from a Shiraz bottle. They remind me of lamps from the 1970's.

Made from a pinot grigio bottle. There is just a hint of blue in this glass...and for some reason lots of tiny bubbles. These beads really sparkle in the light. 

These were from some wine bottle.

The beads are a rich brown from a beer bottle. 

The color of this tequila bottle glass is so amazing.

Pinot grigio bottle beads accented with a mix of seed beads. 

Fabric Beads

This last year I have inherited a large amount of vintage fabric and quilting scraps. Since I am not a quilter, I found a way to use the materials in my jewelry. This winter when it was too cold to go out into the garage studio to melt glass, I stayed warm and cozy inside while I rolled fabric beads. It has been fun to take a piece of fabric and imagine what it will look like when it is rolled up into a bead. The results often surprised me.

These were made from scraps from the 1970's.

The fabric was scrap strips from a quilt. The large crystals were hanging from a vintage lamp.

This fabric was my favorite surprise. It was a piece of linen-like fabric with a forest scene with deer.  

Skeleton Key Pendants

 

Here is something new I will offer at the Recycled Arts Festival this weekend. I found some vintage skeleton keys at an antique mall. The beads on most of the keys are loose, so they spin freely. I think they would look great on a variety of chains or cords. 

Recycled Arts Festival

I am so excited to be returning as a vendor at the Recycled Arts Festival in Esther Short Park, June 25 &26. After a busy school year, it is time to focus on beads and my garden. I am a full-time teacher in the Vancouver Public Schools. During this school year, my torch, glass, garden and blog have not had much attention from me. I am looking forward to devoting more time to my hobbies.  I do have some exciting new things for this year's festival. Look for beaded skeleton keys, fabric scrap beads and dresses made from vintage pillowcases. 

Upcoming Event

Next weekend, Saturday November 13, I will be a vendor at a cool local event sponsored by Vancouver Green Drinks. The first Annual Check' em off, Green Holiday Gift Event will be a holiday version of the Recycled Arts Festival. The bazaar of locally made, recycled, reused gifts will be at Marshall Community Center, 1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd. in Vancouver, 12-5pm. 


Check out this blog for more information about  this event. 
http://reusing.blogspot.com/p/green-your-holiday.html

September 12th Belmont Street Fair

On September 12th I was a vendor at the Belmont Street Fair in Portland. It was a gorgeous, sunny Sunday after a week of rain. I had a great spot right on Belmont near the Tao of Tea. It was such a great time. I sold a lot of things and talked with lots of friendly people. I was even witness to several wedddings perfromed at the Mobile Chapel of Love, that temporarily set up in front of my booth.  I look forward to taking part in more street fairs next summer!

September North Bank Artists Gallery Show

This bracelet featured in the North Bank show has one red dot strategically placed in the black and white design of the bead. 

This is a neclace featuring some of my largest lampwork beads, it was also in the "White and Black" show. 

The texture of these beads is an interesting feature of this bracelet.

My work was selected into the annual juried show at the North Bank Artists Gallery in Vancouver. The theme was White and Black. I created three pieces, the first two were selected to be featured in the gallery during September. It was fun to play with the design aspect of the beads. With all of the work I have been doing with beer and wine glass, I miss the fun I can have with design details.


It was exciting to visit the show opening on Friday, September 3rd and see my work among the other pieces selected to be part of the show. 

New: Wine Leaf Beads

Leaves from a shiraz bottle on small, sterling hoops.

After the Recycled Arts Festival last month, I have been enjoying some time away from the torch. I am excited however about a new tool, a "leaf masher"!  I have been making leaves from wine and beer glass and am having fun experimenting with how the masher shapes the leaves. Like in nature, each leaf is looking quite different, so pairing leaves up for earrings is a challenge. I also got a new shipment of beads and findings, so I will be trying out some new designs this weekend at the Overlook Village Festival on Killingsworth, on Saturday in Portland. 

What a weekend!

    The Clark County Recycled Arts Festival was such a great time. The weather was incredible and the people were so friendly. Organizers estimate 15,000 people attended. I had a great time explaining how I have been making beads from old bottles.  

    In addition to seeing amazing creations by the vendors, there was excellent entertainment on stage, craft activities for kids and education about recycling throughout the event. It was great to hear people commenting on the signs that were posted around the sidewalks which gave interesting facts about recycling. I think many people walked away with great items purchased from vendors, and also an appreciation of little things we can do each day to conserve resources and protect the environment. As a person who was born and raised in Clark County, I was proud that such a great event takes place here.

    I sold many pairs of earrings, some that will travel as far as both Boston and Toronto.  This was my first outdoor event in over 2 years. It was so much fun...I am looking forward to my next event. 

A look at my display and bottles (including the cats)  that will become future beads.

This is my display of large hole bead sets. 

Check out this blog!

At the Recycled Arts Festival a lady asked me how I made my beads and took some pictures of my work. She then told me about her blog and plans to include me and my work in her blog post about the event. 




Check out the post about the Recycled Arts Festival...my work is featured as "Lesson Number 8" that blogger Kaitlin Smith learned at the event: Wine bottles recycled into jewelry can be way more interesting than gemstones.




Thanks Kaitlin! Here is a link to Southwest Washington Zest: Celebrating People, Places and the Good Life in SW Washington State. www.southwestwashingtonzest.com

New Pieces for this Weekend

This bracelet features 33 beads made from beer and wine bottle glass with some clear beads made from a salsa jar. In between the handmade beads are brown irridescent brown beads that really accent the colors of the upcycled glass. 

The necklace was made with vintage, black, cut glass beads, brown irridescent beads and five large hand-torched beads from beer and wine bottle glass. 

Big Hole Beads

I finally have enough large holed beads to create some nice sets for bracelets. These beads will fit Pandora, Biagi, Brighton and other build-a-bracelet styles. Currently I only offer unlined, but in the future plan to line them with sterling silver. 

Pinot Grigio Bottle Beads

All of the beads I have made from this bottle are filled with tiny little bubbles, which seem to add an extra sparkle to the beads. There is a faint tint of blue green in the glass. 

Salsa Jar Beads

These beads were made from glass from an old salsa jar. I like the combination of the copper and sterling silver accented with black. 

Tequila Bottle Earrings

My sister gave me an empty bottle from Cabo Wabo Tequila after her annual Cinco De Mayo party. It was the most vibrant color of teal. I thought these brightly colored beads accented the color and spirit of the glass. 

Chardonnay Bottle Earrings

Finally a sunny day when I can take some pictures! These beads were created from an old chardonnay bottle. These are among the earrings that I will feature this weekend at the Recycled Arts Festival in Esther Short Park.

Blue Upcycled beads

I finally got to work with the blue bottle glass! The beads on the left were from an Italian sparkling Pinot Grigio. On the right are from a bright teal Cabo Wabo tequila bottle. 

This picture shows the beads still on the stainless steel mandrel coated in bead release. Bead release is like a muddy clay that the mandrels are dipped in so that the molten glass doesn't stick to the mandrel. When you take the bead off of the mandrel, that is where the hole is. Sometimes people think the hole has been drilled in the bead...the hole is simply where the mandrel was. 

In addition to be being excited about the blue glass, I was also just happy to be able to take pictures today. Most of my latest photos are taken outdoors in bright sunlight. Well, we have had 20 days of straight rain and cloudy weather...not unusual for Clark County.....in the FALL! Today is the first day of dry, blue sky, so I took advantage and got some photos taken. 

This afternoon, I am soaking the label off a Pinot Grigio bottle that is faint, teal green color. I think it will look nice combined with some of the blue beads shown in this picture. 

Textured Beads

For the last week or so, I have been experimenting with adding texture to beads. After I take the bead out of the flame of my torch, I then roll the bead over different textured surfaces before popping them into the kiln to cool.  I was so excited to see what the combinations look like, I just strung them together on a stretchy cord. I think they look pretty cool. I really like the look of the organic color mix of the various wine and beer bottles.