Sparkle Challenge - Julie Haveland Beer

FHFteam are running a Seasonal Sparkle Challenge right now and here are three beautiful sparkly listings from Julie Haveland Beer.

Julie says:
I grew up surrounded by crafts – it was just something everyone did, whether for pleasure or practical use. Not only did this environment give me the love to create, it also gave me the confidence to try out all sorts of craft hobbies as I grew up. In 2003 I picked up a book on chain maille. As time went by I invested in a kiln to fuse glass and later fire Precious Metal Clay. Late 2007 I Googled for an answer to a fusing problem I had, and stumbled upon the Frit Happens! Forum – what a joy to meet so many glass-mad people! The following spring I met with a few bead makers from the forum, and I totally fell in love with the way they teased beautiful beads out of molten rods of glass. Within a week I had ordered the start-up kit, and, as the saying goes, the rest is history :-).







You can find more lovely glass by Julie at DolmairicDesign

Sparkle Challenge - Becky Fairclough

FHFteam are running a Seasonal Sparkle Challenge right now and here is a beautiful sparkly listing from Becky Fairclough.

Becky Says:
Christmas for me is a very sparkly time of year, I love decorating the tree with lots of tinsel and angel hair and baubles. I love to have jewellery that is sparkly for Christmas but I wanted to make something wearable all year round and so I choose to make one of my ranges of beads as cabochons and turn them into little stud earrings.



You can find more lovely glass by Becky at chameleonsdesigns

Sparkle Challenge - Trudi Doherty

FHFteam are running a Seasonal Sparkle Challenge right now and here is a beautiful sparkly listing from Trudi Doherty.

Trudi Says:
When I think of Christmas I think of snowball fights. Running through snow, trying not to get hit; while laughing so hard that my sides ache!! And that was just last year, some things stay with us from our childhood. It’s just magical, sharing that fun with the next generation. So I made these beads with an opaque white base, and rolled them in a very fine clear frit - the contrast really makes them sparkle, just like sunshine reflecting off the snow.



You can find more lovely glass by Trudi at Shineon2

Sparkle challenge - Josephine Wadman

FHFteam are running a Seasonal Sparkle Challenge right now and here is a beautiful sparkly listing from Josephine wadman.

Josephine says:
I live in Somerset with my husband and our two daughters. I had been making jewellery for just over a year when I came across lampwork on the internet. I bought a hothead and was hooked. Within a month I had been on a beginners course with Barbara Mason and ordered a Minor setup. Three and a half years later beadmaking has taken over my life....not to mention part of the garage which has been transformed into a workshop. I work fulltime making beads and jewellery and also teaching beadmaking. The novelty and of melting glass hasn't worn off and I doubt it ever will. I have always enjoyed various creative activities and feel very lucky that one of these has now become my job. An added bonus are all the friends that I have made through beadmaking, many of them other members of FH.



You can find more lovely glass by Josephine at Josephine Wadman

Sparkle Challenge - VeeBeads Vicki

FHFteam are running a Seasonal Sparkle Challenge right now and here is are some beautiful sparkly listings from Vicki of VeeBeads.

Vicki Says:
I am 37 and live in Devon with my fiance, two house rabbits and a Degu (Chilean destert rat) I have been torching since April this year and am just a bit obsessed. I am entirely self taught, and most of my work is the result of hours of trial and error! I also enjoy card craft, and am learning beadwork and metal clay.













You can find more lovely glass by Vicki at VeeBeads

Vicki also writes The Trials and Tribulations of a Newbie Lampworker! articles here on the team blog.

Sparkle Challenge - Hazel Ward

FHFteam are running a Seasonal Sparkle Challenge right now and here is a beautiful sparkly listing from Hazel Ward of Continuumdesigns.

Hazel says:
I'd been making jewellery for a few months when I began to notice the wonderful handmade beads and jewellery components available online. Desperate to make my own beads, but lacking the resources for lampworking at the time, a family friend suggested I venture into polymer clay bead-making, and I instantly became hooked. Until I pick up a lampworking starter kit, I'm having fun testing out my ideas in polymer clay form.



You can find more of Hazels beautiful bead creations at ContinuumDesigns

Sparkle Challenge - Jennie Lamb

FHFteam are running a Seasonal Sparkle Challenge right now and here is a beautiful selection of Sparkly listings from Jennie Lamb of Raspberry Rings.

Jennie says:
I have always loved jewellery that has unusual textures and design, rings in particular and I was using silver plated copper to make rings to sell in the gift boutique Bazaar my husband and I own in Barnstaple, North Devon. Then I met Manda at Mango Beads, in fact her daughter Sophie worked for us in her gap year, and I had my first lesson on the torch (Feb 09)with her and that totally changed my life, glass has filled a creative void I felt for years. I cleared the spiders out of the shed, got a starter pack form Martin, a Bead Cube and a heap of glass and I am now officially hooked. I just love the limitless options glass offers and the fact that each day at the torch is an adventure, you never know where it will take you and I now spend most of my life thinking and dreaming glass....it has become a complete obsession!! Hurray for that!!









You can find more beautiful lampwork glass beads by Jennie at RASPBERRYRINGS