Pick of the Week - Spotlight on Treasure

this weeks picks are pretties that have caught my eye whilst browsing our team treasuries, hope you enjoy

Jolene

Featured this week are

Cool lava pendant by helenbluefairy
IKINO handmade lampwork beads by dfglass
Blackberry Crush Pendant by FunkyCow
Handmade Glass Beads - All that Glitters by FlameForceFive
Ruby in Ziosite Necklace by caraj316

A special thank you to some of FHFteams wonderful treasury makers

Something to warm your cockles created by Samantha Halliwell

All that glitter... created by Josephine Wadman

Seeing Red created by Emma Mackintosh

I spy with my beady eye created by Lynn Davy

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.

The Trials and Tribulations of a Newbie Lampworker!

Hello again! I am back as promised with some more "Rules" that I have discovered on my brief lampworking journey, I hope you enjoy them!

Rule number 3: You always have to have every new glass that comes onto the market immediately and without regard for the size of you bank balance. This is just a plain fact that you cannot escape. But I will let you into a secret.......this is not a problem that is only suffered by Newbs. No siree. Even the old hands still suffer from this one. You are not alone, you should never be ashamed. It is a part of the addiction, for which there is no cure. Just accept it and move on. My personal poison is silver glass, even though I have a really hard time getting it to do anything on my HH, a new one becomes available, someone makes a gorgeous bead with it, and out comes the Debit card without a second thought! (“Dinner darling? Oh, I though we should be frugal and use up some leftovers. Yorkshire pudding with limp salad and cold spaghetti will be just fine, won’t it?”) Here is a photo of an early Aurae **ahem** "experiment":

Rule number 4: You will never have enough space. This is an unavoidable side effect of following unwaveringly rule number 5:
You will never have enough tools. And I tell you this my friends, there is no point trying to avoid this rule. Everywhere you turn some friendly type is flogging something that you suddenly really have a need for, or some equally friendly type is receiving new stock from a new or a favourite supplier. These people are feeding the addiction and we love them for it!

Please remember to post a comment with your suggestion of what a lampwork addict should be, I will give a prize for my favourite!

Thanks for reading, I'll be back soon :)

You can find me on Etsy :)

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

Pick of the Week - Spotlight on Spooky Stuff

With Halloween just arond the corner I have been feeling a spooky spotlight a-comin' on! - hope you enjoy this weeks picks.

Jolene

Featured this week are

Spooky skulls set by keiara
Dragons eyes by kitzbitz
El Dia de los Muertos earings by pandanimal
Orlando by flamebornbeads
Mexican midnight by dangerousbead

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