November Nexus Listing Team

I've been inundated with orders for snowflakes this week and it's making me feel all Christmassy. Many thanks to a repeat customer from Norway, I never thought I'd be shipping snowflakes to Norwegians!

I've seen a lot of gorgeous decorations this week. Here are some of my favourites from the FOLKSY November Nexus listing club. I'm still hanging in there but finding it quite exhausting.

Ra Ra Bazaar

Baban Cat

Esme Dodsworth

Pants and Paper

LittleLiliMay

Aunty Joan

Wordless Wednesday!

Bottle Upcycling

After a neighbours party this week I came home to find lots of empty champagne bottles on my doorstep. Yes, I'd rather they were full but even empty ones are useful. I've been perfecting my recycling technique and using my kiln to flatten them into cheeseboards. The finished items are smooth, flat, glossy and perfect for small lumps of cheese or canapes. A perfect standby or hostess gift.

I've also tried smashing them up and putting them into moulds but the final product was a bit spiky. I've been successful with some Bombay Sapphire Gin bottles and have some lumps of blue glass to play with. I think they may turn into a mobile.

I love the Corona bottles. Sometimes the writing comes out a bit less white than I would prefer but that's kiln magic! I've had trouble finding suitable bottles for these lime/lemon cutting boards as the design has changed to two etched sides. In the kiln two etched sides just makes a jumbled writing mess and so I've been searching supermarkets for ones with a peel off sticker on one side. Now I just have to drink all the beer!

Whilst researching other bottle recycling ideas I came across this amazing place in Canada. This building and other glass structures  were built by the late Édouard T. Arsenault who was inspired by a postcard of a glass castle in British Columbia. He started collecting bottles and then gradually began building.There are a number of structures and a garden also inspired by glass. Please click on the pictures or go directly to the website http://www.bottlehouses.com to be amazed.

White - Folksy Friday

White

 A selection of items from Folksy with a white theme. I saw the quote and it made me laugh.

All of us have moments in our lives that test our courage. Taking children into a house with white carpets is one of them. Erma Bombeck

Please click on the picture to go straight to the shops.

Alison's Stuff

Button Butterfly Boutique

HeloiseV

Bonny Lass

Roux

3 Little Finches

Summer holidays!

Glass jewellery and 5 year olds!

My youngest loves playing with my finished glass 'nuggets' . They're smooth, shiny, colourful and extremely durable. Like pirates treasure in fact. This week, after some thought about how to do it safely I let him have a go. I pre-fired lots of different plain glass to make flat, smooth bases for pictures. I also fired glass strings and lots of tiny balls of many different colours.

He added lots of glue.

He used the bases to create mini monsters that he wants to make into magnets. If I use a tack fuse programme the balls will stay 3-D.

So then he wanted to make a suncatcher or maybe something sparkly for the Christmas tree. He selected clear glass offcuts so no flying bits of glass and then added dichroic glass chips to hopefully create a sparkle effect.

I have loaded the kiln with his work and a few of my own pieces and fingers crossed it works out as expected.

The finished suncatcher.

I think it turned out brilliantly. He's mighty pleased with it too.