Donna Millard

2012-02-13T11:36:00.000-06:00

I tried something different yesterday and I'm so excited with how this turned out! Then I decided to make it into a pendant/necklace. You can see it HERE.

Headed for the post office, then some house cleaning and hopefully some time on the torch later this afternoon. There is never any downtime, lol. Have a good week! Ciao!

2012-02-13T08:02:00.001-06:00

A huge thank-you to everyone that participated in my murrini sale! Shipping all orders out this morning! Tada!

2012-02-10T04:17:00.001-06:00

Starting today Feb. 10th thru Feb. 12th

ALL MY MURRINI IS 1/2 OFF

THIS IS ONLY ON MY WEBSITE - DOES NOT INCLUDE MY ETSY STORE.

Please use this link >>> 1/2 off Murrini

I did this last year and it was a lot of fun for everyone. Shipping is $4 no matter how much you buy or where you live. I will probably have to make some refunds.

If you buy from my etsy store I will not honor the 1/2 off sale.

Please be patient, I am a one woman operation, meaning, I make the murrini, cut it into a thousand pieces, label it, pack it, ship it, answer all emails and make the refunds. In-between that I have to take care of my dogs and every day living.

Last year when I did this I was...

SWAMPED... And a frazzled mess, lol.

This is my way of saying THANK-YOU for your continued support.

Happy early Valentine's Day!!! xo

2012-02-09T15:16:00.002-06:00

Late post, I know, but I've been busy making murrini since last night. I've made 5 gathers so far, then I have to cut them all. By hand, no less. It takes a long time to cut up 6 or more feet of cane into tiny little chips. Here are a couple pics, they aren't the best photo's, it's hard to do one handed but you'll get the idea.

Last night I wasted some time playing with a program a friend of mine in the UK told me about. You upload a pic of yourself and use a filter to morph yourself. Here are some of me that I did, it was fun and a good time waster, lol.

Want to play too? MORPH YOURSELF Have fun and be brave, post yours pics too!

New beads this morning are some I've only made once before in this color combo. I really love them, hope you do too.

Back to work! C-ya!

2012-02-08T10:38:00.004-06:00

Post n run today, I've got a full plate of work to do. But, I finished up my Fiddlehead Fern project I was working on with the copper and sterling. Here are the pics and links. I hope you all have a wonderful day and wish to thank everyone for all the kind comments you leave for me. I sincerely appreciate all of them!

First, my doodle that brought this whole project to my every waking moment the last 4 days. Funny how inspiration works and how it can eat at you you until you get your project completed. The rest of the pics that follow are the completed projects.

I decided to make this a bracelet kit, with everything you need to complete a bracelet except a clasp and wire or stringing material. Of course, I've included some of my beads but I also included some fabulous copper beads with intricate Bali-type sterling decorative elements.

And the matching pendant.

I'm not sure when I'll be taking the time to do another big project like this but it was fun. I've got company coming next week that I need to get ready for and orders to fill. But, if you like all this, here is the LINK.

Hope you have a wonderful day!

2012-02-07T12:10:00.003-06:00

Here's a sneak peek of something I'm working on.... :-)

2012-02-07T10:08:00.000-06:00

So I got some of the new Terra that was released last week. To be quite honest, I've never had a love affair with this glass and that may be because I don't have the time to really play with it. I just don't have the time. I need to be in production mode because that is how I support myself. So I rarely ever take time out to play. But I succumbed and bought a 1/4 pound just because. :-)

Late yesterday I got it out and allowed myself to take the time to try something a little different. And I did water anneal 2 or 3 beads while trying this, lol. I'm quite pleased with how these beads came out but I am not pleased with how they photograph. They are quite lovely beads when looking at them in my hand. The petals of the flowers shimmer and shine with iridescent colors. But try and capture all that glitter with a camera. Impossible. Here they are, I hope you like them...maybe I'll try another color today. Wish me luck, ok?

And believe it or not, this button was also made with the same rod of Terra. I really really love this button.

Everything is in my etsy shop if you feel the need to have some "fresh as can be" glass goodness. I'm thinking I'm going to do some experimental soldering this morning. Crossing my fingers that works too. :-)

2012-02-06T09:58:00.000-06:00

I spent almost all of Saturday changing a darkroom that the previous owners used into a new soldering area. Many years ago I did stained glass. Actually, I worked in that medium for 25 years (I'm showing my age here) but I'm wanting to use those techniques in something new. I'm not going to do stained glass work again, hardly, after that many years I was/am kind of burned out. But those techniques can be used for lots of things and I hope to bring some of that into my current work.

The room was full of cobwebs and was just a grungy pit. Located in my basement with a separate door, I never ventured in there. Don't like spiders...ewwww. 7:30 Saturday morning I started the transformation and I worked until 3 that afternoon, making trips to the dollar store, hardware store to buy a hand saw, lighting, a clock, etc. Here are some before and after pics. Keep in mind I want to paint the yellow into something a bit more pleasing to the eye, and also make a skirt or something to hide the ugly cement wall and sink legs.

It's a nice work space now, with many places to put loads of things. But by the end of the day I was exhausted, my hands, shoulder and arms ached. I'm having an issue with my neck and shoulders lately and cutting that piece of particle board to fit the workbench by hand took a toll on me. I think I'm having some troubles with tennis elbow. Anyway, the job is done and I like what I did.

I made one set of beads over the weekend for my shop, other work was posted yesterday and I made a small set for something I am working on. Yesterday's beads are a set of Hydrangea's, similar to a set I made last year. I love how they came out. You can find them HERE.

I hope you have a great Monday, I'm headed to the studio. Ciao...

2012-02-05T13:12:00.003-06:00

Soldering fun! Just finished these up a bit ago.

I haven't decided if I am going to use those cabs or try and sell them as they are so other people can use their own beads.

What do you think?

Is there any interest in just the cups?

2012-02-05T09:47:00.000-06:00

Sunday Morning Coolness

I'm off to light the fires, I'm using both torches today, my soldering torch and the one I use for melting glass.

Have an AWESOME day!

2012-02-03T10:26:00.001-06:00

Post n run today, I'm on a quest and headed to my local stained glass shop for goodies! Have a great weekend, I'll post if I make anything earth shattering, lol... x

Oh, I almost forgot my newest beads, fresh from the kiln this morning. I'm So Twisted is HERE.

Ciao! xx

2012-02-02T21:43:00.002-06:00

For all my traveling blog friends, I do make more than lampwork beads. I make these bead caps, copper caps, connectors, jewelry, I write tutorials, well, just pop on over to my website and take a look at everything I do!

And soon I hope to be offering some new and vintage-style connectors made with all sorts of goodies I gather from places near and far, utilizing etched copper and techniques I learned

25 plus years ago. Stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by!

2012-02-02T10:49:00.001-06:00

Morning already...I slept late, way past 7:30 before I woke up. I was so out of sorts yesterday, maybe I just needed all that extra sleep. I dunno, but now my day is kind of mixed up as I'm running late. Or so it seems anyway.

New beads are up. I keep some extra on hand for days like this when I don't torch the day before. I've got one of my Cocoon focals and some fun beads with a blackbird, rounds, discs and spacers. The focal is really nice, the golden glass just glows but sometimes that is hard to capture with my camera.

Here are some pics but you can find all this glass goodness HERE.

Time to get the kiln going and my torch fired up. Have a great day and many greetings to all the new blog hoppers that are finding me through Bead Soup.

WELCOME!

ஐ.-~•*’˜¨¯`•¸♥¸•`¯¨˜’*•~-.ஐ

2012-02-01T15:51:00.003-06:00

As promised, my Bead Soup goodies are ready to be revealed. Since I've no motivation today to do anything, it's amazing I even got this photographed. But a promise is a promise...

So here we go.... (isn't this fun???)

First, the box opening...

And a peek inside...

An organza bag filled with bead goodies! (I hope!)

It looks promising...

Oh, my, is it ever! Look at all these cool things Keirsten sent to me!

There was bag full of yummy stones and handmade findings she made and everything is in my favorite earthy colours. A way cool strip of leather finished with hand-forged copper ends, whimsical (and my favorite) patterend copper flower connectors, some really nice chain, fresh water pearls, bead caps, and other beads.

One word: FANTASTIC!!!

And a quick reveal of what I sent to Keirsten...

I had to swipe her photo because I mistakenly deleted mine. But she admired some of my lampwork beads so I sent those and some vintage lucite, some of my vintage bead caps and loads of vintage floral discs and connectors I made, some Czech beads and copper/brass findings. I'm pretty sure she doesn't usually use this type of stuff...how fun to see what she is going to make.

I'll work on my jewelry this weekend but I won't be able to reveal it for a few weeks yet...I'm very excited to be making something with all the great things Keirsten sent to me.

Thank-you!!!

2012-02-01T09:35:00.000-06:00

I feel like a truck ran over me this morning. I'm super tired and sore, like I ran a marathon or something yesterday. And I didn't. All I did was walk through the snow, but I do that everyday so my body is used to it.

I'm guessing it's just a sign of getting old. Sigh.....

Moving along...I got my package of beady goodness from my Bead Soup partner yesterday. See, I'm too tired, I haven't even photographed what she sent me yet. I will later this morning, I promise.

I'm going to be giving a 2-day workshop in Wichita, Kansas this October and I have to write up a class syllabus this morning to send to the studio owner. I need to wake up. dum de dum WAKE UP DONNA!!!

New beads are up, I wanted to make a set of beads that would move from late winter into spring, something that has an aire of sophistication yet a bit of playfulness too. I think I did accomplish that and in reality, a person could wear these any time of the year. I just hope someone likes them, since they are a tad different than my norm.

PLEIN AIRE

This strand of beads is over 13 inches long! And believe you me, it's hard to take a nice photograph of that many beads.

Think I'll go grab a bite to eat and take a shower, maybe I'll wake up and feel better. Ciao...

2012-01-31T11:00:00.005-06:00

Busy and getting behind so just a post n run today. Oh, and I want to THANK everyone that leaves comments for me. I don't have much spare time to blog hop but I really do appreciate each and every comment you all make.

Thank-you!!!

With the big craze for the Chan Luu style wrap bracelets going full blast I spent most of my day yesterday making buttons for that type of bracelet closure. I water annealed a good bunch of them and that didn't make me very happy. I rarely ever water anneal anything these days. I guess the glass fairy's took the day off yesterday. But I did get 4 nice ones here they are:

You can find my buttons HERE

Have a great day!!!

2012-01-29T14:51:00.002-06:00

Did you watch Katwise today on etsy?
She sold out in minutes.
Amazing, really.

I like her stuff, really I do. Not sure I'd wear much of it though. Well, maybe some of it but in my old age I've toned things down a lot and wear pretty much just hiking gear. But years ago when I lived in Alaska, I found this wonderful little shop in downtown Anchorage. I don't even know if she is there anymore but as I was walking along one day I saw this cool fleece vest in the window and I had to go see it up close.

It was pretty cool. Drop dead gorgeous. But it was like $400 or thereabouts.

Not in my budget.

However, I went into the shop because I love "art-to-wear" clothing. Especially back in those days when I would wear it.

there was a sale rack...... (oh boy, can you see where this is going???)

And there was the long coat. OMG, it was perfect, just absolutely PERFECT.

It had my name written all over it.

Donna Millard Donna Millard Donna Millard

Lordy, I needed a coat like I needed a hole in my head.

Seriously.

It came home with me.

What can I say? I love a good bargain. It was an $800 coat and it was on sale for $350. Perfect justification, right???

I thought so. ;-)

Back in those days I had more disposable cash flow. Now I don't. And that's ok. It's life. I get it.

Katwise, I really do love your coats, but I love mine more.

No, I'm not the one in the coat...

I think part of the reason I just don't wear stuff like this anymore is because I live in a very very VERY conservative area now. Maybe one day when I don't live here anymore I will wear things like this coat once again but for now, it hangs in my closet and I'll never ever get rid of it.

2012-01-28T12:46:00.002-06:00

Back from a long walk, or "push through snow walk" with the dogs. One word for the weather out there today;

BRISK!

It was fine until I had to turn into the wind to come back to my truck. Not so fine then. Brrr, I'm still cold. I'm thinking a big pot of Creamy Wild Rice soup is in order.

My Bead Soup partner Keirsten just posted on her blog what she is sending me. This is pretty exciting as she makes some very cool stuff. I can't wait, it's like Christmas! ;-)

I got on a sea urchin kick the other day and made 3. This one sold and is on it's way to the land down under, Australia. I totally LOVE this one. My best to date I think.

Sometimes these beads are so hard to let go and this is one of them. But, a girl has to do what a girl has to do to survive.

YEAH! I'M A SURVIVOR!

Of many things...but I won't go into that here. Suffice it to say, I'm here, that's what counts.

And, I've fallen in love.

Yup.

Totally smitten and dreaming of my new found love every minute of the day. He's dark and handsome...

And tastes sssoooooooooooooo good.

And no, I didn't just buy one jar.

I got 2!!! Ha, ha, ha.

Have a good weekend, I'm gonna go make that big pot of soup and spin glass the rest of the day. Ciao...

Bead Soup!

2012-01-27T11:44:00.002-06:00

I'm sending my stash out today to my partner Keirsten...she is going to have to think outside her box but isn't that what Bead Soup is all about? Here is a sneak peak...

I'm off to mail this! La tee da tee dah!

2012-01-27T10:26:00.000-06:00

And here it is, Friday already. Where does time go to???

Been a busy week here. Making and shipping beads, working on taxes (ugh), and shoveling snow.

Let's talk about shoveling snow. I'm pushing 60 in a couple years. I have a long driveway. I shovel it myself. The sidewalks too. And I do it early in the morning because I live close to a school so the walks need to be cleaned and I just like to get things done in the morning and have it over with. Across the street from me are 4 houses all with capable (well maybe not) men that are much younger than me. One of them NEVER does his driveway or sidewalks. I think this year he has some kind of deal worked out with his next door neighbor but in the past, he hasn't. Mind you, I said, all these guys are younger than me.

I use a shovel.

They use snowblowers.

I can do it faster.

YAY ME!

But, one of the other neighbors I think really enjoys getting out and messing around with the snow so he goes up and down all the sidewalks on that side of the street and does all 4 of those houses. He's seen me out shoveling my driveway. But does he ever ask me if I could use a bit of help?

No.

Never.

What does that say?????

I don't mind shoveling at all. I actually quite enjoy it. But sometimes there is too much for me to handle and it would be nice if my younger male neighbors would ask me if I need a hand. Does it piss me off? I'll be honest, sometimes it does. But mostly I think it's kind of funny that this almost 60 yo woman can go out and do it herself, by hand the old fashioned way, while they use a machine to do it and I can do it faster.

And yeah, I'm proud, I won't ask for help. If it's too large a dump of snow I'll just call my plow guy and he'll take care of everything...

Bead Soup....it's almost time. I've got my stuff ready to mail out today........it's the weekend, have a good one! Ciao...

2012-01-24T10:38:00.001-06:00

Well, here it is Tuesday already. And almost noon. I'm still in my pj's but I've already got 3 hours of work behind me. That is one nice thing about being self-employed, I don't have to get up running. I get up early and start my day in a timely manner, yes, but I can sit in my pj's to do all my computer work each morning.

I like that.

Over the weekend I finally took some time to make a triple wrap bracelet. I'd say this took 3 plus hours from start to finish. It's my first one and I really love this. I posted a pic on LE and immediately sold my buttons that are like this one in my etsy shop.

I like that too. Thank-you. ;-)

So yesterday as I was working on a couple orders I made 3 new buttons, completely different than the ones on my bracelet. I really love these too. The colors are so rich and yummy.

I just popped them in my shop a few minutes ago HERE.

Another interesting thing....

I was looking for some glass and I have this big ole cooler still filled with odds and ends from my workbench from when I still lived in Alaska. When I moved stateside in 2008 I packed all my glass in 4 coolers like this, padded with towels. Worked great, nothing broke on the 3,500 mile journey. Amazing huh? When I move again this is how I will do it.

I've a busy day ahead of me, I hope you have a great week and may your flame burn ever bright!

2012-01-20T12:22:00.001-06:00

Not a whole lot warmer here today, it's 3*F above zero at noon. At least the wind isn't blowing. My dogs are bored silly. Rosie gets cold right away so we haven't been out on a run for about 4 days now. Hopefully by Sunday it'll be warm enough I can get them out. She's been so naughty though, getting into tissue paper and shredding it all over my studio, twice now! I didn't see her do it either time but I'm sure she had a good ole time. She never does stuff like that. Never. So I know it's boredom and not enough energy burned off. And Holliday doesn't care one way or the other. He's what, 11 now? He likes to go but he also can sleep the day away just fine too. I took Rosie to town with me this morning and we ran around doing errands for like an hour or so, hopefully that will help.

I worked on some wedding jewelry for a client yesterday. She gave me the colors and wanted flowers so I put together this prototype for a bracelet to see if she liked it. She loved it. I'm hoping she wants a bunch. I'll be working on a simple necklace today which she was very specific about how she wanted done. And that's about it. I hope you all have a good weekend! I'll be spinning glass...Oh, and in case you want to learn how to make flowers like these they are in my Frivilous Flowers Tutorial.

2012-01-19T12:18:00.001-06:00

I talked myself into making some more bracelet connectors. If anyone is interested I have them on my website sold in lots of 5 HERE.

And here they are again in case you didn't see my post the other day AND a bracelet I made last year using, I think, the very first one I ever made.

Time for me to grab some lunch and figure out the rest of my day.

2012-01-19T10:24:00.001-06:00

Pretty cold here this morning, going down to minus 9*F. Last night the winds were blowing so hard it was a white-out right outside my living room windows. Not a cloud in the sky this morning which is typical with these cold temps.

It was a good day to be in front of my kiln yesterday that's for sure. Even my studio helper Mr. Boo sat right in front of the kiln door for a long time. You know it's cold out when he does that.

New beads are up, this is Island Girl. Guess I was in the mood for some tropical dreams yesterday, lol.

You can find these tropical delights HERE.

Speaking of Mr. Boo, he was in the mood for a photo shoot yesterday. This doesn't happen too often so I took advantage of his playfulness and took about 20 pics of him. Here is my favorite:

Have a great day and stay warm! Ciao...

2012-01-18T13:07:00.002-06:00

Well, this seems to be working but I don't like this format using google chrome. I feel like I'm lost at sea or something, lol. BUT, if this way works, so be it. Onward and outward, so they say.Moving along....I'm keeping busy and it's freakin COLD here. Tonight it's supposed to go to 10* below. First cold snap we've had all year. We're all spoiled by the fall temps we've had until now and I have to admit, so was I. My furnace was enjoying the warm temps as well. I just finished up some fun components I made for a project I'm working on. I love these and I'm wondering if I should make some to sell???

And here is a heart focal with some discs and spacers I made a couple weeks ago. Just took the pics this morning.

My mandrels should be dry by now guess I'll go sit by my toasty kiln for the afternoon..ACK!!! It's not working, I can't make paragraphs! What's a girl to do???

2012-01-18T12:58:00.001-06:00

Ok, this is weird. I cannot log into blogger like I used to. Strange, yes. I have no idea why. So I'm using a different browser to log in, hoping this works. If you don't hear from me and are wondering why, please send me a message thru my website, ok?

Bead Soup Blog Party

2012-01-15T19:52:00.007-06:00

Yup, I signed up for this year's Bead Soup-a-thon and YAY! I was chosen to participate. This is my first year doing Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party. I'm excited and wondering what to send my partner Kiersten Giles. I don't know her but a long time ago I favorited her etsy shop. She likes yellow. Yellow and I don't get along at all. I'll have to think about this...anyway, it'll be fun. I have 2 weeks to get my stuff together to send to Kiersten.

I worked like crazy today, replentishing my Peony murrini supply and making a new color murrini. I made 2 test beads, they are still in the kiln. The new chips look really cool though and I'll post pics of the bead samples in the morning, if they turn out.

I took off Friday afternoon and Saturday and visited my Daughter. We had a great time eating at a couple new places and trying some new food. Did a little shopping too. Well, she did, lol.

No mail tomorrow, it's a holiday in this country. I'll have bead pics to post in the morning. C-ya, hope your weekend was great!

Western Girls

2012-01-11T10:18:00.006-06:00

Valentine's Day is right around the corner.

Already.

We haven't even had winter yet. Though parts of Alaska have had more than enough winter for all of us.

They ran out of shovels. Can you imagine??? Shovels. One thing they haven't ran out of is snow.

I was supposed to go candlelight snowshoeing Friday night with my Daughter. It's my birthday and she planned a quiet dinner for the two of us and some fun times in the snow.

Only there isn't any snow.

*********************

What would you want for Valentine's Day? I've never ever had expectations for anything on that day. It would have been nice, yes, but the people I was involved with (when I had a relationship) didn't think or remember or care to remember that, as I woman, I liked to be remembered on Valentine's Day.

Oh well, can't cry over spilt milk now can we??

So I made this sort of modern tribal bangle yesterday. It brought to mind some of my past and things I used to like to do. I also recolleceted a designer whose work I've admired for years. Sadly, I can't recall her name right now but I made this bangle in rememberance of her work. She was a western girl and her jewelry reflected that part of her.

If you were a "western girl" would you like this? Even if you aren't a "western girl" would you wear this? I know I would. And to be honest, it's kind of hard to part with.

This is Western Girls and if you really like this you can find it HERE

Keep the fires burning.....

2012-01-10T09:57:00.000-06:00

My inspiration for today? The Emerald Isle, better known as Kodiak Island, Alaska.

2012-01-10T08:24:00.000-06:00

Taken about 45 minutes ago...

Wolf Moon

2012-01-09T23:03:00.001-06:00

And so it was...

Deal-of-the-Day!

2012-01-07T10:28:00.002-06:00

They are on my FB page. If you want to know about more specials "like" my FB page!

2012-01-04T11:33:00.006-06:00

Another busy day at the torch yesterday and I didn't mind a bit. It was very cold and windy and the room my studio is in is the coldest room in the house. Gosh, last night my fingers were so cold it was hard to type. I'm spoiled because it's been a warm winter so far.

Sooo, let's see. I made beads for a custom order but then she changed her mind. Oh well, I'll use them and make more to match so I have a larger set. It's not the end of the world. I know some people don't like to do custom work but I have to say, I've rarely ever ran into a bad customer. Crossing my fingers that continues.

Today? I'd love to go snowshoeing. It's kinda nice out and I haven't had a day off since last Wednesday. But I also feel the need to work. It's almost noon so I guess I'll be happy with just taking the dogs for a run somewhere and call it good.

As promised, my Fire n Ice bracelet.

I had no idea when I went to put this together what I was going to do but I really really love this. If you do too, you can find it HERE. Ciao, I hope you have a bright sunny day.

2012-01-03T15:08:00.001-06:00

2012-01-03T14:46:00.001-06:00

2012-01-03T09:19:00.002-06:00

Tuesday Treasures.

This is all I have done so far. My camera battery died. Waiting for it to charge then maybe I'll be back. I'm hoping to make a bracelet with the big blue bead. Later peeps...

2012-01-02T19:54:00.003-06:00

No, I'm not making this into a food blog. I'm still into beads.

Big time. :-)

But, it's fun to do other things and I do like to cook. Sometimes.

I got caught up in the foody thing over the holiday's. And for New Years I thought it would be nice to have stuffed mushrooms.

I had Lobster instead. And some other stuff. And dang, it was so good.

I made the mushrooms tonight. And dang, they were good too. Great, in fact.
Have a good week. Ciao...

2012-01-01T19:56:00.005-06:00

Can you guess? You get 3 tries to guess what this is...

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A Review of 2011

2012-01-01T10:27:00.004-06:00

I thought it would be fun to make a poster, if you will, of what I liked best from my work in 2011. It's a fun way to keep track of things as your work progresses.

Even though it is a holiday today I must still work. I've got a couple orders to work on and I need to make beads for my shoppe. And there is snow to shovel. Yes, we finally got snow overnight. 4 inches of wet heavy snow. I already did the sidewalks but my driveway needs to be done and the studio roof. Not sure if I'll even be able to do my drive, it's long, and as I said, the snow is heavy. And I'm not no spring chicken anymore.

Ciao...

2012-01-01T08:43:00.004-06:00

Since posting my pic of the Tiramisu I made several people have asked for my recipe. Here it is. The only thing I would do differently if I ever make it again (which I will next Christmas) is to make my own very strong coffee. I went down to one of the local coffee shops and got a 16 oz. espresso. Totally unnecessary IMHO. Just make coffee and save yourself $4. And I probably only used about 1/4 of that.

I also sifted cocoa and added the chocolate curls. And, I like my desserts really cold, even somewhat frozen. So I froze mine. I tried it just chilled at first and it was too "warm" for my tastes but everyone is diferent. All I can say is, try it, you'll love it! And Happy 2012!

Ingredients

3 large PASTURIZED eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar
1 (8-oz) container mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup chilled heavy cream
1 cup very strong brewed coffee or brewed espresso, cooled to room temperature
2 tablespoons sweet Marsala wine
18 savoiardi (crisp Italian ladyfingers, 6 oz)
1/4 cup fine-quality bittersweet chocolate shavings (not unsweetened; made with a vegetable peeler) or 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Preparation

Get out an 8 x 8 non-stick cake pan.

Beat together yolks and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until thick and pale, about 2 minutes.

Beat in mascarpone until just combined.

Beat whites with a pinch of salt in another bowl with cleaned beaters until they just hold soft peaks. Add remaining 1/4 cup sugar a little at a time, beating, then continue to beat whites until they just hold stiff peaks.

Beat cream in another bowl with cleaned beaters until it just holds soft peaks. Fold cream into mascarpone mixture gently but thoroughly, then fold in whites.

Stir together coffee and Marsala in a shallow bowl. Dip 1 ladyfinger in coffee mixture, soaking it about 2-3 seconds on each side, and transfer to an 8-inch baking dish (2-quart capacity). Repeat with 8 more ladyfingers and arrange in bottom of dish, trimming as needed to fit snugly. Spread half of mascarpone mixture evenly over ladyfingers. Make another layer in same manner with remaining ladyfingers and mascarpone mixture. Chill Tiramisu, covered, at least 6 hours. (Or freeze it)

Just before serving, sprinkle with chocolate.

2011-12-31T21:38:00.001-06:00

Ring out the old,
Ring in the new.

Here is a piece of Tiramisu for you!

Have a safe and Happy New Years Eve!

2011-12-24T18:27:00.007-06:00

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! I've got my lasagna in the frig (it's overnight Lasagna) ready to pop in the oven tomorrow night in time for my Daughter's visit. Today I took the dogs for a long walk in a local forest. It was so nice, warm and sunny with about 3 inches of fresh new snow. And that is all the snow we have. Which, by the weekend, will be melted away.

I am anxious for my Daughter to arrive, we will have a quiet but lovely Christmas night together.

I want to say again, Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah and Merry whatever you celebrate. Peace be with you.

Ha, Rosie had to sneak in and Holliday is asleep on the couch. We just returned form a long walk in a local forest. It was so pleasant today.

Holiday Greetings!

2011-12-24T12:01:00.001-06:00

I have many readers of my blog but by far most of them are European. I want to thank-you, all of you, who read this and have supported my work throughout this past year. Here's to you my friends! A toast for warm Christmas Greetings, from my house to yours! xx

Santa & Snow Flakes

2011-12-23T22:16:00.002-06:00

Santa is on his way kiddo's! Here is a live Santa Tracker. Click SANTA.

I love this and could spend hours making snow flakes, here is a link, you will love it too:

Make your own snow flakes HERE

I'll be back in the morning with some pics from my house...happy holiday's to you all. Please drive, fly or ski safely to your destinations!

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⋰ ⋮ ⋱
…..._▄▄_
…...(◑ჴ◑) ....
…...▶★◀ .....
.↺(_____)↺
….(______)
★ ⋰⋱ ★ ⋰⋱ ★

2011-12-22T14:10:00.002-06:00

Running about town this morning getting last minute things for my Christmas dinner. I'm not sure when that will even happen if it will be the 25th or the 26th. Depends on my Daughter and when she gets here. Poor thing, she's been sick for 3 days now. Possibly food poisoning. And that is not fun. Blah. But I did make her happy. I found a dress that she'd bought earlier on sale for $35. She paid $55. It was originally around $80. I bought her the $35 one and she can take back the one she bought. She hasn't wore it yet so it's no biggie.

I bought myself a new dress too.
It's black...and low in the back.
And black stockings...heels...

That's all I'm sayin...

A new bracelet today. In my shop. Here ya go...I made one like this a week or so ago and it sold right away (thank-you!), thought I'd make another one similar.

Gotta go. Ciao. Oops, the bracelet is HERE.

2011-12-21T15:03:00.007-06:00

I could write about the beads I made yesterday but instead I'm going to tell you about a cool blog I stumbled across somewhere today. She has a free downloadable link to some fun Christmas tags. So I downloaded it. Too much fun! Enjoy!

LINK TO BLOG

Here is what they look like. The colors are toned down, a lot. But if you like the pastel look then these will work for you.

I just had to get something wrapped up right away so I could use one of the tags.

And because I'm a sucker for nice wool mittens, I have to show you some I found one day on the web while I was surfing around. These came from some Russian woman that lives in Canada. She made them herself. I do believe they are the nicest mittens I have ever found. And only $26. How could I pass that by?

I couldn't.

I'd best get busy. I've got some last minute jewelry items I have to make. Ciao.

My Cheat Sheets are on SALE for $15!

2011-12-20T15:09:00.004-06:00

Heads up my glassy friends. I put my Cheat Sheets on SALE! That's right, if you haven't already got one of these, now is the time to grab one. This is a limited time only sale...not sure how long it will last or when it will end. You can find them HERE. Thank-you and have a great week!

2011-12-18T07:19:00.006-06:00

I had a little time yesterday after making beads so I took my dogs for a long walk (brrr, it was cold out there). Holliday came back with a bad case of bed head, lol.

Afterwards I made some tasty treats. Most people call this type of cookie Mexican (or Russian) Tea Cakes. My Grandmother called them Pecan Fingers. I don't know where or how the name change came about, all I know is that is what she called them, my Mother called them and now I call them that. No matter what name they go by, they are delicious and something I've had every year during Christmas for as long as I can remember. Funny thing though, when I was a kid we didn't get to have any until right before Christmas. My Mom would spend weeks baking loads of cookies and treats but we always had to wait. She'd put them in the freezer.

Now? If I make em, I eat em, lol.

All That Glitters

2011-12-16T09:57:00.002-06:00

is ruby and gold...

These are always some of my most favorite beads to make. Ever. All the colors blend so nicely together. Sadly, the best one cracked and I had to toss it. :-( If you need a little glittery sparkle in your life the beads are HERE.

Plans for today? Well, run to the post office and maybe a little shopping. Then a long walk/run with the dogs. Our weather this week has been terrible until today. I didn't take the dogs out all week until yesterday and even then it wasn't pleasant. With winds blowing around 30MPH and temps in the 20's, the wind chill was cold. My hat wouldn't even stay on it was so windy. Obviously, we didn't stay out long. Just long enough for them to burn off some energy. Hopefully today will be better, it's not windy at all and it's a crisp 18*.

Have a great weekend!

Temptation

2011-12-15T10:24:00.005-06:00

Ahhh, there's that word, the word so many people have trouble with. I'm going to tempt you today with a couple of things.....

First, I made cookies yesterday. MMmmmmm, good cookies too. Wanna see???

Tempting as they are, I was good, I kept only a few. The rest are already boxed up to be given as a gift.

And secondly, my newest bracelet. I adore this...the colors go so perfect together. Maybe it's hard to capture that with a camera but when I am looking at it as I move it back and forth in the light, it just sparkles. The silver, blue and golden tones of the brass are, well, lets just say this, YUMMY. Just like my cookies! ;-)

You can find my sparkling Snow Flake bracelet right HERE.

Ciao...

2011-12-14T11:07:00.003-06:00

Post n run to the post office....

Snowflakes, I love them.....you can find all the snowflakes you want right HERE.

Frivolous Flowers Tutorial is DONE!!!

2011-12-13T10:43:00.003-06:00

For more information, please click HERE.

2011-12-12T12:18:00.008-06:00

Had a lovely weekend working on the torch off and on and getting the dogs and I out for some exercise. But the weather changed late yesterday and now it's rainy, foggy, damp and crappy.

It was a productive weekend finishing up an order for a Canadian customer (Hello, you know who!!! And, thank-you!), working on my tutorial (it's basically done, I just need to proof-read it) and making some beads for my etsy shop. And here those are, they are FUSION, I always love how these turn out.

And best of all, look what came in the mail this morning!!!

I can't wait to play with it this afternoon! Whoohoo! Snow flake beads tomorrow! LOL....

And I saw this on a blog somewhere and I thought it was so darn cute.

I may just have to do this but I have no family aside from my Daughter and I got her a plane ticket for Alaska for Christmas and she already knows about it but I guess I'll have to find some little thing to wrap up for somebody because this looks like so much fun. Tedious, yes. But still, I want to do it.

I guess I'd better grab a bite to eat for lunch and fire up the kiln. Happy Monday, have a great week wherever you may be.

2011-12-11T08:34:00.017-06:00

Last weekend my Daughter and I took our annual December trip over to Minneapolis and Stillwater. We stayed overnight at a hotel in Stillwater that is a sister hotel to the one my Daughter works at. We get a great discounted rate so we always stay there. We had a wonderful time shopping, laughing, eating at some great restaurants and enjoying some fun Mother/Daughter moments. The best part is spending the last day in Stillwater, a small city both my Daughter and I love. It's a wonderful place full of Victorian flavor from days gone by. Many many old mansions now turned into B&B's line the streets. There are also many privately owned homes as well. I adore Stillwater and if I didn't love Alaska so much and could afford to live there, I would.

These next few pictures are from around the downtown area.

My favorite art gallery in Stillwater, Studio 3.

If I had a lot of money I would love to have this chest and the teapots in the following 2 photo's.

Many places decorate for the Christmas season and where ever you go, it's just beautiful, especially when snow is falling.

A view of the city Stillwater, Minnesota with the St. Croix river that divides Minnesota and Wisconsin.

A view of Main Street.

Rooftops - I love rooftop photo's. I would liked to have taken more time to get this a perfect shot but it was cold and there people coming and going and we were probably in the way. But, I still love this, it makes me think of what old European cities must look like during winter.

These are the steps we climbed to reach the top for these photo's. And behind me there were just as many more going up. It was steep and slippery and I was pooped by the time we got to the top but it was so worth it!

I'm almost done with my sculptural flowers and button tutorial. All I have left to do is proof-read it. I may get to that today, we'll see. But right now it's time for me to get to work cleaning beads, dipping mandrels, etc. so I can finish up early enough to get out with the dogs this afternoon. Ciao...

2011-12-07T10:10:00.003-06:00

Busy! Busy! Here it is Wednesday already! I had a fab weekend in Minnesota with my daughter, pics coming soon, I promise! But for right now, here are some things I just put in my etsy shop...you know where to find them if you need them! Thanks! Enjoy the rest of the week!

2011-12-02T10:54:00.003-06:00

Aside from playing around in photoshop this morning I did put together some jewelry for my etsy shop. I love both these pieces but especially the necklace/earring set. The chain in the necklace is 24 inches long. I left it that long because if you're like me, you love to wear big drapy cowl necked lush sweaters in the winter. You need long chains when you wear that type of sweater, and I do, almost every day. So there ya go, some great jewelry at great prices too. Everything is HERE.

Have a great weekend! Ciao...

2011-12-02T10:14:00.003-06:00

While out gathering pine boughs yesterday for my window boxes I came across this tiny roadway some small forest creature made. I thought it was pretty cool.

etsy logo's ~ help yourself!

2011-11-30T18:17:00.019-06:00

I had a little extra time this afternoon so I made some logo's for those of you that don't like to make them or are logo impaired. They are for etsy shops and are formatted to fit their requirements. At least they were when I made them. Hopefully if you save these, they will work. Let me know if they do or don't ok? They are free to use, so take what you want. ;-)

2011-11-29T10:20:00.002-06:00

Once again, I'd like to thank everyone for making CYBER MONDAY a success! I had loads of fun running my sales 4 days in a row and I hope everyone had fun taking advantage of the sales.

But, back to reality, sales can't go on forever. :-( Sad, I know, but a girl has to do what she's got to do.

I did have fun playing Secret Santa last night. Maren from Hilo, Hawaii, contacted me and purchased my BEZEL TUTORIAL for one of the participants in the LE Secret Santa exchange. The recipient doesn't know who it's from even though I gave her loads of clues, lol. I'll leave it up to Maren to contact her if she wants to tell her who the gifter was.

Need a little boho, hippie, flower child, paisley in your life? You'll LOVE these, available HERE

HAVE A FANTABULOUS DAY!!!

2011-11-28T09:42:00.005-06:00

New beads are up! 3 gorgeous pendants!

Shop HERE.

Thanks and have a great week!

It's a SUPER SUNDAY sale event!

2011-11-27T12:26:00.006-06:00

Busy busy morning, busy busy day yesterday. All orders from my Black Friday sale are packed and shipped with the exception of those where I had to do some custom work. Those will go out tomorrow along with all orders placed yesterday afternoon/evening.

Many thanks to everyone that par-took of this event. It was WIN WIN for everyone!

With that said, I still have a sale going on. Today it's SUPERSUNDAY and everything is 20% off in my etsy, even my murrini. For all you bead makers that need some, now is the time to stock up.

The sale code for today's sale is SUPERSUNDAY and you must use it in order to be eligible for the discount. This applies only for my etsy store. Currently there is no sale going on at my website.

Here are 3 new pendants I just listed this morning. It's a steal at these discounted prices.

Have a SUPER SUNDAY everyone!

25% off my etsy shoppe!

2011-11-26T10:32:00.004-06:00

Many thanks to everyone that took advantage of my BLACK FRIDAY sale yesterday. It was overwhelming and I am grateful.

Today is Shop Small Saturday and I'm having another sale. If you missed out on yesterday's sale there is still time today to take advantage of 25% off EVERYTHING, including my murrini and bead caps.

BUT, you have to use a coupon code to get the discount. If you don't, oh well, nothing I can do about that. Use this code:

SHOPSMALLSAT and it will take 25% off your order total. A quick link to my shop is:

Donna's Etsy Shop

Thank-you! Have a great weekend. I'm heading off to the studio right now to make murrini and beads. Cheers!

2011-11-25T08:05:00.001-06:00

MY ETSY SHOP IS ON SALE TODAY ONLY! Click HERE .

2011-11-24T14:43:00.002-06:00

Some of you may know this, some of you may not but I spend 95% of my time in solitude with no interaction with other people. Though not necessarily by choice, it's a lifestyle I've come to accept and one that I actually quite like. I might as well be living in the deepest heart of Alaska, which is where I'd rather be anyway.

But I digress.

Today, with no family to celebrate this national holiday, I worked for about 3-4 hours then decided to take my dogs to one of my favorite hiking places. It was a warm and beautiful day with a lovely pacific front that moved into the area late yesterday that brought warm southerly breezes blowing across the brown November landscape. A few days ago one of the lakes we frequent was almost iced over and my dog, Holliday, wasn't thrilled. He loves to swim and drink the fresh spring-fed water that fills this northern lake. Today, because of the warm winds the lake was opening back up and there were hundreds of Canadian Geese lining the edges of the ice. Some were quietly resting and others were swimming about.

I was enjoying the peace and quiet and the occasional call of the geese and the crows that were overhead following us as we walked along. They remind me of Ravens, and I love them so. As we came to the place where the dogs like to swim I could hear this odd noise. It was nothing I'd ever heard before. I kept hearing it over and over. So I gathered up the dogs and continued on the trail to where I could find an opening to the lake and see what this spectacle was. And there they were, the beautiful geese, standing and stretching and moving about. Their wings were open, then closed and flapping and beating the ice and it was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. And as I stood and watched more and more of these great birds were coming and circling over the water. Flocks of 20, or 50 or hundreds and more. Singing their siren song of the north on their long journey to lands in the south.

And I was so engrossed and watched what seemed like hours only to have the spell broken by my little dog Rosie when some other humans invaded my private showing of nature in all her glory.

And now that I am back to my house with the dogs all settled in for an afternoon nap, I am thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving.

2011-11-23T09:37:00.006-06:00

SHOP SMALL - it's a great idea and is being publicized on local television quite often. That is a good thing. It's all about shopping at your local small business in your hometown.

SHOP SMALL SATURDAY is this Saturday November 26th. Here is a logo if you want to use it.

I added one to my etsy shop instead of one of moi'. Who needs to see me anyway? ;-)

And then there is CYBER MONDAY. This happens Monday, November 28th. Since I sell online I guess that is where I fit in best. So I'll change my logo in my etsy shop to this:

Unless I decide to offer a different discount. But feel free to use this logo if you'd like, I just made it.

I worked on some experimental beads yesterday, not sure if I'm ready to show them or not. But I did made some beads for earrings and I made these already this morning. In my etsy shop, of course. Earrings are HERE.

Ok, guess I'd better go find something to do. It's cold and damp, not very nice outside but my dogs don't care. Guess when I go to the post office I'll take them for a long walk. Have a great day! And travel safe if you are out and about.

2011-11-22T11:46:00.005-06:00

Tuesday already...where does the time go? It snowed here over the weekend, that was kind of fun. But now it's damp, cold and windy. Not so much fun.

Yesterday I spent most of my day making some new jewelry pieces. I am really happy with how they all turned out. But photographing necklaces is difficult. Ack! Anyway, here they are along with a new focal bead. Everything is already in my etsy shop. I'm going to go turn on my kiln and have a hot bowl of chicken minestrone soup.

2011-11-20T10:12:00.001-06:00

2011-11-16T09:28:00.008-06:00

I didn't get much sleep last night as Rosie, my little dog, snuck upstairs and ate all of Mr. Boo's cat food late yesterday. I had just filled the bowl in the morning so she ate alot. :-( Poor girl, she didn't feel too good last night and I was up at 3 am with her and it was brrr, cold and windy out. Of course, she went right back to sleep, but sleep was elusive to me. So, I'm kinda tired today...

I've added 3 new pendant specials to my website this morning. You can find them HERE

One new bead for etsy this morning. I love how this came out, it was one of those things that I didn't plan, and the result is cool. This is LOVE STORY.

2011-11-15T14:09:00.001-06:00

Busy working on my computer all morning and I just am getting around to putting this here. Sorry peeps....

New focal in my etsy, this is SCALES . Back to work I go.....

2011-11-15T10:01:00.006-06:00

2 specials on my website (with FREE SHIPPING ANYWHERE)! I never do this so I thought I'd try it out and see what happens. Here is the link:

SPECIALS

Thanks! I'll be back shortly with one for etsy too! ;-)

2011-11-14T13:45:00.011-06:00

Saturday was so beautiful, sunny and warm so I loaded up the dogs and we headed out to one of my favorite hiking spots. Sadly, I found some of it wasn't so nice anymore. I understand the need to thin and do selective cutting but this was a rape of the landscape and it saddens me to see this happen.

Deforestation...

Red and brown, all around...

A study of sky and clouds.

New beads are up, this is THAT 70's GARDEN.

I'm off to light the torch for the rest of the day. C-ya...

2011-11-11T10:06:00.006-06:00

For about a week now whenever I drive my truck I could smell burning toast. Yeah weird, I know, but that's what it smelled like. I couldn't figure it out but it definitely wasn't rubber like from a belt or something. So I made an appointment with my mechanic to have my truck checked out.

So this morning I'm running around here like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get everything done before I head out. Mind you I slept like crap last night. Not sure why but my right hand ached all night long. Probably due to the fact that I did have (and probably still do) have carpal tunnel issues from my long ago past life working at a meat processing facility. JOY, not. So anyway, I slept til 7 and had to clean beads, get my etsy stuff done, shower, etc. and be there by 9. Ok, did that.

I love my mechanic, he's a very cool guy and knows that I don't have a lot of extra $$$ so he does right by me. Gotta luv a guy like that, right? ;-) After about 15 minutes and my truck on the hoist he gets it back down and comes to get me. I ask him if it's good news or bad and he just shakes his head smiling as we go out to the shop. And dang! Darn squirrels were making my engine their personal dining room! pfffffftttttttt. Yup, full of toasted (remember, I said it smelled like burnt toast!) acorns!!! Holy crap! There were acorns, or what was left of them, all over in my engine and any little nook or cranny they could find to stuff them. Yikes, what a mess and what a smell!!!

Hopefully that is all my excitement for the day...

On a good note, my travel guy sent out a newsletter yesterday morning with great ticket prices from MSP to ANC so yeah, I caved and got 2 tickets, one for me and one for my daughter. How could I pass up a $350 round trip ticket? I can't wait, she hasn't been to AK since 2005. Of course, we'll go back to Homer and yes, I'll be taking my snowshoes along too. :-) One pair for her and one for me. Whoohoo!!!

And new beads are up, I am so loving these. This is the 2nd set I've done now and today I am going to make 6 shank buttons (glass fairy's be willing please) and work on one of the demo beads for my sculptural flower tutorial.

Autumn Songs can be found HERE.

2011-11-10T08:24:00.010-06:00

Not exactly Junfraujoch, Switzerland but it is Alyeska in Girdwood, Alaska and I was lucky enough to be there for first snow last month. Of course, that didn't mean there was enough snow to ski on and, in fact, they still had not been able to even make snow yet (still too warm) but I'm sure by now with snow in the last few days in that part of AK they are skiing like crazy. I took my 4 friends that were with me on the gondola to the mountain top. Myself, I love going up but a couple of the gals didn't like heights so the gondola ride for them wasn't all that fun. But once up top, wow, what a place it is. With 2 restaurants for dining and fabulous views of Turnagain Arm and the Chugach and Kenai Mountain ranges, it's a feast for the eyes, yes.

What prompted me to write about this today is the Today Show "where in the world is Matt Lauer" and today he was in Jungfraujoch, Switzerland. What a beautiful place and now it's on my bucket list to go there one day. How cool it would be if I could go there to teach sometime??? And see those beautiful mountains and hop on the railway to heaven....I'm a dreamer yes, but sometimes dreams do come true. So today, I wish upon a star in the northern skies.....

A train ride and a trip to Sphinx Observatory, which is an engineering feat itself, is the highest-altitude construction in Europe. The Sphinx building and observation terrace stand 117 metres above the Jungfraujoch-Top of Europe. The Sphinx Observatory is located on top of a small, separate mountain on Jungfraujoch. The main-part of the Sphinx is used by scientists but tourists may get outside of the building, at a terrace that faces all sides of the building and provide stunning 360° views.

Yes, it's a definite destination for me one day....

Oh, and I'm so happy this morning. I woke up to snow!!! weeeeeeee.............SNOW!!!! •*¨*•♫ •*¨*•♫

2011-11-09T13:05:00.002-06:00

NATORI - a sort of tribal set of beads. I really like these...must make more....

2011-11-08T11:56:00.002-06:00

Just listed another ARC'TERYX in my shop too! Busy, busy!

2011-11-08T09:47:00.002-06:00

Just listed in my etsy, FUSION BRACELET. If you say you saw it here when you "check-out", I'll refund $20!

2011-11-07T09:34:00.002-06:00

I had a lovely weekend and hope you all did too. Saturday I spent the whole day torching and made lots of beads, a few shown below. I'm loving both the focal and the set. I can't even pick which is my favorite. Can you? And you know where to find them too, right? ETSY SHOP.

I need to dip mandrels and make a post office run....have a good week! Ciao...

2011-11-04T11:45:00.002-05:00

Post-n-run today. I'm off for one last lunch with my Daughter before she returns to her home. This is Peacock Darts. You can see them HERE. I love how they turned out.

I'll post pics from the last few days sometime over the weekend. Laters....

2011-11-03T10:16:00.003-05:00

A perfect bead for an autumn project, this is one of my most favorite bead designs I've ever done and this particular bead is probably the best one I've done to date. The color tuned out perfect You can find the bead HERE.

Yesterday was my Daughter's birthday. She drove up to visit Tuesday night and we spent the day in Duluth, MN. Lunch at out most favorite place ever Blackwoods. Click HERE. The place is awesome and the food delish. We went to the Mall shopping (isn't that what girls do???) then on to Glensheen Mansion for a late afternoon walk along Lake Superior. I've got some pics but we are going out hiking today so I'll load everything tonight or tomorrow. Have a great day!!!

2011-11-01T11:02:00.004-05:00

The color of orange, you either hate it or love it. I happen to love orange, whether it's in pumpkins (see earlier post from a few days ago) or in the cane for my flower petals. This bead is just beautiful but because of the "silver glass" it is hard to capture that silver glass essence. Still, it has a dreamy watery thing goin on that I love. You can find it HERE.

Yesterday I took loads of new photographs for my next tutorial. When I have a free moment I'll post more about it but it will be on my sculpted flowers, color recipes and some other fun stuff. Have a great day!!!

2011-10-31T08:03:00.000-05:00

HAPPY...

2011-10-30T08:52:00.024-05:00

Friday afternoon I took off and went over to a local place called The Pumpkin Patch. These people go all out for Halloween. Not only do they decorate an old barn, they have a bakery, all sorts of gourds, pumpkins. a petting zoo, corn maze, tree house and a catapult where they whip pumpkins out into the hay fields. It's a pretty cool place and I had loads of fun taking pictures. Yeah, I know, I got a bit carried away taking pics of the gourds, but I loved the colors and all the cool shapes.

Now we'll head inside where they've taken an old dairy barn and decorated it into a fabulous autumn fantasy with a small bakery and the hayloft upstairs has been turned into a sort of eating area with benches and picnic tables to sit at and eat your fresh caramel apples. :-0

Cool, huh? I found another cool place nearby but I need to edit the pics yet, maybe I'll do those later today or tomorrow....enjoy your Sunday! :-)

2011-10-28T11:13:00.001-05:00

Ok, I went back to my comfort zone. I haven't made one of these in ages. TGIF to those that look forward to weekends!!! Me? It's just another day of spinning glass. hehe, glass knows no weekends, lol.

2011-10-26T11:42:00.007-05:00

Love my big disc beadroller. Did I say I love my big disc bead roller? I often forget I even have the thing but I've been fooling around with it the last couple of days. I also etched some new bead caps, these are my most favorite I've ever done. What a match made in heaven, at least I think so...

ARC'TERYX can be found here.

We must remember how precious life is. An old friend of mine had a brain tumor removed last week. It was as big as a softball. How did this happen? How long had it been there and growing? What if....what is no one had noticed???

I went to see her yesterday and she is doing amazing well. Science is so amazing these days. But lest I forget the whole reason for even mentioning this, life is short. Remember to tell someone you love them today....it's never to late.

2011-10-24T13:07:00.002-05:00

Beautiful and sunny here. I'm headed out to take my dogs for a run then I'll be spinning glass the rest of the afternoon. Sounds like rain for the next few days, which is ok, it's very very dry here and we need the moisture.

New beads are up, this is Granite. You can find them HERE.

Have a great week!

2011-10-23T14:17:00.017-05:00

Need an Alaska fix?

Some pics from my recent trip back home, these are from Homer, all of them from the harbor except the very last one taken at Long Rifle Lodge, out the Glen.

Yes, we had a grand time.

2011-10-22T20:29:00.001-05:00

2011-10-19T10:39:00.003-05:00

New beads are up in my etsy shop. There is a mini Fusion set and one of my Antique Floral focal beads. You can find them HERE.

♥¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) Have a great day!!! ♥¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) (¸.•´ (¸.•`~♥~

2011-10-18T10:18:00.005-05:00

I just added 6 new cabs on my website that you can use with my Bezel Tutorial. They turned out great, I hope you like them!

You can find them on the link below:

Cabs by Donna

It was kind of fun to get back on the torch after 2 weeks of not melting a single rod of glass.

Have a great week and thank-you everyone!!!

2011-10-16T11:20:00.003-05:00

Happy Sunday to everyone!!!

My Bezel Setting Tutorial is finished!!! YAY!!!

This is the setting I demo in my tutorial:

The tutorial is 50 pages long and 12MB and will be sent in a pdf format to your email address. It includes a complete tool and material list with part numbers for ordering ease. Step by step text and photo's will guide you through the process.

It is available only through my website.

Please click the link below to be taken right to the ordering page:

Bezel Tutorial

I'll also be offereing later this week cabochons for sale on my website for anyone intersted in using some of mine and don't want to make their own.

Thank-you and enjoy the rest of the weekend!

2011-10-14T00:21:00.007-05:00

Greetings! Greetings!

I'm home from Alaska, sad to say, but I had a wonderful time and it was sooo beautiful this trip. The fall colors were spectacular, it could not have been better. I had 4 friends with me and we had the best time, even singing karaoke at AJ's Bar in Homer, Alaska a week ago tonight and closing up the place. It was a HOOT! Hint, there is a video posted on YouTube of me and Debbie singing.....look for catklimes.

Here are a couple pics, I'll try to post more as time allows but I've been busy writing my bezel tutorial since I got back.

This is Homer, Alaska, a place near and dear to my heart. It's magical, beautiful and a place I will return to many times over.

Look for my tutorial to be released sometime later today or tomorrow or even maybe Monday as it might be best to wait until a weekday if I don't get it finished today (it's going on 1 am here), I will announce it here, on FB and on LE. It will be in a PDF format.

Goodnight!

2011-09-28T08:37:00.003-05:00

Post n run.

New beads are up. This is Little Diomede. Named after (my inspiration) a tiny little island off the far NW coast of Alaska, close to Siberia. For some interesting trivia about Little Diomede Island, please click HERE.

For these beads, please click HERE.

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!

2011-09-22T10:03:00.004-05:00

I splurged and bought an iPad 2 yesterday. I needed more tax write-offs and I got such a good deal I couldn't pass it up. YAY, I can't wait til it gets here, hopefully before I go home to Alaska.

New beads are up HERE .

CHEERS!

2011-09-21T08:15:00.011-05:00

Not exactly like hiking in the mountains of Alaska but for me, this place is the next best thing. My Daughter drove up for a visit late Monday afternoon and yesterday, when I finished up working we headed out to one of my favorite places around here to spend the afternoon together. Got some great photo's of her and all of nature's splender as she starts to turn on her autumn colors. Enjoy...

And my beautiful Daughter, she rocks my world.

Mid-week already, hope yours is going great!

2011-09-20T11:13:00.005-05:00

Quick post n run. I've made 2 large gathers of murrini already this morning and I'm about to head out to the studio to melt some glass into leaves. My daughter is visiting and if the rain holds off we are hoping to go hiking somewhere this afternoon. Catch ya later....

New beads are up HERE

2011-09-19T09:25:00.005-05:00

I think I'm getting spun out, lol. Seems like all I do is spin glass. Good thing I love doing it so much or I'd be in big trouble.

Still working on building inventory, gosh, I can't imagine what it must be like to get ready for a show as big as the ones in Tucson! But then if that is the only show you do all year and you're not selling anyplace else then you've got 360 days to get ready. I've had, what, 2 months? And still making stuff for my etsy shop too and I've ventured back to ebay once again just to see if I can move some stuff there.

I'm so busy my head is spinning, lol.

Remember the song, I'm so dizzy my head is spinning by Tommy Roe? Well, that is me!

New beads are up, a set of dot beads and a wicked cool focal with a new design. LOVE LOVE the focal. You can see it HERE. And my ebay auctions are HERE.

Have a good week everyone!

2011-09-17T10:03:00.003-05:00

It's 46*, windy and I just finished up raking my 2nd 55 gallon garbage can of acorns. Will they ever end???

I'm tired....

It's only 10 am.

Already I've got beads cleaned, photographed, mandrels dipped, showered, put tags on a bunch of beads that I'm taking with me for the show in a couple weeks, going to pound some metal and I've raked those darn acorns.

How's your weekend going???

2011-09-16T11:33:00.000-05:00

Opps, what a clutz. Trust me, you do not want to do this!

2011-09-15T11:05:00.002-05:00

More dots and an experimental bead I did yesterday. What do you think???

2011-09-14T11:56:00.002-05:00

I'm actually having fun with dots, lol.