It’s that time of year again…when temperatures soar above 90 into the 100’s in my area. I know with that comes less time at the torch as the heat coming off all my equipment – on top of the temperature outside – makes torching pretty unbearable.
In the meantime I am trying to catch those cooler days that will be fewer and further between as we get closer to summer…
I’m still on a floral kick – it’s hard not to be when all the flowers are in bloom and looking so pretty around me! 😀
With the first day of Spring last week, it’s no coincidence that this week’s batch of beads is full of floral designs! Flowers are one of my favorite designs to create. I taught acrylic painting classes for years and painted nothing but flowers so I naturally gravitate toward them. Especially now that all the flowers are in bloom here in SoCal – I’m so inspired!
Over the weekend we took a drive up north to the California Poppy Reserve. Unfortunately, our timing wasn’t so great. While the Reserve had the densest flowering of poppies this year that it’s seen in over a decade, the week before we had a sudden heat wave with temperatures in the 90’s. Sadly, the poppies were not strong enough to withstand the heat, and almost the entire crop died in just a few days 😦
So, although not the breathtaking ‘wall to wall’ display of bright orange it had been just a week before – the Reserve was still a lovely sight to see with its rolling hills of green and a few areas of wildflowers. Here’s one of my favorite photos from our trip…
I foresee a poppy colored bead in my future! 😀
Until then, enjoy these new beads available now on Etsy:
This might just be a record – for the first time in probably 2, or maybe even 3, years I have an entire batch of new beads without one…single…murrini chip in them! 😮
It’s definitely a departure from my usual bead-making routine. But, you know what, it was really fun! I let my mind roam free with these bead designs – drawing on techniques I haven’t done for years, and some new techniques too! It’s almost like a creative-reset, and was actually a very refreshing change!
But I will admit, I already have in mind a couple murrini bead designs planned for my next torching session. Guess that break won’t last very long…haha! 😀
I have been having a lot of fun finishing off my encased murrini beads with these pretty caps! The beads are slightly bigger than my usual charm bracelet beads which just means I can fit even MORE murrini and other glass elements into them. 😀
The caps (in sterling silver, warm gold brass, and solid copper) really dress up the beads. They also add versatility since each bead would look just as lovely worn as a focal on a necklace as they do on a charm bracelet as a centerpiece bead.
Someone once told me that trees give the best display of color during the Fall after a very cold winter. I’m not sure if that’s true or not here in SoCal, but I have noticed that we are not getting much color from our trees this Fall, and we had a very mild winter last year. So maybe there is something to it…
Because I’m in Los Angeles I don’t really expect a gloriously colored Fall show – but there have been years when it has been so beautiful! The trees around here don’t really start changing much until November anyway, and it only lasts a couple weeks when it does occur.
Sadly, this year, it seems as though most trees are going directly from green to brown leaves 😦 I have heard rumors that this winter is supposed to be particularly cold – so while it may not be that much fun living through it, (although I do prefer cold weather to hot), at least I know it will be worth it next Fall 😀
Hard to think that far ahead when it’s still 88 degrees outside today :-\
In the meantime, here are some new encased murrini beads to brighten your day (which may not be all that sunny and warm in your neck of the woods). All beads are available now on Etsy! 🙂
CCGlassArt 