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Good Morning! I had a few really great day's in the studio so I had to play with color and flowers. I also want to play with some new sizes and shapes. This is a large lentil that I have flattened on the back so that it will hang well as a pendant. The back is smooth and flat, I do this so that it will hand nicely and be comfortable. When I set this type of bead in a bail I hang it so that it will be secure on the chain and not flip over. This bead will be posted tonight on my ETSY site.

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Thanks for playing, have a great evening!

For Mothers Day, my Mom had asked if I could do some ocean looking beads for her big hole bracelet. So here is what I came up with. The clip of all six from left to right going around the cord: Sea Urchins, Sea Horse, Fish in Seaweed, Mermaid, Starfish, Jelly Fish. The other clips are just other views of the same beads. I turned one clip at an angle near another of the mermaid to show her tail. I sure hope that Mom will enjoy this set. They were fun to make so I will have to play a bit more with Sea things.

As promised, here are the two pages of my notes for today's class. I had a great time. You were all fun. Dave, boro boy you have such a great humor, I hope your wife gets you to make a few soft glass florals. Thank you all for coming. If you have any questions or comments please e-mail or call me. This is page one of my notes. They really were only meant for me, so if you have questions please ask. Maybe by my fall class I will have a booklet or a video, what a challenge. You all made the class fun, I will look forward to my next class. The next entry will have the page two, that has the information for the leaf cane and a few sketches for the floral's. Thanks again, stay in touch.

Here is the second page to my notes for the class.

It is the notes for the leaf stringer and the Stone Iris that I had time to demo. Sorry this was only a one day class. I sure hope that you all had fun and got something from what we did have time to cover. Please e-mail me photos or comments from the class. I love getting feed back, even if it is things would like me to change.

Week end fun

Okay so ya know how nice it is when you have help in the Garden. It is! Well Scott is feeling much better. Yesterday he did some weeding and pulled out all of my forget me not flowers. Nice. He said they all looked like weeds to him. What a brat, and a lame excuse. Then today he was putting in some new lighting and dug my prize out door Orchids. This time he said that they were grass. I guess I made him feel a little guilty he went out to the compost bin and pulled them all out and replanted them. Oh and while he was doing such a great job of gardening I was playing inside on my torch. This is one of the styles that I will be teaching this Saturday in my class at the Eugene Glass School. There are still a couple of spots open if you want to come join me. Have a great week.

Teddy Bear Hugs

I'm still cleaning and arranging my studio space, but I had to sit down and play. I have been making some Easter Bunny's, carrots and flower spacers for my girls for Easter and I just had to make a few Teddy Bears too. These little guys make my giggle the whole time I'm making them. They are just too fun. I have listed this one on ETSY and one with out the heart on E-bay. So if you need to have a little comfort with you at all times check them out. Have a great day!!

Here is a center view. See the nippers on the shelf to the left, handy. I use them a lot so it is nice to have them right there. See the beads hanging, they are sets that I have made over the years when I have taken classes. I keep each set together so that I can reflect on the tricks and technique of all the different talent that I have been able to spend time with. There are several little glasses with assorted stringers, a cup for dead matches, a cup of water. Little glass dishes with scraps of color. To the left I have a two tier tool shelf. I covered wood blocks and nailed a couple of metal trays to them to hold an assortment of my favorite tools handy. The surface are tile samples that I bought to decide on my floor, these were not the winners. Then I have a metal cookie sheet that has only one raised edge. Sett the rod rest at the back. It is a socket holder .97 cents. It works well. This was step two..

Spring Cleaning, here is the left side of my bench. I have a tall unit that hold my color. On my bench I have raised my Kiln to have the door at eye level. Under it I have a tile that can be used to warm "shocky" rods and adventurine chunks. See below the bench I have another storage unit that holds one of every basic color of my soft glass. That way I have it a hand with out leaving my torch if I need a second rod. See the outlet, I had an electrician come in and put in a dedicated line just to run the kiln. That way I can have music or TV on with out blowing a fuse. There is storage below and behind for sheet glass, umm maybe some day I will try to fuse glass??? See the blue can of mandrels, yes I do pre dip a ton of rods. I know that they will draw moisture but if I heat them well and let them steam a bit then heat again they are just fine. I do not have trouble with the release breaking my tip for that is to heat your class correctly then poke, pick or push. Oh I wish you could see my classes, way comfortable I will have to do a tip on that in the tip and trick section of my web site. This was step one of my spring cleaning.