I'd Like to Thank the Academy...

Wouldn't you know it? I had good reason to address those "tan lines" in my hair! My buddy won an award!!! I'm so so so proud of him!!

I was simply giddy all night last night! I ate my rubber chicken and met a LOT of really talented writers. It was so nice to see so many honored. Action on Film is one cool Film Festival!

Did Ya'll Notice???

Did anyone notice that I closed yesterday's Wednesday blog with my usual THURSDAY greeting??? I was one crazy Daisy yesterday. And NO, I did NOT get all those errands run. I ran out of time. So guess what I'm up to today in addition to baking like a mad woman???

OK... How 'bout a Little Something Beady? 

I did get some new stuffs up on the glass beads website. I ADORE this new focal... it's soooo sparkly! You cannot believe how it catches the light!

The SALE is Ending....

The Christmas in July Sale is ending on 7/31. 10% off & FREE shipping Etsy / Artfire items. ON ETSY, you MUST convo me first! No convo, no discount!

And come Monday, I'll see you here on the bead blog!

Cookies and Film on the Brain

Much craziness today and nothing beady going on! I awoke in a panic at 4 a.m. - a complete girly panic. A dear friend of mine has a short screen play up for several awards at the Action on Film International Film Fest in Pasadena tonight.  And since he knew for some time that he has a family obligation that's way too fun to miss, he asked me to attend on his behalf. At the time I accepted, I thought it would be as simple as mingle, eat some rubber chicken and clap for the winners.

That is... until my friend emailed me last week with what he would like ME to say should he win. Still it didn't sink in. Last night, I looked up how many awards he was nominated for - four. Still it didn't sink in. Until four this morning. Suddenly, I had a "girl attack" - what would I wear?? And OMG! My hair is a mess!  I need to touch up my roots... OK... it's been so long it's more like 'tan lines!' OY.

To make matters worse, my cookie class this Saturday has grown by leaps and bounds... gotta love those late sign ups! Suddenly, I went from being well prepped on supplies to being out of everything!

So my day is  just crazy: hike, wash hair, dry hair, run to the shop,  mix cookie dough, pack orders, mix more dough (my mixer is humming as I type), keep drying hair.  Stash cookie dough in fridge, answer emails from clients and the college, order fondant, print check for fondant, dash home, dye hair, dash across the valley to pick up fondant, back to the silk flower /ribbon wholesaler for supplies, on to my ceramics vendor for vases, back to the shop to run all the vases through the dishwasher, home to find something to wear and off to the awards dinner. Oh. My. Shoot me now!

Don't forget.... there is another glass bead giveaway going on over at Creekhiker. 

I may be in a coma come Monday...otherwise, I'll see you here on the bead blog!

Playing Catchup!

Boy am I stressed today! Losing yesterday did NOT help at all and I can't seem to get caught up on all I need to do! So today's post is full of announcements!

My first place winner wanted the green heart, so Jennifer is getting the pink one.

I held my $50 FREE GLASS BEADS drawing - over due from the 24th but the site was down. So, If you voted between the 21st and yesterday, your votes count for July and August! Michelle won and chose this beauty:

And finally, now that I have one website behaving... another breaks! The Sweet Stampen rubber stamp site is having some MAJOR issues. If you are ordering stamps and can't get the website to work, please let me know!!!

And to help Beads of Courage, I'm hosting ANOTHER GIVEAWAY ON CREEKHIKER... TWO MORE HEARTS UP FOR GRABS! 

Sidetracked by Torture!

Oh my! It's SO not like me to disappear on you...especially NOT with a contest ending! I had an EARLY morning dental appointment - simple really - a final fitting on that cap from my root canal misadventures of a few weeks ago. I really thought I would be home by lunch at the latest! But I got there and not only was the cap MUCH darker than requested, it didn't fit right on the horizontal and was WAY too long. (I've been accused of being long in the tooth but not because I had a long tooth!)

My dentist insisted on a new impression, which meant packing cord around my gum line...something I hate more than a root canal! Between that and my deep cleaning and the fact that I see one of those big chain (i.e. cheap) dentists that see me while working on five others... I was there four hours and had a pain shooting out the top of my head when I left. I ran a few quick errands for cookie class this weekend and came home and collapsed into bed!

Anyway, I went through all the entries... I counted new fans (8!!) since the contest began even though not all signed in here. I kept track of emails / comments and numbered the entries and went to random.org and my winners are Barbara (Miss Anonymous emailed her identity) and Jennifer. 
Please get in touch via email (on my profile or on one of my 87 dozen websites)  with your addys so I can mail the heart necklaces.


----------------Re: the Holly's Folly Glass Bead Website ------

Yes, I'm aware it is down. My web host had a hardware problem and is moving all sites associated with a particular batch of servers. My bead sites are hosted differently than the stamp sites and Sweet Stampen should not be affected. All should be back to normal in a few days and I will deal with the free beads drawing there tomorrow.

Just for Fun - A Giveaway

I feel like trying something for fun. I'm giving away a heart and will let you choose from this green one

or this pink one - Winner's choice. Black silicone necklace included.

But what do you have to do for it? Well, help me spread the word about my glass beads website and fan page.

To enter: You will get one entry for each of the following. You can enter as many or as few times as you like. Leave a comment telling me about your entries. Winner selected by random drawing and  announced Monday!

• Tweet about my websites or a particular bead or piece of jewelry. *
• Follow me on Twitter.
• Join my fan page.
• If you are already a fan page member, comment or post a link to one of my beads on the fan page.
• Become a follower of this blog.
• And one that has nothing to do with me... please VOTE for Beads of Courage (link on upper right) to help them win $25,000 to help children with cancer. Leave the rank of the charity (1st place, 20th place, etc) in the comments box.

 *You must post a link to the tweet in the comments. To find the URL of a particular tweet, click on the TIME the tweet was posted and that will take you to the URL. Paste that link in the comments. Example: http://twitter.com/HollysFolly/status/19107767265.

If this is wildly successful, i.e. more than 30 entries, I will give BOTH hearts away.
Da fine print: Neither Pepsi Co nor Beads of Courage endorses or supports this even in any way shape or form. This is my way of getting help for a fantastic cause!

That Darn Blue Feather

This month's theme for the Art Bead Scene is The Blue Feather. Yes, it's another abstract piece and I don't do well with those. In fact, I'm so relieved it was called the blue feather because I would have NEVER gotten that otherwise.

I've Got Friends...

It just so happens I had been reading up on how to make a feather murrini. My buddy Janel Dudley is working on a tutorial for sale using murrini and asked me to proof / make suggestions. And... I SO don't do murrini. I look at them and go "Oh, those are nice...but what would I DO with them??" But that Janel - what a wonderful  and sneaky friend she is - sent me some murrini and some glass to actually try her tut out on the torch. And I LOVED it!

So that got me curious about obsessed with murrini. And while I didn't feel capable of pulling murrini as elaborate and stunning as Janel's, I wanted to try and pull something simple and since a feather is just stacked layers - about 16  layers - of glass, I thought I could give that a try.

The Blob!

My first attempt ended in frustration. It didn't look like a feather so much as a blob of glass! After I made a bead with it I realized it was a mistake to try and get gradient color in the feather.

My second pull didn't seem to look any different except there was this wonky part that I thought didn't get hot enough. After re-reading the feather tut, I realized that wonky bit was the IDEAL shape for feather murrini.  And after taking this picture, I realized they are all the right shape...I just pulled them too thin.

Color Me Blind....


So I tried applying it to a bead. I didn't really like this one... the colors between the bead and the feather are too similar. The feather just disappears. I also decided leave the flowers raised.

Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!

So my final attempt, I went with a different background color. I used transparent lapis over a white heart. I also used a bit of brown to rake the murrina. And can I digress a bit to kvetch about digital cameras and the color BLUE??? WHY the heck doesn't that color photograph properly???  The bead in the photo below is THIS COLOR...not the crappy blue on the screen. This fact of digital bugs the crap out of me to the point I've got a GORGEOUS blue bead that's been on my desk for months and I won't list it for sale because I hate every picture I see of it!

[Stepping down off my soapbox] This is the bead I hope to use in my ABS entry... if the jewelry muse hits me over the head in time to enter!

Cupcake Wars

Alternate Titles: Bead Maker Goes Mad Over Cupcakes or OMG! What Was I Thinking???

Yes, I AM obsessed with all things cupcake! I watch every show about them. I've long been mesmerized by the myriad of cupcake shops that have popped up in LA and once spent a day driving to many of them, just because.

And long before that, I was obsessed with glass pastries. If you remember back to the beginnings of this blog (has anyone been reading that long???), beadmaking started for me when I couldn't get a bead maker to make me a wedding cake bead like I wanted. With my cake decorating background, I knew that no one wanted a white cake with green leaves. And yet my bead maker could not help herself from placing green leaves on the cake!


A few weeks ago, I published my own answers to a questionnaire I like to give to other glass artists. And in that article, was this photo:

I made these on a whim... just to see if I could. No thought, very little effort and by some miracle, they were the same size...something I find very difficult to do.

That photo led a friend of mine from real life to ask for a custom pair of chocolate raspberry earrings. No problem, I said. My God! What was I thinking????!!!!????

My first torch session yielded a bunch of these... no two in the same size.

Two problems with this. This is three times the size of the others and... wrong color. They were supposed to be chocolate with raspberry icing. So I dipped more of my micro mini mandrels and hit the torch again.

I proceeded to make ALL kinds of cupcakes. This is the largest and the smallest. I made smooth top, I made swirly tops, I made dotted tops. I made them big and small but never the same! I was pulling my hair out!

I sat there staring into my flame not knowing what was wrong. I made more and this is when I noticed... the mandrel was moving! And no, I don't mean spinning. It was sagging!

 I was working so hot ( I LOVE to work fast and hot!) that I actually broke the mandrel in the flame! Not one to lose a bead, I grabbed my tweezers and finished and tossed the mandrel bit in the kiln! With that I quit. After that batch cooled, I cleaned the mandrels and dipped them and really gave some thought to what I was doing.

I pulled thin stringer and quit working with whole rods. I turned the flame WAY down and tried again and FINALLY came up with 3 close matches for pairs.

Hopefully, my friend will like one of the sets! If not there may be more cupcakes in my future!

Here's the whole batch:

What craziness!!!

--------------
I wanted to mention the 10% Christmas in July Sale goes on. Save 10% on Artfire and Etsy and get free shipping. Fan page members get an additional 10% off and I've extended the sale to my glass beads website for Fans ONLY.

This is a new bead on Artfire.

Custom Order | Being a Good Customer

Happy Monday! I've been dealing with website mishaps and the rubber stamp orders are rocking this morning. I'm so full of gratitude... The orders I've gotten today will allow me to breathe into next month! Whew... One day at a time, right?

I also have a jar full of glass beads to take off mandrels and another cup waiting to be cleaned. Why do I do this to myself???

But I wanted to write about the other side of customer service. I've done my share of harping on what it takes to deliver good customer service but sometimes... we have customers who make that VERY difficult!

I've been working (and working) on a custom bead order for months now. I would get an email asking about it...could I do this or that. I would answer within hours and ask a question or two and then...NOTHING. Weeks would go by. I would get another email answering my question which lead to another question and I would answer quickly, hoping the customer might still be online and... nothing.

I made preliminary sketches and even a small prototype. And I waited. Weeks later, another email. But at that moment, I was busy. And I was rather shocked to receive another email the next day!

Let me get this straight: You can take two weeks + to answer me but I can't have 24 hours to reply???

FINALLY, she suggested we connect by phone and we worked out the details. But overall, it was a bit frustrating. I know I don't fit in the normal world...people don't move at my pace. I come from the world of television commercials. I need it fast, I need it NOW...make that YESTERDAY! But still, in the age of constant contact... there is no excuse. If you contact a vendor by email, they assume you are checking yours.

I've had similar things happen in the stamp shop. Someone writes to ask about a custom order, I answer and nothing. Days later, they call and inquire about the same order and I ask, "Did you get my email???"

"Uh, no. I don't go online that much?"

WTH???

It makes me want to say something I found so offensive when said to me. While looking for work, I've become sooooo frustrated at getting an HR person on the phone. It's damn near impossible! One website went so far as to say this:

    "Absolutely no phone calls. If you calls us, we will not consider you for this position. The Internet is your friend. USE IT!"

If you contact a vendor by email, CHECK YOUR EMAIL. If you are not comfortable with this form of communication, STEP OUT OF THE DARK AGES! Or, I'm a nice person, really...just ask me to call you! I'll be happy to!

Vote in the Fire Divas Summer Jewelry Challenge

Rare Friday post from me but I have so many beads to write about next week and would also love to see a good voter turnout for the Fire Divas Summer Jewelry Challenge! You know what they say...vote early (but you CAN'T vote often...one vote per person. And is it ever hard to choose!) 

To vote:  The poll is on the right side of the Fire Divas Blog

We don't have as many entries this time, but WOW are they good ones! You can see the entries below and when you are done, you can vote on the right -> for your favorite. Voting ends in one week (July 23).

Entry 1

Information about the beads: by Amy Hall
Description of the piece: Silver wire, chain, lampworked beads
Inspiration for the piece: The square tiles by Amy inspired something different, and the demi-necklace was born!

Entry 2

Necklace designed with Lampwork beads by Sonja of SilverRiverGlassWork and Copper. On a bright sunny summer day the sun hovers over the water, sending rays up through the clouds with rippled reflections in the rushing water below.

Entry 3


I commissioned Maybeads - www.etsy.com/shop/maybeads to create a set of turtle beads for me to make into a bracelet.
I think this turtle must be from Tahiti, just look at her lovely lavender shell topped with a pink flower that has a lavender heart at it's center! I call her Tita, which in Tahitian means "The Fruit of the Sun". Her gorgeous green eyes, which match her head, legs and tail, will look happily up at you throughout the day. Believe me, I know from experience, you can't help smiling when you look down and see that little turtle looking up at you! Two matching lampwork beads accompany her, each bead has a pink flower on one side and a pink heart on the other, with green dots between the two sides.

The other beads on the bracelet are Swarovski crystal and glass. The bracelet is 7" long, and Tita the Turtle is about 1/4 wide and 1/2 inch long

Entry 4


This necklace was inspired by the fabulous focal bead made by Tera of Beadygirl Beads. I made some beaded beads (peace signs, and cellini spirals) in some of the same colors, and strung it all with swarovski crystals and sterling silver findings.

Still Torching - Christmas in July

I'm dying to get to the torch this morning (four days in a row! WHHOOOO HOOO!) before our temps soar into the 100s! But I wanted to pop in and tell you about the Christmas in July sales the Fire Divas are participating in on both Etsy and Artfire.

Some of the Fire Divas are participating in the online Christmas in July Sale on Etsy!!!

Click on the links below or search for tags "fire divas" "Christmasinjuly" or "CIJ"

Let's celebrate!!!

Emakaye - Free Shipping

LAJewelryDesigns - Free Shipping

HollysFollyGlass - 10% off and Free Shipping
Send convo before in order to get discount.

AshlynDesign - Free Shipping


Lutrick - Free Shipping

JanelDudleyBeads - Free Shipping

Some of the Fire Divas are also participating in the Twelve Days Of Christmas In July Sale on Artfire.

Click on the links below or search for tags "fire divas" and "TDOCIJ" or "Christmas in July" on Artfire.

HollysFollyGlass - 10% off and Free shipping

LAJewelryDesigns -  Free Shipping

Lutrick - Free Shipping

As an added bonus, my fan page members will get an extra 10% off and I am extending the sale to my glass beads website for fans ONLY. Details on the fan page bulletin board!

See you here on the bead blog come Monday. Have a wonderful weekend and know that I have LOTS of fun stuff for show and tell next week!

Read This When You Get into Your Next Funk

Dear Holly,

You torched today and it made you really happy. It wasn't what you made that made you happy. It was the fact you made something. You got off your lazy duff and did it. And you had fun, felt productive and learned something. It was exhilarating.

You've never made a bead that didn't teach you something. Today you learned that your casing skills have finally matured. You've learned to "read" the bead and know when it's not too hot and not too cold. Maybe making all those huge beads has paid off! And the next time you torch, there will be other challenges, other defeats and other victories. And you will relish them all.

This was not a perfect session by any means. You struggled - making beads in pairs is not your forte - not NOW, anyway - but you powered through. You tried new things... some worked and some did not. But you did it.

And the act of doing is most important. Feeling productive is key to your happiness. Being productive makes you more productive... You've accomplished more in the last two days while still finding time to torch than you have in weeks.

So don't sit there, lost in your own head with your coulda woulda shouldas... Get up and light a fire. You need this.

Update / Final Reminder Fire Divas Summer Jewelry Challenge

So I DID finally make it out to torch! And it was exhilarating and right now, I'm chomping at the bit to get back out there. Only... I've been side tracked by my tooth! I'm still in dire pain even after the root canal I had a week ago. So it's back to the dentist I go. Maybe too much chomping at the bit, eh?

And one final reminder that the Fire Divas Jewelry Challenge pieces are due this week! I must admit, the Divas have all been super busy this summer... moving, death in the family, kids home from school, you name it! We haven't really promoted this challenge with the zest we have in challenges past so... there are very few entries. If you use Diva beads in any of your work, please enter (deadline: July 15th!)!!!

Don't these earrings from Lara Lutrick make you think of summer fun???

The cool copper wire really sets off the neutral florals and vintage pewter in this necklace by TeaseBeads.

This pendant from EmaK Designs captures the feel of the ocean:

Flowers are the theme captured in glass and wire in this pendant from HollysFollyGlass.

Pendants, Rings, Bracelets, Necklaces, Anklets, Lariats... all are welcome in the Fire Divas Jewelry Challenge. Just get them in soon! Deadline 7/15/10.

Rules and Contest Info are HERE.

Trying to Torch

I promised myself I would hit the torch at 6 and here it is 10 and I'm blogging! OY! I'm still deep in my slump. I have ideas but lack of sales and anything positive happening in my beady little world is so frustrating.

So I made a list and I sketched and I pulled rods and there is nothing left to do but to sit down and DO IT!

So, I'm begging off blogging today.

To those of you who purchased this weekend, THANK YOU from the bottom of my stumpy little tooth!

Happy Monday!!!

Mama's Got a Toothache Sale!

Hey, ANY excuse for a sale on glass beads, right???  Seriously, I'm in SO much pain today from an emergency root canal... something I thought would be a simple filling but nooooo! Root canal and cap. I was in the chair  for around 5 hours yesterday and today, I'm moving like molasses.

And... since I'm still paying off my last dental fiasco, I need to raise some funds QUICK! So...

Visit HollysFollyGlass's Studio

SAVE 30.00% On BEADS / JEWELRY
on Artfire and HollysFolly.com

Use Coupon Code:

TOOTH

during checkout.

Da Fine Print: Coupon code for Artfire and HollysFolly.com.

Absolutely not valid with free beads gift certs. Free beads gift certs are valid ONLY on HollysFolly.com. However, you may receive a discount on any amount of beads OVER the amount of your free beads gift cert.

Also not valid for stamps! Glass Beads and Jewelry ONLY.

Sale ends Sunday!

So help me pay for my $$$$ new tooth and get a great deal on some pretty beads!!! And as always, THANK YOU for l@@king!

The Ides of July Is Drawing Near...

OY, that sounds more ominous than intended! Why is the ides of July SO important??? Why, it's the deadline for the Fire Divas Jewelry Challenge. We only have FOUR entries at this point so there is an excellent change for you to get some attention for your jewelry featuring Fire Diva Beads!

Let's look at a little inspiration to get you going on those entries!

Below are some examples the Divas made up to inspire you. These pieces are just lovely but are ineligible to win those fabulous prizes because this contest is all about you and what you can make with Fire Divas Beads!

This first piece is by Lori of Ashlyn Design. It's called "Ode to Chihuly." I see all kinds of summer flowers in this.

And don't you just think of beaches looking at this Silver Glass Choker by Janel Dudley Beads?

Here, a paler blue was used  with copper and glass for a beach feel. This piece is by Sonja of Silver River Glasswork.

And what is it about pink and green? It reminds me of eating watermelon by the river. I love the knotting Lea of LA Jewelry Designs used in this piece.

Here's that color scheme again in a necklace by Susanne of Bab's Beads. In this case, the flowers yield a romantic feel.

The Divas will have some more inspiration for you this week so stay tuned!

Rules and Contest Info are HERE.

---------------------
I am MIA for most of the day - dentist and toothache ickiness to deal with! So no new beads or listings today...

Beads of Courage Fundraiser

Pepsi is funding numerous charities by having them present their causes to the public and then having us vote.

Beads of Courage is a charity that provided beads and supplies to children with cancer. They are given a bead for every treatment, blood draw, procedure they undergo. At the end of their treatment, their necklace - often many feet long - tells their story. And in the event a child does not make it through, their parents are given a butterfly bead.

Beads of Courage has applied for a $25,000 grant from Pepsi but WE NEED VOTES!
You can vote every day. You must give them your email or log in with your facebook id.

Please take a moment and vote, won't you??? CLICK HERE to vote!

Fall? Winter? Huh?

I so wish I were one of those capable of thinking ahead. I'm just starting to think about summer. Heck it was so chilly here in Los Angeles last night that, for the first time in 11 summers, it was too COLD to sit in the pool and watch fireworks! Is it any wonder I'm confused?

But no, as a beadmaker, I need to be making fall and winter colors NOW for jewelry designers to be able to make jewelry and still sell it in time for the season. So I'm trying to shift my thoughts. As always some color helps!

This is the color chart for fall by Fire Mountain Gems. I will be printing this out and hanging it by my torch for inspiration.

Fall...harumph! OK, I'll try! But I am NOT making snowmen in August!

Bolero Glass Bead Necklace

Bolero close up
Originally uploaded by HollysFollyGlass

This is my June 2010 entry into the Art Bead Scene's Monthly Challenge. The inspiration for this month is the painting Marcelle Lender Dancing the Bolero in "Chilpéric," by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

ABOUT THE ART GLASS BEAD: I found the painting dark but the hem of the dancer's skirt with her leg a twirl reminded me immediately of a delicate flower. I made several of these finding the perfect "peachy pink" shade. The bead is double sided and even stands up on her own.

ABOUT THE NECKLACE: The choker length piece features a sterling toggle clasp and is strung with faceted onyx and interspersed with Swarovski roundels. The facets in the onyx sparkle and give a nice contrast to the sparkle of the crystals. My art glass bead sits nicely at the center of the neck.