500 isolation bead challenge for Beads of Courage beads 1 to 33

In this crazy time of social distancing and closed schools I have set myself a personal challenge to create 500 special little beads for Beads of Courage UK and Ireland.

For more information about Beads of Courage in the UK click here....

More pic soon :-D

Jolene x

Minions in Dungarees, free tutorial challenge for Beads of Courage

Make a minion challenge for Beads of Courage

I was making some Minion beads for Beads of Courage the other day based on Heather Sellers fabulous make a Minion Challenge

I made one of them kinda oval just for fun and he looked like he was missing his dungarees so I decided to dress him and thought it would be nice to follow in Heather's footsteps and throw out a Minion making challenge for Beads of Courage too. 

So I challenge you all to make a minion and send it in :-D

UK Bead Donations:
Beads of Courage, Inc.
 c/o Diane Watt
 14, Radlow Crescent
 Marston Green
 Birmingham,  B37 7LZ

US Bead Donations:
3230 N. Dodge Blvd. Suite J
Attn:  Bead Donations
Tucson, AZ  85716

Canadian Bead Donations:
PO Box 71142
Silver Springs RPO
Calgary, Alberta  T3B 5K2

Firstly you will need to make some thick yellow stringer 2mm approx, some thick blue stringer 2mm approx and black stringer 1mm approx.

Wrap a wide footprint of blue glass on to your mandrel - I use the smallest cavity on CG Bead roller BR-46 large chunky oval to shape these oval minions. If you are hand shaping then aim to create a footprint that will be between 1/3 to half the length of your final bead.

Using a roller or by hand shaping with a graphite paddle, shape the wraps to form one half of an oval bead. If the flat end of your half oval has a pucker, gently heat and roll the bead against the side of your mandrel to remove the pucker to  minimise the chance of trapping a large air bubble in the middle of your bead when you add the yellow glass.

Add some wraps of yellow glass next to the blue taking care not to trap any air bubbles between the two colors.

Hand shape the yellow glass with your paddle to from the second half of your oval base bead or if using a roller, gently heat and press your bead into the roller cavity. Turn the mandrel a little between each press until you have created a balanced and smooth two-tone oval that will rotate freely in the roller cavity. If you have too much glass you can remove small quantities with a pair of long nose tweezers.

Wrap a line of thick yellow stringer around the blue half of your bead leaving a thin strip of blue at the centre which will create the straps of your Minion's dungarees. next wrap a thin line of black stringer around the yellow half of the bead near the bead hole.This will form the band for his goggles.

Melt your stringers in flat and then press your bead with some mashers, between two graphite paddles or with a parallel press. Don't worry about removing any chill marks at this stage as they will be removed during the next stages as you add further detail.

Take your blue stringer and create the "bib" part of your Minion's clothes by placing two swipes side-by-side that join up the dungaree braces to to the trousers. Repeat this for the back side also. Decide which face is going to be the front of your minion and place a small black dot where you would like the Minions mouth to be.

Melt all of the raised decoration in flush on both faces of the bead by warming the raised areas through and pressing them down gently with your graphite paddle. Once everything is flush partially mask your black dot with an offset dot of yellow to create the Minion's smile.

Melt the yellow dot in flat and then place a large grey dot from a full sized rod in the centre of the headband.

Flatten the grey dot but leaving it a little raised and then top the grey dot with white glass. Flatten the white dot also, leaving it slightly raised so that the dots are stacked up.

Top the white dot with a large blob of clear glass and let the clear glass round off to form a lens shape in the flame.

Choose your minions eye colour and place a small dot over the clear lens to create the iris. Next pick up your black stringer again and add a tiny dot to the eye to for the pupil. You can chose to add some more final last details at this point if you like, such as buttons and further details on the goggles. Warm your bead through and pop it in the kiln to anneal.

Minion beads are very well loved and treasured by Beads of Courage kiddos so it would be great if you wanted to give making them a whirl!

Have a lovely evening, Jo x
 
PS. This tutorial is written for bead makers with prior experience in mind. Please take all safety precautions when working with a very hot flame including proper eye protection and please do work in an adequately ventilated work space.

This tutorial is fan art and is not to be used for profit. It has no connection with the creators of Minions.

Blogtoberfest day 1 - My new studio and International bead challenge day

So it is that time of year again, Blogtoberfest! I love this once a year project, it really helps me focus on my much loved but oft  neglected blog and gets me catching up on sharing glassy news and tutorials.
If you would like to take up the challenge to blog daily through October check out this linky...
shellsinthebush.blogspot.com.au/p/blog-page.html

So my big big news is that I moved out of my (dark, damp and spider filled) garage studio at the start of August and into a fabulous studio space in the Manor Farm heritage site at the top of Ruislip High St. My new beautiful, airy, light filled space is just a dream come true!

It has finally given me the space I need to be able to offer lampwork bead making tuition and host special events like the one we held on the 20th of September for International Bead Challenge day. Marlene Minhas, Heather Kelly and I spent the day showing some super special kiddos from the Beads of Courage program and their families how lampwork beads are made. We also made String of Strength bracelets with the kids which are a fabulous way for kids to be able to support other kids on the BoC program. The way String of Strength bracelets work is that each child and their siblings can each make two identical bracelets, one to keep and one to gift to another child on the program along with a short message of support. It's a very lovely thing.

Here are the beads we made on the day which have already been sent on to Be Child Cancer Aware along with the String of Strength bracelets. Hopefully they will bring strength and encouragement to some very brave kids :-D

That's it from me today, back to tomorrow with a Mini Mo' catch up post for September.
Jolene xx

A handful of hearts for Beads of Courage...

I found out yesterday that Courage beads are in very short supply in both the UK and in the US too so I spent a few hours in the studio making hearts to donate to Be Child Cancer Aware for the Beads of Courage program.

I made some big ones, some tiny ones, highly decorated ones and simple bright ones too. Beads of Courage need all kinds of handmade lampwork beads to become Courage beads as ideally the child who receives one would have a selection to choose from available at the hospital where they are receiving treatment and would be able to pick the one that speaks to them the most at that time. The program covers a wide age range, all the way through from birth to late teens and early adulthood.

There are a few rules to follow - no sharp bead holes, beads to be cleaned of all bead release, no delicate sticking out decoration, no metallic reduction on the surface of the beads (silvered ivory is allowed though) and all silver glass to be encased. Other than that anything goes!

If anyone reading has been thinking of making a lampwork bead donation to BoC then now would be the perfect time as there is an urgent need. Here are the  details of where your bead donations should be sent.

UK Donations
Beads of Courage, Inc.
c/o Sarah Drummond
2, Park Close
Wickford
Essex SS12 9EH

US Donations
Beads of Courage, Inc.
Attn: Bead Donations
3230 N. Dodge Blvd. Suite J
Tucson, AZ 85716

Thank you for reading, have a super weekend, Jolene xx 

My latest Beads of Courage Beads

Following on from the 52 little things project last year where I made a special bead each week for Beads of Courage, this year I am going to be having a studio afternoon each month instead

My first offerings are these sweet Fun Guys with googly eyes and chubby cheeks!

I got a chance to nip into the studio for February's BoC play afternoon yesterday and made these very cute Monkey Shines! beads. The tutorial for these is by Sharon Peters and can be found in the Hot Glass for Cool Kids e-book written by Diane Woodall last year.

They were so so so much fun to make!

If you make lampwork beads and have some that you'd like to donate to Beads of Courage then the addresses need to know are:

UK
Be Child Cancer Aware
Beads of Courage
2, Park Close
Wickford
Essex
SS12 9EH

USA, Japan, New Zealand:
Beads of Courage
3230 N. Dodge Blvd.,
Suite J Tucson,
AZ 85719

United States
Canada: Beads of Courage
Attn: Bead Donations
3119 35th Ave SW
Calgary,
Alberta
T3E 0Z8
Canada

Have a great day, Jolene xx

52 little things week 52 and a 2013 round up

On the very last day of 2013 I thought  would be nice to reflect on the past year and some of the lovely things that have happened. It has been a wonderful year for Be Child Cancer Aware and Beads of Courage here in the UK.

It has been a very special year for me too and also a pretty special year for these little beep beep robot beads.  The very first one I ever made was for week 1 in my 52 little things project (to make a special bead each week for a  Beads of Courage child). I thought it would be lovely to finish the year with a little family of Beep Beeps because Childhood Cancer affects every member of a family and turns their world upside down.

I sent a picture of some of my little BoC Robots to Diane Woodall offering a tutorial for them for the Beads of Courage section of The Soda Lime Times magazine and they inspired her to create an ebook called Hot Glass for Cool Kids to raise funds for Beads of Courage in America. It has 20 wonderful tutorials written by artists from all over he world. So far the book has raised almost $14,000. I am so proud to have been part of that super special project.

The first time I began to fully appreciate the significance of the beads that I make and donate is when I happened to see a picture on Facebook with a note from one of the BoC Mums showing her daughter holding one of  the 50 little little robot beads that I made to fund raise in the run up to the summer Beadathon. She explained how that her daughter talks to her little robot bead. I honestly cried, it was so lovely.

This summer 11 amazing, lovely and talented UK bead makers gathered at my house for the second year running and we took turns to make beads solidly for 24 hours on two torches. We streamed the whole 24 hour event live across the internet, raised over £900 and made 165 beads to donate to BCCA.  I loved hosting the Beadathon, such hard work but such great fun and fingers crossed we will get another one organised in 2014. Below is my fave beady snap of 2013, taken by Marlene Minhas. We ran two kilns at the Beadathon, the first was kindly donated for the event by www.Kilncare.co.uk and this shows Sandy Kelly, a huge grin on her face, fetching the some of the first batch of Beadathon beads out of the kiln mid morning on the second day.

Through the latter part of 2012 and the start of 2013 I was working hard learning how to write with glass stringer on beads so that I could make and donate beads with kids names on to Beads of Courage. In April this year I had my first lampwork tutorial published in Beads and Beyond magazine, sharing the writing with glass technique. A huge thank you to Julie Fountain for recommending me to the editor for this project. It was thrilling to see my work in print in a British magazine and it spurred me on to submit more ideas and have two further tutorials published this year.

Another fab project that I have been helping with this year was the Walk of Courage. I put out a call for volunteer bead makers to create pairs of fire colour beads for brave folks to carry whilst walking over hot coals. The ones being shown off here by Ted Drummond were made by Elaine Hunter of Galloway beads (to see all of the beautiful fire walk beads click here). The event was a brilliant success, raising over £7800 and bringing some amazing beads to kids  on the Beads of Courage program.

This brilliant picture shows Ethan Drummond preparing to walk across the coals, he was the very first and youngest courageous fire walker.

2013 has been an amazing year full of wonderful projects that I feel so privileged to be part of. The cherry on the cake for me was an invitation to be the featured artists in the January 2014 issue of the Soda Lime Times. What a wonderful way to begin 2014.

It has been the most wonderful year of teamwork and achievements and laughter and I have a feeling that next year will be even more rewarding.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year and an amazing 2014, Jolene xx

52 little things week 50 and 51

It is such a sweet and sad feeling that this very special project for me is drawing to the end. My week 50 and 51 beads are now finished and will soon be in the post to Be Child Cancer Aware to be gifted to children on the Beads of Courage program here in the UK.

It has been both a pleasure and a privilege to be able to give something of myself to the Beads of Courage kids and families this year. It is humbling to see and read how these glassy gifts that we give empower and uplift. They mean so much more to the kids who receive them than just a bead. They bring hope and smiles and comfort.

If you would like to find out more about the program please visit

http://www.bechildcanceraware.org/beads-of-courage


or check out the BCCA Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/bechildcanceraware

Have a super day, Jolene xx

52 little things week 48 and 49

Here are my beads for weeks 48 and 49, the start of the final month in my 52 little things project for 2013. I've made a funky chunky twistie cored green heart bead and a goldstone twistie cored bead in blue. the pictures are somewhat out of focus as my camera lens misted up the moment I went outside to take snaps. Winter is most definitely here.

If you lampwork and would like to make some beads for Beads of Courage and are looking for inspiration check out

www.bechildcanceraware.org/beads-of-courage/lampwork-tutorials

There are 11 wonderful tutorials on there to give you some fab ideas.

And here are some links for BCCA - Beads of Courage
http://www.bechildcanceraware.org/beads-of-courage
https://www.facebook.com/bechildcanceraware

Have a super day, Jolene xx

52 little things weeks 46 and 47

 For some reason I got a little behind in week 46, no torch time all week so yesterday I made a pair of fun guys :-D One for week 46 and the other for this weeks smiley offering to Beads of Courage.

It is hard to believe that there are only 5 weeks left until Christmas, my heart goes out to all of the kids and parents who will be spending the festive season in hospital this year <3 br="">

If you would like to find out more about the Beads of Courage project here in the UK or about Be Child Cancer Aware and their valuable awareness raising projects please pop by their website

http://www.bechildcanceraware.org

Have a lovely day Jolene xx

52 little things week 45

This weeks special bead uses a combination of glass gold rich glass that gives an effect called Faux Boro. I have encased the whole bead in clear glass to trap the metallic effects inside and there are no metallic reduction effects on the surface which makes it perfect to donate to BoC.

If you make lampwork beads and would like to donate to BCCA for the Beads of Courage program here in the UK pop along and check out the artists guidelines here

Almost anything goes, as long as your beads have neat bead holes without sharp edges, no metallic reduction on the surface, are annealed and have been cleaned then they are perfect.

Please raid your fugly jars, sin bins, declutter your kitchen windowsill and send them in. Your beads will bring smiles and will be treasured and cherished.

Have a lovely day, Jolene xx

52 little things week 44 #blogtoberfest13 day 29

My special bead for Beads of Courage this week is a slightly more grown up take on a Christmas themed bead. It is still quite large, over an inch across, but I have decorated it with simple holly and berries.

I just wanted to take a moment to remember that Childhood Cancer affects teens and young adults too.

For more information on how to Be Child Cancer Aware and find out about the Beads of Courage program here in the UK please visit
www.bechildcanceraware.org

xx Jolene

52 little things week 43 #blogtoberfest13 day 23

A quick post and run this morning, here is my week 43 bead for Beads of Courage. I have been making an extra special bead each week this year to donate to Be Child Cancer Aware, the charity that runs Beads of Courage here in the UK.

Hopefully this one will bring a great big cheery smile to a really brave kiddo :-D

Have a great day
Jolene xx

52 little things week 42 - #Blogtoberfest13 day 17

It's week 42! and there are only 68 day left until Christmas!! If you lampwork and are in the mood to make some cool Crimbo beads for the kiddies then check out this nifty free Santa tutorial by Laney Mead or Emma Green's sweet Plop the Penguin tute on the BCCA website :-D

www.bechildcanceraware.org/beads-of-courage/lampwork-tutorials/

If you have a tutorial that would be great for Beads of Courage booster beads on your website of blog and would like it to be featured on the Be Child Cancer Aware website then please do let me know xx


Here are a couple of links to some of our other fabulous Craft Pimp Year Long Challenge bloggers


Lynn of Nemeton
Heather of Heather Kelly Glass 
Sue of BlueBoxStudio
Linda of Earthshine Lampwork Bead and Jewellery Design

And here are some links for BCCA - Beads of Courage
http://www.bechildcanceraware.org/beads-of-courage
https://www.facebook.com/bechildcanceraware

Have a super day, Jolene xx

Beads of Fire..... #Blogtoberfest day 12

Today is the day :-D Be Child Cancer Aware has organised a walk of fire to raise funds and honour children on the Beads of Courage program here in the UK. The intrepid fire walkers are undertaking training for tonight's daring challenge as I type and each will carry a pair of unique handmade glass beads as they bravely face the coals at the Selex Sports & Leisure Club, Gardiners Way Gardiners Lane, South Basildon at 7 O'Clock tonight. One of the beads will become a memento of the day and its twin will be given as a booster bead, along with a special message, to lift the spirits of very special children on the Beads of Courage program.

I have been helping out by organising a colour scheme and coordinating the making of the Fire Beads with some very talented UK lampworkers with glass kindly donated by Kathy Seamands of Creation is Messy.

To everyone involved with this evening's daring do, I wish you the very best of luck.

Here is a little gallery and roll of honour for the glass artists who have given their time to lovingly make all of the Fire Beads.

Beautiful Fire Beads by Stepanie Gough, Fiona Smith, Heather Kelly, Debbie Dew, Cecilia Lawrence, Tan Grey, Laney Mead, Carole Hughes, Elaine Galloway, Sue Reynolds, Vic Tierney, Jo Walker, Jo Wolfe, and Kat Newman.

Ladies you are Superstars xxxx

Have a super Saturday, Jolene x