I Bought A Kiln!!!

Yes, I bought a kiln and am currently doing quite the little happy dance! This finally brings it all together! After months of torching, taking classes, buying more equipment, tools, supplies and getting things re-set up after a considerable move, I can finally make and anneal my beads! Being that is is the middle of the holiday season, I won't be killing myself to try and make beads and get them listed in my Etsy shop until after the first of the year and all of my holiday festivities are over, decorations are packed away for another year long hibernation and I have regained what sanity I still posses. I'm sure there isn't too much sanity left, but I have always though crazy people had the most fun anyway! I mean if you are too nuts to care, I'd say there is great freedom in that!

I will post some photos here when I get that far and likely on my other blog, Juniper Gems, as well. Thank you to all who have placed a heart in my empty Principessa Glass shop! It means a lot to have so much support in advance! I still have a lot of inventory in my Juniper Gems shop if you are looking for Holiday gifts still. I ship everything from that shop via USPS Priority mail, so as long as you buy before or on December 21st (early in the day) You should have no trouble getting and on time delivery. Just remember, I do my best to get things out the door in 24 hours or less, after that it's up to the postal service to do their job!

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year!

BBRrrrrrrrr!

It is currently 26 degrees outside! Now, if you live somewhere that has a cold winter, this would be expected, but this is south central Texas! They say it will be a record low tonight of around 23 degrees! I couldn't take it anymore and finally turned on the furnace, our house which is uber insulated, was at 68 degrees and I thought I was going to freeze! It was quickly up to 72 degrees and I resisted the urge to raise it all the way up to 78, which is where it is at most days. Yes, this may sound warm, but it's actually not, it's very comfortable in fact. Even my husband who is like a nuclear reactor, heat-wise, all on his own, is very comfortable.

Needless to say, with the problems I have been having with my glass rods cracking while I work out in the garage, I knew that this cold was way beyond what my current set up was capable of handling. I have made some adjustments lately that have improved things significantly, but temps in the 20 and 30's are just too cold for me!

Fear not, the weather should be back up into the mid to upper 60's by Monday! I may not freeze after all!
I put up a few new listings in my Juniper Gems shop, and my good friend Nikki at Bastille Bleu made me super cute holiday banners and avatars for both of my shops. You'll have to go and see them! They turned out so cute! She came to my rescue, since I am severely challenged in this area myself. I tried several different programs and methods for making my own banners and failed miserably. There are some things that it is wise to acknowledge that you CANNOT do yourself and pay someone else to do it for you. I was coming close to wanting to throw my new computer out the window, which in the long run would cost a lot more than paying someone to make a banner for me. I now know without a doubt that I suck at this and should make no further efforts at trying. The world in general will be a happier, safer place if I stick with this plan.

Hopefully I will be back at my torch later this weekend. I can only go so long with out a fix!!! I just got a new shipment of Creation Is Messy glass and am expecting more glass on Monday. It's like boxes of candy arriving! The rods are all so pretty to look at, and you can't wait to go fire up your torch and see what you can do with each one. I'll have plenty to play with this next week! I have a couple projects I am working on for the holidays, hopefully I can make something decent! Stop by my shop Principessa Glass an see my new holiday banner! If you leave me a heart, (aka, save me as a favorite) I will heart you back!

Allow Me To Introduce Myself...

I am the Glass Princess, at least at my house I am. I have fallen in love with the art of lampworking, also know as glass bead making. I work in my "studio" out in my garage. It is a temporary set up, but it will do just fine for now. I work on a GTT Cricket torch with an oxygen concentrator. I absolutely love my Cricket!

I have an Etsy shop ready to sell my beads once I feel I have something worth selling, but for now it sits empty. I also have a domain name, but no actual web site set up yet. If you put in my web address, you'll just be redirected to my Etsy shop.

I have been making jewelry for a few years now and selling it on Etsy in a shop under the name Juniper Gems for the past year. I have really enjoyed the creative process and where it has taken me. It's been an evolving sort of thing which has taken me in many directions, but ultimately lead me to fall in love with lampwork beads. I just find them fascinating to look at even more fascinating to make!

I have another blog associated with my jewelry shop, which I will continue to maintain.... at least for now. I don't currently use my own hand made beads in my jewelry, but will in the near future. I will always continue to purchase and use artisan made lampwork beads from other artist, since I really like to offer variety in my pieces of jewelry. There is such a wide range of styles and techniques to explore, far more than one person will likely cover.

I hope you'll enjoy this journey along with me.