Friday 31 July 2009

more spookiness!

Happy Friday everyone! This is my new Haunted Focal and the above picture is the front and back of the same bead. I'm really getting into relief work lately and this bead was so much fun to create! I feel some skull beads coming on too.. ooOOoOOooO!
And of course I couldn't forget my Pumpkin Patch beads. I made a set last Halloween and loved them so much I might have kept them for myself.. *innocent look* I'm so happy with the way this set turned out that I can't promise it will be going anywhere either!! The beads were made with my new Straight Sided Lentil (SSL) press which I'm currently in love with :) I etched them just to see how I'd feel about it and I really like the look of them. I'll take a fews orders for these guys so just let me know if you'd like a set.

Anyone have any fun plans for the weekend? Kaia's friend, Ariana, is sleeping over tonight and we're celebrating both of their birthdays. Ariana's was last weekend and Kaia's is.. well, ok, Kaia's isn't until September but she'll be back in Florida so I like to have a little party for her while she's here :) I made some cupcakes and some jewellery for both of them.. let's hope they like it!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Love,
keiara

Thursday 30 July 2009

rainbows make me smile :)

Rainbows make me smile.. cupcakes make me smile.. cupcakes WITH rainbows on 'em make me practically explode with happiness! Just thought I'd pass along a smile to all of you :)

Have a great day!

Love,
keiara
Wednesday 29 July 2009

spooky kitties and cupcakes!

Hi everyone! I'm gearing up for Halloween (and a show in October) so I'm working overtime on creating some new spooktacular beads! Here is my new Ghost Kitty Focal. Isn't he cute?? I started with my usual kitty shape but tweaked it slightly to allow for a more 'draping' effect at the bottom. What do you think?

Next up is Spooky Kitty. I had SO much fun creating him! A simple black kitty adorned with a festive pumpkin and sinister skull; perfect for Halloween. I have so many Halloween kitty ideas floating around my brain.. just have to get them out now!

I couldn't let the kitties have all the fun so here are some Halloween-themed cupcakes too! These are my mega-sized cupcakes which means they're around 20-22mm high. They make GREAT pendants. Don't you just love the little frog head? He makes me giggle!


I also made some of my floral cupcakes, crowned cupcakes and my 'traditional' Halloween cupcake topped with an eyeball ;) I love making cupcakes and these keep me cheery all day :) Last up is my Rock Diva Cupcake Focal. Like? I do! Actually I might have to keep this one for myself.. haha. The liner design makes the whole cupcake look so edgy.. if cupcakes can indeed look edgy?? Heehee.

I'm off to try out new Halloween ideas.. wish me luck!

Have a great week :)

Love,
keiara




Thursday 23 July 2009

dreads are in!!!

Here they are!!! My lovely friend, Naomi, came over yesterday for a tea party and dread day. It's lucky I plied her with wonderful sandwiches, cheeses, veggies and cupcakes.. cause it took 5 1/2 hours to install these dreads! These are Colinette Cherry wool and I LOVE them! They are very light and comfy. It was a bit awkward to try to sleep last night.. but I'm sure that will get easier :) This is what they look like down. They fall to about the middle of my back now that I've trimmed them a bit. I also layered the front a little after these pics were taken. Is it weird to want a more 'natural' layered look when you have bright pink wool for hair?!?

This is what they look like in pigtails! They are braided into my hair and can be worn for up to 3 months (according to professional sources). I'm going to aim for one month and see how I go. The dreads themselves *can* be washed but it's not advised as they are very heavy when wet. A careful washing of the scalp once a week is recommended. How I'm going to wash my scalp without getting the rest of the dreads soaking wet is an interesting question.. which I will answer next week.. LOL ;) After they're removed they can be washed, air dried and stored for installing again in the future! I also have about oh.. a LOT.. of other colours to try. Do you think Naomi will be willing to stand there for 5 hours every month just to change my hair?! ;)

Ok, I'm off to melt some glass.. since this is supposed to be a glass blog, not a hair blog!! heehee :)

Have a great day!

Love,
keiara

Monday 20 July 2009

custom kitties and a hair update!

A lovely customer contacted me and asked if I could create some of my kitty focals to match pictures of fabric swatches. I told her I'd give it a go and these are the results! The black kitty shown above was the first one. I tried to capture the overall feel of the pattern as well as getting in as many of the different colours as possible. Considering the entire kitty is only 30mm tall, I'm quite pleased with the results :)



Next up is this sweet pink kitty. Again, it's pretty difficult to get the same amount of detail (in glass no less) on something so small. I wanted to make sure I captured the feel of the fabric but also some of the essential elements. Here I included a bird, the blue scroll/vine and a few leaves. The overall effect is quite similar :)

On to the hair! On Wednesday my friend Naomi came by and we chatted, had some lunch and late in the afternoon decided, what the heck, to go ahead and dye my hair. She did a GREAT job and I'm really happy with how bright it turned out! I'm so glad I decided to lighten it twice beforehand as I really think that made a big difference. Hopefully we'll get to installing the dreads this week.. YAY! :)

And because I just can't resist, here's a picture from yesterday! Steve, Kaia and I went to the Kent County Show (along with Kaia's friend Ariana). I'm a sucker for facepaint and the girls there are AMAZING! I asked for a 'gothy floral scroll-looking' design and this is what I got :) I LOVE it. The company is called Wacky Faces and they're based in Kent. Have a look at their website. I have NEVER seen such exquisite facepainting. They are true artists :)

Here's Kaia with her cute fish facepaint. The scales have this pretty, golden glittery sheen going on. She was very pleased and didn't wash it off until nearly bedtime! I know everyone says this but, seriously, my kid is so cute! Look at that face! Awww :)

How was your weekend? Do anything fun? I'm looking forward to a productive week and, hopefully, having my dreads installed. What are you up to?

Have a great week!

Love,
keiara



Monday 13 July 2009

more keys.. and a hair update!


Hi everyone! How was your weekend? I had a strenuous weekend of zombie slaying. (Translation: I played computer games most of the weekend.) It was fun! We didn't get to meet up with Jen & family :'( but we're all going to meet up at the Kent County Show this weekend :) So that's definitely turning a frown upside down! I also bleached my hair this weekend. More on that in a minute.
First up is Unlock Time Flux Key Focal. I took this pretty brass key and created an ivory bead around it which is swirled with special silver glass and then dotted with clear. I really like the look of this one. I called it Time Flux because the patterns in the ivory make me think of something ancient whilst the shiny, metallic finish of the silver glass makes me think of futuristic gadgets. I feel a series coming on!

Next up is Unlock Faerie Whispers Key Focal. Another lovely brass key this time with clear and that same silver glass (it's called Aurae) encased in clear. I hand shaped this one into one of my organic gems for added visual interest. When left on the surface Aurae appears very shiny but when encased it takes on this fabulous, ethereal mother of pearl effect. Pretty!

Hair update! I've now bleached my hair out. Pic on the left is what it looked like right before the bleaching and, of course, pic on the right is the after. It lightened up quite well but I'm going to put it through another round (and pray it doesn't fall out!) to lighten it up just a bit more. It's actually kind of pretty on its own as it retained a bit of the red so it has an all-over pale apricot look. Hopefully it will be ready for the pink colour by Wednesday! More pics soon ;)

Anyone have anything exciting going on this week? I'm hoping to have a get-together with a friend on Wednesday, schedules permitting. I received several different key shipments in the past few days so be on the lookout for more keys from me!

Ok, off to melt glass! Have a great week :)

Love,
keiara



Friday 10 July 2009

Happy Friday.. my hair is here!!

Hey guys! Happy Friday :) As I was sitting down to have some lunch the doorbell rang. When I answered it the delivery guy was holding this HUGE package and I thought he must have the wrong house. No, sure enough, it was addressed to me. I took the package and glanced down. COLINETTE! My hair!! Woohoo! I hurriedly signed the electronic doohickey and raced inside to open the package. Pictured above are three skeins from the package. From the back: Velvet Birberry, Florentina and Cherry. The picture does NOT do them justice. Each and every colour (and I got LOADS) is rich and bright and utterly divine. I'm sitting here stroking yarn. I've finally lost it.

Now I will strip my hair, shave the underside and dye it all magenta before installing my first set of dreads. I'm going with a mix of the Cherry and Velvet Birberry. I can't WAIT!

I'll take pictures along the way.. this is gonna be so much fun!

How about you? Anything fun planned for the weekend? We're having a 'family lunch' with Jen & family tomorrow which I'm REALLY looking forward to. Kaia will get to hang out with Ariana again and I'll get to love on Jen's little boys. They are SO adorable! I could just squeeze them til they pop :) Ok, I promise I won't do that.. but I'll be thinking it real hard!

I'm off to melt more glass.. lots of custom work this week keeping me busybusybusy!

Have a great weekend :)

Love,
keiara
Thursday 9 July 2009

new beads.. for your hair!?

Hi guys! I made some new dread beads! These beads all have 5mm holes so they also fit Troll, Pandora, Biagi, etc. bracelets. The first one is Cassie Cow. I think she's SO cute! I will definitely be making more animal dread beads. I can see someone with a whole farmyard in their hair! (Ok, that person is most likely me once my dreads are in.. haha.)

Of course I couldn't forget the cupcakes! I'm going to be creating a whole range of these as well. Goth cupcakes, holiday-themed cupcakes (it's almost time to start making my Halloween cupcakes again!!), cupcakes with crowns, cupcakes with wings, cupcakes with horns! Yes, yes.. I do love them!

Mmm, I love this chubby lil strawberry! I love making strawberries and making this one was even MORE fun! There's something about big hole beads that make them even cuter than normal beads. Or maybe I'm just a freak. Well, ok, we all know I'm a freak.. but that's not the point! I'm definitely making myself some of these :)

What do you think? Any suggestions? I love hearing from you guys.. so don't be shy! ;)

Have a great day :)

Love,
keiara


Tuesday 7 July 2009

have I mentioned I love felt??

Yes, I do. Love felt, that is. It's really quite an obsession. If it's made of felt, I want it! I recently stumbled across the wonderful Etsy shop of Betty Shek. You can already see the problem, can't you? THEY'RE GORGEOUS! I love absolutely everything bit of felt in her shop! The first heart is my favourite. It's perfectly made and the level of detail is amazing. It's also stuffed so it's slightly puffy too! I will be wearing this one on my jacket just as soon as it's jacket weather again ;)

Next is this fantastic purple heart. You know me and purple! I mean, it's purple, heart-shaped AND felt?! I didn't stand a chance. Again, you just wouldn't believe the level of detail in these. They are exquisite! The stitches are all so precise and perfect, the colours are fantastic and the embellishing makes the whole piece even prettier. I have this one attached to my backpack purse :D

Then, because I'm an annoying customer and always have to ask for something the artist DOESN'T make, I contacted Betty to see if she would make me some cupcakes in a similar style to the hearts. OMG!!!! These are the pictures she sent me today. Are you dying yet?? (As an aside, how awesome is the photograph, btw? This woman is seriously talented!) Ok, back to the cupcake. It's absolutely incredible, huh? The colours, the design, the attention to detail, the BUTTONS! I told her that they turned out even more wonderful than I could have imagined. Betty, you totally rule.

Intelligent woman that she obviously is, Betty sent me multiple choices. Yeah, you guessed it. I have to have both! How could I possibly say no to this bit of sweetness?? The answer is I can't. At all. I had no chance. Methinks she probably knew this ;) Clever girl!

So I might have asked if she could do another with more purple.. *sigh* I'm a goner! Let's all show Betty's shop some love. She really deserves it!

More beads tomorrow!

Hope you're having a great week :)

Love,
keiara



Monday 6 July 2009

key necklaces!


Hello!! Our little 4th of July celebration was lots of fun :) I thought Transformers 2 was actually pretty good.. I was entertained, anyway. Steve cooked some great BBQ food and then we settled into the front room with Phish Food ice cream and some Disney films. It was wonderful :) No fireworks but still great fun.

Now back to business! I decided to offer my key beads for sale on ribbons as I think they look absolutely gorgeous this way. The ribbon is simply looped around the top of the key so they're easily removable if desired. Why you'd want to remove one of Diane's AMAZING ribbons is beyond me but, hey, I'm all about offering options ;)

This is Unlock Africa and Unlock Wild Freesia. They are my second and third key beads, respectively. The first one has to live with me forever because.. well, it's my first! I'm now selling my key beads so if you're interested, feel free to contact me!

I'm off to melt some glass. Have a great week!

Love,
keiara
Saturday 4 July 2009

Happy 4th of July!


Woohoo!!! Happy 4th of July! Today we celebrate our independence, remember our troops and eat lots of BBQ ;) Like the picture? Hubby added the American flag and I think it looks so cool! If I could, I would seriously paint my face like this today. I'm proud to be an American!


This is the bracelet I made for myself last year. Stars and Stripes Forever! I was SO proud of myself as I had only been lampworking for a few months when I made it. It's a little wonky but I still love it :) Gotta remember your wonky roots!


For all my American friends: I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July. Spare a thought for all the men and women who risk their lives to keep our country free. Light some fireworks for me!

And to my darling Laura: Thank you for the card. It is absolutely beautiful. I love you so much!

Ok, I'm off to watch Transformers 2 and stuff myself with BBQ! Have a great day everyone!

Love,
keiara
Friday 3 July 2009

flowers.. and dread beads!

Happy Friday!! Here are some beads from yesterday. This one is Amethyst Desert Fleur Focal. I'm really liking bright frit backgrounds swirled with organics lately. Add a stylized flower and, hey, I dig it ;)

Next up is another key!! This is Unlock Wild Freesia Key Focal and it is SO much prettier in person. The base bead is one of my Pollock style beads in pink and black then I decorated it with a curving vine and freesia blooms. Feminine yet funky :)


I'm planning ahead with dread beads! From left: Starfish Beach, Pink Freesia, Sweet Cupcake and Twilight Tree. These were all made on 5mm mandrels so they can also be worn on Troll, Pandora, Biagi, etc. bracelets! Expect to see a lot more dread beads from me.. I have to build up a supply to choose from! ;)

I'm off to spend some time with Sam.. who is arriving any moment! Hope you all have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend!


Love,
keiara
Thursday 2 July 2009

the henna disaster.. otherwise entitled: Why I Now Need Wool Dreads :)

Yeah. Wow. So. Henna. You'll note the hint of concern on my face combined with the slight pout. What this facial expression is saying is, "WTF have I done to my hair?!?" The picture really doesn't illustrate the full horror. It's a putrid shade of orange with a distinctly greenish-yellow undertone. It's so much less than attractive! Hey, the good side is it easily washes out! Oh wait, no it doesn't. Well at least I can colour over it! Uh uh, no can do.. unless I want straw for hair. I can always try even MORE henna and see what happens?! With that being my only real option, I decided to take a completely different route to turn this frown upside down: I ordered a bunch of gorgeous wool to turn into dreads! Yes!! I ordered loads and loads of gorgeous colours and now, armed with several tutorials about how to install double-ended slub wool dreads, I am finally going to throw caution to the wind and try it :D I've always thought they looked amazing and wanted to try them but had NO concept of just how easy they really are (and not actually 'dreads' in the sense that they're just braided into your own hair). Stay tuned for future hair posts.. this is gonna be interesting!

In other news, how sweet is this bracelet?? I've got a toothache already! This gorgeous bracelet is called The Girlie Show and it's part of Poor Robin's Festival series. I LOVE it! It's big, it's bright.. it's ribbons and felt and buttons and so cute I could absolutely die. It's also amazing well made and soft. It's not at all scratchy! The designer, Mel, is super friendly and was lots of fun to work with. I will definitely be ordering more from her. I like the bracelet so much that I asked if she could custom make a matching pendant... yesyes.. wait for it..


BAM! LOVES it! The pendant can be hung from the top loop of ribbon or from a hidden loop Mel has sewn into the back. It hangs from a pink cord that has a loop and button fastening. It's so cute.. I mean, reallyreallyREALLY cute! I'm so pleased :) Thanks a bunch, Mel!

And now I'm off to melt some glass.. and daydream about dreads. Have a great day!

Love,
keiara
Wednesday 1 July 2009

beads.. on keys!

Hi everyone! I know, I know.. long time no blog. I'm a bad girl! I've been absolutely overwhelmed with custom work lately. I promise to make blogging a higher priority in the future! This is what's new with me: key beads! This one is called Unlock Africa and it's my second attempt at a key bead. For this key I wound the glass directly onto this antique brass skeleton key. Neat, huh? I'm really enjoying the process. I love antique keys anyway and this makes them infinitely cooler. Cause beads make everything cooler. It's true!

Speaking of cool.. I'm currently sitting here with my head wrapped in cling film. Ok, so that's not really cool. But the reason is pretty nifty! I've applied some Lush henna to my hair! I know many of you are already upset at the idea of me having any haircolour other than the bright red. Alright, maybe that's a stretch (unless you're Laura!) but I really had to do something different. I've been colouring my hair for so long now that it was becoming quite stripped and coarse. I happened to stumble into the Lush at Covent Garden last Friday (OMG I could totally live there!) and they had blocks of henna. I figured I'd give it a try and see what happens. It's supposed to be really great for your hair and this particular one is a bright red shade. Keep your fingers crossed for good results! I'll post pics tomorrow!

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow.. my BIL is bringing his gf over and we're going to dinner. Yay! He's such a darling and we haven't met his gf yet so I'm excited. Actually, the rest of the week is shaping up to be awesome. On Friday Saffie and Imogen are coming over (I hope she's still planning on it!) for a visit. Then Saturday Kaia's friend, Ariana, is coming over and I always love her visits. Ariana is the daughter of my American ex-pat friend, Jen, and she's such a sweetheart. We're planning to take the girls to see a film and, of course, we're having a BBQ because, hey, you can't NOT have a BBQ on 4th of July! I love 4th of July :) I decorate the house in all red, white and blue and make a bunch of red, white and blue food. It's such fun! It's especially interesting celebrating the holiday over here in England. It makes me giggle. I celebrate my country's independence from the evil oppression of Britain.. now don't mind me while I live in your country ;) Heehee! Anyway, it's gonna be fun and I can't wait!

How about you guys? Anything fun planned for this week or weekend? Anyone else wanna celebrate 4th of July with me?? lol ;)

Whatever you're doing this week.. I hope you have a good one!

Love,
keiara





About Me

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Folkestone, Kent, United Kingdom
Hi! My name is keiara and I'm a native Floridian currently living in Folkestone, England. I am a hot glass and jewellery artist and I'm passionate about what I do! I love to 'talk shop' so feel free to contact me. Thanks for stopping by!