Sunday 30 August 2009

mmorpg

If you know what that means, this is for you. Have I mentioned hubby and I met playing one? Yeah, I'm a total game nerd ;)



Have a great Monday!

x


www.bykeiara.co.uk


www.bykeiara.etsy.com
Friday 28 August 2009

preparing :)

I'm busybusybusy preparing for The Big Bead Show in October. Here's a picture of a VERY small sampling of what I'm going to have for sale on the day. Key beads, kitty focals, cupcake focals, strawberries, ice cream cones, tree focals, big hole beads (to fit Troll/Pandora/Biagi or dreads). I have plenty of other beads not pictured here. I'd say this is less than one-third of what I have so far :D I'm actually feeling really positive about how much stock I'll be able to have by then. And, for once, I'm not procrastinating! Go me! lol :)

What do you guys think? Is there something in particular that you think I should be making for the show? What are your favourite beads of mine? I'm not generally a set-maker either. Do you think I should give in and make lots of sets for the show? What do YOU like to buy at shows?

I've also just listed my Spooky Skulls Set as a made to order item in my Etsy shop. I made the original set into a bracelet for myself.. heehee ;)

Ok, I'm off to melt glass. Hope you all have a great day!

Love,
keiara
Thursday 27 August 2009

new dreads!

Hi guys! Thought I'd share better pictures of the new dreads :) Naomi came over last Friday and installed these new wool dreads and I LOVE them! The colour is called Fruit Coulis and it's bright pink, purple, light pink and peach all mixed together. Gotta love my silly expression too ;)

And here I am, all angelic-like (HAHAHAHA!), sitting on the stairs in front of my studio. I have a few of my dread beads in too :) What do you think of the new colours?

After a rather disappointing day, Steve and I went to see the new GI Joe film in Ashford. WOW! I've heard lots of negative buzz about this film but we both REALLY loved it. The action sequences were great, the special effects were awesome and the CGI was really well done. It has lots of imagination which is something usually quite lacking in action films. Plus it gives you snippets of some of the characters' histories. I wasn't hugely thrilled with some of the casting choices (except for Christopher Eccleston whom I've missed terribly since he left Doctor Who *cry*) Eccleston wasn't on screen nearly enough for my tastes! But anyway, the film was awesome and I definitely recommend it.

Off to make more beads for the show! What are you guys up to today?

Have a great day!

Love,
keiara
Tuesday 25 August 2009

mini ghost kitties, cupcakes & keys!

Hiya guys! I had a custom order for some mini ghost kitties earring pair. What do you think? I'm very pleased with how they turned out! It's soooo much harder to do the detail on these little guys but I think they look great :) I hope my lovely customer likes them!

I'm also building up my cupcake stock for The Big Bead Show. I mean, the Cupcake Queen can't very well go to the show without cupcakes! These are my Sweet Cupcakes and are the very first cupcake design I ever created :) Aren't they sweet? heehee. I'm hoping my sculptural work will go down well at the show. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

No torch session would be complete without a couple keys! This is Unlock Cosmic Stone key focal. It is SO hard to photograph the mother-of-pearl effect in this bead. There are hints of purple/aqua iridescence in the dots. It looks really interesting!


And this is Unlock Pretty Golden Swirl (yeah, I'm so creative with the names sometimes..) which features sparkling goldstone on soft pink. It's hard to tell but this is shaped into one of my organic gems and I like the overall effect. Feminine design meets organic shape is always interesting to me. It's nature vs. nurture represented in a bead; the unpredictability of nature surrounding the imposed female ideal displayed on an antique key. Of course the key itself has so many meanings: unlocking the dichotomy of what it means to be a woman in this time, requiring a key to open doors that were previously shut to us, unlocking our true potential and shrugging off objectification. Of course it's also a pretty bead too ;)

Do you find yourself incorporating or finding deeper meaning in your art and life? Do you have a cause especially close to your heart?

Just thought I'd share those thoughts!

Hope you're all having a wonderful day.

Love,
keiara



Monday 24 August 2009

every single time..

Every single time I'm going somewhere and bring my camera.. it stays in my bag the whole time. It's some kind of flaw in my character. If I had forgotten my camera, I guarantee you that I would have reached into my bag for it at some point yesterday. Ah well! Yesterday Steve drove Naomi and me up to Stourbridge for a bead fair! It was a looooooong drive but we had lots of fun chatting to other glass artists and buying lots of pretty beads too! I remembered the camera on the way home (actually Steve said I should take some pics of the pretty scenery.. which promptly disappeared behind some trees as soon as I retrieved the camera.. so you get car pics instead!) I wore my bunny necklace from Easter and received many compliments :) I handed out a few business cards too. And did I mention I had new dreads installed last week?! New colour: Fruit Coulis. Ooooh!

Steve drove for SEVEN hours yesterday to take us to and from the fair. He might have chugged several Red Bulls (Blue Bolts actually!) along the way. Poor man! He didn't complain one bit though. Isn't he sweet?

After going to the fair I'm feeling really excited about The Big Bead Show coming up in October. I'm going to be selling and I've been quite nervous about it as I haven't done any shows previously. After going to Stourbridge yesterday I feel much more relaxed and optimistic about the show :) Any of you planning on going to the show? You'll have to come and see me there!

What did you guys get up to this weekend? Anything interesting?

Off to make more beads for the show ;) Have a great week!

Love,
keiara



Thursday 20 August 2009

custom and key jewellery!

Hiya guys :) I thought I'd show a few necklaces I made recently. This one is a custom piece I created for the ever-so-wonderful Debbie (are you following her blog yet?). I used Sterling silver to create a spiral pendant with my Desert Tree bead and Swarovski crystals, hung it from a hammered ring by George and finished it with a gorgeous ribbon by Diane. This is my favourite necklace type: large focal suspended from a hammered ring and finished with a silk ribbon. I leave the ribbons long so it can be worn at so many different lengths. Nearly all of my own necklaces are of this design ;)


I also made some key necklaces yesterday. Unlock Ivory Artifact is my favourite :) The large dots on the bead have a purple pearl sheen to them (so hard to photograph) and the ribbon complements the colours beautifully. I'm quite pleased with how this one turned out :)

Unlock Strawberry Champagne is quite pretty as well. I love the antique, rich feel of the key combined with the feminine colours and the golden scrolls. I'm just in love with key beads in general right now!


And finally this is Unlock Calla Lily. I love the variegated greens in this ribbon. This necklace makes me think of sunshine and smiles. I think I shall do a whole floral key series :) The contrast between the keys and the floral beads is so interesting. Look for roses, daisies and wisteria coming soon! I might even squeeze in a ladybug or two ;)

Hope you're all having a great day!

Love,
keiara
Wednesday 19 August 2009

sweets & keys!

I have this problem. I tend to anthropomorphize things. Luckily for me, this works to my advantage in my line of work!! This is my new Zombie Mega Cupcake! I took my Eye Love Halloween cupcake and my Zombie kitty and combined the two to create this ultra-spooky sweet treat! I especially love the optic nerve ;)

And since I can't ever stop with just one of anything, I also created a new Pirate Mega Cupcake! The wiggly icing makes it look like he has a mustache. I have so many more ideas for new cupcakes now!

I've also been creating tons of keys lately. This one is Unlock Ivory Artifact. It has an ivory base and it's decorated with this gorgeous silver glass. Unfortunately it's REALLY hard to photograph the metallic and pearl-like effects you get with this glass but I still think it looks lovely. Just think how much prettier it is in the flesh!

And finally this is Unlock Strawberry Champagne. This one has an encased pink base and is decorated with the same beautiful silver glass as the above key. It has a beautiful golden sheen to it that's just breathtaking.

Off to create more glassy goodies! I'm thinking more donuts today.. what do you think??

Hope you're having a great day :)

Love,
keiara



Tuesday 18 August 2009

welcome Debbie!

Hiya guys :) Remember my wonderful and uber-talented friend Debbie I was gushing about recently? Well she now has her own blog! Please check her out!

Debbie is an amazing girl and super sweet to boot. Plus, hello, FELT! Love ya, Deb! xox

x
Monday 17 August 2009

sweet shop expansion!

Happy Monday! On Friday I wanted to re-visit donuts as, hey, I love them and I hadn't tried my hand at making glassy ones for ages now. I made these 5 whilst giggling all the while! I feel a new craze coming on! These frosted, be-sprinkled yummies are currently in my Etsy shop. Do I say far too often that I'm going to have to make myself some beads? Cause, yeah, I gotta make myself some donuts!

And then because the donuts were going so well I decided to get really crazy! Cherry pie anyone?? I'm really pleased with how this bead turned out. This one is also in my Etsy shop and I shall be creating a pie series, I do believe! What do you think?

I had a lovely weekend. Saturday Steve and I went out for lunch and visited the Battle of Britain war memorial which was both fun and sobering. Seeing those names on the wall is heartbreaking but fills you with gratitude. The planes were really neat and the view is spectacular to boot! It is free to visit and I would highly recommend stopping by.

Sunday our friends, Lee and Sue, came over and we had a wonderful time. I baked some banana cupcakes and made some fresh cream cheese icing to top them off. MMM! Sue had a go on my torch and made two REALLY good beads! She even did a nice dotty bead for her second try! Afterwards we had a nice Indian followed by cupcakes and homemade ice cream :) I had banana and strawberry to go with my banana cupcake :D It was YUMMY! Have I convinced you to buy an ice cream machine yet?! Sue said she was going to move in just for the sweets! heehee :)

What did you guys get up to this weekend? Anything interesting?

Have a great week!

Love,
keiara

Friday 14 August 2009

Happy Friday!

Hi everyone! Happy Friday! I have some jewellery and a couple of keys I wanted to share. First up is a custom necklace I made for my friend Jen. The bead is my Painted Sky Tree Focal, the hammered ring is by George and the ribbon is by Diane. Jen chose the ribbon herself and I think it looks beautiful with the bead :)
This bracelet and earring set I made with my Simply Rossata bead set. I LOVE this glass and it looks so beautiful etched. I was planning on keeping this set for myself but I haven't decided yet ;)

I DID decide on this one though! This is my Spooky Skulls bracelet and it is mineminemine! I made the skulls in all different sizes for a real funky, chunky look. I'm nearly ready for Halloween now!


I also made some new keys :) I made 5 yesterday and 5 today.. the key kick continues! This is Unlock Blackberry Swirl. The bead is a pale pink base swirled with purple and then encased in purple. No, really, I don't like purple at all..! YUM :)

And this one is Unlock Mosaic Blossom. I really love this particular key. The bead is pale pink encased in pink with pastel frit decoration. I like the overall effect and might have to hide this key away ;)

Anyone doing fun stuff this weekend? We have friends coming over for dinner Sunday night and I'm really looking forward to that. I haven't decided what to bake for dessert yet. It's between brownies baked with chocolate chip cookie dough on top (yes, you read that right!) or banana cupcakes. Maybe I'll just do both! Banana cupcakes freeze well so I can always just throw the extras in the freezer :) And of course we'll be serving some homemade ice cream! I was so against the ice cream maker at first but OH was I wrong! We now have a freezer full of ice cream! Coffee, Bailey's, rhubarb, peach and strawberry are the current flavours. I am going to make some coconut this weekend hopefully!

Have a great weekend everyone :) I'll let you know how my baking experiments go ;)

Love,
keiara




Tuesday 11 August 2009

keiara's keepers: Wychburydoll :)

This is my rock troll, Scoria, handmade by the fabulous Debbie of Wychburydoll. She also has a website: Free Spirit Creations. Debbie created Scoria for me quite awhile ago now but I thought she deserved to be shown off again. She is beyond amazing! Debbie even painted her nails, gave her jewellery and piercings.. and TATTOOS! Have I mentioned how much I love this woman?! Scoria sits on my mantle in the front room and every single person who sees her falls in love with her. Even my father-in-law adores her! It's hard not to love this fantastic doll :)

Debbie also makes jewellery. I already have a few pieces from her and wanted more so I got in touch with her. I asked if she could make a set of rainbow, felted bangles, some felted beads and a set of purple felted bracelets. Above is what she came up with. GORGEOUS! Each of the bracelets is beautifully embroidered. The set I already have is just as pretty (I should really take a picture!) and is also beaded with tiny purple heart beads! LOVELOVELOVE! Debbie doesn't just make dolls and jewellery though. She also creates fantastic bags, purses and other adorable things. I have all three of those items too ;) My bag is in black, purse is black with a purple sheep and, of course, I have the purple business card holder too! Everywhere I go people comment on how amazing my 'Debbie Delights' are and it makes me so happy to share her with all of you. I cannot say enough about this amazingly talented artist. Please go check out her Etsy shop and her website right this minute! You won't be disappointed ;)

Thanks for all the wonderful things you create, Debbie. I love them.. and you! :)

Show her some love, everyone!

Have a great day :)

Love,
keiara
Thursday 6 August 2009

a cupcake a day..

Okok, a cupcake a day might not keep the doctor away.. but it keeps me happy! That's gotta count for something! Above is the Rock Diva Mega Cupcake.. but in purple (my favourite colour). I REALLY like the results ;) I do believe a set is in my near future.. *halo*
And here is my Eye Love Halloween Mega Cupcake Focal (don't you just LOVE my naming conventions?!) which proved ridiculously popular last year and is off to a good start this year as well! The eyeball staring out makes me giggle every time ;)


One of my lovely customers asked if I could turn my Rock Diva and Pumpkin Mega Cupcake Focals into pendants. Of course I can! I'm always happy to turn any of my beads into jewellery for you guys so please don't hestitate to ask ;) I'm on a real pumpkin kick and I see no end in sight just yet. I celebrate Thanksgiving too so the pumpkins are great for not just one but TWO holidays! Oh yay! heehee :)

Steve has off work tomorrow so our long weekend with Kaia begins tonight. YAY! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend too :)

Love,
keiara
Wednesday 5 August 2009

because I promised ;)

Hair pics! Today marks the second week that my dreads have been in and I'm loving them so much! They've felted up nicely and they're so easy to wear it's crazy! I love wearing all my different dread beads too. It's SO much fun to wear beads in your hair :)

This is my 'bad side' but I wanted to show the braided bangs (fringe). This is how I wear my hair most of the time these past two weeks. You can also see my awsesome, custom made purple and black button necklace by the wonderful Collette of Noodlefish. The fab pink and purple ribbon pendant is by the equally wonderful Mel of Poor Robin. I love these girls and their jewellery SO much!!

Ok, I'm off for a day out with Jen, Ariana and Kaia. We're going to lunch at the Chinese buffet (MMM) and then I'm taking Kaia shopping for her birthday.

Have a great day!

Love,
keiara

Tuesday 4 August 2009

split personality!

Yeah, Miss Split Personality, that's me. I tend towards whimsical and sculptural beads but sometimes I have an urge to make something a bit more elegant. Above is a custom Rock Diva Cupcake set. The focal is one of my mega-sized cupcakes and the smaller ones are my bracelet-sized cupcakes. I really enjoyed making this set (I made 5 little cupcakes and matching spacers) and I thought I'd make more cupcakes. So I pulled out some glass and sat there for a moment.

Next thing I know, I'm making this set! What?! Those aren't cupcakes! I don't know what came over me. I love Reichenbach Antique Clear with Ivory accents especially if there's a touch of silvered ivory stringer and some fine silver wire involved :) Although these are totally NOT my colours I come back to this combination time and again. There's something so soothing about it. It reminds me of sea glass sitting on a sandy beach. Mmm :)

Kaia's flight back to Florida is on Monday and I'm already dreading it :( I miss her so much when she's in school! We're taking a long weekend to spend every last moment together. Plus we're getting together with Jen and Ariana tomorrow for lunch. I know Kaia will be happy to spend some time with Ariana before she leaves. They won't see each other til Christmas! Ugh, I'm gonna miss my baby so much. *sniffle*

Oh in wool dread news: the dreads are doing great and looking great! Naomi came over and replaced some of the bands as they keep breaking. Last night Steve replaced some too. Oh and Steve washed my scalp for me last week too. Once a week seems to be just fine so far. Obviously I wash the bit in front a lot more often than that.. lol.. but the braids and wool seem to be doing great. It's looking REALLY great now as the wool has felted up a bit more. I will take some pictures tomorrow :) I'm having fun wearing all my different dread beads too and figuring out different hairstyles. I mostly wear it gathered into two ponytails in back and just wind a few dreads around the ponytail and tuck them in. Presto! Instant ponytail! I'm also partial to the low pigtails on either side. I haven't been overly hot in them at all. Every once in awhile, if it's a particularly hot day and I'm feeling sweaty, they bother me where they touch my back. In those cases I just pull them into a ponytail and pin the ends on top of my head! I'm really enjoying them :) I think leaving them in for about a month is perfect. Tomorrow will mark the halfway point! Yay!

Ok, off to melt some glass! Anything any of you would like to see from me?

Hope you're all having a great day :)

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!