Friday 30 July 2010

new cuteness: lil bits!!!!

04:58
Hi everyone!

This week I've been sick: booooo :( BUT! Apparently the sickness went straight to my brain and corrupted my creativity center because I've been making so many beads I can barely clean them and photograph them all! I'm in bead overdrive here. Yesterday I made 21 beads. This may not sound like a lot to you glassies who make sets but I primarily make focals. Twenty-one focals in one session is MASSIVE for me (even if they are little focals!). I could barely see straight by the end of it!

Anyway! I am frequently asked if I make smaller versions of my kooky kritters and I've done a few custom beads but then I thought, 'Hey! Why not do a whole range?!' Thus the 'lil bits' were born :) Above is the beginning of this new collection which includes (so far) kittens, hamsters and aliens. I have plans for other kritters, though, and I'm always open to suggestions.. so watch this space and/or email me with your demands ;)

I have a few of the lil bits up for sale in my by keiara Etsy shop including the zombie hamster!



For reference, here is a picture of a lil bit kitten next to a kooky kitten with a classic cat on the end. They range is size from 16mm to 32mm. These are the standard sizes for the collections but I'm always happy to make any bead smaller/larger per your requests.

Oh yeah, and I made a grown up bead, too (which you can find in my by keiara webshop) I do that sometimes! Especially when I sit down to specifically make Halloween beads... *raises eyebrow* Cause, you know, those lillies are blood thirsty and that lavender!! *shiver* It's simply too scary to discuss! Or something. Or maybe it's just a pretty bead. Sometimes *I* don't even understand me, don't worry ;)

Weekend plans? Seeing as how I've completely lost my voice (no applause, please) I think I'm gonna be lazy and maybe watch some movies. Nothing is better than cuddling up with Kaia and watching something really scary that she completely brushes off but has me laying awake at night cursing the fact that I watched it in the first place. Not that it's ever happened, mind you. I was totally NOT scared by The Fourth Kind at all. No sir. Not me! (OMFG that woman's face when she's on the video...*SHUDDER*) Ahem.

Well I'm off to not talk to anyone.. that sounds so mean! But you know what I'm saying.. or typing.. since I can't say anything at all.. *sob* Heehee ;) Have a wonderful weekend!

Love,
keiara

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 comments
Tuesday 27 July 2010

new spookiness and a REAL skull!!!

06:05
Hi everyone!

After finishing my orders yesterday I finally got around to making some Halloween beads! YAY! Halloween is my all-time favourite holiday and, although it's not celebrated as much here in the UK, I decorate my place and dress up and bake lots of Halloween treats and enjoy the heck out of the day :) Now that I'm in my new flat I doubt I'll get any trick-or-treaters which makes me sad. I absolutely LOVE the kids coming to the door and getting to see all of their adorable (or spooky!) costumes. Maybe I can get a folding chair and sit out on the sidewalk instead!!

Anyway :) So I made some new Halloween beads. Above is an old favourite, Linus, who is perfect for Halloween. He's striking in black and lime green :)

And this is Vera, a cousin of Eddie. Vera is so sweet and scary all at once! She looks rather unimpressed by the little skull though!

Finally, meet Mummy! I am so pleased with how he turned out. I was really trying for a more realistic texture on the 'bandages' and I think it worked out perfectly! I will definitely be making more of these little mummy kitties :)

Don't forget to check out my Halloween Beads in my by keiara webshop, too! I have plenty of sweet n scary stuff over there ;)

But, forget mummies for now, check THIS out! This is my insanely gorgeous new hummingbird skull necklace! The skull is cast in solid Sterling silver and it is so dainty and beautiful. A certain lovely boy (thank you, Stefan!!!) surprised me with this today! I've been eyeing this and other fantastic creations by Blue Bayer Designs on Etsy for aaaaaages. I have so many 'favourites' in that shop! There is the tiny bat skull, the raven skull, the hummingbird skull with wings! I want them all! I hope you'll take a peek :)

Well I'm off to create more spookiness (and swoon over my hummingbird skull). Have a wonderful day!

Love,
keiara





Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 comments
Friday 23 July 2010

new kittens and trees!

07:18
Hi everyone!

Happy Friday :) I've had a super busy and ridiculously awesome week! I had three students this week, all of them totally amazing, and it really hit me just how lucky I am to do something I love so much for a living. Yes, I work my tail off, but I enjoy every minute of it (okokok, maybe not every SINGLE minute.. I don't particularly like all the admin work!) and I'm supporting myself with my art. How cool is that?!

Anyway! I had a meeting with my favourite creative director (read: my daughter) this week. I asked her for some ideas for new kittens and she (bless her amazingly artistic soul) not only came up with a bunch of ideas, but also drew me little sketches of each idea!! I wish I had a scanner. Ohmygoodness. She's so adorable it kills me! One of her ideas was to do a Frankenstein kitten and the above photo is the result. This is Frankie and he's one of my new 'spooky kittens' :) Whatcha think? He makes me giggle!! ;) I've put him in my by keiara webshop under the Ready To Go Beads section! He's ready to come home and scare the.. oh, uhh, I mean.. he's ready to come home and love you to pieces! Yeah, that's it ;)

Another of Kaia's great ideas: Chocolate Kitten! She's made with dark chocolate glass, a creamy, white chocolate swirl tail, honey eyes and she has a big bite out of her left side! She's adorned with a tiny red bow on the back :) Chocolate is also available in my by keiara webshop.

Along with the kooky kittens, I've added a few new trees like this one, Pale Amethyst Shine Crystal Tree. I'm ridiculous with my names, I know, I know. But, pretty, no? I like how the silver glass has fumed the lavender glass in places.

I'm off to melt more glass. I have a massive stack of orders to get through! Thanks everyone for your continued support and all your wonderful emails :) You guys are the best!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Love,
keiara

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , | 3 comments
Wednesday 21 July 2010

orphan collections!!

05:31

Hi everyone!

I went through my bead box a couple weeks ago and strung together some orphan collections. I'm finally getting around to listing them for sale! You can find six different orphan collections in my by keiara website shop under the Bead Box section. The collections include everything from lentils and spacers to ghosts and cupcakes! There are plenty of beads and lots of design possibilities for bargain prices ;)

I am soooooo glad to be back to a reasonable facsimile of normal. The new studio is looking better each day and it's wonderful to be melting glass again. Kaia arrived Monday morning and there have been plenty of cuddles. She's even more grown up than the last time I saw her.. and it makes me a teensy bit sad sometimes. My baby is definitely not a baby anymore! I always rolled my eyes when adults used to say the trite, "they grow up so fast!" but now I totally understand! OMG.. does that make me an adult?! Nooooooo!!!

Gonna keep this one short.. I have a few orders to make and I want to get started on this year's Halloween collection (a few selected items already for sale in my by keiara Etsy shop and also on my by keiara website)!! WEEEE!

Have a wonderful day :)

Love,
keiara

Labels: , , , , , , , , , | 0 comments
Friday 16 July 2010

web shop back up and new dreads!

01:54
Hi everyone!

Happy Friday! I FINALLY got my web shop back up and running as, YES, my studio is functional! WOOOOOOOO! It's still not exactly pretty but it's getting there :) I can make beads again.. YAY! All my made-to-order beads are back up, too, so go have a peek at my by keiara web shop.

Yesterday I had new dreads installed! My hair was bleached and then coloured with Rose Red by Directions. The dreads are a mix of Cherry and Fruit Coulis. I am sooooo happy to have my dreads back in! I feel like me again ;)

Any plans for the weekend? Hopefully I'll get to go see Eclipse this weekend with Naomi. Yes, I admit it, I love Twilight! I'm also getting ready for Kaia's arrival!!! Kaia gets in Monday morning and I am super excited! She hasn't seen the new flat yet and I know she's going to love her new room.. it's so much bigger than her old room.. LOL :) I also have several students next week so it's going to be a busybusy week for me!

Which brings me to Important News! During July and August, I'm offering my beginner lampwork course for £100 for the full day or £50 for the half day! These prices are only good for courses booked for a day in July or August so if you're interested in learning lampwork, now is your chance! Lessons are taught in my studio in Folkestone. For more info, send me an email to keiara@bykeiara.co.uk Hope to see you soon!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Love,
keiara

www.bykeiara.co.uk
www.bykeiara.etsy.com
Labels: , , , , , , , , , | 6 comments
Friday 9 July 2010

Happy Halloween! wait.. what?!

01:49

Hi everyone!

I feel the need to do a list today. I'm sort of a list addict. Hello, my name is keiara, and I'm a list-aholic. It's true. So, I make lists. Lots of lists. And then you know what I do with them? Put them down and never look at them again! Cause, you know, what's more helpful than a list you never actually look at?! Have I mentioned lately I have issues. Yeah.

So! A list:

1. It's Friday! YAYAYAYAY!!!! I'm ridiculously excited about today and have been bouncing around (and cleaning my flat) for days now! So. Much. LOVE!!!

2. My studio WILL be set up by the end of next week if it kills me (and it might)! I can't wait to get back to custom orders and making my made-to-order collection. I know so many of you have been waiting so patiently and I really appreciate it.. thank you!

3. Kaia should be back in town at the end of next week! YAYAYAY! I've missed the Munchkin tons.. even though she was with me for three weeks in March/April and then I travelled back to Florida with her. Really I just miss her all the time :( AND! She's going to be 15 in September. Ok, seriously now, may I just say.. W.. T.. F!!! Fifteen?! When the heck did this happen?? I don't remember signing any permission slips saying my daughter was allowed to, like, grow up and stuff! Someone obviously forged my signature! I'm calling.. someone! Who deals with this sort of vile criminal behaviour! THE FEDS! I just like saying 'the Feds'. Of course you don't have 'the Feds' in England. Huh. That's really sad. What do you guys say? 'The Yard'? That sounds silly. I like it! I'M CALLING THE YARD! Of course to Americans 'the yard' means the garden.. usually behind the house. And how the heck did I get from Kaia visiting to explaining what 'the yard' means? Wow. I need to lay down.

4. HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Hahaha, you thought I was going to forget the whole point of this post, didn't you? It's ok. It wouldn't be the first time. *shifty eyes* So! As many of you know, I am a little compulsive (that seems to be a theme here, lately.. ahem) about holiday beads and I generally start making them realllllllllllly far in advance of the holiday. But! I think it's good to give my customers enough time to see the beads, buy the beads (please!) and make a holiday-themed piece of jewellery AND sell it prior to the holiday. Hence why I always start so early. Usually I start Halloween beads in July so, guess what? It's Halloween bead time! I absolutely LOVE making Halloween beads as it gives me an excuse (like I need one!) to make all the zombies, ghosts, witches, cauldrons, etc. that I want :) Watch this space for lots of Halloween glassy goodies in the near future :)

5. Apparently I like to make a liar out of myself. I'm sure I'm not alone here. On the heels of saying that I rarely eat any of the sweets I buy, I sat down last night with a pint of Phish Food (mmmm) and, after sticking it in the microwave for 30 seconds (what, you don't do that??), I proceeded to eat HALF THE PINT. OMG. Needless to say I felt slightly sick afterwards but, hey, that's ok. Luckily I have a whole, new pint in there as well. I get a little glassy-eyed just thinking about it. *drool*

Ok.. I think that covers all the stuff I wanted to discuss today. I think. Maybe. Who knows? I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I know I will!!!

Love,
keiara

P.S.- There are still some critters in my by keiara Etsy shop at 10% off! If you haven't looked, what are you waiting for? Are you trying to hurt my feelings? After all that we've shared?! Maybe we should go to counseling together. So I can prove I'm right. Cause isn't that what couple's counseling is really all about? Like, I want you to come to counseling with me so that the counselor and I can both tell you how very wrongity wrong wrong wrong you are! Or maybe that's just me. *cough*

Labels: , , , , , , , , | 0 comments
Wednesday 7 July 2010

superheroes and an important lesson

04:25
Hi everyone!

Happy Wednesday :) It's the middle of the week and I am SO looking forward to this weekend! I'm not usually one to wish the days away but I might be wishing just a teeny, tiny bit that they'd go by a leeeeetle faster this week! ROLL ON FRIDAY!

I love cartoons. Yes. One of my favourites is Powerpuff Girls. I don't know if they show it here in England but it is SO cute! The Powerpuff Girls are little superhero munchkins and my favourite is Buttercup. Buttercup is the one with the bad attitude, of course! Above is my attempt at a Buttercup focal. I'm SOOOOO pleased with how she turned out! I think I shall have to make the other two also!

The Powerpuff Girls: Bubbles, Blossom and Buttercup. RAWR!!! They rule!

In ice cream news: I learned a very important lesson the other day and today I had my chance to implement it. I walked to the shop and they had Phish Food back in stock! OH HAPPY DAY! So I might have bought.. two.. whole.. pints.. just.. for.. myself. *coughs* HEY! I deserve it! For.. subjecting myself to that awful Caramel Chew Chew madness! Or something! Anyway. Now I feel quite secure in the knowledge that my freezer is full of chocolatey wonderfulness. And on to the funniest fact about me (which I probably shouldn't share because I'm obviously a freak of nature.. although we sorta already knew that, didn't we?) I like chocolate. No, that's not the part that makes me a freak, calm down and wait for it! I like chocolate. I like sweets. I like ice cream and cake and all manner of sticky, gooey treats. I buy these things. I have every (EVERY!) intention of eating them, I swear, I do! But I don't. I don't know why. They're like a sugary security blanket. I like knowing they're there, just in case I decide I need them. But, in reality, I generally end up eating maybe a few bites of ice cream then the pint languishes in my freezer until it's so frost-bitten that I throw it away. MADNESS! I mean, WHO DOES THAT? Well, apparently *I* do that, but you know what I'm saying. Last week I threw away a chocolate muffin, a big package of Dairy Milk chocolate (OH THE HUMANITY!) and a perfectly good bag of M&Ms. It's a sickness. Seriously. I need professional assistance!

Ok, then! Now that I have overshared.. I think I should get a move on. Ahem. Oh! I finally ordered new mini MOO cards and new address labels! After the move I had to write my return address by hand on all my packages and let me just tell you how annoying that is after you've become used to just using cute little address labels! EEK! So, new stuff on its way and I'm a happy girl once again :) It doesn't take much ;)

I hope you all have a beautiful day and have some sugar for me, ok? I'll just live vicariously through all of you ;)

Love,
keiara

P.S.- Lots of beads are still 10% off in my by keiara Etsy shop! Have a peek!

http://www.bykeiara.etsy.com/

http://www.bykeiara.co.uk/

Labels: , , , , , , , , | 4 comments
Monday 5 July 2010

the sky(leigh)'s the limit!

08:52
Hi everyone!

Happy Monday :) Yesterday was 4th of July and I realllllllllllllly missed being in America. I love all the red, white and blue decorations and food and stuff! And, OMG, BBQ!!! Apparently my brother-in-law, Eric, made 6 full racks of ribs. /cry I WANT RIBS! Okokok. I'm finished. Maybe. For now.

So! In honour of our independence (cause that has LOTS to do with glass animal beads!!), I've listed all my animal beads that are currently in my Etsy shop on sale!! They will be 10% off for.. I don't know.. until I feel like changing them back ;) The beautiful kitty pictured above, Skyleigh, is included in the sale! Head over to my by keiara Etsy shop to see what's going on! Owls, kitties, bears (zombie bears!), hamsters!! Lots of goodies to choose from :)

In closing: Happy Independence Day, America! I celebrate with glass animals! For reasons unknown! Heehee.

Have a wonderful week, everyone :)

Love,
keiara

P.S.- I went to the shop to pick up some Ben & Jerry's Phish Food ice cream. If you have not had this yet, GO TO THE SHOP RIGHT NOW! If you HAVE had this, you may now join me in an, "Mmm, Phish Food" moan. Anyway, went to shop and guess what? No Phish Food! So I got Caramel Chew Chew instead. I'm a big fan of caramel. I am NOT a big fan of this ice cream. Now I have no Phish Food AND ice cream I don't even like and how the HECK can you make bad ice cream? /sigh

www.bykeiara.etsy.com
www.bykeiara.co.uk
6 comments
Friday 2 July 2010

the return of summer.. and zombies?!

02:26
Hi everyone!

I know many of you have been whining, uhhh, I mean, politely asking *cough* about when I will resume my popular made-to-order beads. So! What I've done is listed a few of my most popular made-to-order kitties in my by keiara Etsy shop and simply extended my creation time a bit. Normally I aim to have orders made within 3 - 5 business days but, due to the fact that I'm still working in Naomi's studio, my creation time is now 5 - 7 business days. If you're willing to give me that extra bit of time, I'm willing to start taking on more made-to-order beads and custom orders! Hey, I'm nothing if not a great compromiser, right?! *shifty eyes*

A handful of my most popular kitties are back including Summer Garden kitty focal (above). Summer is such a beautiful kitty focal. I love the blue and green swirled base. She really reminds me of a sunny summer's day in a field of wildflowers.



And, of course, I couldn't leave out dear Edgar!! My zombie kitty has been one of my most popular beads ever! I had NO clue so many people would find his bloody stitches, dangling eyeball and little skull as adorable as I do ;) So Edgar Zombie kitty focal joins Summer back in my by keiara Etsy shop along with several others including my Leilani Hula kitty focal, too!

Now.. Happy Friday!!! YAY! It's the weekend!!! I don't know what I'm so excited about, I don't have any fun plans or anything.. lol :) But, hey, another day closer to my studio being back up and running can't be bad, right?! So what are you guys doing this weekend? I'll probably try to organize the boxes in the studio a bit so it'll be easier to set up the tables whenever that happens. I have SOOOOO many boxes in there it's unreal! Who knew my little studio could hold that much stuff?! And, not just any old stuff, but important artist stuff! Yeah! Important! Artist! Stuff! Or something.. *giggles*

Whatever your plans are, have fun, share a smile and don't forget to spread the love. Lots of love to all of you! <3

Love,
keiara

www.bykeiara.co.uk
www.bykeiara.etsy.com
Labels: , , , , , , , , | 4 comments
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)





About Me

My photo
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!