Artisan Lampwork Octopus

Came across this very talented etsian's shop yesterday with the coolest sea creatures ever and just had to share!

Roger Child of RC Art Glass. Check out his talented lampwork, you'll be amazed - trust me.

Dreaming of the beach... only 2 days to go!
Rocki

Behold Becky's Beautiful Beads

I'm a firm believer that things happen for a reason - whether it be good, bad or indifferent. In this case, meeting Becky Mason on Etsy was a VERY good thing. More on this later.

Above is one of the most gorgeous lampwork beads I have ever seen. It is called "SEA TURTLE SANCTUARY" and this is what brought me to Becky. I found it in a Treasury that my good friend Sharon had made. I was immediately drawn to it - like the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. I found myself drawn to her shop and immediately hearted it. Even Mark was in awe of her amazing talent. After reading her Profile, I sent her a message of how much I admire her work. Becky replied... more on this later.

Oh, the Sea Turtle Sanctuary bead has since sold, but you must check it out to see the rest of the details of this beautiful piece of art.

Above is Becky's "PREHISTORIC OCEANIC HISTORY - 3 - a handmade lampwork focal bead with fish bones and barnacles" and I am in LOVE with it!

Becky Mason is Lampwork Artist & Jewelry Designer and comes from a very talented family. She was selling on Ebay for about 5 years until Diane, her talented Lampwork Artist sister who already had an Etsy shop, suggested that Becky set up her own Etsy shop as well. I suggest you read Becky's Profile to find out more about this very talented artist. It is very impressive and will make you that much more of a fan.

This lovely piece is titled "WILD MUSE" and a must see! I just can't explain enough how truly amazed I am by Becky's talented hands. She simply amazes me. Truly she does. In fact, it would be a lot easier for you to just run on over to her shop, or her website to see for yourself. Also check out her sold items - WOW!

Oh. About the "more later part". I'll make this short because this blog feature isn't about me, but I wanted to tell you how my new addition came about. Becky wanted longer & heavier gauge headpins and strongly suggested I make them for my shop as well. So I did.

Like they say: "if you build it, they will come." Bada Boom, Bada Bang! Thank you Becky, you ROCK!

Happy Creating Monday!

Rocki

All Fired Up

I came across a very cool and unique Etsy shop the other day when I was looking for glass items to put in a Treasury I was working on. I knew I had to blog about it, so I contacted Lisa Rippee, the owner/creator of Cloud Eleven. I’m glad I did as I believe I’ve made a new friend.

I’m a firm believer that challenges and events change the course of your direction in life (I speak from experience). A stressful job as a juvenile intake and assessment specialist took up most of Lisa’s time. I can only imagine her stress! Long hours and overnight shifts isolated her from friends and family. Then one day in March of 2005 Lisa picked up a torch. Hot glass became her therapy, obsession, meditation, passion, and the perfect vehicle for her creative expression. Who needs a therapist when you have a torch!

Lisa has a studio in her home, in Kansas City metropolitan area (on the Kansas side). Her home is small & colorful, and some describe it as eccentric (I would love to see it!). She enjoys listening to music while creating, but in the beginning she only listened to instrumental Jazz “while learning the rhythm of the glass dance” (how poetic!). The Beatles, Zepplin and Mary J. Blige are in her CD player right now. Right on!

When asked what inspires her, this is what Lisa had to say: “Anything that elicits a strong emotional response would probably be the short answer. Everyday moments that make me smile or laugh usually find their way into my creations. The social issues that I’m passionate about show themselves as well. My muse is very in tune with my moods."

Lisa’s creations are fun, amazing and full of life. There is a big variety as well: Wine Stoppers, Vessels, Magnets, Focal Beads, Sculptural Glass Vessels and more. I especially love the blown-out mouth vessels as they are so realistic (many have uvulas!) In fact, I bought the Make Me Smile vessel (the one at the top of this post) and can hardly wait until he arrives!

Oh! Lisa eventually left the high stress job. Her torch therapy led her to a part-time job at a local stained glass shop called Bearden’s Stained Glass and eventually a shop on Etsy. How did she come up with her Etsy buisness name? When she first started flame working, every time she turned around it was 1:11, 11:11, etc. So, she figured she was on the right track of making her dream come true and since hot glass had her “beyond cloud nine”, she simply had to name her business Cloud Eleven.

Just goes to show that when you get all fired up about life’s challenges, you can turn them around into something spectacular!

Happy day everyone!
☼ Rocki

P.S. Lisa sees dead people. I do too, but I’m not telling anyone ;)

Kiss My Gorgeous...

GLASS!

I don't know how I got so lucky, but I scored another Treasury -

that's 2 in one week - a record for me... woo hoo!

If you would like to see some fabulous and talented fellow Etsian's,

check out my Kiss my gorgeous... treasury!

The colorful picture above is one of Vicki Leigh's talented creations:

Circular Bubbles Stained Glass Window Panel

Happy day everyone!
☼ Rocki

Beautiful Beads!

Where do I begin to tell you about Milmine Design’s gorgeous Lampwork Beads? Guess I’ll start with where I met Karen. Actually, I’m not sure if it was through Etsy or Flickr first, so I’ll credit them both for finding my new friend.

Karen has an addiction – glass. Let me tell you, she is wickedly talented with turning a rod of glass into an amazing bead of art. Every time I see one of her new pieces I am simply blown away. Karen’s work is not only beautiful, but absolutely jaw dropping!

Speaking of jaw dropping, when you visit her Etsy shop, and you must, you will notice not only is her work stunningly beautiful, but she takes great pride in creating every piece of art. I love her descriptions too – very informative.

Why are you still here? Shouldn’t you be at Milmine Design’s?

Much love,

Rocki

Flower Power

I guess I'm on a retro kick.

Thinking back when I was a wee little flower child in California, hanging out with my aunt who had this totally groovy apartment with beads and peace signs all over the place, flowers and, well, I'll save this part for another blog.

Flower power - it comes in many forms. Cherise, one of my good friends, craft show/events partner and fellow Etsy AZ Crafty Burrito team member, makes these totally cool (yes, I said "totally", as in: rad, boss, groovy, awesome, etc.) glass flower amulets that can be worn as a necklace or used as a suncatcher. These score a big ROCK ON in my book!

Not only does she play with fire, metal and blobs of glass, but she paints too: Yggdrasill.

Let me just say that my fun friend Cherise is multitalented. I would list all the things she can do, but I really need to eat lunch, so feel free to read her profile (luv ya Cherise!)

Oh, and the cute pink hair gal? No, the amulets are not edible. That is Cherise's very talented artist daughter Elizabeth (Lizzy) who also has a shop on Etsy called Lizzified.You must see her work!

Peace and love to all,

Rocki

Groovy Baby!

I'm in a fun & funky groove - yeah baby.

I've been jolted by a wake-up call (which I'll blog about later).

The sun is shining and the warmth soothes my soul.

Designing & creating new earwires.

Cleaning my house & dancing to the sounds of good old rock n roll.

Creating new earrings - like my Groovy Iced Blue Flowers above.

Jotting down some new ideas for metal pieces.

More dancing.

Making my to-do list for this weekend.

Rearranging my kitchen cabinet.

Not knowing where this energy is coming from, but loving it.

Gotta go... Bob Seger is calling me.

Happy day everyone - enjoy your weekend!

Rocki