I love cornstarch!!!!

okay guys (?) and gals...here's the deal. You can use cornstarch to smooth your beads before curing. I just barely dip a finger in it and then gently smooth each bead all over (after I've put holes in). You can use a medium touch and not worry about distorting the swirl pattern. Then after curing, they go in the icewater bath for a while, and then....I only hand sand with 1000 grit and I get a lovely finish. The very best part of this is that I've been skipping the glazing step and I'm so much happier with the feel of them. There are more pictures in my flickr photo album. Try it, you'll like it!! *g*

A little late for Halloween perhaps...

I was not thinking of Halloween when I made these...but, oh well. If you like orange, it's all good...*g*

Took a while...

to get the brown paint dug out from under my nails...*g*

I can only go so long...

without sparkley, shiney...

Anyhow, why sparkley, shiney on Election Day? Could it be the beginning of a new vibe in the country? Will things begin to look and feel sparklier and shinier? Please go vote if you haven't yet...

Hugs all,
~ru

New sets, before antiquing (sp?)

We're off to the movies...wanted to post this set first. I just finished rubbing acrylic on the first bunch and was tempted to add some kind of gold edges. They look better left alone...

Love these colors together!

More new stuff...think the next set will be antiqued with brown acrylic. Feeling the need to do something earthtone or monochromatic.

Where have all the bead buyers gone?

I have a strange feeling that my mass emailings are getting eaten by my buyer's junk email filters. I guess I'll have to put some beads either on eBay or JustBeads. I really want to try a few sets starting at 99 cents, but here's the rub. I figure I'll spend most of my time watching the auctions and getting upset because of not*enough* bidding or hoping people don't bid too high!! I think I've already decided on eBay, sadly JustBeads doesn't get much action...but I hate the type of PC beads that are on eBay. And the last time I listed on eBay, I listed in the lampwork category as well. I got a few emails from lampworkers that didn't want me listing in *their* category.* Have you seen some of the prices that they get for their bead sets? Some go for over $500. Anyway, I don't think they should be threatened by lil ole me... ;o)