Now that I've moved over to WillUBead Studio I have to show you some of the stuff I've done. Right? Right!

These photos are of some of my favourite bits of my artisan jewellery.

What is beach glass? Beach glass starts life as bottles and other glass garbage that has worked its way into the waters of oceans, seas, and inland seas like Lake Superior. Beach glass is worn and smoothed by tides and sands washes up on the beaches.The earrings here are made of jewellery grade copper wire and frosted glass. Some call this glass beach glass but the glass used in these earrings are not strictly beach glass: this is glass that has sandblasted by human and not by sea.

My sister wants to go to Spain for a holiday. It's a serious plan ~ she has already taken night school classes to learn the language.

She needs money to realize this plan but like so many of us, she is an IGG (Instant Gratification Girl) who, when stressed, goes shopping. A bit of retail therapy, if you know what I mean.

This bracelet was made as a reminder when she goes shopping that she can choose between saving the money in her Going to Spain savings account OR making the purchase and delaying her trip indefinitely. It works best when she wears it but often she forgets to put it on for our mall crawls.

The bracelet is a bit of memory wire that's been stretched and pulled and manipulated and allowing ot to sit on my workbench for a couple of weeks. I had been trying to make a cuff bracelet but this bit of curlique happened when St. Serendipity did her magic. There are wrapped wire beads and glass beads, too. There are even a couple of hearts.

I found a pattern for netting and decided to try it. This bracelet is the result of playing with the design. I changed the bead colours. Then I made a mistake (secret: I don't do so well following directions).

Then I repeated the strip and sewed it together. And that's what makes the design for this bracelet all mine. Black and silver seed beads were used for this bracelet and this strong contrast is what appeals to so many people.

I love Raku pottery: the technique of adding salts and other chemicals during the firing stage in pottery making. As the name suggests, it is a Japanese innovation and this innovation will never make 2 things exactly the same. I love the randomness of the technique.
Well, I met a potter, Vera Romoda, who makes pottery beads with this technique. When asked recently who my favourite supplier is, I immediately thought of Vera. Only a very few people receive artisan jewellery with Vera's Raku Beads. They are that valuable to me.
The pendant of the necklace to the right is a Raku piece from Vera. The necklace itself has glass beads and semi-precious gem chips. The pendant hangs off centre. Why? Just to be different. Visit Vera at http://www.BeadsByAllMeans.com.

I have some more stuff to show you but I'll save it for another day.
Helen