I’ve been very lucky to test new glass that Gail of  ggglass.com developed!  Is this fantastic or what?  The new colors are really pretty and vibrant.  My favorite is the purple/daffodil mix.  The purple pushes to the edges like a highlight while the yellow makes up the body of the petals.  I’ve been working a tutorial on how to make these flowers for the summer issue of The Flow magazine.

On the show front, I was accepted to have my own booth this year at the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen Fair!  We are also doing several local shows and I’ll get that info up soon!

Happy New Year everyone! My how time flies! We have had so much snow already this winter! Above is a picture of the kids and their snowmen! We went out and made them on New Years Day. From left to right: Miranda and her “Hawaii inspired” snow woman, O Payton and his smaller but full of style snowman and Gabi with Ms. Antarctica 2008. It was her idea to add the hair and I think it turned out perfectly!

My finger is doing well. The stitches came out two or three weeks ago now and I have regained feeling in the tip. The drawback to that is that it is hyper-sensitive. I’m sure it will dull or I will become used to it. I still have some pain but nothing like the first week. If I extend my arm and my fingers (like I’m trying to reach something that is up high) I get the strangest feeling. I think that is either the bone shifting or maybe a ligament that’s trying to heal. It is still a bit swollen and the nail is growing so I think that I may still have a fingernail! It has the crushed fingernail look but that should grow out. So all in all I’m going very well!

I got back on the torch for the first time yesterday! It went really well. I actually made a clown fish murinni. I’ve been wanting to work on making these for some time and this is the first that has actually turned out! It is a long and skinny clown fish but a clown fish none the less! Today I am going to try another. I haven’t decided what yet.

I hope you all had a great holiday and will check back in soon!

So Friday Rich and I had a huge to-do list to tackle. The first thing one the list was to set up a portable garage. This is so we can move all of the garden stuff, atv, trailer, and general summer type items out and move the cars and “winter stuff” in. We were literally down to putting the last bolts in when something shifted and my ring finger on my right hand was crushed between two of the supports. I didn’t even see it coming. As soon as my hand got loose I knew something was horribly wrong. You know when you smash your hand in a door or something it immediately starts to throb? Well this time it didn’t, it was numb. Not incredibly painful -yet! So knowing something wasn’t quite right I told Rich I didn’t want to take my glove off. I was scared to see what it looked like. With his urging I took it off to find the portion of my finger above my top knuckle was as flat as a pancake and pretty much detached – just dangling. Needless to say we were both a little freaked out and headed straight to the ER. The pain started kicking in as soon as we got in the car and I have to say it was the WORST pain I have ever experienced. The pain subsided a bit by the time we arrived at the ER – and man was I thankful for that! It started bleeding on the way there. When the triage nurse asked to see it you should have seen the look on her face! She promptly made me cover it back up and called another nurse over to see it. She verified that I was a “stage 3″.

I have never been through and ER so fast in my life. As soon as they got all the info I went straight to get an x-ray, no waiting, and then into a room. Rich was great, trying to keep me calm. The Dr. came in and had seen the x-rays- not my finger yet, and asked “What in the world did you do to your finger?” Then she took a look at my finger. Her reaction was unlike any I was expecting, I mean this was and ER doc that was used to seeing all kinds if gruesome stuff. She had a disgusted-but not trying to look disgusted- look on her face. She was very quite too. Rich asked if we are going to have to worry about nerve damage, she looked him straight in the face and said “Yes”. You have to appreciate a doctor who isn’t going to sugar coat these things. She had me soak my hand in water/antibiotic mix and left the room. The nurse came in and told me she was going ti start an IV. Just then the DR. came back in and explained that she was going to numb my finger by doing a digital block. That was intense!!! But shortly after my finger was completely numb and I was so grateful!

They thoroughly cleaned and started to repaired my finger (as much as they could) and told me that on Monday I have an appointment to see a neurologist. I was given two rounds of IV antibiotics. They explained that the bone is shattered and my finger was nearly amputated (We managed to figure out that one on our own) so I am on a strict regimen of antibiotics and pain killers. We went to our regular Dr. office yesterday for a dressing change and it is looking pink and I can feel it (which they say is good thing but I’m not so sure ) Rich gets the honor of changing the dressing today. We have lovingly named my finger “Franken Finger”.  The pain comes in waves but as long as I keep my hand elevated it doesn’t get too bad.

Needless to say, I’m not going to be back on the torch for a while. I guess we will know more tomorrow but I’m just happy everything is back together. I’ll keep you guys updated. Stay warm and safe!!!

I knew I needed to update but I had no idea it has been over two months since I had!  Things are going really well here!  The kids finished up their soccer season and I think they all enjoyed it.  I ended up coaching Miranda’s team and that was a huge learning experience.  It was a lot of fun and I might just do it again.  I’ve joined a rec soccer league for women over 30.  We had our first game on Thursday and man am I out of shape.  I’ve been jogging on the treadmill to try to build up my endurance.  I think it’s going to take a while tough!

I’ve been having great fun on the torch lately too!  Here is a cool new pendant design featuring an antique skeleton key with three disk beads.  the beads slide around on the barrel of the key.  I fiddle with it non-stop when I wear it.

Rich and I have also been making these really cool silk ribbons to hang pendants on.  We buy silk fabric and serge down the sides of them.  Then dye them whatever color we might like.  They look beautiful and the sheen of the silk is really stunning!

In other exciting news I’m happy to announce that we are in all of the League Galleries.  There are seven in all and you can find more info on them at http://www.nhcraft.org   Catch up with you guys soon!!

After getting the kids back to school this week I cant wait to light the torch up! I’ve taken a bit of time off lately to enjoy the last of the summer with family but I’m itching with new ideas. The heart above is one of the many we had at the show. I really like the way this picture turned out so I thought I’d share it with you! This month I am going to try to keep the blog updated more. Hopefully every other day at the least so keep an eye out! Enjoy the long weekend!

Gabi had her first every soccer practice yesterday! She was a bit nervous before hand but ended up loving it and doing incredibly well! I’m such a proud mom!! Check out a little clip below:

The kids start back to school next week and I cant believe how fast the summer flew by us. It’s amazing to me how time just runs together some times. Rich and I wanted to take the kids on a camping trip and we had a couple planned this summer. One we canceled due to the weather so last weekend was our last chance. Friday afternoon we headed out and started our trip to Acadia National Park on the Maine coast. We got a later start than we wanted but besides a couple of traffic backups the drive wasnt too bad. It took us a good 5 1/2 hours to get there so it was dark when we set up.

Sometime in the early morning it started rain and I was really hoping it was just passing through. We climbed out of the tent somewhere around 8 and the rain had slowed to a drizzle so we started breakfast. By the time we finished breakfast it was raining steadily everyone was getting wet and cold so we hopped into the car and cruised around the island. We stopped at this really cute lighthouse where a Coast Guard family currently resides:

Luckily by lunch time the sun came out and we had a wonderful day. We visited Thunder Hole but we arrive right at high tide and the day was calm so we didn’t get to see any huge wave explosions but it was very exciting to watch. After that we went onto Otter point. This I believe was by far everyone’s favorite part of the trip. While we didn’t see any otters we did see tons of tide pools. They were a lot of fun to look into. Some had barnacles, all had plant life but a couple even had baby fish. One in particular was about two inches long and had a stripe down the middle of it’s back that was almost glowing blue.

Here is Gabi at Otter Point showing off a crab shell she found:

Here are Miranda and Payton and one of Rich and I:

Sunday The day was just as beautiful and the ride home was smooth. The next time we head up to Acadia we are going to take a longer vacation, two days are just not enough!

Long time no hear eh? Well I’m going to make a couple of posts. This one will be about the Fair and my demo since I promised updates! The fair was great! I met so many new people and made several new friends. The feedback on my items was really positive (at least what I heard hehe). There was a professional photographer at the show that was taking pictures and I totally took advantage of that! Here is one of my favorites:

I had the demo on Sunday the 12th and boy was I a nervous wreck! I may have backed out if it weren’t for Rich, I’m very lucky to have his undying support. He built a wonderful plexiglass surround for me. Complete with a metal covered worktop so I didn’t burn the wood! He also set everything up and kept me hydrated all day! Thanks baby!!! There were times when there were crowds of people around and I would have sworn I would have been nervous, but somehow I wasn’t. I loved talking to all of the little kids and explaining things to them. They were just mesmerized and I think a few of them may be lampworkers in training!

All in all it was a wonderful experience and I cant wait to do it again next year!

I have to admit that I’ve been taking it pretty easy this week! I have made some new beads -see pictures, but not too much else has been happening. Rich has been working hard and is really busy with a new project at work. It’s nice to see him so excited! I’ve managed to put some new items in our Etsy store so take a stroll by there if you get a second.

I have been testing some new presses for Catt and Fred of Cattwalk. One is a flat Marquis shape. This is one of my favorites presses now. The shape is so sleek and it has such clean lines! What do you think?

Also is the new crystal shape! The ends on these always come out so nicely and they really lets the beauty of the glass stand out.

I’ll be working at the The Shop at the Fair Friday and Saturday and be doing my demo on Sunday! Hopefully I’ll have some great stuff to report!

Rich, the kids and I headed up into the mountains and went to the Fair yesterday! I was so excited at how my display turned out (picture above). It was the first day of the show and was packed. I knew that it would be a huge show but wow!!! The tents are large and white- they kind of have the sloped roofs like circus tents. There were tons of demo’s going on. We saw pottery, glass blowing, wood turning, weaving, woodcarving with a chainsaw and more that I cant think of right this second! I really hope I am able to get a booth for next year!

Today is reserved for house cleaning. Things got backed up as we were getting ready for the show and now it’s time to catch up. Oh! I managed to get a few items into our Etsy store!! Check it out when you get a chance!!