Got the decorating bug

Painted Stairs

I don't know why I have the decorating bug at the moment - might be something to do with browsing on Pinterest - but I have a few ideas and projects on the go. 

I have finally finished painting the stairs (we can't afford a carpet at the moment) which was a bit of a labour of love as getting that masking tape straight was a pain. Then everyone kept wanting to come up or down the stairs when the paint was drying and as for my battle with dog hair....

Hall table

I found this old table in a junk shop and paid a whopping £2 for it - bargain. It had a hideous green "leather" top and was badly scratched so I asked my carpenter neighbour to cut the back off it so that it could be fixed to the wall. Several coats of blue paint and a map of Paris has changed this tatty table into the perfect place for flowers. Also, now it is attached to the wall with mirror plates, the dog can't knock it over. 

Before

I'm ordering the lampshade from Lush Designs next week and then that's the hall finished. Meanwhile, I have plans for the living room....

Map of Paris

The Best of Asianicandy

I have been exploring the boutique store http://asianicandystore.com/ as their oriental inspired items are just gorgeous (slipped in one of my sushi dishes here).
http://www.asianicandystore.com/icandystore/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=324
If anyone wants to buy me the blue kimono jacket please don't hesitate - I promise I won't be embarrassed. Awww, thank you so much.

Sheesh! That's bright.

I recently bought some Bullseye thin opals from http://warm-glass.co.uk/ and I really love these bright colours. I am working on a series of dishes using retro squares but I need add a few more colours to my stash. That pink is a bit pale but the yellows fuse into lovely marigold shades.

Fourth of July Sale

I am having my very first sale at http://glassprimitif.etsy.com on Fourth July. I will be offering FREE SHIPPING on all items so please wait for a revised invoice before you pay. I will also be making some items FREE throughout the day so keep checking back for these. This is a one day sale so grab yourself a glassy bargain.

Float confetti and bubble powder

But these aren't red!

No they're not but if I worked with red glass all the time I would get stuck in a rut. Instead, I really like these Bullesye opals I bought in turquoise, soft blue, lime green and vanilla. I have mixed them with transparent blues, turquoise and greens to create these dishes. There are two sushi dishes, both starring on http://www.glassprimitif.etsy.com and a larger glass dish that I don't want to part with yet as I like it so much. I'm going to order some more opals from Warm-glass in funky colours.

Glass is good

The first glass I began fusing was float scrap that I could get free from work. I would fuse washers, copper wire, copper sheet, leaves and razor blades between the float. I still have these samples in a box along with all the pieces that went wrong. (It's a big box). When I got more familiar with glass fusing I looked around for a coloured glass that met my requirements and settled on Bullseye. The colours are so rich and vibrant. Here's an example of a few pieces of my Bullseye glass stash. My favourite colours are red (of course), vanilla, lime green, orange, amber, black and turquoise. Bullseye isn't the cheapest glass and all ambers, oranges and reds are the most expensive because of the gold content. So I have been looking around for a more competitive supplier. I have to weigh up my fuel costs against postage costs and it is definitely more cost effective to order glass by post than to travel to the warehouse I usually go to. The most competitive UK Bullseye supplier has to be www.warm-glass.co.uk where I already buy my dichroic glass. The new site is easy to navigate and they stock such a huge range of Bullseye colours that I am reeling from the choice. I'm going to have to make a purchase soon as I want to make dishes in chocolate and blue opal glass. I can even save glass I like in my Wish List so that I can go away and think about it before I commit to buy. If anyone wants to buy me a present from Warm-glass I would like the book "Contemporary Warm Glass" by Brad Walker. Thanks!