Are smart stamps really smart?!

Today was the day I tried Royal Mail's 'smart stamps' out for the first time. I've been a little hesitant about it but as the queue in the Post Office was out the door yesterday I thought I'd give it a go. Seems to be pretty straightforward. Easy to keep tabs on when everything's online too & so much better for the environment :) Maybe today was a turning point in the Handmade Heaven postal system!?

Go Ape photos

After a bit of little brother-hassling (my speciality!), I have got a couple of photos from the 'Go Ape' adventure in the trees at Delamere Forest. I'm looking particularly lovely, I think (in pink)! It was such a good experience and you definitely should give it a go, even if you're not one for heights. You're so safe and secure that you forget about being up high.

Matt and I high, Vix and Lisa low:
Very, very long zip line:
Negotiating more wet wood (note my firm hold on the safety line!):

Handmade Heaven sales plotter map

Spotted this on another blog and thought it was a good idea - a google map showing where all my glassy goodies have gone to so far: Handmade Heaven Sales Plotter Map

Multistripe commission

Just completed a 6-coaster set for a lady in France. She was after the 'Beached' stripes but in blues & complementary colours...

'Sunset' latticeware bowl

Just photographed my latest commission - a fused glass latticeware bowl. It is to match my commissionee's decor so she sent me a photo of a throw and I made a bowl to match. I love the combo of jaffa orange, chocolate and cream with the powder blue. It looks great. I really need to make loads more bowls. They seem to be very popular and don't stay in the studio for very long at all. On this one I switched a few layers so the top and bottom are not an exact repeat. I like the effect and will try it on the next one too I think :)

Cufflink commission

Alongside the bathroom tile order, I am working with an Irish company on cufflinks to be sent out to customers as corporate gifts. Using the corporate colours, here are some sample designs I have just sent out to them.

I'm going ape!

Sunday I am off to Delamere Forest in Cheshire to 'Go Ape'! I am excited and nervous a doing this obstacle course through the treetops but since seeing the one in Grizedale Forest I've been itching to give it a whirl.
Hopefully I will come back all in one piece!

EDIT: I did it! Here's the proof! Photos to follow :)

Etsy HQ order in the kiln

Just put the 'beached' stripy coaster duo order for etsy HQ in the kiln. looking forward to seeing the finished result. if you're after a unique, handmade gift, definitely have a browse round etsy.com :)

The last of batch1 of bathroom tiles is also in the kiln. Only 50 more to go...

Finally! New furniture ...and some glassy work!

After living with hand-me-downs for ages, I finally got round to buying a new dining table and chairs to actually fit the space in my room. I've been living with a mis-matched 1970s table and chairs which were far too big for the space (and very wobbly!) for about 6 years. Now, with the new furniture, I almost feel like a proper grown-up! Here's a couple of pics of the new set in situ:

Along with making furniture, I have also made good progress on a big bathroom tile order (mentioned in previous posts). Here's pics of that so far - they really do look fab!

Shouldn't be but it is rather surreal...!

Just sold my 2nd thing on etsy. Not had much success on that site - lots of people added me as a favourite but only a couple of sales. It's probably down to the bad £ versus $ rate. Anyway, sold one of my 'Beached' coaster duos to one of the etsy crew so it'll be heading to head office! A bit surreal but also pretty cool :) I love the 'Beached' coasters.

Click here to buy your own!

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Thinking BIG for my sabbatical

after a good 7 years service in my job i get my sabbatical after july this year. after months of wondering what i'll do with it (7 weeks off!), i've decided 'solo' travelling is the way forward, so i have been looking into where to spend my sabbatical today. very excited!

here are a couple i've come across so far:

http://www.explore.co.uk/Tour+Detail+Page.htm?TourCode=GPS&BrochureCode=EWW2008

http://www.explore.co.uk/Tour+Detail+Page.htm?TourCode=ED&BrochureCode=WTR2008

http://www.explore.co.uk/Tour+Detail+Page.htm?TourCode=BM&BrochureCode=EWW2008 etc etc!

can't wait! but what to pick?!

Contemporary wall mounted panels

While I'm online I may as well post about my wall panels. I made them aaages ago but they are still on my 'to do' list to go onto the website. I've had some interest in them this week (and I LOVE them!) so here they are. Perhaps posting them on the blog might kick-start me into putting them up for sale! Can't sell them if no-one knows about them, right?! They are around 12.5" x 3" (or 3.5" for 'earth blocks'). They are mounted on 2x metal standoffs which brings them out from the wall about 1". This means they cast beautiful coloured shadows on the wall. They're really contemporary and fun, and a great way to get a bit of bespoke artwork into your home.

'With Friends' Fully fused (flat)

'Peppermint Fondant' Fully fused (flat)
'Earth Blocks' Fully fused (flat)
'A Splash of Colour' Tack fused (raised)

Another big absence but I'm back!

Hello! Yes, I know, been non-blogging again. I've just been SO busy! Am stuck in to a great big bathroom tile order. I posted the samples on here a while back and am now getting on with making LOTS of 4" 'stripes! stripes! stripes!' tiles. I should be finishing the 1st batch of 30 very soon and will post a pic of them when they are done. Here's a pic of the samples again to show you what they'll be like:

Also, I had a nice email today. Ladipo Harris over at Structured Chaos has chosen to feature my work on their blog. It's so encouraging when you see that total strangers love what you do. All the hard work then definitely seems worth it! Take a look: http://structuringthechaos.blogspot.com/2008/04/fused-glass.html