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Happy World Gin Day gin lovers! I love making beads from discarded gin and tonic bottles. Makes a special repurposed gift, perfect for anyone who loves a gin and tonic, especially if you add a tiny bottle of gin to the present!

The first red beads are out of the kiln and ready to go! I love that red is one of those colours that works with so many other colours. It was fun on the torch, putting this red with that colour, and that red with this colour.

10 years ago I was busy working towards my 2012 SALA exhibition “10,000 Red Glass Beads.” I was also busy with a 3 year old daughter and being pregnant. I ended up making 10,000 red glass beads using only one shade of red. It was an incredibly rewarding exhibition, and I learned a lot about myself in the process of putting it together. Fast forward 10 years and I am busy working on my 2022 SALA exhibition. It will be held in a church, and is inspired by the stained glass windows featuring angels with red wings! So, for this exhibition, every bead will need to feature some red! There are so many shades of red that I can use, and I am excited to start making beads. I have set a goal of making 1,000 glass beads this time! Can’t wait to see where this all leads.

Gin and tonic earrings. The dark green beads are made from a Tanqueray gin bottle, the lighter beads are from a Fever Tree tonic water bottle. Simple and pretty.

So many pretty green beads! A mix of my recycled and Italian glass beads, and freshwater pearls.

Weekend vibes. It’s a weirdly lovely day here and I am enjoying time in my garden. I just finished making this necklace featuring recycled glass beads, on silk cord. It’s a simple necklace that can be worn in a variety of ways. Simple lariat-style pictured here. Love the mix of greens and blues.

A bracelet featuring a mix of purple beads: handmade recycled and Italian glass beads, freshwater pearls and semi-precious stones.

I used to have lots of “rules” when it came to making jewellery. Only use beads you have made. Don’t mix recycled and Italian glass beads in a piece. Keep making the pieces that sell. Those rules worked for a long time, but since we’ve had to live with so many other rules over the last 2 years (wear a mask, check in everywhere, limits on gatherings etc) it’s made me want to loosen my rules! In this bracelet I have mixed my Italian and recycled glass beads, with semi-precious stones and freshwater pearls. You might even spot one of the new enamel glass beads in the mix.

More experiments with enamels. I made some more red and blue beads, flattened some, etched some, added less enamel to some, tried a new shade of purple. Now I am going to have a think about these for a little while and work out what to try next!

Experimenting with enamels! I haven’t used enamels on my glass beads for a very long time. I thought it might be an interesting way to make clear recycled glass more interesting. The colours are amazing, and I am curious to see where this experiment goes this time! More play needed.