A new friend, Carrie Boucher!

I have a new friend ... and a very talented one at that!  It's funny how the internet leads you to people.  You fall down the rabbit hole and where you end up is anyone's guess.  I started my morning by indulging myself in a visit to Pinterest.  I'm merrily going about my business and come across this!

My heart skipped a beat ... you mean a "person" made this!  I followed the link to this etsy site and noticed that Carrie spent at least part of her time in Tampa Bay!  

Her etsy site mentioned her blog, which was my next stop.

I loved Carrie's writing, which gave a good sense of who she is and what she was experiencing ... just the kind of person you'd love to meet and would feel comfortable around.  I emailed Carrie and told her I had read her blog and was setting up a studio in St. Pete.  When she wrote back, I was thrilled.  We made plans to meet.  She came to the studio/shop a couple of days ago wearing that gorgeous piece that led me to her in the first place ... and her zebra ballet slippers!  

She explained a little bit about the piece.  In my husband's hands he started playing pachinko with the three little stars that move.  The piece is made of 6 sheets of sterling silver, a stock certificate, and cast resin. I felt somewhat embarrassed to introduce her to torch firing, but she loved it!  I know in her hands she'll make something truly marvelous.

We had a wonderful morning of gab and a great lunch of Thai food at the Queen and I, just a few doors down from the shop.  I've noticed a pattern with the Queen and I ... by about 11 a.m. the whole area is permeated with the smell of garlic!  It's wonderful!

We're going to have another play date with Carrie, her mother, and her sisters before she leaves for Peru on March 22 for 6 weeks. She'll be spending the time at an artists' retreat.  

Please visit Carrie's etsy shop and her blog.  It's quite a treat. :-)  Barbara

Back in Florida!

What could possibly be so interesting to these grown men?  I mean, they are staring intently at the asphalt!  Why, they're deciding on the exact spot for the new gas hook up to the building which will fuel the on-demand hot water unit. 

Fred Dion, general contractor (in white), Jim Lewis, hubby (in red) and Teco Gas employee (in green)

It's funny, these units are wildly popular in Florida and in Europe, but not in Maryland.  You do away with the big hot water heater so that this little hot water gadget that is about the size of a large cereal box will supply the hot water. 

We arrived on Sunday evening at about 7:30 p.m.  So far we've ...
:: celebrated Laura's joy over getting engaged!  Matt and Laura were giggling like school kids!
:: met with the general contractor about a dozen times
:: met with the metal roofing guy for an estimate on ribbed metal roofing for the awning
:: went to the retail fixtures place and got a steal on glass shelving units for the enamels
:: made several trips with the car to pick up shelving
:: ordered plastic jars so David can start weighing and labeling enamels to build up inventory in Florida
:: met with the owner of the Foodies store to purchase his reception desk/check out area
:: took several walks in our special areas of St. Pete ... the weather is gorgeous!

It's hard to show you anything substantial about the shop/studio yet, but here's a photo of the bathroom!

Here's the trim on the walls for the retail space. 

Here are doors that I've carried hither and yon and will be used in the space.  Who knows how ... but I'll figure out a way!  My family secretly wishes I'd "lose" those doors!

 A great shabby chic display case for jewelry.  Love this!  

A great folk art kinda thing for beads.  Since it's a stepped cabinet, when you pull out each drawer, it doesn't cover up the contents of the beads in the drawer below.  Notice the classy water bottle in the background ... gotta stay hydrated!

That's all folks!  Talk to you later. 

Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Book!

Isn't this cover gorgeous!  This is Lori Anderson's necklace on the cover of her new book ... of which my work will be a part!  Please visit Lori's blog to read all about it and to see the list of the other lucky ones! Thank you, Lori, for the opportunity!

Art Saves with Erin Siegel and Stefanie Teufel!

Please come and visit Art Saves today to see the goings-on of Stefanie Teufel and Erin Siegel!  This finishes my week as Guest Curator for a fantastic site that gives the personal stories of curators and readers alike of how Art Saves ... by doing the power of good. The "byline" for the Crescendoh site is "Creative Passion, Authentic Community, and Focused Compassion."  I'm glad Jenny Doh created such a wonderful site where we can also go for inspiration to coax out some of the feelings we suspect may be there and to create a connection with another who shares at least our love of the creative. Thank you for coming here this week to give a nod to our blogging friends. Their posts stood out to me as being "something special" ... as they are!

Art Saves with Cindy Wimmer and Diane Cook!

Please come to Art Saves to visit our very talented friends, Cindy Wimmer and Diane Cook!  Arts saves through the power of creativity.  They say that when we're in the midst of creating, we're the closest to God.

Art Saves with Malin deKoning and Crystal Neubauer!

Please come and visit Art Saves today for some serious and not so serious fun!  

Art Saves!

Please visit Art Saves today to read about the talented Greer O'Neill, Christine Damm, and Davinia Algieri!  You're going to love Greer's Anvil!

Torch-ured Hearts, etc.

Please visit our friends, Lori Plyler of Studio Waterstone and Andrew Thornton of The Writings of Andrew Thornton at Art Saves ... doing good through the power of art. This site is hosted by Jenny Doh, author of the book, "Art Saves."  Jenny is the former Editor-In-Chief of Stampington Publications, which includes one of our favorites, Belle Armoire Jewelry!


With Valentine's Day approaching so fast, we thought we'd have a little fun with our "Torch-ured Hearts," which Chris, one of the PWF Team, so aptly named.  These hearts are run through the rolling mill to create the most delicate little flower texture. They are treated to a "flame patina" and sterling silver is fused in place. They also have a nice varnish on them to prevent changes in the color.  They measure 1.5" h x 1" w.  You can find them at Painting with Fire Artwear's etsy shop for $12 each.

"Torch-ured Hearts"

Art Saves!

Please come and visit Staci Louise Smith and Mary Jane Dodd today at Art Saves by Jenny Doh of Crescendoh! 

Please come and visit Lori of Pretty Things, Davinia of Deez News, Rosey Revolver and me at Art Saves today!

Art Saves!

A couple of months ago, Jenny Doh, author and former Editor-in-Chief of Stampington Publications, asked me to curate the week of January 23 to 29 at Art Saves... Doing Good through the Power of Art.  What that involved was for me to write an essay about how art "saved" me and to provide 15 individual blogs posts of others in which I found inspiration. Certainly, art did save me, as it has a lot of artists and next week you'll be able to visit blog posts from some of our favorite bloggers.  Here's the line-up ...

Blog post for the week of January 23-29
A post by Rosey Revolver will air for the entire week.  She's one cool chic who makes hot jewelry!

January 23
Lori Anderson of Pretty Things
Davinia Algeri of Deez News

January 24
Mary Jane Dodd of Maire Dodd
Staci Louise Smith of Love My Art Jewelry

January 25
Lori Plyler of Studio Waterstone
Andrew Thornton of The Writings of Andrew Thornton

January 26
Greer O’Neill of Vintajia

Christine Damm of Stories They Tell 

January 27
Crystal Neubauer of Other Peoples Flowers  

Malin deKoning of Beading by Malin deKoning

January 28
Cindy Wimmer of Sweet Bead Studios

Diane Cook of Rosa-Josie's

January 29
Stefanie Teufel of Stefanie's Sammelsurium

Erin Siegel of Erin Siegel Jewelry 

Please visit Art Saves and give our friends a nod on their day.  I think you'll enjoy their posts. :-) Barbara

Pantone's Colors of Spring 2012

I thought we'd have a little fun this Winter while we're waiting for Spring.  We're talking about COLOR!  Pantone is the world-renowned authority on color.  Who better to guide us, huh? For 45 years, they've been guiding the fashion, home furnishings, and graphics industries on color.  They've just released their colors for Spring and declared Tangerine Tango the color of the year. 

Here's Pantone's Spring Fashion Color Report ...

The Painting with Fire Team took a look at this chart and said, "Well, what the heck! Let's try to replicate it in Thompson Enamels!"  Here's what we came up with! 

The icing on the cake is that for the next 8 Sundays, we'll be introducing the Color of the Week with a 20% off sale on the enamels that go into making that color for that week.  So, by the time Spring is here, you can have all of the enamels you need to produce your own pieces inspired by Pantone.   Some of you already have these colors in your inventory, so go ahead and get started making pieces in the Colors of Spring.  I thought you might like this!

Fibers for Jewelry

Do you ever wonder why fabrics have become so important to jewelry design?  Do you think the cost of metal might have something to do with its popularity?  Could it be that fibers used in jewelry are just so scrumptious you can't resist? 


Well, I'm in the last camp.  Fabric was my first love.  I learned to sew at the age of 12.   For about 15 years, I made nearly all of my own clothes including my bathing suits, lingerie, underwear and my husband's jeans.  Even though I haven't done that much sewing in a long time, I still love fabric.  That's why I'm so excited about the sari silk I've been carrying at Painting with Fire.   But now I've just received a shipment of Japanese Chirimen Cording!  Find out more at my website. 

Japanese Chirimen Cording, 3.9 yards

Here's my "Evil Eye" bracelet with chirimen fabric and "groovy cord" in a color called "Hydrangea."  The beads are ceramic that have been torch-fired with Sky transparent enamel.  One side of the lentil bead has a "blue eye" and the other side has a "red eye." You can find this piece at my website too!  

Thanks for visiting!  Have a great day!  Barbara

Cabin Fever Clay Fest in Laurel, Maryland

What you'll make in a Painting with Fire Workshop!

Hi folks,  It's still bright and sunny out, although cold.  I don't care as much about the cold as I do about the lack of sunshine so I'm enjoying this beautiful day.  I wanted to mention that there's still room in my February 17 full-day workshop at Cabin Fever Clay Fest, Laurel Maryland.   


Although it's not part of the workshop, I'll be doing a demonstration of applying and firing ceramic decals to enamel.  You can find out more about the workshop and how to register here.   


There's also room for two in my February 5, St. Petersburg Workshop.  I know it's Super Bowl Sunday, but the workshop will be over in plenty of time for your football viewing pleasure!  You can register for the workshop here. I'll look forward to meeting you there!  

The Bead Pulling Station Gets a Facelift!

Gosh, I can't believe it's been this long since I've been with you here.  I've been busy, as I'm sure you have been.  The holidays are wonderful, especially when they're over!  I know, I know ... I shouldn't have said that, but I feel that way sometimes.  Here's what I've been up to.  I look forward to having time to check in on you guys! 


:: Beads, Baubles and Jewels
:: Webinar
:: Get together with Jim's side of the family for pizza
:: Pick up daughter and boyfriend from the airport
:: Take daughter and boyfriend downtown
:: Meet friends for lunch
:: Shop
:: Cook Christmas Dinner for my side of the family
:: Drive 13.5 hours to St. Pete, correction - add one hour for traffic
:: Meet with general contractor
:: Pick up son, David, and Chris Connolly and Toni Maddox the PWF Team at airport
:: Show them their new apartments and PWF home
:: Celebrate New Year's Eve
:: Meet gutter guy
:: Meet decking guy for rooftop deck
:: Meet ventilation guy
:: Buy stackable washer and dryer for shop
:: Spend several hours with designer
:: Spend more time with designer
:: Meet with Deputy Director of Building Permits for St. Pete
:: Meet with ventilation guy
:: Meet with Diamond Tech regarding torches
:: Pick up newly-designed bead pulling stations!!! No clamps required! Pretty snazzy!