Riding the Artfire Crazy Train today is.....

a super cool glass studio http://www.artfire.com/users/classyartglass If you don't know by now how much I love glass, you just haven't been paying attention.

There is some incredibly beautiful stuff in this shop. This husband and wife team create some real beauties to behold. Eye candy extrodinaire!!!! So, I will tease you with a couple of pictures, then you click the link and check out this fabulous studio for yourself-but don't buy it all-save some for me. LOL!

Jenny Friske-Baer aka Divine Spark Designs

Today's blog is about another talented lampworker who was falseley accused of being a "tax evading fraud" on the fraud blog. Jenny Friske-Baer lives in Oregon where there isn't a state sales tax. Just goes to prove once again that the fraud blogger just made stuff up and didn't check the facts. But then, we already knew that, didn't we? LOL!

Jenny calls her business Divine Spark Designs and it started when she couldn't find beads she like to make jewelry with. What better solution than to make them yourself. In the eternal (and believe me, it is eternal) search for that perfect color/textue/shape bead for that one project, you will do whatever it takes to get that bead, even to learning a new craft. From reading her website and her posts on LE (LampworkEtc.) it's easy to see that Jenny creates for the love and joy of creating. It shows in her beautiful work, too. As someone who creates because I love doing it, things like that are important to me in other artists.

Jenny has an etsy store, http://www.etsy.com/shop/divinesparkdesigns and a website

http://www.divinesparkdesigns.com/. I want you to see a couple of pieces she has done that I just love-the color,the humor I see in them and the cute factor they have is just great!!!! In the first picture, from her website, it's the blue chicken bead that I love. On her etsy header, it's the bird, again that got me.

AGLF Update

It's been quite a while since I have mentioned the fraud blog. Nothing much was new-she kept posting flasehoods on the blog-screaming tax evader about some incredibly talented artists. The only unknown would be who the next victim or victims unfailry accused and slandered.

A lot as changed. Several of the people named on the blog filed a lawsuit in the great state of Texas and now this false accuser shall have to answer to the courts to the formal charge of defamation. She was formally served with papers to that effect on Oct.26th,'09. She has posted about (I quit counting) 60 more people on the fraud blog since then. Can we say "no respect for legalities" boys and girls? She has denied things that are easily proven-like claiming some of the beads she sold on etsy were made by her. I wonder if she thinks that the people she bought stuff from just tossed their paypal records out with the trash? I still have mine should the AGLF attorney need more ammo against her. I would say it's a really safe bet that everybody who has had any dealings with her in the last two years has the documentation to prove it.

I wonder what she feels she has gained with all these venomous attacks on these wonderful creative people. In my opinion, all she has done is ruin her own name and reputation. The lampworking community has really come together over this issue aand friendships have been forged through this ordeal. I'm sure that was not the original intention when the fraud blog started. I feel sorry for her in a way-but she has no one to blame but herself for whatever happens in the court. I seriously doubt she is going to win this.

I will be featuring some of the talented artists mentioned on the fraud blog in the next few weeks, so check back here. There is a calender that was published to raise funds for the AGLF. A calendar full of beautiful lampwork beads. If there are still any for sale, I will post a link.

Some thoughts and some things I have learned

1. The incredibly talented artists who have been slandered in the fraud blog are representative of what the blogger wanted to do, but couldn't. She is jealous of the talent they have and their creativity. I think that has a lot to do with why she "allegedly" bought their beads last year and"allegedly" resold them as "her" creations. She wanted credit for the beauty of the beads. I've always thought that to create beauty, beauty must be inside your heart or soul. It seems apparent that this blogger doesn't have that.

2. The amount of venom and spite that one person can spew out is amazing. I didn't think a human being could contain all that much hate and not explode. I can't stand being mad for 10 minutes, let alone carrying on a vendetta like this. That's carrying a lot of anger around for a very long time. Wonder how her health is? Bet that BP would register on the Richter scale.

3. I have realized that Etsy admin can be...responsive. When I reported the sock puppet purchase she made from me, I got an uncanned email from them. I was quite surprised. I'm used to that on Artfire, but not Etsy.

My mom always saw the best in people, no matter what kind of idiots they were. I have tried to do that through out my life also. It usually works, but not now. I despise bullies and that's all this is-cyber bullying, cyber stalking, whatever you want to call it. I call it cowardice. She knows she will never have the level of talent these people do, so she tries to harass and bully them. Well, guess what? Somme people can't be bullied. I know several people like that and I am one of them.

This blogger claims to be a Christian woman. She needs to remember that "pride goeth before a fall".

The artfire crazy train rider is.....

a studio with cool stuff in it http://www.artfire.com/users/HeatherDesigns What a cool place!!! she has some beautiful jewelry she has made, some neat supplies, including some beautiful hand dyed silk ribbons and she has lampwork-really neat lampwork. As ususal, I'm going to show you a couple of pictures, then you click the link and go check out her studio.

Secret etsy sale-last day!!!

If you want to get in on the great secret sale from sateam (StarvingjewelryArtists) on etsy, this is the last day, so you better click that blog link below to get the secret code and get to shopping before everything is gone or taken off sale. The sale ends at midnight tonight. All sales processed after that will be back at regular price. http://starvingartiststeam.blogspot.com/

Secret sale continues

If you haven't checked out the etsy secret sale being sponsered by the sateam-StarvingJewelryArtist team-you need to. There are all kinds of deals happening. For example, I am offering a free pair of color matching earrings if you buy one of the Silky Swag Necklaces. I've lowered my shipping costs on the swags and the earrings will ship free.. You do need to know the secret code, though. How do you get that? Just click on the sateam blog link.
http://starvingartiststeam.blogspot.com/ Better hurry, tomorrow is the last day.

Freebies available in a secret etsy sale

The Starving Jewelry Artists etsy team-sateam-is having a secret sale on etsy. There are all kinds of freebies from earrings to lampwork beads and shipping. Tons of discounts, too!! How do you get to the secret sale? It's easy-all you have to do is click this link to the sateam blog.
http://starvingartiststeam.blogspot.com/ You just might want to consider signing up to follow the sateam blog, too. Why would you want to do that? Because this is just the first of many team sponsored secret sales. So come on, what are you waiting for-follow the sateam to find great sales!!!

A gorgeous stop on the artfire crazy train today

Besides being addicted to seed beads, I am also addicted to all things glass. I love glass whether it's beads, vases or stained glass windows. Our stop today is the wonderful glass work studio of DerondaDesigns.

It's improtant to know when buying lampwork beads that they have been kiln annealed. This process keeps the beads from cooling too quickly which makes them vulnerable to breaking easily. DerondaDesigns kiln anneals her beautiful beads.
After looking at all the great beads she has in her studio, I decided that these beads are my favorites. I love the translucency of etched glass and these beads fill the bill.

So, if you love lampwork, and fused glass pretties, be sure to stop in at DerondaDesigns on artfire.

Stopping in today at JanelsonArts

http://www.artfire.com/users/janelsonarts
You really need to visit her shop-sooo many beautiful things.


Lifelong glass addict that I am, I love lampwork beads. There are some real beauties in JanelsonArts artfire studio, too.

Like these Friuts of Summer Beads


Of all the lampworking techniques, I think dichoric and boro beads are my favorites. Janelson did have a beautiful dichro cab in her shop, but apparently it has sold-good for her and "you are so lucky" to the buyer. I will content myself to show you these beautiful boro beads-Boro Dreams.