Written by Marie Dyson | 01 April 2009

Andrew (my son) received an exciting present in the mail today from a talented lady I met on Etsy. Her and I traded our wares, my jewelry for her sewing skills...and wow is Andrew having a ball already! He got a mat to put on the floor with cars and race track on it, his cars are Zoooooming around the track already! He also got a great tote bag with his name embroidered on it and lots of pockets that he already discovered useful for storing his Hot Wheels cars! Oh and we got a matching place mat to eat on at the table! The back side of the large mat is made from chalkboard fabric! One of these days I might show him that!

My son is obsessed with cars, trucks and anything like them! He will get a lot of use out of this stuff! I love being able to trade goods, in today's economy who wouldn't!  You can order your own custom sewn items as well from BigMamaNebraska on Etsy!

Written by Marie Dyson | 22 March 2009

Thunder in the Desert - Luke Air Show 2009

Yesterday my husband and I had the pleasure of attending the air show at Luke Air Force base. We are only a short 15 minute drive away, so attending this every other year show will be a must! The show features tons of aircraft on the ground that you can touch, climb inside and admire. My favorite this year was the F-22 Rapture demonstration, wow that is an amazing aircraft! Of course The Thunderbirds always put on an impressive show. I am amazed at the talent these pilots have.

Another favorite this year was the Red Bull BO-105S Helicopter, this specially modified helicopter can do 360 degree spins, turns, and flips, ever see a helicopter upside down? Wow that was amazing!

It was a great show, the weather didn't burn me to much. Despite five layers of sun screen I still managed to burn a few spots of skin! We were fortune that grandma watched Andy for us all day! My husband and I were able to have a day to ourselves! We also meet my sister and her fiance there, it was great!  Andy would have loved the planes, but he would have soon grown tired and ended our day early, but I am excited to take him in two years when the show returns!

Written by Marie Dyson | 19 March 2009

My Lampwork Studio & Bead Making Process

What is Lampworking? Lampworking is a technique to make handcrafted glass beads from long rods of glass. Molten glass is wound around a steel mandrel that is held into a flame, the beads are shaped by rotating the mandrel through the flame.  A variety of tools and techniques are used to add shapes, colors and designs. Each one is its own work of art, two never quite the same.

Below shows photos of where I make all of my beads. My husband built me a wonderful work area in our garage! Each bead is made by hand one at a time on a steel rod (mandrel) in front of my oxygen and natural gas torch.

I have over 75 colors of glass to choose from. I currently work with a brand of glass called Effetre. I use a variety of tools to help me shape my beads and add decorations and designs. My average bead takes me 15 minutes to make, with more complicated items taking many times that long.

Once I am happy with my bead I slowly take it out of my flame, let it cool for a few seconds (so it is no longer molten) and stick the entire bead and mandrel into my kiln. Glass needs a chance to 'settle' in order for it to be properly cooled, this process is called annealing. Annealing gives the glass time to sit at a stable temperature (950 degrees) and properly settle/align. My beads soak at this temperature for a minimum of 30 minutes depending on size.

When the soaking period is complete my kiln automatically begins the cool down process, the temperature drops at a very slow rate to finish the annealing process. This entire process from soak to completely cool to touch lasts about 4 hours. Annealing beads is a must if you want to greatly reduce the chances of a bead cracking.

Once my beads are cool to the touch (usually I do this the next morning) it is time to clean them! I take them off the mandrels and collect them all in my bucket. Beads are attached to mandrels with something called bead release, a clay like substance that lets you work your hot glass on the mandrel and gives you the ability to break it away when you are done to remove the bead. Next I take all my beads and sit in front of a large bucket of water and used a diamond tipped bead cleaner to scrub out the inside of my beads. This removes all the bead release from the inside. Rinse in some clean water, dry and they are now ready for use!

A few interesting things to know about the lampwork process:

• I wear special safety glasses made for those working with glass. They not only protect my eyes from broken and flying glass but also reduces the sodium flare and IR levels produced by my torch and the glass melting!
• My work space has a large ventilation hood installed to suck up the fumes from my torch and glass.