I haven't any new beads to show you (yet) for this week; I have been making new jewellery items with beads that you have already seen, so these are the latest pieces of lampwork jewellery to be added to the website:

I have made some new very pretty new beads but the proto-types of them cracked the day after the came out of the kiln. I think I know what I did wrong, I let the base bead get too cool when I was adding some fine silver wire. Before I photograph them and let you see them, I want to be sure that the replacements (which I kept hotter this time!) won't crack so I'm leaving them a little while.

I have almost finished the commission that I told you about last month. We said about three weeks and I was going to e-mail her when it was finished. I have been making the beads for a while and the sterling silver beads I wanted to include in the piece only arrives on Thursday. With everything ready, I got to work today putting everything together but it was so late when I had to stop for dinner that she would've gone home from work.

I hope she turns up tomorrow at my stall so I can show her what I've done so far. It is the best piece of jewellery I have ever made; it's going to be marvellous when it's complete. When I calculate what I should be charging, I realise that I am undercharging by quite a bit but I always stick to a budget once I've given a quote.  I am so delighted with it, I don't really mind working for a bit less per hour. I really really hope she likes it but part of me hopes she doesn't so I can keep it!

It's only fair that she sees it before I photograph it for the website and blog so I will be publishing pictures of it next week.