September 5, 2009 by shebamakeda
UPDATE 11/24: I’m rested, recovered and accepting custom orders again! just contact me for details…
I know it’s only September, however, if you’d like a ShebaMakeda bead on, under or near your tree (or that of someone you love), it really is time to start thinking about Christmas…
I can only accept custom orders from now through to September 15, 2009, so please book any requests by then. Delivery dates can be anytime between now and December.
After the 15th, i’ll be concentrating on the classes i’m scheduled to teach and building new stock and designs for our upcoming two-day Ottawa Glass Bead Artists Show on November 7th & 8th (and of course, working that day job).
After the November show, i will most likely be able to accept custom orders again, however, I may not always be able to guarantee delivery of your custom bead order by Christmas. I’ll have a better idea of timelines then.
Interested? Check out my custom order page for details: http://shebamakeda.com/my-glass-beads/custom-orders/
Posted in lampwork flamework | Tagged beads as christmas gifts, custom bead, custom glass art, custom glass beads, custom orders, ShebaMakeda custom beads | Leave a Comment »
September 4, 2009 by shebamakeda
(Click on the picture to take a look! )
I’ll be listing additonal beads over the next few days…
Have a great long weekend!
Posted in lampwork flamework | Tagged Etsy, glass art, glass beads for sale, goddess beads, ShebaMakeda on Etsy | 2 Comments »
August 13, 2009 by shebamakeda
FINAL UPDATE: 8/21: A cheque for $14K was just issued to Anna to help with her medical costs… (updated email below)
UPDATE 8/17: Apparently over $10K was raised for Anna by this event! Most excellent! 
UPDATE 8/14: Yippee! the white Graffiti goddess sold as well!! Thanks again everyone!!!
Great news!! The black Graffiti Goddess sold on the first day – THANK YOU!! Remember, all the funds (not just profits) are going straight to Anna, the artist – i’m even paying to ship these to the US.
Here’s the latest email i received 8/21 with an update:
(Click either picture to get to the Artful Home Hearts for Anna page.)
Posted in glass art, glass beads, jewellery, lampwork flamework | Tagged Artful Home, artist with breast cancer, auction for artist with no health insurance, charity auction, fundraiser for breast cancer, goddess beads, graffiti goddess, Hearts for Anna auction | Leave a Comment »
August 12, 2009 by shebamakeda
I’ve donated these two very special breast cancer goddesses for this worthy cause. These Graffiti goddess beads are lightly etched, wired onto sterling silver and the sterling chain is included. The auction begins @ 10am Central today and you can find the details here: https://www.artfulhome.com/heartsforanna
I have a friend going through a very similar situation but since we live in Canada, paying out of pocket for health care isn’t a major issue. I don’t know Anna at all but after reading her story, my heart went out to her… I can’t even imagine her stress levels right now and wanted to help out in any way I could.
If you can help out by purchasing one of the donations, please do.
Posted in glass art, glass beads, lampwork flamework | Tagged Artful Home, artist with breast cancer, auction for artist with no health insurance, charity auction, fundraiser for breast cancer, graffiti goddess, Hearts for Anna auction | Leave a Comment »
August 7, 2009 by shebamakeda
…is the only way i can explain this pile of beads. I’m either on the verge of a major breakthrough or i’ve completely lost my mind.
I can’t remember ever producing such a random pile of beads NONE of which are in my usual style of beadmaking. They’ve all been made in the last week or so and i think reflect the fact that i had a lot of things on my mind. The beads range from gothic floral attempts to antiqued hearts for a framed composition to a custom order involving pears and trees to goddesses for a charity auction to those Blue Willow vessel beads that my sister requested a couple years ago (no idea why i suddenly decided to try making those again now!).
Best i can say is that at the very least it’s obvious my stringer control has really improved…
Posted in glass art, glass beads, lampwork flamework | Tagged blue willow, gothic florals, hearts, Tales from the torch, tree beads, vessel beads | Leave a Comment »
August 1, 2009 by shebamakeda
Posted in design, glass art, glass beads, lampwork flamework | Tagged dark angels, god bead, goddess bead, goth wedding, goth wedding gift, keepsake gift box, non-traditional wedding gift, winged god and goddess beads | Leave a Comment »
July 12, 2009 by shebamakeda
In yesterday’s post i showed you this beautiful packaging for a custom order i completed a few weeks ago. The order was requested as a gift for a Goth wedding – the client wanted something one of a kind, unusual and specifically designed to suit the personalities and lifestyle of the engaged couple. So what do you get for the couple who has everything? Why custom, handmade beads of course!!!
I love the design of this box – most especially because it doesn’t have to be destroyed in order to open the gift. It’s a lovely keepsake that can also be used to store their beads (or anything else they’d like)… 
The wedding was yesterday so i guess we can open the gift now, right? I mean a little peek wouldn’t hurt, would it?
Here’s the gift card, custom of course… created and signed by me, then aged to suit the theme – I hope they like it!
Oh wait… reception… wedding night… late morning… hmmm, might not be quite time to fully open this gift yet. We can’t open it before the newlyweds.
Tomorrow might be better, no…?
Posted in design, glass art, lampwork flamework | Tagged custom order, goth culture, goth gift, goth wedding, goth wedding gift, keepsake gift box, non-traditional wedding gift | 4 Comments »
July 11, 2009 by shebamakeda
I recently completed a custom order for a wedding and not just any wedding but a Goth wedding! If you’ve never seen a Goth wedding it’s definitely worth googling. The pictures range from downright funny to extremely glamorous – and in all the pics (much like any other wedding) the couples and guests look like they’re having a ton of fun… just in highly non-traditional ensembles.
I tried to incorporate the dark yet glamourous aspect of the goth culture into the beads but once they were completed realized i couldn’t just deliver them in my normal (fairly simple) packaging – especially since this was meant as a wedding gift!
So i called my neighbour Sean (master merchandiser and designer of my past show displays) for help once again. I told him i needed something elegant, black, gothic and completely over the top. I’d found one picture of a Goth bride who arrived at her ceremony in a coffin – a look i thought was hilarious and particularly appropriate for the theme. I explained the vague idea of what i wanted, Sean nodded, disappeared… and the next day he showed up at my door with THIS:
My jaw literally dropped, i swallowed whatever i’d been in the process of saying, was left mouth hanging open and all i could strangle out was a less than eloquent ”HOLY SH*T!!!” Have you ever seen anything so beautifully designed and so very suitable to the theme??? I immediately dropped whatever i was doing and gave him a big hug and a huge thank you! Doesn’t he just completely ROCK??? His custom designed packaging was so far beyond my expectations!!
Soooo… I guess you’d like to take a peek inside?
Not yet. Like the bride and groom, you’ll have to wait until after the wedding (it’s today)…
Posted in design, glass art, glass beads, lampwork flamework | Tagged custom order, goth culture, goth gift, goth wedding, goth wedding gift, keepsake gift box, non-traditional wedding gift | 1 Comment »
July 7, 2009 by shebamakeda
Posted in black history, general | Tagged Ben, black musician, celebrity death, celebrity musician, flip wilson show, Jackson 5, Michael Jackson, Never can say good bye, Rock with you, world famous pop star | 4 Comments »
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Each bead came with its own organza storage bag…
Both were wired as pendants with antiqued sterling silver findings… 
…the goddess decorated with freshwater pearls and the god with (the much more macho) hematite. 
The pearls, hematite and glass used for their wings and armour are all beautifully irridescent – i wish it showed better in the photos… 
Isn’t this a lovely picture? This one too…
This was hands down one of the most enjoyable custom orders i have ever worked on - i had SO much fun both researching Goth culture and designing the beads and getting the packaging made for the final order. 
Since the news, I’ve found myself teary-eyed and nostalgic - there isn’t a period in my life from childhood to my 20s to which an MJ song, dance move or TV appearance can’t be associated.
Family members and friends from around the world contacted me to share the news or reminisce about which moments of their lives will be forever associated with which Michael Jackson song…
If most of these people are like me though they’re likely grieving for the other “before” Michael - the young pop star genius Michael who won every award available and completely transformed videos and the pop music scene. The one who’s every song we can identify with some significant moment in our lives since childhood – the one who we’ve always wished could have found the inner peace necessary to live a more normal and happy life – THIS Michael:
