Tuesday, April 10, 2011, 2:30 PM

Just a quick note to let you all know that my latest tutorial, "Taming Terra," is now available for instant download on the Tutorials page.

Now that Double Helix has resurrected original formula Terra and it's no longer necessary to pay an arm and a leg on the secondary market in order to add the infamous Terra to your bead designs, I thought it was time for me to share everything I know about my all-time favorite glass. This comprehensive e-book covers both the original 2007 batches and the present-day versions of Terra, including the new "Fast Striking" variant. In these pages I'll share with you more than you ever wanted to know about working both original and latter-day versions of Terra, from striking the glass and keeping your colors in the kiln to the base glasses that will really make Terra's colors pop. Includes step-by-step instruction on my "Essential Terra" series beads as well as how-to's for other designs to get you started using Terra in your work to beautiful effect.

"Taming Terra" is a full-color e-book in PDF format; 40 pages.

Saturday, February 11, 2011, 2:30 PM

Hello everyone!

It's been a few months since my last update here...as some of you may know if you follow me on Facebook, I was hit by a drunk driver in late November. My car was totalled, and I came away a fair amount worse for wear as well. Given the severity of the crash I was really very lucky — if I hadn't been wearing a seat belt I probably wouldn't be writing this — but I did wind up with painful rib, neck and back injuries that have kept me running from doctor to doctor over the last 2-1/2 months, as well as a raging case of depression/PTSD that put me way off my game. Let's just say it's been a loooooong and dreary 2-1/2 months here and that I'm really happy to be tentatively easing back into my normal routine.

For now, I'm starting slow, with a 50% off sale on all of my tutorials and one new auction on Ebay. These beads were actually made before the crash -- in fact, on the night of the accident I was coming home from buying replacement photo bulbs so that I could finish photographing this set and get it listed. I haven't made any new beads since the accident but I'm determined to get back to the torch this week, so hopefully before too long I'll be back to my previous level of productivity and will have new work available a few times a week. I also have plans brewing for several new tutorials, so I'll have news about those before too long as well.

That's pretty much all the news for now. I just wanted to say hello, give you guys an update, and let you know why it's been so quiet here for the past few months. Hope the new year is treating you all well so far, and I'll be back with another update soon. Thanks for reading!

Kim