I have had butterflies on the brain this week because I’ve been working on a custom order for a butterfly pendant and card guard. One thing to emerge from this butterfly mania is these green dichroic butterfly earrings. I also made another pair like them in purple. And I’m almost finished with the custom order, so that’s great, too!

How cool is this Ebb and Flo brooch! It is made with a dichroic glass cabochon surrounded by steel wire crochet and natural dyed silk - soooo chic! See it close up in Amanda’s new Mintd shop.

I have been on a pin kick recently, probably because Mother’s Day is coming up and I know that many Moms love pins. This is a fused glass flower pin that just came out of the kiln today. It has blue and white art glass petals and a dichroic jewel in its center. I also put a couple similar pins in my Etsy shop.

Kimberly of Blue Lady Studios has created more beautiful PMC jewelry using some of the mini dichro cabs that I made for her. I especially like her piece, Kasbah Fine Silver PMC Pendant, shown here, but I’m also a big fan of Purple Daisy, a fine silver flower pendant with a purple polka dot cabochon in its center. Kimberly’s Moonlight Fine Silver PMC Pendant has subtle-yet-stunning texture and is accented by a clear blue dichroic glass cabochon. Be sure to visit Blue Lady Studios to see her entire collection!

I have been getting a lot of requests from my customers lately to create a mailing list to get the word out when I have a sale, so I have created a newsletter. Its primary function will be to announce special offers and send out promo codes. You can sign up for the newsletter here, or by filling out the form on the left sidebar.

One of my favorite books that my mother would read to me when I was growing up was The Big Orange Splot by D. Manus Pinkwater, a story about a man who is moved to embrace non-conformity after a seagull drops orange paint onto the roof of his house. When his neighbors insist that he repaint his roof, the man decides to instead paint his whole house in all of the colors of the rainbow.

I am working on a new line of fused glass pins that are inspired by the moral in The Big Orange Splot. These non-conformist glass accessories are funky and splot-like with freeform shapes and bold colors. You can check them out in the fused glass pin section of my Etsy store.

This Excel spreadsheet is what I use to keep track of my business. I give it to my tax preparer so that they can fill out Schedule C for me. It has 11 tabs to keep track of sales, returns, purchases and inventory. If you have any suggestions for how to make it better, I’d love to hear them!

Soapylove is an Etsy shop where you will find absolutely amazing soap. From ice cream sandwich soapsicles to butterfly cameo bars, Soapylove is filled with funky and unique soap, so I was super excited when Soapylove shop owner Debbie contacted me about creating some soap based on my Ultra Modern fused glass dangle earrings. I think she did a fantastic job capturing the earrings! You can see the Dichroic Soap Bars in Debbie’s Etsy shop: soapylove.etsy.com.

This week I am debuting spring earring styles in my Etsy store, including the pair in the photo, which are Jade Spiral dangles with square dichroic glass decoration. Also in the spring collection are crosshatched dichroic earrings and Organic Fused Glass Dangles with olive ribbon bead accents.