Screen Printing on Glass Workshop

I had a fantastic day recently, visiting Rachel Elliott Glassworks in Edinburgh. I travelled down to Edinburgh the evening before, Rachel came to meet me at the hotel and we headed in to town for something to eat. She even gave me a small guided tour of the City. Edinburgh Castle was beautifully lit against the dark night sky and then on to the Indian restaurant. A delicious meal too! I thoroughly enjoyed my screen printing course at Rachel's studio. We caught up on business stuff and covered quite a bit of glass stuff too. These were the designs I made on to glass. They had not been cleaned at this point: Washing the paint from the screen:

I loved all the designs, but particularly like the skulls (below) and made this one in to a coaster:

Thank you to Rachel for being a perfect host and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but it past far too quickly. I headed back home the same day, so a flying visit. Hopefully next time I travel to Edinburgh, it will be a little longer to take in some of the sites by day.

Kathryn, Lazy Daisy Glass xx

Charity Auction for Japan

Mel Poxon of Kookie Designs has once again organised a charity auction, with proceeds going to Japan via Oxfam.

She has some fantastic artists' work featured in the auction, ranging from lampwork beads to Japanese textiles. I am offering the Swirly Heart Hanger (above) for auction. Here are some of my favourites and can see myself bidding on them:

Rainbow in my Heart - Joy Funnel (above) Tangled Heart - Lush Lampwork (above)

Poppy Heart - Moogin (above)

As you can see some beautiful pieces of art. Please by Kookie Designs as there are a lot more on offer.

Kathryn, Lazy Daisy Glass xx

Getting Ready for Mother's Day

As Mother's Day will soon be on us, I have been busy beavering away in the studio building up stock of glass gifts. You can find these heart gifts available on my website.

Window Hangers (above)

Glass Love Token (above)

Unfortunately, I will be away for Mother's Day, I will be exhibiting at the British Craft Trade Fair in Harrogate. Hopefully the hubby will remember!

Plans are underway for the British Craft Trade Fair; stock being made and new designs on the drawing board. Looking forward to the fair and catching up with other exhibitors, but not the long drive.

Kathryn, Lazy Daisy Glass xx

Young Business of the Year Award

I attended the Highland Business Women's Club Awards Ceremony on Friday night at the Drumossie Hotel in Inverness. It was a fantastic night and a beautiful hotel.

I've been a member of the Business Women's Club for a short time and was pleased to be shortlisted and nominated for four categories; Enterprising Business of the Year, Young Business of the Year, Businesswomen of the Year and Member of the Year.

The great news is that I was lucky enough to win Young Business of the Year. I was absolutely thrilled! Another surprise was winning one nights accommodation at the Kingsmills Hotel and Spa in Inverness. A real bonus!

The Club also commissioned me to make all the Awards, here they are:

And here is the Award I won:

The awards incorporated dark and light blues (from their logo), the three triangles and on the right of the Award is the Highlands map in bas relief. I used a technique called kiln-carving for this map, by using fibre paper under the glass and firing, it creates an indentation.

The award I won was sponsored by Moray Firth Radio and Nicky Marr (Breakfast Presenter) was compere for the evening. She was great and very funny.

Kathryn, Lazy Daisy Glass xx

Victorian Lantern - Completed

You may recall that last year I was asked to renovate a Victorian Lantern. The lantern was in a terrible state, broken glass, no glass, broken arm, paint bubbling all over the place, generally neglected. I happened to pop in to the Craigellachie Hotel on another business matter, when the new General Manager was enquiring about getting the lamp renovated. It was my lucky day!

It took hours stripping it and picking out all the old lead paint with pointy tweezers! There was so much detail on the lamp under all the layers of paint, it was truly beautiful. The General Manager requested that the more detailed bits; legs and scalloped edging be finished with gold paint. This was an excellent decision as it brings the lamp to life against the black.

As you can see above, the gold looks great, the new glass sparkling - it certainly has made a huge difference to the entrance now it is working. The General Manager commented that so many people admire it and how wonderful it is now looking.

I was privileged to work on such a project. The lantern was one of the original features of the Hotel, back in the early 1900's, possibly late 1800's - we're not sure of the dates. I thoroughly enjoyed renovating the lantern, it was challenging project!

Kathryn, Lazy Daisy Glass xx

Glasgow Science Centre - New Stockist

I drove to Glasgow last week and met with the Buyer of the Science Centre. We had a good meeting and pleased to announce that I will be supplying them with my recycled bottle products. They have placed an order the bottle clocks, cheeseboards and coasters:

It was a beautiful sunny day and thoroughly enjoyed the journey, although it took 5 hours to get there, due to traffic and accidents.

The Science Centre manage the Whitelee Windfarm on behalf of Scottish Power Renewables, Europe's largest windfarm. My recycled products will be displayed at this site initially. If successful, they intend to roll out the products at the Science Centre too.

Both are major attractions in Scotland, so a great opportunity for Lazy Daisy Glass. The Science Centre is an amazing place:

Kathryn, Lazy Daisy Glass xx

Stylish Blog Award

I have been awarded the Stylish Blog Award - courtesy of Silver Pebble.

This is very exciting and will give you an insight to some blogs you may never read.

Here's how it works:

Step 1 - Make a link back to the person who nominated you - thanks for Silver Pebble. Link done!

Step 2 - Share 7 random things about yourself.

Step 3 - Award 15 recently discovered bloggers to this award.

Step 4 - Contact these bloggers and tell them about it.

Here are my 7 random things:

1) I love marmite, yep, I really do!!

2) I think Jason Gardiner (Mr Nasty) is quite cute (sorry DOI fans)

3) I've met Tom Cruise

4) I had a cuddle with Dermot O'Leary

5) I used to live in Hong Kong as a child and loved it over there.

6) My former career was being a PA to company directors.

7) I once played a cornet and flugelhorn in a silver band.

So there you have it, that's a little about me. Now here are the blogs I think you should read:

Starfish Studio
My Baboo
Ceri White
Aileen Clarke
Artinkulate
Lillian Aerin & Co
Bright and Beautiful
Mia Princess Diaries
Something Special
Violet Moon's Corner
The Craftifish
Rosewills Charms
Sarah's Creations
Treasures from Hawaii
Redchuckstress

Wow, 15 bloggers, that was tough, but I got there in the end.

Happy reading fellow bloggers.

Kathryn, Lazy Daisy Glass xx

Glen Moray Distillery - Commission

I was contacted by the Glen Moray Distillery before Christmas to create some corporate dishes for a new tasting tour taking place this season. The brief was to design the dishes using their corporate colours; dark blue, red and cream. After a meeting going through the different options available, they chose this design:
What I like about them, are their simplicity. These dishes will be used for locally produced food to accompany their whisky and given to visitors to taste.

For more details about Glen Moray Distillery, visit here.

It is very encouraging that a large local organisation is looking to work with local producers.

Kathryn, Lazy Daisy Glass xx

Trade Show & New Products

Back from the Spring Trade Show in Glasgow this week - this is how my stand looked (above). I launched some new products at the show, here are some of them:

Zebra Wave Clock (above)

Flora Clock (above)

Ocean Clock (above)

Clockworkz (above) - made with metal clock parts

Frit Heart Tile (above) - something for Valentines Day

The show was a lonely one this time around as I had to go on my own. Hubby and daughter usually tag along to help set up etc, but hubby had to work. Although I had some 'me' time, it wasn't the same without them!

I came away with new customers and it was great catching up with existing ones. I also met some great exhibitors and we all keep in touch as we will meet again at other shows. My next trade show will be the British Craft Trade Fair, Harrogate in April. Until then, I have plenty of orders to make.

Kathryn, Lazy Daisy Glass xx

Valentines Day Giveaway - Winner

And the winner is ........ SilverNikNats. Congratulations to Niky who won this valentines heart trinket dish.
Apologies for the delay in posting the winner, I've been away at the Spring Trade Show in SECC, Glasgow. More about that later.

If you would like to see what other Valentines products are available, please check out my website.

Kathryn, Lazy Daisy Glass xx

Valentines Day - Blog Giveaway

As it's Blue Monday today, I thought I would cheer some of you up with this Valentine Giveaway. Love must be in the air - for your chance to win the above fused glass heart trinket dish, measuring 12cm x 12cm, simply leave a comment below stating your ideal valentine date. The winner will be chosen at random. The giveaway is open to everybody.

There are various heart themed dishes available on my website.

To be in with an extra chance of winning, simply blog/FB/Twitter this giveaway.

The deadline is Friday 21 January 2011.

Good luck, Kathryn, Lazy Daisy xx

Valentines Day - Gift Ideas

That romantic time of year will soon be upon us once again, so what will you be buying for your loved one? Here are some new designs created for that special someone in your life. The dish above 'Steampunk Heart' is a trinket dish, measuring 12cm x 12cm and available here. It is a clear glass dish with a copper inclusion to create the image.

Another design is the 'Frit Heart' above, combining copper inclusions with a lovely bright red heart. This is also a trinket dish measuring 12cm x 12cm and available here.

Moving on to my fused glass tiles, as above. These are small tiles measuring 6cm x 6cm that are given as love tokens and can be used as a paperweight or desktop decoration. This design is a modern take on love, called 'Heart U' and available here.

Another fused glass tile available (above) is this 'Frit Heart' made from bright red crushed glass. Measuring 6cm x 6cm and available here.

These 'Blush' Heart Hangers are made using copper heart inclusions with a sprinkling of pink. The pink is transparent so a subtle addition. The hangers measure 12cm x 5cm and ready to hang in your window or against a wall, available here.

These are some of the ideas available on Lazy Daisy Glass, but remember don't just wait until Valentines Day to show your love to that special person. It should be throughout the year! - My romantic side now kicking in (hope the hubby is reading this!).

Kathryn, Lazy Daisy Glass xx

Happy New Year - Overview of 2010

Happy New Year to all my customers and followers. 2010 was such a fantastic year that I thought I would share some of my highlights.

I exhibited at the British Craft Trade Fair in Harrogate for the first time in April - it was such a huge show with over 300 exhibitors, which means huge competition. I thoroughly enjoyed the overall experience of the show and have signed up again this year.

The other trade shows I exhibited at were the Spring Show at SECC Glasgow, Autumn Show at SECC Glasgow and The Aviemore Trade Show.

The Copse (above)

Standing Stones (above)

The two photos above were some new items I introduced last year. There were too many to list here, but you can check them out on my website.

Exhibiting at Strathisla Distillery, Keith

Coast Art Festival (above)

I exhibited at a few shows during 2010 - starting at the Strathisla Distillery in Keith during the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival. This was a great 4 day event and spoke to many people from all over the world. My second year exhibiting at the Coast Art Festival in Banff. This is a great venue and well attended and again did very well in sales and a commission. The North East Open Studios followed in September, my third year of exhibiting in a local village hall. Speyside Artisans organised the event this year - a collective of talented artists and crafters who live around the Speyside. A selection of my work is also at Boath House near Nairn - a luxury Scottish hotel, and the Craigellachie Hotel in Craigellachie.

Not forgetting my gorgeous daughter, who celebrated her third birthday in 2010. We hired a bouncy castle in the garden and had her friends around for a party. She thoroughly enjoyed the bouncy castle, as did I!! My mum flew up from Cornwall for my daughter's birthday and we had a lovely family time. But it is always a sad time when we have to say out goodbyes, granny saying good bye at the airport:

We also enjoyed a beautiful family holiday in Morocco last year. The weather was perfect, as was the hotel, food and the people. It was our first family holiday and we had such a fab time, so much so, we are hoping to go back this year - to the same hotel. We all enjoyed a morning trek on camels:

I gained some new stockists during 2010, including Baxters Food Group, supplying glass gifts to their Highland Village (below), Celebrations of Turriff, Voluptu Boutique in Elgin, Rosewills Cottage in Whitley Bay, and Lee Chapman Gallery in Keswick, Cumbria, just a few from the list.

New outdoor events were added to my calendar - one of the best ones was the Belladrum Festival was a great 3 day event, and the music was fantastic. The family came and we spent the weekend camping, which is great fun and we were lucky enough to see KT Tungstall, Amy MacDonald, The Whalers (as in Bob Marley), Feeder, Candi Staton (from the 80's) and many more.

I joined Swanky Maison, a new online shopping boutique, offering a selection of high quality handcrafted gifts and homeware. Gifted People is also another online shopping experience, but with a twist. Not only do they sell Scottish gifts, but offer 'experiences' too, for example, a 4x4 off road experience, flying a light aircraft, driving a small hovercraft, or if you fancy something a little more tame, beauty treatments or perhaps a makeover photo shoot. All experiences and gifts are Scottish based.

Christmas was a very busy time also, as I had booked myself in to many more events and was working many hours to get everything done. But thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless.

A quick overview, but hope you enjoyed my wonderful journey (I got the idea from Charlotte Hupfield, whilst reading her blog). I am now gearing up for the Spring Trade show this month and working on a commission project for a local distillery.

Kathryn, Lazy Daisy Glass xx

New Stockist - Puddleduck's Place

Puddleduck's Place in Cullen is now under new management and pleased to announce they are now stocking my fused glass jewellery. Some pieces you will find available at Puddleduck's Place:

Once Christmas is over and things have settled down a little, they will be stocking some more fused glass gifts, including window hangers, trinket dishes and clocks.

Kathryn, Lazy Daisy Glass xxx