Family

As the age old adage goes 'You can choose your friends, but you cannot choose your family'. So how many of us would swap what we have been given for that which we have chosen? 

 I didn't choose my children. If I had I would have gone to the aisle with the tidy, non argumentative, shiny faced angels and bought myself a couple of those. I appear to have been given the ones instead who like their clothes to create a carpet, who can argue and answer back with thin air and have the amazing knowledge of the language of 'grunts'. But I wouldn't swap them for anything. I have thrown away the receipt!

So what would you choose? A supportive, loyal, loving, giving and friendly family? Or would you keep the one you had warts and all? Or like me would you like to pick and choose? 

Definitely some would change but not all. Although I would be kidding myself if I thought that they didn't think the same thing about me! 

So here's the 3 that I wouldn't change for anything :)

If At First You Don't Succeed...

First let me thank those who were so encouraging after I posted my maiden blog a couple of weeks ago. It means a lot to have your support :)
I was lucky enough recently to spend a day learning from the amazingly talented Anouk Jasperse. The aim was to take a rod of silver glass, which dependent on which one it was could start out as a pooey brown or transparent pale blue and make it come to life or 'sing'. I made sure I took notes of her demos and tried my best at the torch, but I left at the end of the day feeling despondent and very fed up. To say what I made was pants would have been kind. I felt I had thrown away a sizeable amount of money and taken a place that someone else would really have benefitted from. After a few days of feeling like this I figured I had two choices  1.wallow in uselessness or 2. give myself a slap and go switch on the torch and try and see if I could encourage but a single note from a rod of silver glass, in this case Clio.
A week on and 5 large lentils later (not including the ones that went in the water jar) I have a bead that I would consider fit for public viewing. Everyone of those practice pieces sang their little hearts out, with varying shades of Barbie pink through to bright fushia. A little practice on shaping and the end result is what you see here. She's not perfect, but she is most certainly worthy of her place in the silver glass line up.
It really was the age old saying "If at first you don't succeed...."

There hasn't been much time for torching this week due to the kids being on half term and work demanding my attention. Hopefully normality will return as of Monday when I can once again ignore the housework and with the company of my 2 faithful doggie shadows I will be found in the garage melting glass, safe and secure in the knowledge that I am doing what I love and enjoy.

Trout xx

My Maiden Blog

Apparently I should blog according to various nameless sources. As a rule I like to talk, whether to humans or animals I'm not fussed as long as there is an ear that is pretending to listen.
I suppose I should introduce myself. My real name is Sarah Brown also known in recent times as The Tartan Trout. I'm nearly 39, old enough to know better but still young enough to give most things a try! Originally from a greying little town called Denny near Stirling I now live in the heart of the North Devon countryside. I am as much at home here in my wellies with the chickens as I am on Oxford Street choosing yet another pair of pretty shoes. I have 2 children and a husband who live with me. We are all kept an eye on by 2 cats, 2 dogs and 2 chickens.
The purpose of this blog is to promote The Tartan Trout. This is my little corner of the lampworking and jewellery world. I love making the beads, then creating the piece of jewellery with them, for people to then buy, wear and appreciate. For those of you who don't know what lampworking is, in blog 2 I will do a brief write up with some pretty pictures.

In honour of The Tartan Trouts maiden blog I will be giving away a pair of sterling silver earrings with lampwork beads in the winners choice of colour in about a weeks time. You need to be a liker on The Tartan Trout page on fb for this to happen.Tartan Trout on fb

For today this is as good as it gets. If you made it this far, you have my thanks :)

Trout xx

Visit My Online Shop www.thetartantrout.co.uk