[LavenderCreek]

I'm sorry, I just now found this thread. I haven't been on the forum for awhile.
Anna gave some great advice, I love her owls!
I agree that with a simple tab bead you can create all sorts of critters. It would also be a really great place to begin with sculptural stuff. Pin up pictures of the animals you want to make as a reference. I do this a lot, it really helps.

I'm afraid that I would have a really hard time trying to write a tutorial on my owls (not to mention most of my sculptural work) because most of it is done in a very free form sort of way. They almost never turn out looking the same and I don't really follow any specific formula when I make most of my stuff. I do usually begin with a recognizable shape. For the owls it is usually a barrel shape. Then I just keep adding glass where it looks like I need more glass. I use dental spatulas as sculpting tools to help shape and to move the glass around where I want it.

Most often I use silvered glass for my owl's eyes (it probably doesn't even matter which one you use, I have tried picasso, silver mist and gaia, and they all look great) and then cover it with a thick layer of clear.

I'm sorry I can't be more specific. It is so much easier to show in person how I make stuff...it's sort of like that saying goes...one demo is worth a thousand words!