Firebug Beads - Glass Lampwork Beads

Winter Flower

2011-12-06T12:06:00.001-05:00

Holiday Beads

2011-12-04T16:38:00.001-05:00

Who knew red and green could be so fun and festive! A couple of new holiday bead sets in my shop now.

These little snowmen just melt my heart!

A Home For My Beads

2011-10-08T17:05:00.000-04:00

Since I keep making beads I'm finding that my beads are requiring more housing. I approached dear hubby with my idea of wanting a white display stand for my beads. Something very simple but cute. I'd been seeing some really neat storage ideas online. Even purchased a few box displays so I could transport the beads on display if I wanted. What I really wanted though was a cute display stand for at home in my studio. Something that didn't look so utilitarian.

We took some time to think out exactly what I wanted and he came up with what he needed to get it done. Other than that I can't take any credit for this project, I sat this one out. From what I hear this was not as easy a project as it seemed like it was going to be. I'm not sure I will be getting many more of these made for me but in the finish of this project I actually got two of these bad boys (whoot (thank you dh)!) They turned out exactly as I had hoped.

Batty Bliss

2011-10-06T15:18:00.000-04:00

Yesterdays work didn't go totally wasted! I'm glad I could restrain myself this time.

Four large lentil bat beads unscathed.

Batbead Returns

2011-10-05T19:45:00.000-04:00

So I had another go at these bat beads. I spent several hours in front of the torch for a whole four beads so I was very excited to see them come out of the kiln. So much so that waiting for them was driving ME batty.

Of course I did the unthinkable...I waited until just a tiny bit before my kiln was ready to turn off from it's cooling down cycle and pulled the beads. I figured what could that hurt, I had it set longer than it needed anyway so a few ticks before wouldn't harm the beads. Let me state I do not and have not ever done this with any of my beads...until last night. I've always feared exactly what happened to my beads would happen if I ever messed with them in the kiln during the cycle. Guess I was feeling "lucky" this night.

All was fine as I wait watching them cool and the true colors appear. Then out of the corner of my eye I catch this glimmer from the one bead (hmmm..what was that). I took a closer look at that glimmering bead and that's when I saw the first crack, then another. Oh no! I quickly started looking at the other ones and what's that another crack! Ugh!! I was beyond upset with myself. The third from the last bead was cracked too. The only survivor was the tiny square one.....

oh wasted work, lesson learned.

The beads weren't exactly what I wanted. so it's not a heart stopping mess up on my end. I worked them all far too long in the flame so everything got too melty looking but this was the learning process and I think I got it down. I put a whole new batch in the kiln tonight (fingers crossed). I will also be showing restraint tonight and will not be sneaking down to get them out early..ever...again.

Cracked and sad looking I still thought I'd share them for fun.

The only survivor

Nicole

Going Batty

2011-10-03T18:42:00.000-04:00

"Good Evening" (sinister voice).

It's that time of year again, when the leaves start changing colors, the evenings are cool and crisp, and the ghosts and ghouls come out to play.

In the spirit of this spooktacular month I decided to break out some Halloween colors from my stash of glass.

I haven't done too many holiday style beads, soooo with that being said be prepared for the worse (I'm kidding I didn't slaughter it too badly). I will however say this is my first attempt at a bat. I actually love the over all style, it just needs some refinement. Such as my color of choice for the border needs to be changed. It lacks the "pop" I wanted so I'm thinking on my second go-round I'll pick black or purple. And my shape needs to be a bit tighter. I do have to say though I think the bat is devilishly cute.

Take a peek (if you dare)!

(backside)

Whahaha! Hope you enjoyed.

Nicole

Oh How I've Missed

2011-08-27T13:05:00.000-04:00

I've so missed my torch time! I didn't realize how much until I finally got a chance to sit down on Friday and make some new beads. I've had a busy schedule lately not permitting any time at the torch for months now. I decided Thursday night that I was definitely going to head down to my studio since most of my day was freed up. I'm really glad I did!

All the excitement of this craft quickly came back to me and I could barely wait for my kiln to finish and my beads to cool down so I could check out what I had spent hours making. 7 hours produced 10 beads, not too shabby!

Here's a look at what came out of my kiln. I used mostly purple and black colors which were initially inspired by wanting to create beads in Halloween / fall colors. Although they didn't turn out very spooky and ended up more on the happy end of the design I still think they work perfectly for fall jewelry designs.

New Page

2011-08-25T18:18:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone check out my new charm page! A fun collection of interchangeable charms that go with Firebug Bead custom made bracelets (located on my jewelry page). See one you like, stop by my Etsy shop to purchase securely using paypal.

New Bead Sets

2011-05-30T15:04:00.002-04:00

A couple of new bead sets in my etsy shop! Swing on by and check them out along with a nice selection of new charms and custom bracelets just released.

Candy Striped Daisies

Groovy Baby!!

It's time!!

2011-05-29T17:46:00.001-04:00

I am just about done editing all my photos for the new bracelet and charms going into my etsy shop TONIGHT!! I'm excited about these and I hope others are too. They are a ton of fun since you can swap your charms around creating a new look anytime you'd like. All the bracelets are beautiful but simple in their designs and the charms are so much fun! I have sea critters, new Funky Town Turtles and more! Each of the charms are tagged with an engraved Firebug Bead tag too! Everything is handmade, no machines here, so no two are exactly alike.

I will have 2 bracelet styles available in .925 sterling silver and 1 style in silver plate as an option for younger customers (teen on up, not recommended for little children as my beads are glass). There will be over 2 dozen charms to pick from. Bracelets will fit sizes 6.5-7.5 wrists....in other words one size fits most! All the charms are the approx the same in length, there may be a slight difference, again due to each being handmade.

Want a sneak peek? Check out my facebook page and while you're there become a fan to stay up to date when I post new items! Or follow me on twitter. - check out my sidebar for all the links.

Getting the hang of it

2011-04-28T19:13:00.003-04:00

Once again I'm on to a new technique with glass & new colors! Every time I think I've found a technique or style that I am in love with along comes another to replace the one before. I'm not sure I'll ever learn everything there is to learn with glass, which is one of the things I love about this craft. Not only are there tons of new things to constantly discover but I also want to master each skill.

Then there's all the color options with glass. When I first started this I wouldn't even consider looking at anything other than Effetre glass but over time I've dipped into Vetrofond, Creation is Messy, 96 COE glass, & Reinbach 104. Never wanting to mess with frit, murrini chips, cane, stringers, foils and now it's all part of my arsenal. Sometimes it's literally too many options!

Over the past few weeks I've been ordering new glass to test and play with. I've also started on a few new techniques and have been working on mastering some older ones.

Below are a few new beads I've done using the new glass and a technique I'm working on. I've got a little way to go before I have these things looking magnificent but I'm happy with my attempts and each day I practice the beads improve. I wish I was just naturally awesome on the first try, but I guess that would take some of the fun and challenge out of it too wouldn't it?!

Ok, this is day 1 bead, before I got some of the new glass. Here I was experimenting with a more round bead verses donut shape. I loved the amount of room it left for decorating. Most of my focus for this bead besides it's shape was even spacing for dots & decorations and my plunging technique.

Day 2: Here I was working on my bicone shape, pulling my own goldstone stringer from goldstone frit (way tougher than I expected it to be). The base of this bead was done in Butter Pecan, which reacts beautifully with the silver foil, very earthy with shimmer! As you can see by my ends my goldstone stringers were lacking a bit of luster, they seriously need more gold sparkle!

Day 3: Working on my shapes again and by this time I have a bunch of new glass colors to play with and whoa boy look out cause I think I'm in love with them all! Here I'm starting to play around with pulling / dragging the glass to create different designs.

Day 4: Again working on shaping. These beads were crunched into the shapes I wanted using my brass press. The base of both beads are silver plum, light and dark. I noticed dark is quick to bubble and pit if worked too long or hot, although both seem to be susceptible to this happening the lighter silver plum has little more tolerance. This practice round was all about pulling glass and layering.

I'm getting there....slow and steady.

Thanks for stopping!

P.S. The new bracelet designs featuring firebug beads are almost ready for my shop! I have a few things to finish up, such as soldering all jump rings to provide a great quality, sturdy product but they'll be here before you know it! If you want a sneak peek stop by my Facebook page and check it out!

New Beads

2011-04-12T08:38:00.000-04:00

A couple new sets of beads in my etsy shop! Stop by and check em' out!

Monet's Sketchbook Flowers

Summer Sunrise

Jewel Tones Take 2

2011-04-01T09:25:00.007-04:00

I've finally finished up the new sets of jewel tone colors. I love how much more vibrant the colors came out this time. Although they are the same colors (except the green set) as the original batch I made almost a year ago they aren't the same shades. These sets have deeper, crisper colors.

The one thing I really enjoy about making these sets is the trial and error of combining different transparent colors together. Sometimes they work out beautifully, creating this slight but gradual shade change between each other making my life easier! But at the same time I'm almost always hit with a surprise of how something didn't work the way I thought it would. Yellow is one color of these jewel tones I have yet to succeed with. One because there is a slight lacking of transparent yellows in my personal stash and two because the yellows I do have vary so much in shade that it has yet to look right when I combine two yellows. I'll figure it out, eventually.

In these new sets of jewel tones I used a combination of CiM (Creation is Messy) & Effetre glass colors. Last time I only used Effetre colors. I have since expanded my glass stash....a girls gotta have options right? My favorite set is the blue. Leaky Pen is divine encased and creates such a rich, velvety color...scrumptious!

I used CiM's Slytherin on the green set which is a color I haven't experimented with until now. When held in the light it is very similar in color to Effetre's transparent sage green, however, encasing both colors shows the shades are different. Used together they create the lovely forest green shade shown in the set.

This sweet pink set has CiM's Cranberry and Blush colors combined. Although this is exactly what I used when I made the first set of these pink beads they look totally different. This batch of cranberry glass was different, containing heavier goldish tones. ( I wish I still had leftovers of my first batch of cranberry).

Using Simply Berry and Med. Transparent Amethyst together create this rich, deep royal purple.

Thanks for stopping!

New Jewel Tones

2011-03-20T21:38:00.002-04:00

These fun jewel tone beads are on their way back! Super fun for your jewelry designs, they're perfect grouped together or used as accents to a focal piece. Here's another peek for today at two of the new colors available soon.

Sea Breeze

Lucky Clover

Funky Fever

2011-03-18T16:12:00.002-04:00

I've got a little sneak peek of something funky!

I can't tell you much yet but I hear Funky Town has some turtles who are stylin' some funk-a-licious new designs. I also heard they're just about ready to roll into town to funkify your wardrobe in a groovy new bracelet design.

Keep your eyes peeled! In the meantime here's that peek I promised...

A Thank-You

2011-02-23T12:24:00.005-05:00

This weekend's mail brought a great treat for me that I am excited to share.

2 weeks ago I posted about my chance to go to the Boyertown West Jr. High to demonstrate lampworking to the art students and how much fun the experience was. Well this weekend a wonderful little package was dropped into my mailbox with a return address from the school.

I had no idea what it could be. Anxiously I tore open the package to find thank-you cards from each of the classes I demonstrated for that day. Every card was signed with sweet, kind comments from each student. Talk about making my day! Just being able to go to the school to demonstrate was a treat but get such a thoughtful little gift really put the cherry on top of an already delicious sundae!

I definitely plan to get all of these cards into some kind of frame / scrapbook layout to hang in my studio. This is something that I will never forget and I want to preserve the memory.

A little note for the students:

A Day At School

2011-02-15T09:32:00.007-05:00

At the end of the week last week I got the chance to swing by the Boyertown Jr. High West art department to spend a day demonstrating lampworking to the young art students.

Me, my bin of supplies and Jen Hetrick of News, Not Blues arrived bright and early at the Jr. High to get set up for the first class demonstration. Jen was kind enough to come along to take pictures (thank-you Jen!).

Around 9 the first set of students poured in, all grabbing safety goggles and piling around the table I was set up at to get a good view. Of course I was naturally nervous with the first class. I've never had to do any kind of public speaking much less demonstrating my skills of lampworking in front of anyone other than my family who sees me in my studio regularly.

After a very nice introduction from the art teacher Stephanie Stamm all those eyes were now fixed on me, waiting patiently for me to show them what can be done with a little fire and glass. With a few quick safety instructions regarding flying glass I got started with my demonstration and Jen got to snapping pictures of the action.

The first demonstration was a little shaky on my end due to nerves but the students didn't seem to mind. Watching intently the room was silent other than the hiss of my torch and sound of my voice as I explained what I was doing as I made each bead. My nerves subsided pretty quickly after the first set of art students watched.

Following my first demonstration was a flood of great questions from the students, which continued through each class. Sometimes there were so many questions I didn't know which way to look, the kids seemed really excited to know more and to have me there.

A basic round bead was demonstrated for each class and usually there was time for me to demonstrate a bead involving a little more skill. Flower petals, floating dots, a critter shape were a few of the other techniques I was able to show the students.

After each demonstration the students got to take home a glass bead made by me. I have a bin of beads in my studio that contain all the beads that don't make the cut for using in a design or to be sold. Sometimes it's a design flaw, sometimes it's a wrong color combo or the bead isn't as perfectly shaped as I'd like it to be. There's nothing wrong with the beads other than I wasn't 100% happy with something. Well these beads need love too and the students did just that. I absolutely loved watching the students get so excited to dig through the bin to pick a bead.

I also had set up a small display of bead sets and a few finished jewelry pieces to show the kids how the glass beads can be used. I have to say though of all the display items I had the show stealer of the display was Merv (the turtle). He was hit with the kids and a great example of the endless creativity potential with glass. Thank you Merv for the many smiles provided!

I hope the students enjoyed themselves as much as I did. I want to thank them for making it such a great day with their enthusiasm and interest!

Design Time!

2011-01-21T09:36:00.032-05:00

It's a snowy white world out there today where I live! I woke up to snow covering everything..not that this is the first time we've had snow this year. I love seeing it before it gets all mucked up with footprints and starts turning icky black by the edges of the street....and before it has to be shoveled.

With all this cold weather I was more than happy to work on a bracelet design request for a friend using these fun summery, thoughts of warmer weather beads. This is my Summer Pond set (I love that little dragonfly!). The background of each bead is made using a frit mix from the

FRIT FAIRIES - super fun little shop to visit, check out their gallery for great inspiration beads!

With my helper by my side, Firebug Teensy (who is sleeping on the job?!) I got started.

I decided to design the clasp myself from 14 gauge sterling silver deadsoft wire for this bracelet. Sometimes if I have a really neat already made clasp from a store I'll use that but generally I like making my own because it can add the peferct touch of orginality to a piece. I attached two sets of chain links to each end of the clasp too.

I also hammered the clasp to give it a sort of diamond cut look, which I think it's pretty hard to see in the picture but it's there. Since I am holding the hammer and the clasp at the same time I can only give you a picture of the hammer block! ha...I need more hands so I can photograph myself using the hammer.

Once the clasp was designed I just needed to pick out a few spacer pieces to add between the glass beads...hmmm...I think I need a few more choices, don't you?

Ready for finished bracelet pictures?

Have a great weekend!

Nicole

Be Still My ♥

2011-01-17T08:56:00.001-05:00

Ok, I know I've been posting a TON of heart beads....but tis' the season is my excuse. Valentine's Day is right around the corner and it's the perfect time for me to make one of my favorite shapes, hearts. I love making hearts. I don't know why because I'm personally not a huge heart wearer when it comes to my jewelry. Something about making hearts makes me smile and I find myself losing track of time when I'm in my studio creating these. I love the flowing curvy lines of a heart and all the workable room for adding those little extra decorations to each.

These are two of my newest hearts below. The shape and design is more organic then the last few hearts I've posted.

♥ Is In The Air

2011-01-13T18:36:00.001-05:00

Sweet ♥ Love

2011-01-12T18:58:00.000-05:00

Delicate Petals

2011-01-09T17:22:00.000-05:00

Focal Beads

2011-01-07T13:15:00.000-05:00

A Touch Of Elegance

2011-01-06T09:42:00.007-05:00

This is my favorite pendant to date. Not only do I love the weave pattern glass bead, I love the huge sterling silver scroll spacer ball at the bottom. The bead caps are also oh so divine.

This is definitely a statement pendant. It's large and in charge. It's about 59mm in length. I think it would look fabulous on a shorter length snake chain with a V neck dress, sweater, or shirt. All elements are .925 sterling silver, easily cleaned by dipping in some silver cleaner.

Mystic Silver Pendant

2011-01-05T09:46:00.003-05:00

Once in a great while I get time and the right mood for throwing together a jewelry piece with some of my beads. It's really more a matter of having the time to do it then it is the want to make some jewelry and yesterday was one of those great "got the time" kind of days.

A whole lota months ago I attend Bead Fest in Philadelphia where I purchased a few new jewelry making supplies for my stash. Of course, even though I had the best of intentions, these new items have sat and sat and...sat since I bought them.

Well they are sitting no longer.

Picture time!

This is the first pendant I created using a glass lampwork bead (made by me) and some of the fun new items in my stash from Bead Fest. Everything is .925 sterling silver aside from the beads. The bottom has little seed beads collect from my trip to Colorado one summer.

I love these flower scroll work bead caps they match the scroll work on the bead

New Glass Bead Set - A Love Affair - Part II

2010-12-08T11:43:00.002-05:00

Part II is done! I'm having a lot of fun with simple black and white designs. This second set is done with white swirls and dots. All nine beads are lentil shaped and both sides of the beads have a design on them. Each bead is different and each side is different. No two beads are alike but they are all done with a similar flow which makes them work well together. As opposed to the other set the decorations on this set are not raised.

You can't go wrong with this timeless color combination. A Love Affair - Part II is now available in my Etsy shop.

New Glass Bead Set - Love Affair - Part I

2010-12-02T11:00:00.006-05:00

Love Affair - Part I - the newest set of Firebug Beads. Classic black and white beads layered with pretty little flowers. This is a mixed set of bead shapes. Lentils and rounds! I think it makes for a fun combination.

This set will be available for purchase in my Etsy shop soon! (a little sneak peek here first).

Rootbeer, Carmel or Chocolate?

2010-11-19T09:27:00.000-05:00

Rootbeer, carmel, or chocolate - you pick! Either way they are all delicious shades of brown and yummy things to eat or drink.

These rich, delicious shades of brown were my inspiration for this set of beads. By using two different shades of brown (light and dark topaz) and encasing them with clear I was able to achieve a warm soft perfectly graduated shade of brown. Which reminds me of a rootbeer float...mmmmm.

Here's my color collage used to inspire this set of beads.

and the set of beads to match

After making this set I got a request from my girlfriend to put them into a bracelet design as a surprise gift for one of her friends. Happy to oblige her request to turn these sweet treats into a wearable treat I sat down to tackle the design. I added a fun magnetic clasp, dainty sterling silver links, and smoky topaz crystal spacers to complete the look.

Thanks for stopping! Have a fantastic weekend!

Color Inspiration

2010-11-18T09:02:00.004-05:00

Ever notice how hard it is to envision a new color for a room in your home with just that teeny tiny paint chip sample propped up somewhere against the wall you want to paint? Will the new color go with your existing furniture pieces and other accent color choices? It's hard to see it all without actually doing it.

I have the same troubles sometimes when trying to create complimenting color combinations for beads. I found a fun solution to this and I think it can work with just about any type of project that involves colors. Oh AND it's a great way to put those old magazines you have lying around collecting dust to use.

Creating a color collage can really help you decide on color combinations or help you get inspired to try new combinations. This is easy-peasy to do.

Grab that old stack of magazines - garden, home improvement, fashion magazines and catalogs are great.

With the colors you'd like to see together in mind start paging through your magazines looking for those colors, getting as close as you can to the correct shade also. Clip the things you find that match your color idea and start laying them out in a collage spread on a sheet of cardstock, printer paper, a notebook....anywhere. I have a small spiral bound sketchbook (sketchbooks have heavier paper than notebooks) I use to create two page color inspiration layouts. It lets me keep all my color finds in one spot so I can flip through later for inspiration when I'm really struggle to come up with any good color combinations. Adhere your clippings to the cardstock and now take a look at your collage of color. It should give you a broader view of how those colors look and work together.

Below are a few sample pages from my sketchbook and some beads that have been inspired by my color collages.

Check out this crazy, happy color combo. This combination I found as I was searching for another in my magazines.

and the bead set inspired by the above

Classic black and white

and a classic black and white set

Blue and green - I still have a little room in the corner to add some more pictures, but there's enough here to see how it all looks. I love finding pictures with patterns too. It's a great way for me to get a pattern idea for a bead.

this bead sets blue is lighter then my color collage blue

Thanks for stopping!

Playing With New Colors

2010-11-16T12:25:00.002-05:00

I can't believe I haven't posted anythings since the end of October. Time goes so quick!

Cinnamon Swirl is the first set of beads. I used a Creation is Messy color (Ginger) for the swirls. It's a lovely soft almost pinkish color. When I pulled it into stringers it changed to an off white losing some of its original soft pink glow, however it worked beautifully as stringer. It was nice and stiff allowing me to get a good flow going for the swirls. The bottom color is Light Topaz (effetre). It shows a bit darker in the picture than it actually is.

Peacock Tail: I love, love, love this dark gray by CiM (Adamantium). I will be buying more. I forgot I even had this sitting in my stash until I was walking through my living room and I have this little set of boxes that are colored in dark gray, blue, ivory and pea green. I was smacked with a color inspiration moment looking at those boxes so I ran downstairs to see what grays I had that would be dark enough when I came across this beautiful color by CiM. It's perfect in every way. It's rich charcoal color is warm and inviting, not as heavy as black, it adds a softness to the other colors around it. And goes with just about any other color. I used Pea Green (effetre) and Light Turquoise (effetre) with accents of light ivory. The ivory reacted nicely with the light turquoise by creating a dark line anywhere the two colors touched.

Moonlit Pool: I've discovered a very surprising color combination that I hadn't thought to do before. I love when accidents turn into great moments of ah ha! I never thought to add decorations to a bead in a similar color family.I always try to create some kind of "pop" in my color combinations by mixing up the colors, no two colors the same type of thing....but look at what can happen when you use two colors in the same color group, just of varying shades. The base color here is Light Turquoise (effetre) and the stringer color is Leaky Pen (CiM) encased over white. This effect was a complete accident, I never would have imagined it would look right but I am pleasantly surprised.

Well I'm off to go fire up my torch! Have a great week!

Happy Halloween Beads

2010-10-31T17:36:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween from Firebug Beads!

Bead Mania

2010-08-23T09:25:00.006-04:00

Bead Fest 2010 was here in PA this past weekend at the Valley Forge Convention Center and I got the opportunity to check it out! Since I actually remembered to bring my camera for once I get to let you peek inside of Bead Fest and all its wonder.

This expo was a sight to behold if you've never been to bead expo. I truly can't begin to relay my feeling of overwhelm when I stepped through the doors and realized that not only did the vendors stretch beyond what the eye could see but there were not one, but two full floors of vendors. I was standing in bead heaven.

Now I'm not sure if you're allowed cameras at Bead Fest but I didn't have any problems, however, I did not take pictures of artist's tables. I do not have permission to post pictures of their work or to take pictures of their work so you will not get to see any of the actual artist's bead artwork here, you'll have to go next year to see for yourself. I will say that the most amazing things were at the artist's tables, including the artists themselves.

Even without the pictures of all the handcrafted items there was plenty to be seen. When I first walked through to the main area my eyes were greeted with a tantalizing sea of color and sparkle. I was instantly star struck. I think I spent most of the day walking around in a half daze of bewilderment.

Every supply you could possibly need for creating a simple to extravagant piece of jewelry was here. Racks and rows of sparkling faceted crystals in any color you could dream up. Pearls draped elegantly over black felt displays. Tables lined with beautiful semi-precious stones in every size. Rows and rows of spools containing silver, gold and copper chains. Containers and buckets full of silver, gold, copper, and plated findings.

There were tons of tools too. If you were looking for advanced or beginner tools someone had them. If you wanted to start a new craft or advance in one there were books galore to help. The people were also very knowledgeable and helpful.

After I spent hours on the second floor gawking at everything I headed down to the first. The very first thing I saw was this huge necklace on a display stand bigger than any person. The necklace is being created for a Guinness world record of the longest beaded necklace. If you donated a dollar you get to add a bead to this giant necklace. Your donation is supporting a non profit organization called the Portable Playhouse and will be used for their specialized art therapy program. If you'd like be a part of this you still can by visiting their website.

On the first floor I headed for Jennifer Ionta's stand. One of the best parts of this whole event was having the opportunity to have taken a class at Bead Fest. My class of choice was called Earthy Florals taught by Jennifer Ionta and it was amazing, fun and packed full of more than I could soak in. I loved every minute of it. We got to create some beautiful lampwork beads but had to wait to collect them until the next day at the actual opening of the expo. I was so anxious to see my beads, plus I wanted to get a picture with Jennifer. She is a talented artist and such a sweet person. She has experience in glass and metal working. Her work is gorgeous. Stop by her website sometime: Spotted Moon Designs

After stopping at Jennifer's stand I finished looking at more rows of luxirious goodies for jewelry making and I did pick out a few new things to take home, along with the beads I made at the class. I spent an entire day here and did not stop at every stand there was far too much to see in one day.

The whole expo event was a fun and memorable experience. I met a ton of wonderful artists who were so willing to answer all of my questions and provide helpful little tips or tricks, took a class that has expanded my abilities more than I could have imagined and I got to shop my butt off. Who could ask for more?

I hope you enjoyed the little peek into Bead Fest. Thanks for stopping!

Fairy Dust

2010-08-16T14:30:00.004-04:00

The Frit Fairies have come to my home and sprinkled little bits of joy all over my beads with their tantalizing blends of frit.

Last week a little package arrived at my door which contained three little baggies full of the most colorful mixes of frit from the Frit Fairies. An instant smile was brought to my face, the packages were adorable and the frit looked like candy. New stuff to play with, yay!

I could not wait to slather this stuff all over my beads. What a great thing, compatible frit. Almost as good as sliced bread. The size of the frit was perfect too. Sometimes I can end up with frit that is too chunky or powdery for what I like so having entire packs full of consistent sized frit had me in heaven.

This is the first set of beads I created using some of the frit mixes. The combination of the Morning Dew and Spring Meadow mixes were so watercolor-esk in their appearance that they inspired the fun little summertime scene atop of them. My camera and I struggled getting great pictures of this bead set the pictures really do not do the colors justice.

Dragonfly Dreams

2010-08-12T08:05:00.004-04:00

Now that I've really gotten the hang of how to use the lentil press I got not too long ago I've started experimenting with adding more raised surface decorations.

Inspired by a piece and some beads made by Kerri Fuhr in my recent issue of Bead Style Magazine I knew exactly what I wanted to try to test out the surface space of a big lentil. A great little challenge of control to create a dragonfly, not too hard but not exactly easy either. I had a few lopside winged dragonflies and a few were cyclops dragonflies when the two dots for the eyes melted together. I have an official dragonfly graveyard now but a few escaped with adorable results. Although mine aren't nearly as amazing as Kerri's dragonfly beads they do have their own special little bring a smile to your face affect.

I really had planned to stop there with a few successful dragonfly lentils but when they came out of the kiln I decided otherwise. I loved the piece I had seen featuring those dragonfly beads so I wanted to do something similar but with my own twists. The length was the one thing I was crazy about, love a necklace you can double up or not because it looks brilliant either way.

I love the results of both the beads and the necklace. All the findings and wire are sterling silver. Accent beads are amethyst, amber, and cat's eye. A few Swarvorski crystals were added for a bit of "bling".

Summer Pond Set - Handmade Glass Lampwork Beads - Dragonfly & Flowers

Summer Pond - Long Necklace

Wear it long or wear it doubled up! What fun!

New Jewelry Pieces

2010-08-03T17:02:00.002-04:00

Every so often I get in the mood to make some jewelry pieces especially if I can use a bead or two or three in the pieces I'm making.

The two necklaces below both handmade by me and feature beads I've made.

Cat's eye accents & Clasp

Lampwork barrel with copper hearts encased. Swarovski crystals accents.

Mixed Metals, Cat's eye, Lampwork barrel with encased copper hearts.

Stone, lampwork beads, sterling silver, & cord.

Frit Fairies!!

2010-07-29T08:22:00.004-04:00

I have some very exciting news for soft glass lampworkers. Many of us know what frit is and also know the frustrations that can come with frits, such as beads stress cracking if too much of it is used on a bead.

For those that haven't played with frit or are wondering what the heck is she talking about let me explain a bit. Frit is tiny bits of glass made of a different COE than most soft glass which has a 104 coe. Generally frit is a 96 coe, which can be used on beads of a different coe but must be used sparingly, about 8-10% volume per bead, otherwise you run the risk of your bead cracking from stress.

The Frit Fairies are here to save the day and your beads! They have created a beautiful array of 104 coe frits for your bead creating needs (sample picture above). They have a plethora of colors to choose from and they are all made from Italian Moretti / Effetre glass. Go ahead pinch yourself, you're not dreaming!

Compatible frit for soft glass is not the only thing they have available for your bead making needs. Pinch yourself one more time just to be sure. They have beautiful bead displays, books, and bead making supplies too. There is also a wonderful gallery full of beads that have been beautified with their lovely frits for your inspiration. This is a must see site. Swing on by and treat yourself and your beads to something wonderful.

Sprinkling goodness all over: http://www.fritfairies.com/

Beachy Beads

2010-07-27T21:33:00.000-04:00

Well summer is winding down quickly it seems. A few more weeks and the kids will be back in school, the days will feel shorter...BUT it's not over yet and there is still plenty of warm weather and beach time! The beach is one of my favorite spots to visit in the summer but this year I haven't had a chance to go so one day in my studio I got the idea to bring a little of the beach to me.

Here's my little piece of the beach this summer. Fit with a crab and starfish too! My sister mentioned that the round bead with dots remind her of puffer fish and hey I happen to really love her take on that.

Love these little sea creatures? You can net yourself a set from my etsy store, stop on by before they scuttle away!

Lentil Love

2010-07-10T14:06:00.009-04:00

My latest love is the lentil bead. Having finally gotten brave enough to step into the world of presses I've found a new shape to explore, decorate and expand my ever growing knowledge of this wonderful art form.

I made my first purchase of a brass glass press last week and decided to pick the lentil press because it's a shape that I cannot create with only the flame and gravity. I felt it was the most worth my money press to invest in.

I will admit that for a long time I've insisted on creating my beads strictly using the flame and gravity. Keeping the tools I use to a limit. Not that there is anything wrong with using presses, however, I do feel that some of them are unnecessary such as a heart shaped press since it's a shape that can be done using only the flame, gravity and a butter knife. I wanted to pick a press that had a shape I felt I couldn't do with my simpler tools.

With that being said there are ample reasons to use glass presses and my eyes have been opened to all of those great reasons. Not only can you get consistent sized beads but some of the shapes allow more surface area for decoration, which is the number one reason I am loving my new lentil press.

Don't get me wrong though, using a glass press presents its own challenges. It's not as easy as glopping on some glass and pressing it into shape (as I so foolishly thought). There is a precision to using the presses. You have to know and get a feel for how much glass to use for the length and width of the bead. Too much glass and you can pinch the sides of your beads and too little glass will lead to poorly shaped beads to name a few problems that can arise. You also have to take into consideration how the decorations will alter and add size to your finished bead. I had quite the learning curve that led to much wasted glass until I finally got a groove going.

Below are some pictures of my new Zoozii brass trio lentil press (love it!) and a couple sets of beads I've created so far using this wondrous little tool. My mind is swimming with new decorating possibilities and all that surface area to work on.

These two new sets are available now in my Etsy store for purchase. Stop by and check em' out!

Thanks for visiting!

Here Fishy, Fishy

2010-07-09T08:28:00.000-04:00

Inspired by my own love of kissy lipped fish and their brilliant colors these colorful triggerfish are the newest additions to Firebug Beads critter bead family.

Reel in your fine swimmer now, stop by my etsy store to hook your favorite one.

Summer Fun

2010-06-24T10:30:00.000-04:00

Boy it sure is hot this week. These new little guys have the right idea! Hanging out at the beach, keeping cool and looking cool in their beach attire. Each one has their own unique summer gear. From floppy summer hats to fun colored inner-tubes these little penguins know how to beat the heat.

It's a Beach PARTAY!!

Fun floppy summer hat

Fun spotted inner-tube

Dino inner-tube

These little guys are made to order, if you are interested in aquiring one of these adorable summer penguin beads please contact me and I would be happy to customize one with your favorite colors! They work perfectly for pendant designs or just sitting them out on display. Grab yours now before they float away to cooler waters.

Blues & Greens

2010-06-09T15:00:00.005-04:00

The weather has been gorgeous this week where I am. Blue skies, green grass and blooming flowers everywhere. How can I not be inspired with the sun shining and birds chirping? (although not today, it's raining...)

This week my inspiration came out in the hues of blues and greens. Inspired by the nature around me, my happy feeling from the sun and the perfect temperature weather.

Ok, ok ready for the eye-candy?

Chocolate Mint Latte....mmmm so delicious! A really neat almost tiffany blue and chocolate brown. The blue and brown are both CiM colors. The brown is Tamarind and of course this color is no longer produced. I had bought a mixed batch of CiM glass colors and obtained this color in that batch and I LOVED it!! When I went back to order more of just this color I found out there was no more. After further research I've learned they stopped making it, at least right now. I do hope it comes back. It's oh sooo yummy.

Sonic Lime Twist ♥ - This set happened by an accidental discovery of how great the pea green glass from Effetre looks with their transparent black. I actually was trying to make a set with orange, green, yellow and black but hated the way the orange color turned out on the beads. I did, however, love the way the green looked on the black so I went back and made more to match.

Abstract Motif - This set has dark aqua and ivory combined. When dark aqua (works best with dark or med) is melted into light ivory you get a neat webbing that happens inside the aqua. Depending how it catches the light you can see different hues of blues and greens. Really fun abstract set.

Beach Life ♥ - I was in a really play with color mood for these. My daughter helped me pick the shade for each color we used and I think she did a fabulous job because they all look so fun together.

Hope you enjoyed the new beads! Thanks for stopping.

Showcase - Susan's Designs

2010-06-08T08:13:00.005-04:00

I have some jewerly pieces to showcase today. Designed by my mom (Susan) using Firebug Beads.

I just love that I can send my mom beads and she will take the time to create something with them. This gives me a completely new look at ways to use my beads or a whole new design style to add to my gallery here (different styles of inspiration is a wonderful thing). Thanks mom!

I really like the earthy style that comes into play with many of her jewelry designs. She adds the right

touch of gorgeousness and versatility.

Dragonfly Days Bracelet

Midnight in Morocco Bracelet

There are more of Susan's gorgeous jewelry designs in the jewelry gallery be sure to stop in and check em' out!

A Mermaid's Sea-Spell Handmade Lampwork Bracelet

2010-05-25T08:16:00.009-04:00

I have some lovely eye candy for you today!

A Mermaid's Sea-Spell Bracelet featuring Firebug Beads glass beads and beautiful bali style accents and clasp.

I fell in love with this color the moment I started using it. The color is appropriately named Mermaid and is made by CiM (creation is messy). I love the streaks that appear once this color is heated in the flame. It adds depth and interest to an already gorgeous color. I've heard that when this color is reduced in the flame it turns a brick red. I haven't personally tried this yet but have it on my list of to do. I'm not sure I'll like it going from such a gorgeous blue to a red but it could be a great color for more of an organic design.

This is a fabulous teal blue color. I didn't have any problems with it bleeding or swallowing other colors. It encased like a dream ( and I still struggle with encasing at times). This color is also very stable in the flame as I am begining to note with almost all CiM colors I use. ( i think CiM may be my new love...sigh). It is a nice stiff color too, making it great for me who uses the disk method when wrapping the glass around a mandrel. It also makes adding stringer and stringer control much easier than some colors due to the stiffness of the glass.

Check it out below and if you really love it stop by my Etsy store, it's for sale now!

Thanks for visiting! Have a wonderful week!

Mandarin Squeeze Handmade Glass Bead Bracelet & Earrings

2010-05-18T10:59:00.003-04:00

Yum-a-licious orange! This bracelet was created for a girlfriend of mine who's birthday is today -

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACKIE!

She took a liking to this set of orange beads and they looked fabulous against her tan summer skin. So I thought it would be nice if I put a bracelet together for her using the beads she liked.

I adore the clasp on this piece. It's not only gorgeous, fun, super chic but it's magnetic! The spacers are in a lovely bali style really adding a great classy texture and look. All the beads are handmade by me. Most are encased with a clear glass to add depth and shine.

I had two small leftover spacers beads from the set so I thought why not make matching earrings, go for the full shaBANG.

Have a great day! Thanks for stopping by.

Flower Pendant Necklace

2010-05-17T08:59:00.001-04:00

Good Morning!

Today I have an adorable necklace to share. Created by Susan using one of Firebug Beads very own glass flowers!

I absolutely love her innovative idea on how to use this bead. Not only does it highlight the glass flower perfectly the overall design is simple but so striking. A beautiful, chic and fun piece of jewelry.

I'm thinking this piece is suited for just about any outfit too! Casual enough for jeans & t-shirt days and chic enough for a night out paired your l.b.d. (little black dress) and a hot pair of pumps.

Thanks for visiting!

Stars & Stripes Patriotic Fun!

2010-05-13T10:22:00.002-04:00

This set of beads was created for the patriotic fanatic! Set with stars and stripes galore this set is perfect for creating a Memorial Day or Fourth of July jewelry design. It would also look great in a nautical themed design.

Mistress of the Sea Bracelet

2010-05-12T07:59:00.004-04:00

Good Morning!

I have another finished piece of jewelry to share today. With making beads comes lots of beads that become "orphan" beads. Beads without a home, beads that don't work for a particular set or didn't turn out quite the way I had planned. There's nothing wrong with these beads, they are just homeless temporarily. As you can imagine I have lots of these orphan beads. I usually end up with about two of them everytime I make a batch of beads.

I have these wonderful display cases that allow me to string up my beads on mandrels inside of the case. This is where all the beads that don't have a set end up.

I was looking at them all the other day and spotted a few that were similar but not necessarily made to go together, but seeing them side by side I realized they were their own little set. Although there were not enough of them to string up and sell as a set of beads there were enough to use in a jewelry design, which i get an occassional hankering to do.

My results are below. The glass beads are all handmade Firebug Beads. The coral is an Italian coral that I found while vacationing in Colorado and the crystal bicone accents are Swarvorski crystals. All the spacers and clasp are genuine sterling silver.

I love how the beads work so well with the coral. I have had this coral for a long time waiting for the perfect piece to add them to and I think this piece was it!

And if you read this far down, yay for you (and me!). I wanted to let you know that although I do not post on any kind of a regular schedule, it's a when time permits schedule. I do keep my galleries updated as new pieces or bead sets are made and added to my Etsy shop. Not only are my pieces available to view there are designs by others featuring Firebug Beads. Be sure to check out the inspiration in the Firebug Jewelry Gallery. Just click the gallery tabs at the top of my page to check it out.

Thanks for visiting!

Dreamy Glass Bracelet

2010-05-11T10:00:00.000-04:00

These beads are so striking to me that I really wanted to make a piece of jewelry with them. They looked great already lined up the way they had been on the copper wire for display in my previous post so I stuck with that and added a few beautiful sterling silver accents and embellisments. Yummy!

The clasp is wire worked by me.

New Sets

2010-05-10T17:37:00.002-04:00

Hi all! Just a quick post to share some of my newest bead sets.

Dreamy - I loooove how light turquoise looks encased. It's very soft and dreamy this way.

Little Miss Sunshine - I realized yellow was missing from my color pallet of beads. I'm glad I noticed because I love this juicy yellow!

Ruffles & Frills - Fun, sassy set with flowers, ruffled disks and swirls.

Moretti - Dark Pink Alabaster

2010-04-06T13:49:00.005-04:00

I'm really excited about discovering this color for several reasons. First being that I've been searching and searching for a good shade of pink for awhile. Moretti's pinks have not been satisfactory for me. They often just look white in the end. After a recent trip to my glass supplier I discovered several new shades of pink to try. A few in Moretti and some in CiM (Creation is Messy). This first one is from Moretti. I've not seen this color before but it may not be new, just new to where I get my supplies.

The second reason is for the versitility of this particular pink. Just in the few beads I did get to test it on I got three entirely different looking shades of pink. Had I not gotten sidetracked by the super cool effect that I found it has with ivory I am sure I would have found even more ways to get different shades.

This pink comes in a beautiful deep hue of pink. It is almost transparent...a bit cloudy looking. When introduced to the flame it seemed stable. I had a few times where the rod was "shocky" but this is probably more of my impatience to wait for it to heat up than the glass not being stable. This particular glass seemed to take a long time to heat up, it felt thick. When applying to the mandrel it was a nice stiff glass and easy to work with. It is sensitive to too much heat. I also noticed it seems to create tiny bubbles or like a cloudy streak in it when I try to use it as a base color opposed to using it for decorating only. It didn't seem to matter if I lowered the heat, it would still get tiny bubbles and cloudy in spots.

I started by making a raised flower bead and quickly learned that this color became very, very light pink as soon as it was applied as a raised decoration. Swirl, flower, dot...anything like that creates a very light pink instead of the deep pink the rod comes in. If I had backed the pink with another color I think it would have darkened the pink a bit.

When this pink is used as a base and alone (no color under it) you get that beautiful deep pink you see in the glass rod.

Now here's my kind of cool discovery. This pink when melted into dark ivory develops a really cool thin line of black around it and the inner area becomes slightly tinted with a gray creating a nice soft but recognizable pink with depth. I had no idea it was going to do this until I accidently melted a raised decoration too far in and noticed what it was doing. Dark ivory reacts similarly to this with a few other colors like turquoise but I had no idea it would happen with the pink. I personally love the look of this reaction.

I am not done testing out this color. I'm curious how it will do encased and with a few of my staple colors. So far overall it's not too bad. I do not care for the bubbles that it seems to leave but I do like it when used with the dark ivory or alone. I'm just not a big fan of the shade that results when it's used for raised decorating, That brings me back to the same ole' soft hardly noticeable shade of pink.

Thanks for stopping! Have a wonderful week!

Glass Critter Beads

2010-03-03T21:02:00.001-05:00

Glass critters!! Need I say more? Probably not so how about some pictures instead? Yep I'm not going to yack your ears off this time...but I'll be back!

Oh introductions are necessary as each critter must have a name.

Lil' & Vern

Bringing wishes of spring with flowers in their feathers.

Merv

He might be slow and his name a bit plain but he makes up for it all with his bright personality!

If you're smiling at the end of this post my job is done. If not, well what's wrong with you? These little guys are cute!

Hot, hot, hot

2010-03-01T22:06:00.004-05:00

These bad boys are HOT out of the kiln! I can't wait to get them off to really check em' out. For a friend of a friend...who maybe is now my friend too, lol I was trying out apple making. Not anywhere as easy as you would think it should be! I like my little one with the worm, he's so stinkin' cute. My apple shapes could probably use a bit of tidying up, but not too bad I suppose for a first try.

The heart is a set of hearts I am working on. They are really gorgeous in the sunlight (sorry photos is a bit dark..it's cold and dark outside so inside photo shooting is my next option) as all the clear dots reflect the light and pick up all the beautiful colorof the heart.

And all the other beads are for a set I'm working on. I love the color combo of black and turquoise.

I'm going to be a picture taking fool tomorrow and hope to have nice pictures of each of these soon!

Pure of Heart Necklace

2010-02-28T22:02:00.004-05:00

Check out this piece of fabulousness! Don't you love this design?!

Made using silver tubing, filagree bead caps, crystals and (firebug) glass beads. 20" long necklace featuring a gorgeous 3 " glass heart and wire wrapped crystal pendant.

My mom made this piece with some of the glass beads I sent her way. This is the first piece I've gotten to see that's she made and the awesome part is she said I could post the pics here if I wanted (of course I wanted to post them). This necklace is so great. I could see wearing it with jeans or with a dress, you gotta love that!

Thanks for letting me share and for using some of my beads in your jewelry making, mom!

Alright enough with the flappin' as I'm known to do a lot of...

Check out the rest of the pictures below. Pure of Heart. Design by Mom., glass beads by Firebug Beads.

Boyertown Times

2010-02-19T16:33:00.005-05:00

I'm very excited to share with you my little headliner in our local newspaper. They have recently started a new section / column about the local people in Boyertown and I am proud to say I got the be one the first ones in this new section.

The whole process was a ton of fun. I'm not the most eloquently spoken, I'm sure the journalist would tell you. I stammer and stutter over my words when I get nervous but she did a wonderful job deciphering me. A big thank-you to Jen Hetrick for writing such a lovely article about Firebug Beads and what it is I do in my spare time. You can also read the article on-line here: http://www.berksmontnews.com/articles/2010/02/19/boyertown_area_times/news/doc4b7c587e2fae6071291901.txt

Alright hold on to your britches, my fifteen minutes of fame is pictured below. Okay, maybe it isn't quite "fame" but I can pretend right?

Mini Glass Bottle Collection

2010-02-16T11:15:00.002-05:00

These little glass bottles came to be out of my playing around on the torch. I had originally intended them to be a focal barrel bead but as I was laying the base I started to wonder if I could actually work the glass off of the tip of the mandrel. In other words could I make it so there was only a hole at the top of this bead, making it into a bottle?

When I create a bead, hot glass is wound around the mandrel, generally somewhere in the center. The mandrel creates the hole in a glass bead. I figured if I worked more towards the tip of the mandrel I could work the glass off of the tip, creating a solid bottom. Of course I really had no idea what was going to happen. This was the first time I had tried to work the glass away from the mandrel.

I learned a lot this day. Not only did it work but I learned so much in this torch session. I learn something new everytime I get a chance to play but this time there was a new understanding of how glass works. A new world of possiblities for creating too.

Here are the three little bottles made that day. I can't wait to make more of them. I would like to see just how big I can make them. These are the perfect size for making a wire wrapped pendant piece or for setting on display somewhere. Little "pretties" as my friend calls them.

Wine & Beads?

2010-02-08T14:55:00.010-05:00

Wine & Beads? Two things that don't really seem to go together, right? Wrong! I discovered that plain ole' wine stoppers are perfect for creating a custom gift by adding some glass beads.

This wine stopper was purchased at Michael's in their bridal area which has a huge stock of customizable gifts.

The glass beads were all handmade by me. Each bead is kiln annealed for strength and durability and thoroughly cleaned of all bead release.

The silver ball on the top of the wine stop twists right off. This allowed me to slide my beads right on (which work perfectly for beads made on a 3/32 mandrel), twist the silver ball on the top back on and TA DA a customized gift is born. This is the perfect gift for any wine connoisseur or even the casual wine drinker.

To ensure the security of the glass beads I applied a very small amount of blue (dries clear) Lock Tight Glue to the threads for the silver ball at the top of the wine stop. This will help ensure that over time that silver ball will not loosen and the beads will remain in place for you to enjoy your wine stop for years to come.

All the spacers are sterling silver and the glass used is Italian soft glass (COE 104). I am unsure what the actual stopper is made of, I believe it's a stainless steel, but I am not 100% on that. It polishes nicely with a polishing cloth.

The primary glass colors are Moretti Special Medium Red & Goldstone.

Thanks for stopping by!

Silver & Ivory Continued

2010-02-02T08:44:00.004-05:00

Jean Marie this post is just for you! You mentioned about putting one of the beads from yesterday's post into a bracelet and although I didn't put this bead into a bracelet design, I did created a necklace design with it that one of my girlfriends actually took a liking to and she snagged it from me already! The other bead (top one pictured in the post below) went to my mom as part of her birthday gift. I can't wait to see what she makes from it, maybe it'll be put to use in a bracelet. Here's a picture of the one bead in a necklace and as soon as my mom makes something with that other one I hope to snag a picture from her so I can post her creation too!

This is a very simple design, I didn't want to take away from the beauty of the bead. Below the main barrel bead is a smaller round bead also covered with a bit of silver sheet to add that earthy color you see.

Thank-you for stopping by! Have a great week!

Silver & Ivory

2010-02-01T13:48:00.001-05:00

I love what happens when I heat pieces of silver sheet onto ivory glass. This beautiful, natural color appears as the silver is heated. I think it's a great for creating earthy looking beads.

Touché par L'amour Pendant

2010-01-11T11:30:00.020-05:00

Time for something that warms the heart and doesn't remind us of how cold outside it really is! brrrrrr says it all today.

This piece is one of my favorites to date. This was one of the pieces I made for my mother-in-law's Christmas gift. I've done less than a handful of hearts that have turned out less than great. I was very nervous about how this would turn out if at all. It took me the first three tries to grasp how to apply the glass to create the heart. Once I experimented a few times I think I managed to finally get it right with this one.

Touché par L'amour Pendant
A light ivory glass heart bead with touches of rich turquoise and silver ivory added to create an organic design that flows around the heart. This elegant pendant dangles from an 18" sterling silver chain. All findings and wire used are sterling silver.

(front side)

(back side)

Have a great week! Thanks for stopping by!

Mini Snowmen

2010-01-09T14:54:00.022-05:00

Presenting my first snowmen beads!
(click any image for a larger view)

Made up of three seperate beads when put together they form a fun little snowman with a carrot nose and cole for eyes. And like any classic Frosty they each have top hats and scarves, don't they just melt your heart?

Unlike their true winter brothers outside these little snowmen won't melt and you can wear them all winter long!

Thanks for visiting!

Chilly & Willy

2009-12-21T20:18:00.012-05:00

Happy Holiday's Eveyone!!

I hope you are done with your shopping, making or sending of gifts.

I've been busy making many gifts this year. I couldn't believe I actually got requests from friends and family for some of my beads and jewelry pieces, too many as I have some I haven't filled ..yikees (but I'm not done yet....few more mailing days if I go priority or overnight)!!. I haven't been making beads very long at all yet so to have a request from anyone is very flattering and I want to thank everyone who is supporting and enjoying my glass bead journey-you all help my passion grow stronger.

Ok on to the beads with a little story about them first.

I want you to meet Chilly and Willy. Chilly is the one with the hat and of course the other is Willy. They're two cute little friends that developed from a bit of a tragedy.

Chilly and Willy were born on Saturday night December 19, 2009. It was a cold snowy night and things earlier in the day hadn't gone so well. I was in the process of turning some snowmen beads (you'll see them in a later post - some are gifts and I can't show them before Christmas!) into a pendant for a necklace when the one I was working on for a good friend of mine slipped out of my hand and went crashing to the floor. I swear to you it all happened in slow motion. I watched it fall, bounce, something go sliding and then it rolled to a stop....oh yeah, it was rough. I reached down, picked him up...knowing that his perfect little carrot nose was going to be broken for sure and if I was lucky that would be it. I hoped the whole way bending down to him that by some miraculous event he wouldn't be broken at all...man would THAT be lucky! No such luck FOR ME, when I turned him over that's when I discovered what the something that went sliding across the floor was. OoOh I groaned as I turned him over...his nose wasn't the only thing gone...nooooo....half his face had cracked off he had one eye left. What the heck was I going to with a cyclops frosty? I was devestated. This was my first attempt at a snowman and I was rather happy with this one out of the two I had done and I was very excited about giving it to her. OH and to top it all off, my friend who the snowmn pendant was for was coming Monday to exchange presents! Well now what do I do?

Torching meant opening my bilco doors and it was a snowy, cold mess outside ......brrrr was all I could think, this is totally going to suck, but what else am I going to do..I just broke her present.

I opened the door, turned on my fans, cranked up the heat and turned on my torch. That's when I decided I wasn't going to make another snowman for her. I was going to make her some penguins. Her favorite thing and something I've not tried to do yet. Although I wasn't sure it would go well I really wanted to give it a go and that is when Chilly and Willy were born. They are my first two penguins and only

two penguins so far...I do think I'll make some more. Who would have guessed these little guys would have come out of what was turning out to be a pretty crummy afternoon, but I'm glad they did.

Willy

Willy was actually born first. Chilly happened because my husband came along and said...you should add a Santa hat. Of course I told him he was crazy, I didn't think I could do that, did he not know how hard that request was, lol?....but here he is, little Santa hat and all.

Chilly

I couldn't just leave these guys as is. They're beads and they needed to go on something. I thought incorporating them on a necklace just wasn't going to be her thing so I ended up making them into little ornaments for her Christmas tree.

I had plenty of spiral disks laying around so I put one under each of the penquins and added a little snowflake below. Above each one I added 2 clear swarovski crystals to add just a bit of glimmer.

Each one has a permanent wire wrapped hook in sterling silver. Each hook has been gently pounded with a hammer to add a diamond cut appearance.

They look adorable hanging near one another on the tree. I am going to have to borrow them back from her so I can get a better picture of them hanging together on the tree. I have this one for now, sorry it's not a better picture.

MERRY CHRISTMAS JACKIE!!

That's it, for now. I am bursting at the seams with new things to share but can't because too many of them are gifts! It'll have to wait until after Christmas so I hope you'll stop back! Well it's getting late and I have one more thing I need to work on.

Happy Holidays!!

Barrels of Fun

2009-11-27T20:40:00.010-05:00

I was digging through my beads the other day and I found a few barrel beads I've made over the past few weeks and thought I'd share them. Although mine are still a bit sloppy, this is one of my favorite shapes to make. It's a pretty hard shape to make even - I'm not so hot at this yet but am getting better. I've wasted plenty of glass trying to make barrel shapes because I couldn't get it shaped right.

I use a marver to shape them, which is a piece of square graphite on a stick. I wrap a barrel shape in the flame and then roll it across the marver to help tighten the barrel shape. This is where things go bad for me....usually one side of the barrel looks beautiful and the other side..not so pretty. So I keep trying, heating and rolling..heating and rolling, it's a delicate rolling lightly but not too lightly process. I think I'll get the hang of it a bit better with more practice. It has gotten a little easier but I have day where barrel beads just aren't happening no matter how many times I try.

Once in awhile I make out with an A-ok barrel shape. I picked a few out to take pictures of and share.

This is probably my favorite one (I was on my game this night, lol). It's made of ivory that was rolled in silver and the silver heated. The silvers reaction in the flame is the earthy greenish/brown areas you see. The dots are turquoise and more silver/ivory. With this barrel I folded the edges in..I have not done this successfully since this bead.

I really fell in love with the way these colors worked together in this little barrel set. It reminds me of a watercolor painting.

Here's a pretty fun colored barrel. It's a bit lop-side (see told you I have trouble with this) but I like how the dots turned out. This one reminds me of a dinosaur egg.

Not one of my favorites...but I was expermenting with clear and this new purple I had gotten, which I do not like how matte the purple ends up being. Not sure what I'm going to do with the purple yet. Most of my attempts with this purple I have not been happy with but it looks so pretty before it goes into the flame....sigh..

This one is more of a bicone shape...well an attempted bicone shape, lol. I used the ivory, turquoise and silver on this one too. I topped each of the dots off with a transparent glass. My ends could use work and so could the shape but all that aside (yeah i know that's like everything about a bead) not bad for my first bicone.

My little petroleum green glass barrel. He's a short and fat little bead with a silver ivory lined design. I like this one for the way this particular green looks. It has a cool streaky kind of look to it and this was one of the first times I successfully applied a spiral design with a stringer without having it break off in the flame or start melting so fast I lose control and end up with a crooked line.

This little black and white barrel was made with my b&w soda bead set. I had another pretty good spiral with the stringer method on this barrel. After I added the spiral I added some dots in an upward spiral motion to carry the design to the other end of the bead.

That's the last one! I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgivings! I had hoped to have a few pictures posted from ours but of course when I got my camera out to take pictures I had no juice! The batteries had died...I use up camera batteries like it's my job. I should have known to have had extra ones on me!

Glass Chopsticks & More

2009-11-23T13:43:00.019-05:00

Glass Chopsticks? That's what my mother-in-law called all the different colored glass rods in my studio when she stopped by the other day. I started laughing and agreed they do look like chopsticks sticking out from the rows of mason jars I have set up.

Wanna see all my glass chopsticks? lol...ok, here's a picture of them.....probably not as exciting as it sounds, but I certainly do get inspired by color when I see them. Hopefully one day I'll have a bit better of a set up for all the glass rods but for now this works just fine.

Well while I'm at it let me show you around my studio a bit. This is where all the bead making takes place, my torch area. I have a beautifully tiled area (so nothin' catches fire) and my gorgeous new red Mega Minor Torch set up. There are ready to go mandrels (oh wait...I see there aren't many, lol...I've been busy making beads), stringers within reach and all my tools scattered everywhere. I try to keep it fairly clean but creativity isn't always a neat process.

This is where all my bad beads go, all my attempts that turned to failure....it's called the Craptastic bin of beads. My son absoultely loves to dig through these and pick out ones he likes....I'm glad someone loves these sad, sad beads.

And this is the area I do all my bead cleaning. It's one of the very time consuming, tedious, unfun parts of beadmaking. I don't mind it but I do put it off for as long as I can and I always end up with too many beads to clean at once. As you can see from the picture below I have a bunch of beads in the container with water and I have a cup full of beads on mandrels soaking. You have to soak the mandrels in water for a little to loosen the bead release, then the beads pretty much just pull right off. Sometimes you get a stubborn bead and that's when you just have to use something to grip the mandrel as you twist the bead off.

I also have a little spot for jewelry making but that's a REAL mess...so I've opted for not taking a picture of that area!

Alright on to the "More" part of this post.

I've been practicing my disk making lately. I love the way disk beads look! I don't know why, they just scream fun and funky style to me. When I first started lampworking, the sprial disk method is how I was taught to start all my round beads. It's the best way, when done well, to get perfectly dimpled holes on each side of the bead. I wasn't very good at this in the beginning but over time I've gained much more control of applying the glass and keeping the spiral controlled. The better your sprial, the easier it is melt down and shape into a round bead.

These spiral disks never got a chance to see the round bead stage. I stopped at the spiral. I can still see I need lots of practice if I want to stop my bead at this spiral stage. I have plenty of uneven spirals here but they still look so fun! LOL, it's eye candy! PLUS now I have little color samples of many of my opaque glass rods (chopsticks, if you like).

Now last night I got a little more creative wth these sprials. I started adding raised dots, poked dots, adding different layers of glass to the spirals and dots. I also discovered that if you top off each opaque color with a little bit of transparent glass you get a wonderful shine. I'm hooked on doing this right now.

WARNING: Spiral bead yumminess below...

I really like this color combonation of sky blue and purple. I did some dot poking on this one as you'll see by the little floating air bubbles in each dot.

Yep...I got way out of control with decorations on this one. Isn't it fun though? I used several different colors of both opaque and transparent glass. The side dots also having floating bubbles in them. This little bead reminds me of a piece of candy.

Here's some dot layering and spiral layering. I started with a dark amethyst transparent and topped it with some opaque lime green glass. Added purple dots and topped those with transparent green.

Purple, lime green, blue and transparent purple make up this little guy.

And the last one I layered white dots and then squished em' with a pair of flat head pliers. Squishing those white dots gave me perfect petal shapes and a flower bead was born. You can see a closer look at this flower bead used in a jewelry design of mine here: Funky Girl

I'm gettin' the hang of it...but have plenty of figuring out left to do! Sprials are really a lot of fun to work with and add such a fun touch to a set of beads. Thanks for stopping!

Have a great week!

Oh, I have to say HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY to Brady!!! - love, mommy

A Little Something From My Trips

2009-11-21T17:25:00.020-05:00

When I went to Colorado this past summer to visit my family, my mom showed me a bunch of beautifully handcrafted jewelry pieces she had made. Every piece was stunning. One of my favorite things about her jewelry pieces was her use of different types of metal wire. I had never thought much about what was available outside of silver and gold so when she showed me one of her pieces done in copper wire I was in LoVe with it!

A whole new world of design possiblities just appeared before me and I actually did come home from that trip and purchase copper wire but it has sat unused for some time. I couldn't find what I felt like was the right color for complimenting the copper. I wanted something that popped.

Well as luck would have it as I was cleaning up my put everything I don't have a place for drawer in my craftroom I came across a ziplock bag full of all these tiny little purple seashells. They were from the necklace we had bought my daughter while on a trip in Hawaii and at some point the string broke and all the shells fell off. We gathered all the pieces up (this was before I knew anything about jewelry fixing/making) and I promised I would figure out how to repair it.

It's been several years now, lol....and honestly I think we both forgot all about it. Then I stumbled upon them in that drawer. The purple color of the little spiral shells immediately struck me as a great color to pair with the copper wire idea I had gotten from my mom.

Here's the necklace I put together and although its nothing even similar to what the necklace of purple shells looked like before it broke, hopefully she'll like this too. Sorry my pictures are a little off in color - I just could not get the lighting right for taking pictures of this necklace. The purple hues are much more vivid in person.

The big shell in the center is from our family trip to the Outer Banks. Although it's just a piece of clam shell I love the deep purples that are exposed and thought it was a nice compliment to the other purple shells.

Part of the clasp is done in copper wire and the other end is a circular Swarovski crystal (a little extra special bling, bling!).

Thanks for stopping!

Playin' Around

2009-11-13T21:10:00.026-05:00

Well I've been playin' around on my new torch and I'm lovin' the way it works...but I didn't start out lovin' it. I sat down so excited and figuring this was going to be a piece of cake....I've used one of these before (not thinking about how I wasn't the one setting all the equipment levels, that had always been done for me). The first night went way worse than I expected. I'd dip the tip of my glass rod into the flame and little bubbles would start forming and popping almost immediately....that's not a good thing.....I was burning the glass before I was even getting the amount that I needed heated. I tried everything from turning the propane and oxygen amounts up and down, to adjusting the regulators and just couldn't seem to get it to work. I ended that night pretty frustrated and a little lost as to what I was doing wrong.

I did take notice of a few neat things during this unsuccessful night of bead making. It's much easier to do an encased bead. A lot of my glass rods weren't as shocky in this flame, I'm not sure yet why this is though. I had much more stringer control and ability to work under the flame in the warming area. I could make beads so much faster too! So there were many good things that night but....I had to stop burning the glass before the rest was useful!

My next few nights went so much better. I got some help and changed a few of my settings on the equipment and turned down the propane mixture coming out of the torch head and worked a bit higher in my flame....SUCCESS! My glass wasn't bubbling anymore and things started going smoother. I really am lovin' every minute of it now. The torch is a good one (not that I have had a ton of torches to compare it to).

Here's my first set of beads on the new torch. I used Light Turquoise, Dark Amber, and Dark and Light Ivory glass. The beads vary widely in size (intentionally).

Front view - I really had a blast making these and love the results of the color combonation. I love the little bits of the transparent amber and the way the dark ivory reacts with the turquoise.

Back view - Turquoise is a great color to work with. Depending upon what other colors you combine it with you can get a variety of shades out of the turquoise. If you look at this set you can see this. There are areas that go from the original light turquoise color to an even lighter turquoise color. That happens naturally when these are made. I do think it has something to do with turquoise's reaction to dark ivory because it doesn't happen to the turquoise with all colors.

Ivory also creates some really great reactions when used. I actually used a mix of ivory in these beads. Both dark and light ivory were used. If you look you can see that light ivory creates a nice black outline around itself. Dark ivory creates more of a feathery black outline around itself. These things make these colors a lot of fun. Then I like to try to throw in a transparent color...it seems to really bring the beads to life.

This bead set quickly found a home in a bracelet design. It fits like a cuff bracelet but with the extra security of a clasp. I think with the exception of about three beads and two ivory spacers the entire set was used in the jewelry design.

I used 14 gauge sterling wire to create the clasp and string the beads onto. The jump rings are also made from 14 gauge sterling wire and silver soudered closed for strength.

A little closer view of the clasp. I also pounded the clasp lightly with my hammer to give it a diamond cut look.

I was thinking as I was writing this that I also noticed the colors of some of the glasses can come out slightly differet in this torch over my HotHead. The reactions in certain glass colors from their metals, like dark ivory, seem to come out differntly too. Oh and I did try out some frit...but I'm pretty sure that was unsuccessful as well. I know I burned the silver amythest frit, but I'm not sure about the czear blue...that seemed to work but didn't really turn the blue I thought it would....so I'm unsure. Frit is something that I haven't played with too much yet.

Well I'm off to relax...Friday is finally here! Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping!

oh and let me throw a plug in for my other blog since I have something new posted there too....check out Lumpy Page Designs for my newest set of stamped cards, they're sure to make you smile.

Nortel - Mega Minor Torch

2009-10-28T11:32:00.026-04:00

I am so excited my oxygen concentrator FINALLY arrived yesterday! I've been waiting for weeks! Now I can use my new surface mixture torch the Nortel Mega Minor. I didn't get the chance to try it out last night but plan to give it a whirl tonight!

I'm not sure how much different this will be from the HotHead torch I've been using but I do know that I'll be able to work faster on this torch, which will be nice. I also have heard that I will get different colors/reactions using this torch that I wasn't able to get from the HotHead and I will be able to get a better effect when I use reduction frit on my beads with this new torch. I will comment more on how the torch actually works once I get a chance to use it.

Not to mention now I can finally rest my elbows on my table as I work. With the HotHead because of the position it sits in (straight up) you can't really rest your arms and it can make adding decorations a bit tricky because not only do you need to have good stringer control but also a steady hand which is hard to do when you have nowhere to rest your arms. I will also be able to control the propane and oxygen mixture this torch uses. On the HotHead you basically get one option and that is to turn the flame up or down. Don't get me wrong though I love my HotHead torch and it's the perfect torch to start lampworking on, especially if you are not sure this is something you will love doing. It's a cheap investment to get you started. I knew almost right away that I was going to want to upgrade to a new torch. Of course a bigger torch is a bigger investment and requires either an oxygen concentrator or oxygen tank along with a propane tank whereas the HotHead simply requires a can of mapp gas.

I really needed to invest in this. I blow through 2-3 cans of mapp gas on any given weekend. When the cans are $6.99-$10.99 a pop the cost of using the hothead can add up quickly. With this torch I will be able to use a propane tank, which is filled up for around (give or take a little) $15.00 and I should probably only need to fill it up every other month or so. Having an oxygen concentrator saves me the expense of filling up an oxygen tank. In the end the investment for this set up will be worth it to me because I do spend so much time making beads that I go through the map gas too quickly. Hopefully this will help balance out some of that expense.

Here's a picture of my new torch - isn't it purty?! This is one serious piece of equipment! I am able to adjust the postion, up or down. The red knob on top controls the gas (propane) and the silver knob on the side is for controlling the oxygen. There are threaded knobs on the back for the hoses and a stabalizing plate for the threaded knobs. Once you attach the hoses the stabalizing plate works to keep the threaded knobs from moving. That's basically it. Not any more complicated to use than the hothead, just a bit more high tech with more control options. Nortel also makes a Minor Torch, which is very similar to this, however, there have been a few things added to this one that the Minor does not have, such as that stabalizing plate for the threaded knobs and there is also a bushing that wraps around the tip that helps keep the cooling sleeve snug.

For anyone that is curious, here is a picture of the hothead torch (below). As you can see it's pretty simple. It attaches directly to a can of mapp gas. The cost is around $59.99 (again, give or take depending upon where you purchase it). There is one knob on the side to turn your flame up or down. As you use map gas the can will actually get cold and even get a thin layer of ice or condensation on the bottom. When this starts to happen the pressure goes down and your flame doesn't burn as hot. This is when that side knob is helpful so you can adjusting the flame as this happens. It is also very helpful to have a second can of map gas on hand so you can swamp between the two and always have a good flame/pressure for making beads.

If you're interested in more information about torch set up or torches in general there is a wonderful section about it in a great book called Passing the Flame. There are also many other resources and forums with plenty of information on the different types of torches and how to set things up - just remember to always follow saftey procedures! Thanks for stopping! Have a great day!

Black and White

2009-10-25T17:28:00.023-04:00

Black and white is always a fantastic fail safe combination. It can be elegant or playful.

I really like the way this glass bead set turned out. One of my favorite so far. I'm getting better control with my stringers and am starting to experiment on my own. The little black and white flower in the set was me experimenting and lucky for me it worked out a-ok and helped me build the rest of the set. I even tried my hand at making disks (they're a little hard to see on the set). I start all my beads by creating a spiral disk first then melting it down into the bead shape, so the spirals wasn't a new technique.

Since this set is for a friend of mine's daughter, she asked that I make a piece of jewelry out of them. Which I have no problem with since I love to make jewelry too and how neat to get the chance to see my beads actually in use. Designing something for a teenager is always a daunting task if you ask me. You don't want it to be too young or too grown up. Something durable, but simply stated. Here's the necklace I ended up with. I plan to make a bracelet out of the leftover beads to match the necklace.

Check it out! I got a little display piece for necklaces, isn' that neat? Ok, maybe I'm too excited about something so simple but it really makes a huge difference for taking pictures of jewelry! I also got a display for bracelets - can't wait to use that one too!

All wire is hand wrapped and .925 sterling silver.

Two full views. You can click any of the pictures for full sized images. The spiral wire spacers were very easy to make. Some sterling wire and something to wrap the wire around - like a pencil. Wrap around and around, slide off the pencil and viola. Make sure your ends are filed, you don't want anything sharp poking the wearer.

A closer view for detail. Here you can see the spiral disks I mentioned above. That's how most of my beads start out. Then they are melted into their bead shape. I like how playful the disks are. I think they go well with the flower.

A bigger view of the bead set. I have a lot of leftovers to use for the bracelet! I need to get struck with some artist inspiration though....I went down today to work on it and did a whole lot of nothing.....

Well hopefully she likes it. I had a lot of fun making this necklace (kinda wanted to keep it! ). Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!

A Little Color

2009-10-24T13:05:00.015-04:00

One of the really fun things about lampworking is all the different colors glass comes in. It does depend on the manufacturer as to the quality and availability of certain colors. For example Moretti / Effetre (this is just my opinion) does not have the perfect pink colors to pick from (yet), however, I've seen a few pinks by other manufacturers that I can't wait to get my hands on. Generally as long as the glass is of the same COE (Coefficient of Expansion - a glass types response to temperature change) you can mix them (do your reseach though, there is glass of the same COE that does not play well with others - there's always an exception to the rule).

Not only are there tons of colors to pick from you also get the option of picking opaque (solid) or transparent glass colors. Your combination possibilities are endless.

Special Orange by Moretti/Effetre has to be one my favorite colors to work with right now. I discovered it pretty early on and just love the results I get. It's bold, warm, fun and goes great with Light Sky Blue and Pea Green (Vetrofond pastel). When applied directly to Light Sky Blue it creates a beautiful outline around itself and does the same with the Pea Green. Making these three colors lots of fun to work with. Most times when I order special orange it will vary in it's intensity from the batch I had before. Sometimes it's darker, sometimes it's lighter. I never mind though because to me it only adds beauty to the different shades of color in a bead or set of beads. Special orange also goes beautifully with purples. I have not gotten the same outline effect with purples and orange as I have the light sky blue and pea green. It's always an experiment when combining colors. Some glass colors have metals in them that create different reactions on different colors. I keep a notebook to help me track the colors combinations I've used and their results along with a little information about each color when I use it.

Here are a few beads I've made using special orange. Aren't these colors delicious together?

Thanks for stopping!

Getting Started

2009-10-22T09:23:00.027-04:00

Good morning! Alright I think I'm finally ready to start posting here. I've been trying to figure out what to post first and I think it only makes sense to start from the beginning.

I've been lampworking for several months now and I know that's not nearly enough time to be good at this so hang in there with me as I learn, grow and hopefully produce some beautiful beads to share.

I work only in soft glass right now. The glass type I use is mainly Moretti but I also use some Vetrofond. I may trickle over into some Messy and the other soft glasses that are available but right now I find it easiest to stick to the types I started with. I am currently making my beads on a hot head torch. This is the most basic of torches. It attaches directly to cans of map gas. I did upgrade to a new torch - a Mega Minor torch, which will use a mixture of propane and oxygen. I am waiting for my oxygen generator to arrive.

I also had to upgrade my craftroom to a studio...oh yeah, lol, that's right my craftroom is now officially a studio! My dh was so wonderful in taking the time to tile a section of my craft table. Not only did he tile it for me but he went the distance and even made a beautiful pattern with the tiles - what a great guy! It's really important that everything around you is fireproof. Glass cracks and shatters sometimes when introduced to the flame, especially if the room you store the glass in is cool. My studio is in the basement so it's always cooler than the rest of the house. I was fortunate and my floor was already tiled and I didn't have to worry about fireproofing the floor.

So with my torch set up, my studio all ready to roll it's time to make some beads! Of course there are some general saftey rules when making beads....such as wear shoes, wear pants, don't wear long sleeves that can get caught in the flame, keep your hair pulled back, wear saftey glasses. Pretty common sense things. Although I will admit I have broken a rule or two. Over the summer I was definitly wearing shorts (it gets so hot between the temperature outside and the heat from the torch). When your lampworking the glass can shatter as you introduce it into the flame, especially if the glass rod is very cold. Sometimes the color you are working with is "shocky", meaning the color isn't stable and may pop or splinter sending little pieces of glass flying so wearing shorts could get your legs burned. I have not had this happen as of yet. I have suffered a few burns from my own stupidity, like grabbing a hot glass rod because I set it down with the hot end facing me and of course grabbed for that end when I went to pick it up again. If you want to lose a fingerprint quickly, this is the way to do it. Lesson learned on my end.

Ok, ok enough right?! Let's see something already you say....Alright let me show you a few pictures of me actually making beads and I'll share with you a picture of my very pathetic first beads that at the time I was so very proud of and I'll share a picture of one of the first sets I've completed so you can see my progress over the past few months.

Ok that's me.....making a bead! My hothead torch is in front of me there, my glass rods are to the right - look at all those lucious colors!

A bead starts off as a rod of glass that is then melted and wrapped around a steel rod called a mandrel (that's what I'm holding in the picture - the mandrel). The steel rod is actually coated with what almost looks like really wet clay, it's called bead release. The bead release does exacty what it says, releases the bead from the steel rod. If you were to apply the glass directly to the steel rod it would not come off without breaking the bead.

Once the glass is wrapped around the mandrel the process of shaping the bead begins. Here I am heating the bead up to the point that it's molten. I will then remove it from the flame and work on shaping or balancing the shape of the bead outside of the flame. Depending on how well you applied the initial glass, shaping may be easy or it may take a little extra time if the glass isn't applied as evenly as it could have been. I use a sprial disk technique to start all my beads. I wrap the glass around the mandrel in a disk form first then it is melted down into the bead shape. If I do a good job laying the sprial disk the shaping process is so much easier. I also love using the sprial disk method to start my beads because it creates beautifully dimpled holes for my beads, everytime without fail.

It's hard to see in this picture but here I am applying decorations to the bead. I do this by using stringers, which are nothing more than thinner rods of glass. Stringers melt quickly and by working right outside of the flame this enables you to have more control over applying decorations. You want your stringer to get soft and flexible but not so much that you lose control over what you are doing. I'm working along the right-hand side of my flame in this picture, using the radiant heat from the torch.

Ok, so here you have my first beads....I'm so embarassed, lol. Aren't they homely looking?! You can stop laughing now...seriously. As you can see I have no control with adding dots or stripes, very little control in shape but these are my first and second day beads. It's important to show you these because the process does take lots of practice, patience and creativity. I have developed a whole new level of respect for glass bead making.

Alright and one last picture, this is one set that I am fairly done with. It started as my first official set and has been revamped over the months to fix some of the beads as I gained a little bit more skill with applying decorations to the beads. Bead Info: colors: opaque white, transparent dark purple, transparent black, transparent dark aqua, spacers are all trasnparent dark purple - glass: Moretti size: 10-12mm Hole size: 3/32 mandrels

Whew, that was a long post, if you're still with me give youself a pat on the back! There you have it. My start to glass bead making. I can't wait to share more so stop back soon!