Making Glass Beads - Pure Joy !

 It would seem my muse has made a comeback - finally !  lol !  Not sure the creativity has returned (if I ever had it) but at least the joy of melting glass has returned. :)   It feels wonderful !  I have to say of EVERY craft I have dabbled in or attempted, making beads - melting glass - lampworking - flame working - whatever one chooses to call it, is my first love.  And I have dabbled alot over the years.  lol !

I was able to torch several times over the past week.  Since I am still "recovering" from that long absence of melting glass, I am taking things slow and steady.  Not jumping into sculpting or anything too detailed.  Returning to tried and true color combo's, easy twisties and using alot of frit - which I hadn't done in a long time prior to the absence.  The thing about frit - it's soooo easy to use and make gorgeous beads.  Just a matter of how you use it.

Let's talk about frit.  It is a conversation that has been discussed over and over and on many places on the net.  It's in every beadmakers stash whether they are just trying a bit or have hoards of it !  lol !  There is such a variety to choose from these days AND we can even make our own.  It's easy to do - find what colors of glass you like and either crush them up or melt the rods on the ends.   While still red hot, stick them in a container of water that has a coffee filter in the bottom to catch the glass and wha - la, you have frit.  The color combo's or even single color frit is limitless !

Using frit on a bead is about as easy as it gets.  Just heat up your shaped bead and roll it in the frit and melt in.  Put the frit on the entire bead or on just one section.  Easy. Another way to use frit, heat up a ball on the end of a glass rod and dip it into frit, melt and pull into stringer.  Use stringer on your bead.  Easy.   Another trick, put silver foil on your bead then put the frit on.  Gives your bead a pretty sparkle.  :)  These are just a few ways frit is used to make gorgeous glass beads.  There are plenty more tips and tricks out there but I don't have all day to type them here or the room.  lol !   Do a search on the internet and see what you come up with.  You'll be happy I'm betting.  :)

On to this weeks eye candy  - beads !  Yay !  Simple, basic beads but I enjoyed very minute of making them.  The first photo are all focal beads.  That's what I've been into these days plus some cones.  I got some new cone mandrels and am practicing with them.  As with anything it's a learning curve here.  Anyway, the beads are all frit beads and all have silver foil melted in as well.  My favorite - the upper left.  LOVE that frit and it's no longer being made.  sigh.  Oh well, it happens.  I still have a bit of a stash so that's good.  :)  

The next photo, below, is of 3 frit beads and one twistie bead.  The 3 frit beads are called faux boro because it LOOKS like boro glass but it's not.  It's soda lime glass or soft glass.  Boro is called hard glass.  Anyway, that's for another day.  There is another way to make faux boro but I found some frit long ago that did that in frit form so thought I'd try it.  It's pretty and shows all the blues and greens that come out which is what the description said it would do.  Those beads are also encased.  The twistie bead is a favorite combination of mine and many others.  That color combo has been around for a very long time.  First published in one of Corina's how to books.  Anyway, it certainly didn't start out that way but all beadmakers know, what isn't working can be made into something that does work !  No wasting glass if at all possible !  lol !
  

 Then of course we have more bell flower beads/headpins.  Still alot of fun to make and still need to make more.  I was trying a couple of colors I've never used before with the flowers and like the outcome.  I have so many now I need to start listing them.  Want any ? If you do, they are $3.00 each with a minimum of 3.  Just send me a message here or in my Etsy shop.

  
That's all for this week.  I have more beads in the kiln, a necklace waiting on findings, and another project in the works.
Thanks much for coming by !  Please come back again soon.

Beads - That's it - Just Beads ! :)

It's been an interesting past week.  Lots happening (as usual), new and old.  Back at the torch a few days and LOVED it !  Want more.  Still waiting for the heavy pollen to stop.  Drove past the lake the other day and it (the pollen) was just floating around, like oil slicks, on top of the water !  ICK ! 

Torch time is limited for me right now so when I do get to "play" I try to make beads worth using.  Sometimes it works, sometimes not.  Last torch session, on Monday, I made 3 decent beads.  When I was done cleaning them I sat them on a towel to dry them off and forgot they were there.  Sigh.  Yep, you guessed it, I picked up the towel and 2 of the beads went flying, hit the tile floor and broke !  UGH !  See that picture below.  that's what happened.  So yes people, drop a large size glass bead on the floor and it'll break.  I've seen smallish round beads drop and bounce on this same floor but bigger beads, especially large pressed beads, don't stand a chance on ceramic tile.  Sad.  Still, the colors were tried and true so I can make more.  :)  

 
This is the one that survived.  Not as big as the others but a good size to add to a bracelet.  This one was a surprise when I got it out of the kiln.  Do you see it ?  Yep, a mushroom !  Not planned at all.  lol !  This can happen alot when making this type of bead.  It's always fun to see what comes out of the kiln !  :) 

Then of course, bell flowers.  :)  Had a bunch of fun making all of these !  These were made over a couple days.  These are always fun to make, use or just admire !  lol !  I now have 3 sizes of the presses so LOTS more flowers are coming.  Look at the white flowers to get a good feel for the sizes.  They are all 6 "petal" flowers too.  My flowers are a bit thicker than some you may see online.  I do that because if the walls of the flowers are too thin, they're going to break very easily - especially when used in jewelry such as bracelets.  Also, I have always used German silver wire that cleans up beautifully.  Copper wire is fine to use as well but I've never used it.  This wire shines up beautifully just like sterling silver.   These are great to use as headpins too ! 

If you would like to purchase some of these flowers, just let me know via a convo from my Etsy shop.  Tell me the colors and sizes you want (just say size small, medium or large) and I'll make a special listing for you.  The flowers are $3.00 each.  If you buy 25 or more, I'll give you a great discount ! 

Time to run.  Thanks so much for coming by !  I hope you come back again soon. 

Mid October and Ready for Fall

Ok already with the 80 degree temps !  Geesh, it's mid October after all and suppose to be nice and COOL !  I never EVER imagined running the AC in October !  This is crazy - but expected for the south I guess.  Give me 50 degrees and MUCH cooler and I am a very happy camper.  Now, onto the beads....................:)

After waiting to get a glass order and limited torch time, I have finally finished that special project I mentioned in a previous blog post.  This is something that could of been finished in about a weeks time if I had all the right glass in the first place.  Still, once I got that glass, I was extremely disappointed.  It did NOTHING I was hoping it would.  It didn't even match what I needed it for.  sigh.  Obviously I'm doing something wrong not to get the color it shows it's suppose to look like on the website.  I'll keep working on it.  :)  And if and when I get the needed color, I'll post all about it here.  lol ! 

So the project I worked on was a flower bouquet for that newly done bathroom.  I am pretty happy with how it turned out.  The photo is just below.  The bathroom colors are peach, chocolate and pale seafoam green.  The buish/green bell flower smack dab in the front center is the exact color of that seafoam green.  I am thrilled how the roses turned out and always love the bell flowers.  There are two critters in this bouquet, Blueboy worm and a very soft peach butterfly.  The main rose in the center is peach and the two on the sides are a very pretty pink with crimped petals.  I've added a few smaller pics of the side view and top view.  Just click on them to see a larger version.  The vase is a gorgeous sparkly deep brown with gold in it.  This is the 4th bouquet I've put together and I just have a lot of fun doing them.  :)  I can make one for you too.  Just contact me here by posting a comment or click on any picture in my Etsy shop to the right and send me a convo.  :) 

 

 

 

Finally, since I haven't been at the torch much, I've not been able to make too many Beads Of Courage Beads.  Only a few each torch session.  The bowl is filling up VERY slowly.  I'll have to take a day or two to get it filled and get it sent off.  They are STILL very much in need.  Pic below shows the few I've been able to get done.   Gotta get more done ! 

 

 

That's all for now.  Thanks so much for coming by.  I hope you come back again very soon ! 

 

This weeks question:

I make a lot of beads using MANY shades of one primary color.  Name that color and win this weeks giftee !

 

Place your guess in the comments section below.  Only one guess per visitor please.  First person to guess correctly wins however I will not post the winner until Saturday the 19th in the evening.  

New rule:  Recent winners need to opt out for 2 weeks to be fair to all.  :)  Thanks for understanding.   

 

  

 

 

 

Bell Flower Press Tips and Tricks

Thought I'd post a little bit of info for a change on how to use this great press. 

Since buying the bell flower press I've made hundreds of these pretty little flowers.  Because there are no instructions on how to best use these tools, everyone has to learn what is the best way for them.  There is a tiny bit of a learning curve but once you get the swing of it - nothing to it.  :)  Still I thought I'd post a few tidbits of info I found useful as I was learning.  Nothing major, just a few helpful (I hope) tips. 

- I use 20 gauge German silver colored wire purchased at Rio Grande.  I found this information online at www.lampworketc.com  in a post by another beadmaker.  With this wire you can actually hold it in your fingers as it does not conduct heat to the end that's not in the flame. Copper wire DOES conduct the heat to the end of the wire that's not in the flame.  Ouch.  You can use something to hold the wire as you transfer it to the kiln however I find that's just another step that I personally don't want to deal with.  To each their own of course.  :)  **After re-reading this I found it might be confusing so I needed to add this bit:  When I mention holding on to the wire with fingers, I mean when you remove it from the wire holder you're using and put it in the kiln.** 

- Preparing the wire is pretty simple and basic.  I find that cutting it to a length of about 3" or so will give you plenty of wire to work with in making jewelry.  Once cut I leave some wire as is and do nothing to it.  With most of the wire, I take my round nose pliers and make a half loop on one end.  I then take my flat nose pliers and bend that loop into the wire and press it flat.  Doing that makes it easier for the hot glass to grab onto something.  It will still grab onto the wire if you did nothing to it but giving it just that little bit of extra wire helps a lot and makes it easier to wrap the glass.

- To hold the wire while winding the glass I use a tungsten pin vise that can be found on many glass websites.  I attempted to make my own holding devise but found ready made was better - for me.  :)

- It is unnecessary to heat up the wire before winding on the glass.  The hot glass itself is hot enough to grab onto the wire.  Sometimes you need to touch the glass to the wire a couple times.  Keep in mind, if the wire gets too hot from the flame, it will melt off and it'll melt off FAST !  lol !    

- Winding on the glass to the wire can be tricky in the beginning in a couple of ways.  You first need to determine how much glass you need.  With each bell flower press the amount varies.  Believe me, I've had all three sizes of the presses and it DOES matter.  :)  Another very important point I think is you can make the flowers different lengths.  The width will remain the same but the lengths can change according to how much glass you use.  For example: using the 20mm 6 point press the width will always be 20 mm BUT the lengths I have gotten are 12mm up to 16mm.  It just depends on the amount of glass you use and how hard you press.

-How much pressure you put on the glass once in the press will depend on the look you want to end up with.  The harder you press, the thinner & longer your flower will be.  It's a matter of personal preference of course.  I prefer a bit of a thicker wall.  The thinner the flower the easier it will be to chip and break.  No matter what, it's not a good idea to drop them on a hard surface.  :) 

- As you use your press it will become very hot.  I keep a couple of cool, wet rags next to me and wrap the press up as needed.  That is usually after several flowers.  I also add bees wax to the inside of the bell while hot.  It will help the glass from sticking after it does become that hot.  The wax will melt off the glass in a puff of "steam" or smoke and possibly a bit of a flame but it will not harm your flower.

- Now that your flower is done, pop it in the kiln and anneal like any other beads.  :)

These little flowers are so much fun to make !  I don't see myself NOT making them for a  long time to come !  :)  I have MANY ideas floating in my head on how to use them for home décor and jewelry.  

These presses are made by an Italian family run business called Carlo Dona.  They have been in the glass tool making business since 1923 so they really do know how to make the very best quality tools for glass blowers and bead makers.   

Below are a few photo's of some of the bell flowers I've made.  There will be more to come !  lol !  

Thanks so much for coming by !  I hope you come back again very soon !  :)

My All My Beads Facebook Page -  All My Beads Facebook Page 
All My Beads Etsy Shop - My Etsy Shop

  

The Project

The time has come to do the big reveal.  This is something that has been in the works for months.  It takes months to do this sort of thing simply due to having to make all the beads/headpins for it.  Since I don't torch daily nor do I make these flowers at every session hence months.  ;) 

My big ball of bell flower beads and/or headpins.  I'm not sure what this would be called.  I looked up topiary and it is sort of like that so I think that's what I might call it.  Course it could just be called the ball of flowers too.  lol !  Either way, I rather like how it turned out and am very happy I can add it to a table or a shelf somewhere in my home on display.  

I had so very many of these bell flowers that I simply had to do something with them.  They're so much fun to make that they kept piling up.  I have them for sale in my Etsy shop but the listings I have are for made to order so I just didn't need all these flowers to just sit.  They needed to be used.  Plus I will continue to make them so more "projects" will come.  

The only real problem I had during the whole process of putting this together was the little pot holding the whole thing.  It was nothing but Styrofoam and from the weight of the flowers it started rockin' and rollin' pretty fast.  lol !  The solution - remove Styrofoam and add cement.  Worked like a charm.  Not sure how heavy the whole thing is but it's HEAVY.  And very steady now.  :)  Something I didn't do was keep track of how many flowers I used.  I sure wish I would of but alas, no count.  I did measure around the circumference of the ball and it's 19" across.  The flowers cover every inch of that ball including around the trunk.  

I used 3 sizes of the bell flowers - 12, 14 and 20 mm but most of them are the 14 and 20mm size.  I also added a few other flower types I made plus a little butterfly critter at the top. 

The photo's below:  First one on left shows the entire thing.  Second one is a top view and the last one shows a close up of one side.  Make sure to click on each photo to see a larger and closer pic.  :)         

 

If you would like to see more photo's of my bell flower beads/headpins, check out my Etsy shop for a nice selection.  Just click on any of the photo's listed. 

 

Thanks so much for coming by !  I hope you come back again very soon !  :) 

Summer Heat & Humidity .............

................is just terrible !  I really do dislike summer !  It's a miserable time for me.  UGH.  So, that said, no more complaining.  That's not what this blog is all about even though it does affect my torch time.  Moving on now............

I did get a bit of torch time in this last week in the early morning hours for a few days.  I managed to make more bell flowers of course for that project I'm going to be getting into now.  Limited or no torch time means more time to do other projects.  I did start it a few days ago but it has sat for about 3 days without me doing a thing to it.  lol !  I'll get there.  Life tends to get in the way sometimes.  Some of the bell flowers are pictured just below.  I mixed up some red, yellow and orange colors and made these.  I love them. Love the brightness of them.  Will be adding them to the project.  ;) 

 

Problem is, when I get going making these flowers, I end up not making any actual beads !  lol !  The bottom of the kiln get filled with these flowers and leaves which means there is plenty of room to add beads on mandrels.  The mandrels sit on a mandrel rest inside the kiln.  Oh well.........I figure as long as I'm enjoying it, go for it !  lol !  I can make sets or a focal another day.  :) 

 

Speaking of beads - I have lots up for grabs in my Etsy shop !  Why not go on over for a visit and see what's available.  You might find something you like ! 

 

Thanks for coming by !  I hope you come back again soon ! 

Coming Soon

Lots of new and fun things will be added to this page.  I decided it was NOT the right time to stop posting afterall.  It would seem I was feeling a bit overwhelmed there for a short time but that has passed and I am more than ready to start posting again. :)  Funny how only a day or two can change one's outlook on life - for the better.  Eliminating some people that were a burden to begin with sure helped a lot.  Ever feel that weight being lifted ??  :)  But enough of that.  This blog is not about burdens and other bad feelings but rather fun and joyous things and happy feelings.  So onward and upward as it were.

New and fun things eh ?  Well, these beads/headpins are not so new to create but they sure are a lot of fun to make !  The first & second photo - 20mm 8 pt bell flowers & the last photo is 14mm bell flowers in pinks and purples.  The first and third photo's of the bell flowers, those are all available in my Etsy shop as are a lot of other bell flowers.  If you go over to my Etsy shop, just look around and you'll find all the bell flowers that are available.   I just wanted to post this real quick as I need to get going and get some work done.  So enjoy the photo's below.  I'll be back again very soon with new "stuff", new insights and maybe a secret or two.  :) 

Thanks much for coming by and please come back again soon.  :) 

Long Overdue Update

Where has the time gone !  Lately, I'm sitting right here at the computer filling my Etsy shop and promoting where I can.  :)  Lots of seat time that's for sure. 

Hopefully very soon I'll be back at the torch with all new beads to show.  I have lots of new things to explore and play with !  I'm really excited about trying some new glass I just bought called veiled cane duo's made by GG Glass .  I know it'll be lots of fun.  I've worked with glass very similar to the veiled cane however it's only one color in that manufacturers line.  I'm really looking forward to making my bell flower beads with some of those colors.  Yummy ! 

In the meantime, while I'm waiting to get back to torching, I've put together some new items for my Etsy shop.  They are the bell flower bouquets.  Two are just bell flowers and one is put together with several different flowers plus the bell flowers & a critter like the one pictured.  

 

The other two are like the ones pictured below.  Pick multicolors or just one color. 

 

 

So come on by my Etsy shop at www.allmybeads.etsy.com and check these out along with all the other beads I've been listing.  Right now, I still have Grand Re-Opening Specials going on and FREE SHIPPING so come on by and take a look ~!  :)    

 

Something else I've been working on lately is my new All My Beads Facebook Page !  Yep, finally my bead page which is open to everyone.  So come on by and "Like" my page or leave a comment under one of my photo's.

 

https://www.facebook.com/AllMyBeads

 

 

Thanks so much for coming by !  I hope you come back again soon !