Leaves and Flowers - More Fallish fun

The few days I was able to torch this past week were pretty fun.  Only one day it was a bit frustrating.  More on that later.  I really didn't "learn" anything new.  Just kept playing with colors.  Some new to me but most colors I've known from the past.  I did play a bit more with some heavily laden silver color which is not the norm for me but I was enjoying it so much I just kept at it.  :)  It gave me no trouble at all either which is a good thing because when this particular color first came out, it gave LOTS of people fits, including me.  That glass/color being Double Helix Terra.  Not the original Terra but new batches that match the original. 

Now alot of people much prefer the multiple colors that you can get from Terra but hate the metallic sheen of it when that pops up.  I, on the other hand, like both the lovely colors AND the metallic sheen.  Both have their own place/use in a bead. I guess it just depends on what you are going for in that particular bead.  This past week, I have been going for whatever color shows up and I really like what's been showing up.  :)  In fact, I'm REALLY likin' what's showing up !  :)    

Check it out.  More leaves..............and both sides to show the variations of color and metallic sheen.  Granted, the colors probably have never been seen in "real" leaves but remember, this is glass and as with any art/craft, it is only limited to one's imagination.  :) 

 

I also made more leaves in other colors and more flowers.  My favorite leaves so far are these

 

 

In revisiting colors, I remembered about Opal Yellow and how much it reacts to MANY colors.  Or maybe it's how many colors react to it ?  Either way, the outcome is always wonderful !  I had forgotten just how much I LOVE THIS COLOR !~  And the older the rod, the better the colors that come out of it.  I happen to have just a few little rods of some old opal yellow and you can see it in the leaf to the far left.  There is some hints of pinkish tones in it and THAT'S the beauty of the older rods.  The rods were rich in this buttery yellow and those  wonderful pinkish undertones.  Yummy.  The new rods are lovely as well but nothing compares to the old stuff.  sigh......Still, all the leaves turned out lovely I think with the opal yellow base, encased in silver foil then dipped in a wonderful reactive frit I have.  I WILL be making more of these for sure.  :) 

 

And last but not least - the flowers.  To date, the ones below are what I've done so far. 

 

 

I've had so much fun making all of them that I will continue to make them in more colors.  Except for the red poinsettia looking one.  I'll be making more of those for a particular project.  The roses will all be made using various techniques and lots of colors and sizes.  :)  Eventually, I'll "delve" into making other types of flowers. 

 

Thanks so much for coming by !  I hope you come back again very soon.  :)  I love to read your comments so please feel free to get your 2 cents in.  :) 

 

 

 

Fall Is In The Air...........

.......even though it's still over 80 degrees today.  Still, it's been fairly cool in the mornings which allows me to spend a little bit of time making beads.  Yay !  It's suppose to start getting a high of only in the 70's this coming week so more time to play.  :)  The cooler it gets, the better my days will be.  I am a cold weather person anyway. 

I've had a great week at the torch.  Finally feeling like I never stopped for the summer.  Still working on things I have made before but using some new to me colors and experimenting a little bit.  Made lots of leaves, some roses and a couple other flowers.  All pictured below.

First are the leaves - and lots of them and more coming.  What will I do with all of them ?  I have no idea.  lol !  Maybe a necklace is in order ?   

 

This second set is all the flowers as of today.  There are more but they are still in the kiln.  I had alot of fun making these.  They are done three different ways.  The dark red rose and dark yellow rose on the left, closest to the dime, are done with the mandrel coming up thru the middle of the flower.  The Yellow rose all the way to the right is done with a base underneath it with the mandrel hole running east to west.  The top yellow flower with points on the tips, also done with a base underneath with mandrel holes running east to west.  And the last yellow flower, at the bottom, was made on the end of the mandrel and has no hole that runs all the way through.  There is one more way I can think of that these can be done and that is off mandrel which I want to try as well.  :)  Oh and did ya guess, yellow is one of my most favorite colors. !  lol !     

 

 

I also made some other beads but just not worthy of posting them.  lol !  Always a learning experience every time I sit down to melt glass. 

 

This next bead I made following a tut in the Tonbo Dama book.  I made this bead long ago once and remembered how much I loved it so wanted to revisit it.  In the tutorial, it says to encase it and I didn't.  It would of looked better had I encased it.  Oh well, live and learn ! 

 

 

Time to get busy and get some work done.  Thanks so much for coming by and visiting.  I hope you come back again very soon.  :)  Please leave a comment and let me know what you think. 

 

 

 

Flowers, Flowers and More Flowers

With all that practice/working with encasing, flowers in particular, I got the "urge" to follow another tutorial on roses.  Sculpted roses this time.  It's been a long time I really sculpted anything and hoped I wouldn't revert back to bad habits.  There weren't many but there were a few that kept me from accomplishing things back then when it came to sculpting.  Plus, I really wasn't sure I wanted to go that route again.  That's what I use to LOVE to do - sculpt with melted glass.  So when I sat down to follow along with the tut, alot of my GOOD insticts kicked in and I started feeling better about it again.  Not totally though.  As I was working on the first rose, I was rather shaky.  Just something I do when I'm trying new things.  The longer I worked on the first rose, the better I felt.  Plus, I had done most of this type of sculpting before.  I had made flowers long ago just not roses.  The whole purpose of buying this tut really was to see how the middle was finished and if there were any other good tips and techniques to learn. 

The only thing that really was no surprise to me is that first rose it HUGE !  I don't know what it is but making small beads just escapes me so often.  lol !  I try but 90% of the time it just doesn't work out for me.  

So far, I've made 2 roses, a lovely blue color one and a cream color one.  Both pictured below with another flower I made that's not a rose and on their own.  Notice the sizes !  lol !  The white  rose is smaller than the blue one though !  lol !  At least I tried.  :)  That blue one measures in at a full 2 inches across at the widest point !  Like I said - B-I-G ! 

Make sure you click on the photo's to see the full size. 

I've also included a photo of some sculpted flowers I made long ago.  Geesh, I think it was back in 2006 or 07.  Can't remember.  Not any particular kind of flowers.  Just plain ole' flowers.  I do remember the whole idea then was the petals and working with a new tool at the time.  I still have that tool and that's what was used in the multicolored flower pictured with the roses.  Making the petals is key to any of these sculpted flowers of course.  With these types of flowers, the petals are made in advance and kept warm on a warming plate of some kind.  Makes assembling the flower so much easier.  The picture is pretty bad because I was using a very old digital camera.  I still have all those flowers so maybe I'll redo the photo.  :)    

So I am continuing on my flowers quest with yet another project I'm working on.  More on that to come later.  I will make more roses over time.  Hopefully, I can get to small !  lol !  

Thanks for coming by !  :)  I hope you will come back again soon.  Please leave a comment.  I love reading them.  :)