Bead Previews 2/24/12-2/25/12

I've finally got some beads to list!. Yay! Well I've been listing beads and all, but lately I haven't been previewing them before posting because I've had so little to list. So without further ado, here's what I will be posting tomorrow and Friday.

Same rules as always. Email me  at booga119@hotmail. com or comment here BEFORE I list these and you will be invoiced with 15% off. If you have any questions, feel free to ask :)

 

These beads will be listed on February 24 2012

If you see something you like in this picture and jump on it before I list it, I will give you an additional 15% off. First person to post a comment here can buy the item with the 15% off, but it must be BEFORE I list it. I send invoices with paypal and charge 2.25 flat rate for shipping for fans, likers, friends, family and so forth. Thanks so much :)

6 silvered ivory scrolls on Red Rounds Etched $42
6 silvered ivory scrolls on ivory Rounds Etched $42
1 blue lentil focal with metallic scroll design $18
1 silvered ivory zentangle lentil focal on pink etched $22
2 Blue luster discs earring pair $8
2 silver cored pandora beads $20 each 

These beads will be listed on February 25 2012

If you see something you like in this picture and jump on it before I list it, I will give you an additional 15% off. First person to post a comment here can buy the item with the 15% off, but it must be BEFORE I list it. I send invoices with paypal and charge 2.25 flat rate for shipping for fans, likers, friends, family and so forth. Thanks so much :)


6 silvered ivory scrolls on black Rounds Etched $42
6 purple amber over black and silver foil $36
1 metallic zentangle lentil focal on tangerine $22
1 metallic zentangle lentil focal on pale emerald (the design is melted in on this one) $20
2 Metallic scrolls over opal blue earring pair $12
1 silver cored pandora bead $20
1 large hollow copper cored and capped scroll bead that fits pandora, but is intended as a necklace not a bracelet $30

Updated Studio Tour

I was screwing around doing important work on pinterest the other day and making a board of creative spaces when I noticed that my own studio tour was in need of an update. It's been two years and since then I've gotten a new torch, work surface and tool chest, so I thought I'd take a few new pictures.

First off, I got a creation station. 

I've heard rave reviews from a lot of people about it and how it helped their stringer control. I was pretty happy with my stringer control to begin with and I didn't notice a change when I installed it, but it does make my marathon torching sessions so much easier. Before, I was getting a lot of fatigue in my wrists after the first few hours and I always managed to put my elbows down in pieces of sharp glass. This helps me tremendously with that.

It also makes me feel like I'm riding a sweet motorcycle.

I've also upgraded my torch. I LOVE my torch. I've been using it for over a year now, but it's still my baby. It's a scorpion by GTT. I love that I can use the outer flame to get a lot of heat for larger beads and then crank it down to a pinpoint flame for stringer work.

She's beautiful!

I also got a tool chest.

 Before I got the tool chest, I just piled everything on my right side. My frits and other jars of goodies were on a Lazy Susan to my left. It was pretty hard to find what I needed. Then the pile of tools got a little out of hand.

But now I have this fancy red tool chest that I wheel next to me when I'm working. I've got a drawer full of molds and bead rollers. I've got another for all my jars of frit and pixiedust and another for my tools. I still end up with a lot of stuff on my workstation because I'm a slob my muse needs a bit of creative chaos to function.

Here's the old studio setup.  I only really showed the major changes. Everything else is still about the same.

I bought this Lampwork Bead! Now what?

Lampwork beads are amazing beautiful pieces of wearable art. I love buying beads directly from other glass artists, but jewelry making isn't my passion, so I don't always know what to do with the bead. I can imagine it must be so much worse for people who fall in love with glass beads, but don't have any knowledge about jewelry making.
With that in mind, I wrote this basic basic pendant tutorial. I made this pendant in about ten minutes and most of my time was spent holding a camera with one hand and balancing my jewelry project with the other. You can use this technique with any bead if you have a long enough piece of wire or headpin. It's simple and can go with jeans and a t shirt or something fancier. You can find a lot of videos on youtube for this technique as well.



Here's the tools needed

 

You can purchase all these tools at Michael's or even some Walmarts. You need round nose pliers, flat nose pliers, chain nose pliers, and wire cutters. I think I got mine in a jewelry making kit when I was 12 or something. You can always buy nicer tools if you find yourself making lots of jewelry.

Here are the supplies you need. 

 

 A bead and a headpin. A headpin is just a piece of wire that has a ball on the end to prevent the bead from falling off. Many people make their own headpins by making the end into a spiral. I'm not going to get into that for now though. Make sure your headpin is about 1.5 inches longer than the bead.

You can get use whatever bead you want. You can even use a found object and drill a hole in it. I'm a bit partial to my own handmade lampwork beads, so I'll insert a shameless little plug here.

Start by threading the bead onto the headpin and holding the wire with your round nose pliers very close to the bead.

  

 Bend the wire 90 degrees over the pliers.

 

  

 Release the pliers and reposition them like so. You are going to use the round nose to make a loop so decide how big you would like your bail to be. If you have a favorite chain to use, make sure it will fit over the clasp. Bend the wire over the round nose to form half of the loop.

 

 Reposition your pliers again and finish your loop. It's ok if it looks a little rough. You can neaten it up.

  

Put down your round nose pliers and use your flat nosed pliers to hold your loop. Next you will start wrapping the remaining wire around the loop. You can use your fingers if you want, but my fingers get too sweaty for that, so I use my chain nose pliers to grip the end of the wire and start wrapping.

 

Continue wrapping until you have two or three  wraps snug against each other. You'll probably be right up next to the bead right now. Depending on how long of a headpin you had, you might need to snip some wire off, so there's just a wee bit left.

 

Tuck it in with your chain nose pliers as best you can being careful not to damage the bead. Luckily lampwork beads are pretty hardy if they are properly annealed and have a nice puckered bead hole.

 

Put it on a chain and you're ready to go.

 

This is one of the most simple basic ways to make use of a beautiful bead. You can use sterling silver or cheap wire from Michaels. It is all up to you. Now go find some beautiful beads and start creating!