Getting Ready for Valentine's Day

So, I've been trying to be a little more ahead of the game when it comes to holidays. I usually only think of making seasonal beads about a week before the actual holiday. With this in mind, I started searching for a heart shaped mold for the upcoming Valentines day.

I was probably a bit picky in my search. I wanted to make hearts that weren't too flat, or too tall. I also wanted to have them puffy enough so I could use my flat lap to reveal an interesting core. It can't be too big or too small. I'm not even sure if I knew what I wanted.

After lots of browsing around and asking about custom molds, I had someone offer to sell me their Carlo Donna heart presses. I jumped right on that because I had heard nothing but good things about them. I did my usual stalking of the mail carrier until it arrived.



I ended up purchasing a small set and a larger one for focals. I had never used a tong style press, and it took a bit of practice for me. The biggest struggle for me was using a light touch when mashing. I had a rough time not messing up the bead release. And boy does the focal size use a lot of glass. They turn out beautifully though. Here's a bit of eye candy for you all.