Saturday, February 14, 2009

Focal Beads

I hope all of you had a loving Valentine's Day or simply a pleasant and peaceful February 14th!

I don't often make focal beads, but inspiration got hold of me recently and I made a few of them. The heart above is Medium Amber with Triton scrolls. The next two focals are Triton with some clear encasing and a little Nyx:
This focal has a swirled Triton and Pandora core, with clear encasing and Triton ends:The Triton focals are in my Etsy shop.
Have a nice weekend!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

They are gorgeous....I love that heart. I sure wish I could coax the colors out of my silver glass that you do. I always seem to get nothing but blue no matter what color I use.

Karolen said...

Thanks sassyglass!

With Triton, try waving it a little closer to the tips of the yellow reducing cones, like just an inch above them (I'm on a Minor) and let the Triton get hot enough to get a slight glow. You may see pink metallic colors appear at this point. Then, turn the flame back towards neutral, creating just a very light reduction flame, and briefly wave the Triton in this flame. Then go back to the stronger reducing flame briefly again. Play around with it. Sometimes, it even seems to work differently on different days!

Basically, my Triton stays silver blue unless I bring it up to glowing hot in the reduction flame. Heat is the key to the colors with Triton, in my experience.

Thanks for your comment!

angelinabeadalina said...

Wow, these focals are stunning, Karolen! I also think it is very nice of you to share your tips!

Karolen said...

Thanks, angelina!

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

your focals are beautiful..
esp. love the heart...
keep it up....
I can't wait to see more..
have a great week..
mona &n the gaffer girls

pam ferrari said...

Beautiful beads You amaze me.