New Sets on Etsy!

Here are three new sets up for sale in my Etsy shop. The first one is a set of Pale Emerald Green and Triton frit crystal beads, another set from my recent crystal frenzy:
This is a set of spiral disk beads, made with M-232 or "pinky purple luster," a Double Helix test batch:

And last but not least, this cool set made with a Triton base and Copper Green scroll designs. I love the reaction between the glasses:

:-)

Mojo and the Reducing Angels

These disks are made from Double Helix test batch M-232b "pinky purple luster":
I have had several days recently where I have lost my "reducing mojo." It's frustrating for me when this happens, since I use reducing silver glass in pretty much every bead I make. Sometimes, for some reason unknown to me, I cannot get silver glass like Triton or Kronos to reduce. It just turns to mud. I try using a different rod, a different glass, adjusting the flame, waving my hand differently, yet my silver glass mojo is just up and gone.

The other day I was working on a custom order for several sets of beads with Triton and M-232b in them. This was one of my days when my mojo was gone. After a set or two of Triton failures and mounting frustration, I decided to call upon the "Reduction Angels" to make the wind blow in the right direction or adjust the phase of the moon so I could get this darn glass to turn shiny!

So I took a deep breath and just set the frustrating custom order aside for a minute. I decided instead I would make what I felt like making - M-232b spiral disks. I was determined to regain my mojo. I waved the disks very close to the yellow reducing cones. I was gonna make that glass reduce! No tip-toeing around 6 inches from the torch face, I was gonna put the bead right into the reducing flame! To my surprise, the disks quickly turned a pretty rose gold color! My mojo had suddenly returned! Yay! Reducing Angels, thank you!

The next morning, when I opened the kiln and saw what I expected to be the Triton disasters for the custom order, I was pleasantly surprised! The beads had turned out with beautiful shiny colors:On these Triton disks I had used multiple reducing/oxidizing cycles, because it didn't look like the reduction was working at first. I kept erasing the reduction with oxygen, then reducing again. I did that so many times on each bead that they ended up looking like mud, totally over-reduced and over-struck. I put the muddy Triton beads into the kiln, "tomorrow's orphan beads" I figured. As it turned out, it must have been the multiple oxidizing and reducing cycles that brought out so many different colors.

So had I really lost my mojo that day after all, if the beads actually ended up okay? Why did they look so bad in the flame but came out shiny and pretty from the kiln? Silver glass can be really fickle. I sympathize with those who are trying to figure out its mysteries!

Also, one thing I've learned is never count your beads before they've hatched out of the kiln. What you think is gonna be bad turns out beautiful, what you're sure is your life's masterpiece turns out to be a muddy disaster, I've seen it a hundred times now!

Here's another set I made for the custom order, CiM "Blush" with M-232b scrolls. I love this combo:

Happy day to everyone!

Pandora Spiral Disks

I've made a set of Pandora spiral disk beads. I made a few when I first got my Pandora, and finally I have finished a full set:These are in my Etsy shop right now.

Pandora is the only striking silver glass I've used that I can make nice looking disks with. Because it strikes in the kiln, I don't have to heat the spiral disk a lot to get the colors to appear like I do with other striking glasses. I've made some nice Terra spiral disks in the past, but they were a little too dark brown and the wonderful Terra colors didn't come through very well.

I love the scrumptious purple color of the Pandora disks. These two beads (below) on the mandrels are now part of the set pictured above. The colors look great in full sunlight. Quite a difference between this outdoor picture and the studio lighting!

Silver Glass Mixed Set

Just posted in my Etsy shop, a new silver glass eclectic set, this one made with Triton and Nyx. There is a lot of antique coppery-green in this set, plus shades of blue and hints of purple/magenta. I love making these sets!

Purple-icious Pandora

I had to try some disk beads with Pandora, of course! These two came out of my kiln yesterday. I'm loving this stunning purple color!This is the purple glass color I've been searching for... it's like a dark EDP without the E or the D!

I've seen this purple in my other Pandora beads, but somehow it looks more deliciously purple-icious in disk form.

I've tried disks with other 104 striking silver glasses, but usually only get a brown disk. Double Helix glasses like Luna, Terranova, Terra and Khaos stay dark brown unless the color is developed with a lot of heat and/or repeated heating. Thin spiral disk beads don't hold up to that kind of heat. Pandora, however, requires no excessive heat so it is the perfect striking glass for disks.

There are several more annealing in my kiln right now!

Gold M-166 Spiral Disks

These disks are made with Double Helix odd lot "M-166" or "pinky purple luster." I love the beautiful light gold color of this glass! It's been a while since I've made some of these:
Last night Double Helix had another "lurk and grab" session. That's when they upload new test batches and odd lots to their site in the middle of the night. I lurked and grabbed. I only meant to spend about $100 but when I saw all the odd lots available I went a WEE BIT over budget :)
Here is one of the odds I got that looks a lot like M-166:I can't wait till my odd lots arrive. Now I'll be stalking the mail lady!

Large Triton Disks

I've been working this past week at getting my "disk mojo" back. As I said before, some days I can make a spiral disk and some days I can't. I've been practicing this technique for over a year, and still, making nice, round spiral disks is extremely challenging.

I was pleased this week to get a little mojo back and also see my skills improve. I made some large metallic Triton disks, one particularly large at 23mm. The other two in front are 20mm and 19mm:I was able to make the large disks because I figured out how to continuously melt and apply more glass to the disk as I'm making it. Previously, I would melt a blob of glass on the end of a rod and hold it to the side of the flame as I applied it to the mandrel to make a disk. Doing it that way, my disk could only contain as much glass as the molten blob I started with. I couldn't figure out how to heat more glass mid-stream and still keep a decent disk shape. I will try to repeat this next time I'm at the torch, because I had a customer ask me for a 28mm disk last week and I had to turn her down because I didn't have the skill. Maybe I'm finally working up to it now. Making large, perfect disks has been a goal of mine for a long time!

I also have some of my regular-sized disks up in my Etsy shop right now. I have a set of 8 and a set of 10, all sized about 15-18mm:Have a peaceful weekend folks :-)

Wrapped Disk Beads

Here's a bead shape I love to make - I call it the wrapped disk. These are Triton:These are Kronos:I love the purples on these beads. There are other colors too, like magenta and gold that aren't really visible in this particular photo. I've never gotten much besides blue and green before with Kronos. I tried reducing the glass a little bit differently than I usually do, which probably why I got the color. I waved the Kronos beads back and forth quickly at the tip of the yellow reducing cones, just like I do to get color from Triton.

Both of these sets are in my Etsy shop.

Nyx Spiral Disks

I seem to have "disk days" and "NOT disk days." A not-disk-day is when no matter how many times I try, the disks melt into blobs, they're all uneven, they fall over sideways, etc, etc. I don't know why some days I can make them and some days I can't. On a recent good disk day, I made this set of Nyx disks, in my Etsy shop right now:

More... er... uh... Triton!

Are there really other glass colors? I've been dubbed "Queen Triton" by someone on the Lampwork, Etc. message board. The royal Leo in me does not shun this title. :-D

Here are the latest jewels from the throne, two photos of a set of encased Triton beads decorated with raised scroll designs also in Triton:What I love about this set is how the encased Triton turned different colors in each bead. I think it depends on how much heat the bead got and how long I worked it in the flame.

Another set of Triton disk beads, too. I'm getting my disk mojo back:Back to the torch! Happy day everyone!

August: Birthdays, a Good Book, and Triton

It's hard to believe this is my first post in August. I've had a wonderful and busy month so far. August 1st was my daughter's 8th birthday, and the 5th was my 40th birthday!

Also, I've been engrossed in an incredible book: "Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home" by Nando Parrado. This is the story of the plane that crashed in 1972 in the high Andes, carrying a Uruguayan rugby team and their friends and families. The event is probably most memorable for the fact that the survivors of the crash had nothing to eat for two months besides the crash victims. Nando Parrado is one of the survivors of the crash, and the book is his account of the event and his 10-day trek out of the Andes to find help. I was only 4 years old in 1972, but I remember my father telling me about this story. It's very moving. Anyone who has read Nando's book or the other book about the event, "Alive" by Piers Paul Read can probably understand why this story has taken over my consciousness for the past few weeks.

Amidst all of this I've been continuing to make a lot of Triton beads. I'm totally obsessed with Triton! When I sit down for a torch session, all I want to make are these sets:

This is a set of Triton rondelles:

A set of Triton disks:

As you can see I'm obsessed with Triton. I love making the mixed sets. I've made so many mixed sets lately that I forgot how to make the thin spiral disks! It took me 3 days of practice before I was able to get one decent disk again!

More Silver Glass Sets

Here are a few more photos of the eclectic sets I've been making. The primary glass is Triton, but I also use Kronos, Nyx and Psyche.

I am obsessed! :-)

Triton and Kronos Beads

I've been listing my new sets on Etsy, this one is up right now:

These beads were made with Triton and Kronos. The two green cube beads are encased Triton. I just love this glass, it has so many looks!

Triton... WoW!

I am having fun with this glass! This set is all Triton except for a little Kronos frit and some clear. I love the range of color and the contrasting satiny/shiny texture of Triton... what a stunning glass!

Silky and Shiny Triton!

Triton is a magical glass! When it's reduced, it turns metallic blue, silver, gold and rose. Also, if I wave it in the flame just right, it gets a beautiful satiny finish.

The first set of disks is shiny Triton, the second set is Triton with a mix of shiny and satiny on each bead.

Nyx and Kronos Disks

Two recent sets. The first is Nyx, the second is Kronos. :)

More Metallic Disks

Along with the Kronos disks in my last post, I listed two other metallic spiral disk sets on Etsy today. The first set is made from the lovely Double Helix odd-lot M-166, a.k.a. pinky purple luster, or what I call "Midas," which I'm sure is what the 'M' stands for in 'M-166' - whatever the name it's definitely one of my favorite glasses! The second set pictured is made from the ever-fantabulous Psyche. What will my boyfriend think when he finds out I want to marry Double Helix glass? He probably already suspects something... :-D

:-D

Kronos Spiral Disks

Kronos... always one of my favorite Double Helix glasses. Ever since the newer glasses like Psyche, Nyx, and Triton have come out, my Kronos has been gathering some dust. I could hardly believe it when I realized yesterday that I've never made a set of spiral disks with Kronos. I had to try. And wow - I am amazed by the color! Why didn't I do this before? Here they are (Kronos2 Disks):

In the past I have made spiral disk beads with the Kronos odd-lots K-102 and K-108. Those two glasses are heavenly. I never expected that I could get great color from regular Kronos2.

This set is in my Etsy shop right now. I think I'll be making more of these!

Colorful Psyche Disks

I've just posted these Psyche disks in my Etsy shop. I love the color I got on this set!
I reduced the Psyche in a different way than I usually do. Normally I hold the beads several inches away from the long yellow cones of the reducing flame, spinning them very slowly in and out of the heat. For these, I flashed them rapidly right at the tips of the yellow cones. I think the micro-blasts of reduction they got made the variations of color on the glass.

I first used this technique with M-166, the DH odd-lot that makes a very shiny rose-gold color. I noticed that flashing it close to the flame made the rose, purple, green and blue really come out on the M-166. After trying this technique with Psyche I'm very happy with the results.

The technique doesn't work with all the Double Helix reducing glasses. Some like to be reduced at a farther distance from the flame. I guess it all depends on the look you are going for with your beads. That's the funnest part about beadmaking - playtime and experimenting!

Metallic Spiral Disks

Here are a few sets of spiral disk beads made with Double Helix glass. Check my Etsy shop, some sets may still be available.

Triton:

M-166 odd-lot, "Midas" disks:

T-104 Terra odd-lot disks. I love the metallic sheen on these:

:-) Happy day everyone!