Aurae!

Finally the Aurae arrived, yay! I've made two sets with it so far and I'm working on two more. Here are the completed sets:
Aurae Accent BeadsEncased Aurae and Kronos FritToday I'm working on the next two sets, one with Aurae and Ivory (nice reaction!) and Aurae and CiM Stone Ground. The Aurae fumes a pretty metallic blue sheen onto the Stone Ground. I'll post pics when they're done.
Have a great day!

Blue and Metallic Frit Beads

I recently made some bead sets using Triton, Kronos frit and clear, and I was really happy with the way they turned out. They were all made using variations on the same basic recipe.

This first set has a base of Triton, with Triton and Kronos frit. I reduced the base bead, then added random dots of clear on top. Then I reduced again and encased the whole bead in clear, then reduced one more time to get some metallic shine around the holes:This set was made the exact same way, except that I didn't do a final encasing:For this set, instead of random dots of clear I applied the clear in an even pattern, and put air bubbles in the centers. This is my ultimate favorite set of late:All of these sets are now sold, but I had a really fun time making them so I think I'll make some more.

I've finally ordered some Aurae glass from Double Helix. It should be here in a few days. I can't believe it has taken me this long, but I've been using the Aurae test batches M-166 and M-232 for a while and they're running out. I'm really excited to get the Aurae, as I see there is quite an Aurae frenzy on eBay! With good reason, it's a gorgeous glass.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and have a scrumptious weekend!

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:

:-)

Etched Cubes

Here's a set I've just finished and posted in my Etsy shop:These beads were made with a base of black, then rolled in Terra coarse frit. After striking the Terra just until dark brown, I formed each bead into a cube. This process took a little while and the heating and cooling struck the Terra the rest of the way.

The next day I etched the beads in an acid etch solution. Terra doesn't etch very easily, so only the black glass etched and the Terra stayed shiny!

I've been teaching myself how to make a cube shape for a few months now. It's kind of tricky! I've found that parallel mashers don't help me very much, I just flatten the sides with my hand-held marver. PPP!

Triton Focal Bead

Here's my favorite focal bead of late, made with Triton, some Kronos frit, and clear. It's in my Etsy shop:I don't often make focal beads these days, but when I feel inspired to make one and it turns out nice I'm really happy.

I think the reason I don't make focal beads much is because of a decision I made about a year ago. I decided that for the amount of time I spend on a focal - 15 minutes to an hour - the same number of minutes could be spent making 2-5 smaller beads. (I obsess over business details sometimes!) With a focal, if something messes up in the design that I can't fix, there goes 20 minutes or more plus all the glass right into the bead orphanage. Instead I could make small beads, and if one messes up, then I've only lost 5 minutes and a tiny bit of glass. Or, I can cover over the top of the messed up small bead and make a bigger bead or focal out of it. It works out that the percentage of good beads coming out of the kiln the next day is much higher when I make small beads.

What I like a lot about making focal beads is the large surface area I have to work with and the possibility of a more complex design. Also an issue is kiln space. If I'm making large focals all day, I always have enough kiln space for the whole torch session. With small beads, I can work for about 4 hours tops before the kiln is full.

This reminds me to check back on Lampwork, Etc., where someone mentioned they have a technique for packing more beads in the kiln. I'd love to know if anyone has any brilliant ideas they could share on this!