New Bead Style!

Here is my latest project - a new bead style! (New for me anyway!)


If you're a lampworker: I made these by creating an encased triangle bead, then heating each end and letting gravity (and a tiny bit of marvering) stretch it down the mandrel. They take an incredibly long time to make. Just coaxing the glass down the mandrel takes me about 35-45 minutes.

These beads are a real skill challenge for me. I usually make small beads that only use one or two colors. I wanted to expand my horizons, so I tried making an encased triangle bead but accidentally stretched it down the mandrel too far. I really liked the look of it though, so I just kept going and voila, a new style!

Okay enough blabbing. Here are some more photos. None of these beads are for sale yet because I can't let let them go!




If you're interested in what clear I used, some of these beads have CiM clear and some have Vetrofond Crystal Clear. With both clears, I got some scumming and some bubbles. The pictures show it up more than you can actually see in "real life." It's hard to find a clear that stands up to very long working times.

I found that the CiM clear was a little stiffer than the Vetro, so ultimately I went with the Vetro because it melts over the base bead more quickly. The whole secret/challenge to these beads is getting the encasing all the way to the end so the colors don't leak out and bloom across the outside surface.

Hope you enjoyed the eye candy!