Pandora Beads

I have a fun new project these days - making large-holed beads to fit on Pandora bracelets. Here is a link to a site where you can buy the Pandora bracelet, so you can see what all the hoopla is about: Click Here. This is the site where I bought mine.

There are other companies making charm bracelets like these, such as Biagi and Troll. Most of the beads for these bracelets have holes that are lined with silver. My goal this year is to learn how to silver-core my beads... I'm almost there, I just need $300 for the special tool!

Until that day arrives - very soon, I assure you - I have started making un-lined Pandora beads. I wear them on my own Pandora bracelet with no ill effects such as scratching of glass or silver.

In addition to the beads pictured above, here are some others I've made, pictured on a Pandora bracelet for visual reference. All of these beads are for sale in my Etsy shop:






I have a second new project going on, too. I can't wait to show you! New post with pics coming soon.... Stay tuned!
Happy day!

New Sets Listed on Etsy

I am emerging from the cave of my studio to present some new listings I have up on Etsy. Each one of these sets uses a different glass by CiM (Creation is Messy).

"Earth Gems III" ...these are made with Canyon de Chelly and Psyche stringers. They have large 3.5mm holes. My "Earth Gem" beads have been very popular and I love making them... thus, "Earth Gems III" !


"Green Metallic Spirals" ...a base of Hades with Psyche stringer design. Hades reacts in interesting ways with Psyche and other silver/metallic foils and glass:


"Misty Blue Rondelles" ...made with Halong Bay. This glass develops a misty translucency similar to moonstone, depending on how it is worked in the flame. To get the cloudy effects, repeatedly heat and cool the bead, making sure the bead gets VERY cool between heatings. I'm really loving the CiM glass these days!

I have also been working on large-hole beads for Pandora and Biagi bracelets. I have to photograph them today, and they'll be up on Etsy. I'll post photos of them here, too.

Enjoy your day everyone!

Busy at the Torch

These past few weeks I've enjoyed a lot of time at the bead torch working on a special order. These are some of the sets I've made:

"Tucson" (etched)

"French Garden" (etched)

A set of purple, green and opal yellow disks:

And a set of Terra disk beads:

Focal Sale in my Etsy Shop!

All focal beads are now on sale in my Etsy shop at 15% off!

Here are just a few that I have listed right now:




The sale will be going on until March 15th.
Come on down!

Signs of Spring

I was out doing yard work the other day, and discovered these little daffodil shoots coming up!

My beads are also tending towards brighter Spring colors this week. I've been working with pink, light green and aqua blue. I'll post photos when the sets are done.
Think Spring, it's almost here! Yay!

Happy Valentine's Day

I have a heart bead to show off, but this time it's one that I didn't make. It was made by my boyfriend Steve, and he gave it to me for Valentine's Day!

The heart is made with Silver Plum and a special transparent red and black stringer in the center.

These are some Silver Plum beads I've made recently. This is a set in progress, "pipes" and "jumbled up wire":

Happy Day everyone... back to the torch!

Some New Shapes

This week I've been experimenting with new shapes. My favorite is the 10mm rondelle. They're like mini disc beads, and the shape fits easily into jewelry designs.

These are Psyche rondelles:

This is a set I have on Etsy right now called "Middle Earth Rondelles":

Another variation on the spacer bead are these crystal shapes. They're also made with Psyche glass:

Here's another new shape I've made this week. The focal bead is a curved rectangle, a shape I don't see too often in lampwork. The crystal-shaped spacers are Kronos:


The weather is nice and mild this week, Yay! It's warm today, so I'll be back at the torch. Have a great day everyone!