Silver Glass Etsy Listings

I have two new Etsy listings tonight. The first is a set of Nyx accent beads:The silver glasses never cease to amaze me! I don't think I've ever made a set of Nyx beads that turned out so silver-y. Every day that I work with a silver glass it comes out a little different than the day before. It's almost impossible to truly duplicate a bead or set with silver glass in it.

Another case in point is the next bead, made with Triton and Kronos frit and encased with Aether clear. There's no way I could predict how the colors on this bead would turn out, and if I used the same recipe again a hundred times I'd have a hundred different beads:Lovin' it!!!

Siver Cored Beads on Etsy!

I've been working on silver coring beads for a few weeks now. I have quite a little collection going. I love to gaze at them, polish them, put them on my Pandora bracelet. Trouble is, I love them so much I'm having a hard time letting them go. They are my babies.
:-D Lampworkers, you know what I'm talking about :-D

Yet all babies must one day venture out into the big world and find a new home and gainful employment. Such it is with my cute little silver cored beads. The separation anxiety has been a little tough, but I've finally listed a few on Etsy! Here are their photos:

Etched organic:Double Helix Kronos with Kronos frit:CiM Mojito with Triton (2 photos):CiM Slytherin and Mojito with Triton:

Have a nice Monday and happy beading :)

Silver Coring Beads: Sources and Supplies

If you'd like to silver-core your beads, I've put together a short list of information sources and suppliers to get you started.

There are a few good threads on the Lampwork, Etc. message board that are worth checking out. For inspiration, this thread has lots of photos of Pandora and big-hole beads:
"Let's see your Pandora style beads"
http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80096

Tutorials
The following two LE threads written by Andrew were invaluable to me while I was trying to figure out silver-coring. I have all of the tools Andrew lists, including the polishing bits and compounds he recommends. One thing I do differently from Andrew is I cut my tubing 1/16" (or about 2mm) longer than the width of my beads, not 4mm as Andrew does. This is in part because I use the Jim Moore bead press, and the 1/16" measurement works best for me with this tool.

Andrew's excellent tutorials:
"Rivet Tutorial (Da pretty silva bit)"
http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95388

"Polishing ( Da pretty silva bit )"
http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=96712


Supplies!
There are lots of places you could find the silver-smithing tools, but I got most of mine from Rio Grande. Rio Grande also carries the "brownies" and "greenies" polishing bits that Andrew talks about. I've found they work really well:
Brownies
Greenies

The Autosol metal polish mentioned in Andrew's polishing tut can be purchased on-line from Winterbrook Farm Antiques:
Autosol
The Autosol works great but has a petrochemical smell. I love it anyway though and I'm glad I bought it. It really cleans and gives a nice mirror finish to the silver.

photo courtesy of Ginko Designs

Sterling Silver Tubing
The one supply I found hardest to locate was the right size silver tubing to fit my beads and the Pandora bracelet. All of my prayers were answered when I found Ginko Designs Etsy shop! She has worked with a manufacturer to develop this unique size of tubing that perfectly fits the Pandora bracelet. Her shipping is fast and the tubing is high quality, and you're also supporting a fellow artist when you purchase from her shop!
Ginko Designs on Etsy

3/16" Mandrels
Another supply I had a really hard time finding was 3/16" mandrels. I don't know why this is such a rare size! I was very happy to find them finally at Arrow Springs.

Jim Moore bead press
The most helpful tool of all has been the Jim Moore bead press. I've tried hand-riveting with the punches, but the Jim Moore tool is faster and easier, especially if you're a beginner silver-smith. Here's the link to Jim Moore's bead press:
Jim Moore Bead Press

I hope this post has been helpful to you!
Have fun!

Learning to Silver Core Beads

For the past several weeks I've been holed up in my studio, often till the wee hours of the morning, researching everything I might possibly need to know about putting silver cores in my beads and making silver bead caps. I have tables piled with gigantic Rio Grande catalogs and boxes of rusting yet resurrect-able silversmithing tools from bygone days.

Finally, last week, research done and hundreds and hundreds (and hundreds) of dollars saved for this very moment, I placed my orders and waited anxiously each day for the UPS lady to arrive.

Now my studio is happily scattered with styrofoam peanuts and shipping boxes, out of which has come polishing bits and compounds, silver tubing, silver sheet, hammers, mallets, mandrels and one very heavy and gorgeous Jim Moore bead press!

The photo at the top of this post shows the one success out of my first six attempts at silver coring a bead. Here is what remains of the other five attempts:There is definitely a learning curve to this process! And I'm not even finished learning how to make the bead caps, which is another ongoing studio adventure at the moment.

Today marked Day 4 of working with the tubing and bead press, and I finally have 5 successfully lined and polished beads which I will photograph and post here soon.

Stay tuned for my next post featuring sources and resources for everything you need to silver core and cap your beads!

Ekho Crystals

What was that? Ekho crystals! Just listed in my Etsy shop:These have a pretty mother-of-pearl sheen.

Sparkling Mixed Metallic Set

This set of mixed metallic beads is up in my Etsy shop:The beads are made from Kronos, Triton, and a bit of Aether clear, all from Double Helix. I really enjoy making these mixed metallic sets because every bead is different, yet I need to make them similar enough to go together in a set. Fun! And fun to make into jewelry and wear, too! Click on the pictures to see the full-sized image.

De-Stash Listings on Etsy

I listed a couple of de-stash groups on Etsy tonight, but right in the middle of writing this post, all the beads sold! Well, here's what you missed:I'm making up more destash listings, so I'll be back with another post when those are ready!