Shameless Self Promotion TuesDay!

Free Shipping in my Etsy store until Mother's Day or around that time. It all depends on when I remember to change it back. The only items where I can't offer free shipping, and I wish I could, are on mandrels!




This-------------------------------->
is a new item in my store. It's a flower button. It's glass. It's lampwork, and it's beautiful! I can see this used on a felted purse! Wouldn't that be beautiful? In the winter, you could move the button to a scarf! I think that would be wonderful!











How about a skull-------------->
with a red hat? Remember the red hatters of a couple of years ago? Could this be a red hatter who wanted to be buried with her hat? I think she'd be fun being worn as a pendant or added to a red hat!












Need some bright and colorful headpins? Here's a dozen brightly colored headpins. I made them using 20 gauge copper wire. The wires are about 4 inches long. They'd be great for earrings or small pendants. I have to make some with 18 gauge wire. Those would be ideal for your larger pendants.








I added this murrini recently. It's made with Magic glass by Reichenbach. It's their equivalent of raku glass in coe 104. Someone just convo'd me on Etsy suggesting that she would be interested in purchasing some murrini, if she could see some photos of the murrini being used! Yikes! I'm not good at applying and using murrini, but you can bet your buttons, I am going to do that now!







Well, enough for now! Enjoy your Tuesday. Free shipping ends after Mother's Day or as soon as I remember to change it!

Easy Peasy Skull Tutorial for Glass Bead Makers

Looks like someone needs to clean her work area! Oh, well, for now, this will have to do. Remember, too, that my first photo is very blurry, but after that, they are nice and clear.

As I write this quick little tutorial on how to make a lampwork bead skull, it's pretty warm outside, and it's summer. I can't help but think of fall, pumpkins, and Halloween.

Skulls are fun beads to make, and they can be very easy.

Materials:
1 rod of dark ivory (You can actually use any color you like, but I chose this color because it looks more like a skull to me.)
a brass marver
tungsten pick or uncoated mandrel
some type of masher
mandrel coated with bead release



















1) I begin by making a tube bead the length I want my skull to be.


















2) I continue to add glass to the bead so that one end has more glass than the other end of the mandrel. Notice, too, that there is a bit less glass in the middle of the bead.

















3) Using my brass marver, I make indents about 1/3 of the way to the top. I also flatten the bead at this point. You can see, now, that the shape of the skull is beginning to form.


















4) Remembering to keep my bead warm by flashing it in the flame, I take the bead out of the flame quickly, and using my tungsten pick or my uncoated mandrel, I make indentations in the bead for the eyes and nose. After doing that, I warm the bead up again in the flame. I don't want the bead to go back to the molten state, so I flash the bead in the flame.

















5) Again, using my tungsten pick or uncoated mandrel, I make a mouth on my skull. Again, I flash the bead in the flame before I put this easy peasy skull in the kiln to cool down properly.

See what I mean? Easy Peasy!

Variations using the same tools. You might need to use your tweezers, though with these variations.

1) change the color of your skull
2) Add shards
3) Add a stringer or twistie
4) I like to use murinni for the eyes
5) Add a cap
6) Add a tongue sticking out
7) Change the size
8) Make an eye patch
9) Make a mask
10) Add teeth
11) Encase






Feel free to use this tutorial to make your own skulls and sell them. Pass it on to your friends. My only request is to have fun making them! We all need a little fun now and again!