I'm tired. I need to take a break from shopping. I promise, there will be more shopping later because there are so many more wonderful stores I want to show you.
We all have histories. The history I was want to show you today is my history of bead making.
I started to make beads about 2 years ago.
My first bead making class was 2 hours long, and, truthfully, we didn't do much. The teacher was prepared with a lot of information, but, as far as teaching us how to make beads, we didn't get much direction. What I have learned, the information I have gleaned has been through on line forums and two fabulous classes that I was privileged to take: one with Anne Ricketts and one with Michael Barley.
As I worked, my beads improved. Here's a sample of some of my first beads. I put them on memory wire. Here's the bracelet with some of my very firsts beads. Yuck!
You can see that I played and tried a lot of different techniques for making beads. Very few of these beads were well shaped with good ends, but I was playing, right? I had to learn somehow!
At the time I made the beads for this bracelet, I was still working on my much loved Hot Head torch. The Hot Head is considered to be a beginners torch because, unlike a dual fuel torch, it generates enough heat to melt glass, but it doesn't generate enough heat to make the bigger beads. (At least, that's what some people think. I once made a 4 inch bead using my Hot Head.)
I loved these beads so much that I turned them into a bracelet. I wore it so much, and then, one day, I dropped the bracelet on ceramic tile. The most beautiful bead broke, and I don't think I could recreate the bead. I keep the bracelet as a reminder of what a person can do with a Hot Head torch.
Now, that I am a better bead maker, I'd love to reproduce this bead! You can see the sharp ends on the bead, the poor shaping, but I love the colors and the random pattern of the dots and stringer. If anyone can help me identify the base color of the bead, I'd sure appreciate it.
If you can identify the colors of the dots, I'd appreciate it. I think the blue is periwinkle blue. I'm just not sure about the others.
Any ideas?
We all have histories. The history I was want to show you today is my history of bead making.
I started to make beads about 2 years ago.
My first bead making class was 2 hours long, and, truthfully, we didn't do much. The teacher was prepared with a lot of information, but, as far as teaching us how to make beads, we didn't get much direction. What I have learned, the information I have gleaned has been through on line forums and two fabulous classes that I was privileged to take: one with Anne Ricketts and one with Michael Barley.
As I worked, my beads improved. Here's a sample of some of my first beads. I put them on memory wire. Here's the bracelet with some of my very firsts beads. Yuck!
You can see that I played and tried a lot of different techniques for making beads. Very few of these beads were well shaped with good ends, but I was playing, right? I had to learn somehow!
At the time I made the beads for this bracelet, I was still working on my much loved Hot Head torch. The Hot Head is considered to be a beginners torch because, unlike a dual fuel torch, it generates enough heat to melt glass, but it doesn't generate enough heat to make the bigger beads. (At least, that's what some people think. I once made a 4 inch bead using my Hot Head.)
I loved these beads so much that I turned them into a bracelet. I wore it so much, and then, one day, I dropped the bracelet on ceramic tile. The most beautiful bead broke, and I don't think I could recreate the bead. I keep the bracelet as a reminder of what a person can do with a Hot Head torch.
Now, that I am a better bead maker, I'd love to reproduce this bead! You can see the sharp ends on the bead, the poor shaping, but I love the colors and the random pattern of the dots and stringer. If anyone can help me identify the base color of the bead, I'd sure appreciate it.
If you can identify the colors of the dots, I'd appreciate it. I think the blue is periwinkle blue. I'm just not sure about the others.
Any ideas?
I wan to get one for my gf.
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These are super cute! Reminds me of something I would of had to have in jr high. Colors, colors, colors and colors! I like it!
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