Soy candles are so expensive, I made my own.
Of course I had to add a bead to the top of the containers. Was kind of a challenge punching a hole into the tin. Next time I’m going to use glass jars as the lids are easy to work with.
Soy Candles
New Stuff
My sister was over during Thanksgiving so I had all the supplies to make Sami bracelets. I got a sample one done and made the braid for my sister’s bracelet. She was having a hard time sewing hers so I have to finish it up later, along with another one for me. Here’s the same one I did. I realized I need to sew the braid down well and not let any of the clear thread stick out. It’s not like regular thread so it pokes when it sticks out.
Then we made these geometric paper forms and filled them with cement. I made mine into vases.
Tried putting some faux gold leaf on one of them. Don’t have the right kind of glue so it didn’t work out that well. Need to get some of that really sticky glue…..
Push Pins
I finally got a cigar box filled with push pins. Yay!! I can’t believe that I’ve made over 100 corks of push pins. That’s over 300 of them. This is my last batch. I’ve been working on them all summer, making a few sets each time I torch.
Two More Ornaments
I tried a few more ornaments last night. The first one I made turned out great. The color was nice and dense and the frit showed up nicely. But when I went to stick it in my kiln, I found my mandrel was too long and wouldn’t fit. In my attempt to try to save it, I dropped the whole thing on the concrete floor. While disappointed, it did give me a chance to inspect the wall thickness a bit closer. I’m always afraid that I will make them too thin. After that, I made these two. They ended up smaller than the first one and the frit colors don’t show up as much but I’m happy with them.
I used some kind of transparent frit applied to the outside. The colors don’t show up but I do like the texture. This happens because frit is a different COE than the base glass I’m using.
This one turned out kind of cool. It’s on the smaller side. The colors really glimmer when held up to the light. Wonder what it would look like on a real Christmas tree.
First Ornament
There is a thread on Lampwork Etc. about making ornaments that I’ve been following. Most people use borosilicate glass for ornaments since it is less fragile. I don’t have the right torch for making anything bigger than a bead in boro glass so I tried it with the soft glass that I usually use. Since this was my first one and I didn’t think it would turn out very good, I used a cheap color that I knew could take the heat. Unfortunately, it didn’t blow out to a lighter color. I also put way too much frit on the outside. Also the wrong color frit. The only thing that shows up is the texture the frit got when I blew it out.
Since I didn’t have any ornament caps, I used a cork and glued a piece of wire in for the loop. I plan to make more, the only problem is my kiln is too small so I can only make a few in one torching session.
Something New
I got together with a bunch of friends for a play day. One gal is learning how to dye and felt scarves so she showed us how to make a felted scarf. It’s an interesting process. We all worked on it so it didn’t take nearly as long as when making one alone. I was the lucky one and got to keep it. Here’s a really crappy picture of it. I couldn’t get a better picture of the way the fibers are now felted together.
It’s really a lot more light and airy than it looks in the picture. I love the colors!!
Early Christmas
My mom made these yo-yo Christmas trees. They are different sized yo-yos threaded onto a steel mandrel that I made a glass star on the top.
I think they turned out pretty cute considering I don’t usually like stuff made out of fabric yo-yos.
Colored Pencil Pieces
These still need to be mounted on silver but I was please with these and had to take a picture. Of course, I couldn’t resist doing a cat piece and I ended up with two. And I had to try a bunny. They are obviously pretty cartoony since this is the best I can draw.
I’m working on the silver part for the long yellow/pink kitty piece. It’s going to have a ceramic shard set on the top of the piece if it all works out like I envision it.
Little People With Legs
I was able to finish up the two Little People figures with the three legs tonight. I thought I wouldn’t have enough components made but fortunately it all worked out.
I really like the one on the right and want to keep it for myself but I already have 5 of them and that’s all that will fit on my shelf that the cats can’t get to. I want to make one more for another friend and this will be all I make for the time being.
Little People Figure For BOC Event
My glass bead club is hosting a Beads Of Courage fund raising event in a couple of weeks and I made a little people figure for the raffle. I’m planning on making another one, this is the first one I’m donating. I still have to make the components for the second one.
These are kind of fun to make as anything goes. I want to experiment with adding hair and arms later. I wish I had more time to but I have to have these done by next weekend so I can give them to the raffle chair person before the event. Sure hope some people will donate toward this.
Mewkittie Creations 