Cabochons

I’ve been trying to do double duty this weekend, making beads for an order and also trying to get some cabs made. Not having much success at either. I did get a chance to try my new cab mandrel which is a mandrel with a disk on the top. I think I like it. While the design on my cab didn’t turn out that well, I like the fact that the cab doesn’t have to have the bottom ground down. It’s perfectly flat, ready to be used.

I also made some that I have to grind the bottoms down. These are really small.

And here’s some striped cabs.

The right one looks like it has measles. Might try to make another without the dots on the heart…..

Published in: on August 22, 2010 at 11:51 am  Comments Off on Cabochons  
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Angel Patrol

I’m still trying to use up all the short rods on my torching table. I think they multiply when I’m away because it doesn’t seem like my pile is getting any smaller. I made a bunch of angels and other beads this weekend. I haven’t made an angel in a while nor a twisted cane. It took me forever to get a few twisted canes made in the right thickness.

Going to the other extreme, since I had lots of green on my table, I made more Screaming Cacti beads. Here’s a few.

I know the first one looks like it has braces on, or a lot of cavities. I think I picked up the wrong stringer when I made the teeth. I think it just makes the cactus crazier looking.

Published in: on August 15, 2010 at 12:49 pm  Comments Off on Angel Patrol  
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Collaborative Jewelry

My friend was asked to make an all etched clear and sterling silver necklace and earrings by a buyer. It’s tough making beads all one color, especially clear. I made the flower beads, she made the rest of the beads and designed the pieces. The buyer wanted lots of dangles.

This is the pendant. The flower looks great cored with silver bead caps. There are tons of dangles too!!

This is one of the earrings. It’s not as big as in the picture. I love all the Lifesaver bead dangles.

Published in: on August 8, 2010 at 9:50 am  Comments Off on Collaborative Jewelry  
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Easy Peasy Beads

I’m still making beads for bookmarks and cell phone charms. I’d like to come up with more ideas but experimenting takes a little time. These beads are some that I’ve been making for a while and don’t take a long time to make.

These are a Japanese good luck symbol and are typically seen around the New Year. They are made out of two pieces of mochi and a tangerine, stacked up like this.

More monsters. Not sure how these are going to go over used in bookmarks. Maybe some boys will like them.

A few more quick and fast beads to make.

Published in: on August 7, 2010 at 1:12 pm  Comments Off on Easy Peasy Beads  
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Little Pendants

I made a few pendants out of some of the glass cabs I made. I was going to use them for a bracelet but these are so cute I want to make more. Now I wish I made a better assortment of cabs so I’d have more of a variety. It will take me a while before I can “borrow” someone’s flat lap grinder to grind more cabs down.

Sorry about the crappy picture. I just can’t seem to take very good pictures when things are too shiny.

Published in: on August 7, 2010 at 10:16 am  Comments Off on Little Pendants  
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Little Sculptural Beads

I’ve been working on beads that I can use for bookmarks and cell phone charms (or whatever they are used for). I try to make beads that don’t have thin parts that can break. Here’s a few that I made this weekend.

More monster beads. I’m trying to use up all the short rods of glass I have on my table. It’s not working out that well, seems like I’m always pulling a new rod of a different color. The cycle is never ending. Still I like making monsters.

A heart and a few skulls.

Published in: on August 1, 2010 at 8:41 pm  Comments Off on Little Sculptural Beads  
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Another Necklace

I had some leftover beads that I made and they all kind of matched up. I quickly threw this piece together. I made all the murrini used in it.

Published in: on July 31, 2010 at 3:22 pm  Comments Off on Another Necklace  
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Candy Jack Swap

I finally got enough murrini made for the Candy Jack swap that I signed up for. Here’s the Candy Jack beads I made for it.


Not anything complex as these were the first ones I’ve ever made. Or at least ones that were usable. I had to trash a few that I made. It’s a whole different way to work with colors.

After making the simple bullseye canes, I decided to try something a little more complex so I made a heart cane. It’s still pretty basic but I’m trying.

Published in: on July 29, 2010 at 12:34 pm  Comments Off on Candy Jack Swap  
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My Own Murrini

I  decided to participate in a Candy Jack swap. It requirements are everyone makes their own murrini to use in them. I hardly ever do swaps for various reasons but I thought this one would force me to stop procrastinating about trying to make my own murrini. It’s a totally different way to use colors and how they react together. That is only one issue. Building the murrini is something my brain has a hard time with. Hopefully, I’ll get better with practice.

So, here are some I made. Forgive the bad picture. It was the best that I could take.

Published in: on July 25, 2010 at 11:04 am  Comments Off on My Own Murrini  
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Yep, It’s Another Candy Jack Necklace….

Yes, I made another one. I think this will the last one for a while. I need to start making other things for the fall craft shows. I’m so behind schedule this year. Guess I’ve been spending too much time making Candy Jack necklaces.

I have to admit when I took the picture, I noticed a crack in the middle dangle so I’m going to have to remake that one.  Dud. I thought this one turned out pretty good too.

Published in: on July 19, 2010 at 9:47 pm  Comments Off on Yep, It’s Another Candy Jack Necklace….  
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