I made a few more of these in pretty colors of peridot green, and fuchsia pink (which comes from Rubino Oro glass). I also made one that is swirled with different silver glasses for a more opaque look but with multiple colors running throughout the design. I even embedded some sparkling cubic zirconia stones to catch the light! 😀
All beads currently on Etsy:
Learning new techniques then mastering them is what keeps me having fun with glass! 😀
I’ve been involved with many crafts and hobbies over the years, from soapmaking to acrylic painting, and while I’ve enjoyed them all there was a point where I felt I learned all there was to know about it.
For me, I love the challenge of learning new skills then practicing over and over till I get great results. Working with glass, I feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface of learning all there is to know in this medium. There is so much to it and so many different places you can go with it.
I recently learned a new technique which combines swirls of transparent and opaque glass with hair fine stringer and multiple layers of crystal clear glass which greatly adds to the inner illusion of the twisted core.
Of course, I couldn’t help myself by adding some murrini to the surface of the beads 😉
All beads are now available on Etsy:
I also made a couple encased murrini beads which include some of my new flower shaped murrini (to be listed on Etsy soon):
I was able to catch a cool day recently so I hopped on the torch and made these fun beads for my Gazing Ball pendant necklaces. I had been away from the torch for so long and it felt great to be able to get back to it! 😀
I am checking the weather report daily hoping for another break in this heat to be able to play with glass again 🙂
For now, here is the latest batch just listed on Etsy:
It’s amazing to me how something as simple as a dot can be transformed into so many different patterns and designs. Absolute perfect dot placement -when working with thin stringers- in glass is very difficult. So for me, I tend to gravitate toward designs that allow for a little more freedom such as flowers and other elements in nature.
This week I have another of my 3D encased dot flower focals along with something new, a dimensional encased dot fish!
This week I followed a couple ‘creative rabbit-trails’ working in both organic and traditional floral design when making these lampwork glass beads.
I rediscovered my stash of glass frit which I used all the time when I first started lampworking a couple years ago. I had forgotten about how much variety and the unique color combinations you can achieve with it, especially when paired with fine silver foil. The reactions that happen in the flame are just magical to watch, as they appear right before your eyes – no waiting on the kiln fairies!
Glass frit and fine silver foil are abundant in this organic style bead collection:
After my frit fix, I had a floral design and a new color combination in my head I have been wanting to try. I made these 3D floral murrini but went back and forth trying to decide if I should encase the murrini or leave them dimensional on top.
That decision was made for me, however, as the base bead got a little too big to be fully encased again, so I added the murrini to the surface, partially melting them in, and loved the end result!
Sometimes the best beads come from happy accidents 😀
CCGlassArt 