Something new for me lately is the combination of metal components with my lampwork beads.
I have been exploring making my own bead caps, experimenting with different metals and different techniques, and finally developed a way to stamp and finish them that works well with my bead designs.
So far I’ve been working mainly in brass and copper as I love the rich coloring of these metals, and the way they look when antiqued.
This is a design that has been on my mind for months. But, as often happens, ideas don’t always come to fruition on the first attempt…or the second, or even the third attempt… In my case it took quite a while before I taught myself to make a nice hollow bead and then figured out all the details as to how to finish them so they looked the way I wanted them to.
But after much trial and error I am very happy with the results, and as a bonus they are so fun to make now. Not frustrating like they had been for so long – lol! 😀
The fun continues! I have spent the past few years creating lots of round beads so I’m still working my way through recreating many of those same bead designs, making them into my new Gazing Ball lampwork bead necklaces. And, as sometimes happens, inspiration hits and I end up creating new bead designs I hadn’t even thought of yet 😀
Here are this week’s ‘Gazing Ball’ lampwork glass bead pendant necklaces:
CCGlassArt 