bead candy :)

Bead candy, and a short video of me torching :) (Courtesy of Jay)

They are up on artfire now :)

Etching Wars!!!

After etching for 20 min then being washed, and soaked with baking soda most of the beads are streaky. its weird. It is the same problem I had the first time I etched some teal. hummm....  This leads me to believe that maybe I should be washing my beads in vinegar or dish soap first, and maybe there is an invisible slime residue????? I will re-etch the beads after I take another photo of them. I will etch for another 20 min. I think there are a few that came out OK. Maybe the lighter browns, and pinks. If they were etched well @ 20 min I will remove them and  just etch the others.


Here is the first picture (20 min etching time-baking soda water bath and a good rinse)

Sneak peek!

This is the prize for the scavenger hunt on my friends blog :) This is the sneek peek!

Etching Wars!!!

Etching Wars!!!! muahahaha!

These are the test beads before etching. I will probably be doing a side by side comparison at some point (maybe...) But being that these beads are just finicky in the etch I wanted to show the before and afters as a true comparison.Since my last 2 beads were etched (made with the same rod of glass, on the same mandrel, one etched the other seemed untouched) I am wondering if the flame composition may have something to do with leaving an invisible residue on the beads that hinders the etching process. It could just be a fluke all together.

OK the top row from left to right is : 

006 clear,

008 Very Pale Amber

012  Lt Amber Topaz

014 Med Amber Topaz

016  (2 beads) Root Beer Brown DK Topaz

019 Sage

020 Lt Grass c

022 Med Grass Green 

027 Dk Teal

030 Dk Emerald Green

040 Lt Amethyst

042 Med Amethyst

044 Dk Amethyst

046 Pale Amethyst

And the Bottom row in the same direction is:

052 Lt Blue

054 Med Blue

057 Intense Blue

060 Cobalt Blue

064 Black

067 Rose Quartz

068 Pale Pink

069 Striking Yellow

071 (2 beads) Yellow Green

072 Striking Orange

076 Striking Red

080 Pale Lavender

082 LBP

090 Kelp

new ocean blue

Posting

I have been working hard all day to list items in my artfire!! phew!!! I have 1/4 of what I want in there right now. I am not a pro member yet, but I have to make some sales before that happens!!!!

I took the pic's for the etching wars and started drafting my blog file about that. I also have the pics for  "you can win this item" for my blog appearance coming to a blog near you soon. Ill tell you tomorrow! I had hoped to get it all accomplished today, but I just can not sit at the laptop anymore! My but has gone numb!!! LOL

Ill see you all tomorrow :) (here silly's..here on my blog!)

Ok eye candy..... Not on artfire yet.. but cool!
It is an optical illusion of sorts!!!

and some others...

Pretty Things: ~~~~ !!!! ~~~~ Metal Stamp Set Giveaway ~~~~!!!! ~...

Pretty Things: ~~~~ !!!! ~~~~ Metal Stamp Set Giveaway ~~~~!!!! ~...: "I was recently contacted by PJ Tool & Supply, a jewelry and hand tools supply site. (Tools, ah... tools. I own more hammers ..."

etching wars!

More about the etching.... hummm Yesterday I etched 2 beads, made on the same mandrel, with the same rod of glass. CLEAR. I etched them for 15 min and stirred every few min. One etched nicely (I would still go with more time, 5 min more maybe, but it was an experiment) The other bead did not etch at all.......

I don't get it.

I am under the assumption now that etching cream is like silver glass... you better hold your breath 'til you turn the perfect color blue, and hope that the planets are aligned!!! LOL More testing to come!

Grab your Popcorn!!!

Jay was an awesome apprentice/boyfriend and made my first film! woohoo! So here it is! I will be posting it permanently when I figure out where to put it.

On another note, I did spend all day torching, and then got 1/2 the earrings put together, and have a big kiln full of beads! (I ran out of mandrels!!!)

Etching Wars!

I told you I was going to talk about etching!
I am starting a project called 'Etching Wars'. This has all started with what is now 'evil medium transparent turquoise' by Vetro. It wont etch like the rest of my glass, and yet is so darn pretty etched! Is it too much to ask for this color to etch??? no... I think not. I will post in detail the etching process, pictures of the beads etched and not, and compile a chart of etching times to achieve that satin finish in every color I own. starting with the transparents. I will also be adding tips on how to use this etching time to your advantage when combining colors in making your beads, with the intent of etching them, to create a great effect.

Yesterday I etched about 60 small beads. I etched them in small batches, mixed the solution as they sat, and most all of the beads were perfectly etched in about 10 min. The turquoise was evil. it did not etch in that time, or double that time and MORE time! I finally left them in and had dinner, and went back to them maybe 2 hours later. Finally they had etched.. but why so long??? Not to mention after this time there was not a satin finish, but a more rough almost rustic feeling to them.

Please feel free to jump in here and comment with any information you would like to add to the 'etching wars' and any suggestions you may have.... I am baffled on this seemingly simple etch. I will be looking on the coloraddiction blog, and on LE. I started a thread there as well if you want to post there as well.

I have had such a time with etching certain colors I figured I would share them in their own little spot.

This page will be dedicated to etching glass. I have made test beads in the colors I have had. I started with the transparent colors (mainly because aqua was being evil to me!)

Here are the test beads before etching. I have also been working to improve my photography skills this year, so bear with me.

A short note on what is to come tomorrow....

Tomorrow we will talk about etching.........
I see research in my future...
I have never had such problems etching normal beads!!!
stay tuned!

Beads Of courage and More

Hi everyone ) No torching for me today (I got out of the house), but I did get the beads done yesterday that I needed to, and some just playing around.
  One is for a giveaway that will happen in February through another blog! The prize will be for a lucky reader, as I am being featured as an artist on the blog "Nights Of Passion" ( http://nightsofpassion.wordpress.com/ ) in February. (Very cool!) I hear there will be some sort of interview, and scavenger hunt!
  It also means I need to get some cool stuff, not just beads and classes up in my artfire! I have just started working on this, and will be continuing this all week. Since I am not doing any shows for a few months, I will be in production mode making as much as possible!! I promise this year I will try and make at least 2 of some items, so people who have asked can have matching gifts as well. I will make more of anything on request, but sometimes when shopping, you just want it now! Yes I get it! LOL!  I have 50 pairs of beads to make into earrings this week too! I am etching about 1/2 of them as well, should be pretty cool! I may not put every pair online, but who knows.. I just have to get Jay to take the pictures for me I suck at it. Really. I will take pics and keep you posted in the etching process!

On another note......
  This morning I found this great blog, and I will be making a bunch of beads for beads of courage to add to the pile I have to send in already! woot woot! I encourage all of you to check out the Beads of Courage website www.BeadsOfCourage.org and donate if possible!!!

http://givebeadsofcourage.blogspot.com/2011/01/brand-new-cricket-torch-for-winner-of.html

The Beach Sounds Good Right Now!

Yes in the midst of a winter storm I can not help but be in need of summer.. well I am always in need of summer!! So in honor of a long lost heat wave I give to you "The Beach" via glass. They are on sale now in my Artfire store.

Too much snow!!!

Well with about 25in of snow that has fallen in about 12 hours, it has been a pretty lazy day! No torching (yet) although I did uncover the ventilation output just incase. I also cleaned about 100 beads as well. Then scouring LE I was made aware of this very funny and amusing soda exlosion that I just can not let you go on without watching!!! So without further  adue.......



Slow motion soda explosion from David Coiffier on Vimeo.

ahh ha!

I figured out how to load a video. It is only my show set up at one show, but It was cool that I learned how to do it! It is in my Gallery page that has the other show setup pic's in it! I will let you peruse it to find it. :)

I also decided I have issues... I did this in Kohl's one day. I was not into christmas shopping obviously!

Monday.. Monday...

Tree is down, house is put together, and I think its time to torch!

I added a few more gallery pages today to the blog.

Off to the dungeon! I must work on hearts.

Maybe tomorrow I will work on publishing my heart tutorial. Its just drawings, and words, but it is helpful.

one more day..

I added my hollow blown vessel tutorial today. It can be accessed on the right side bar. I also worked on my personal profile, maybe later I will get a gallery going! Today I am taking down the tree, and putting away the christmas stuff. I don't think I will have the time to torch, but maybe...

Day One

Although this is not the beginning of my journey in glass it is the first of my endeavors into the blog world. Please bare with me as I learn to explore this nee medium!!!
Mainly I will be talking about glass, but I can not be responsible for oddities such as life, chocolate, and weird facts making their way into the posts.

...Please keep all arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times and enjoy the ride...