A Great Day at the Torch!

When I opened my kiln this morning I was smiling from ear to ear!!!  I saw some very colorful beads and was happy to see that they looked as nice as I'd hoped.  Sometimes when I put a bead into the kiln that I think is going to be awesome, I am disappointed when I see the colors did not turn out the way I thought they would. 

I am putting 3 photos of these beads up because the different lighting conditions seem to show some beads better.  The first photo is inside and shows all the beads and the other two photos are taken in sunlight.  When I started making these beads I had a general idea of what I wanted but the first 4 beads were not quite getting it.  So I added black to the mix and then my vision for my beads popped into reality!!  I like putting black on many of my beads when I think about it.  I'm very happy with the intensity of the color especially on beads 5 - 12.  These beads have the following glass colors in them:  Black, 591031-M Green Emerald Pale Trans., 591026 Teal Lt. Trans. (also called Sea Green depending on the distributor,) 591036 Dk. Aqua, White, and I may have used a little El Phaba in one of the bases before applying the transparent green but I am not sure.  I remember thinking it would be a good idea and I had a rod sitting there but honestly I can't remember if I used it or not.

This next batch was a color combination I had read about on the Messy Color Site.  I didn't have the exact same Periwinkle that I had read about but I had another brand to use and I think it worked very well. 

I don't care for the last two beads in this set because of the bleeding and streaking of the glass mix.  I much prefer the ones that have clear encasement separating the layers of color.  These are made with: 511492 Sherwood, 511589 Zachary, 791220 Periwinkle, a bit of White (effetre,) and Super Clear.  I really love the vivid colors that Creation is Messy provides.  They are also the makers of my all time favorite color, Commando! I like the way the glass melts and it's an easy glass to encase and probably would be a great scroll work glass for a beginner - like me.  I love the look of scroll work on beads but I don't take the time to practice it.  I'm still a dot girl at heart! 

I made 3 more beads to experiment with the leopard print background.

The first two beads have the Butter Pecan base and the third one has a White base.  First one is encased with 591018 Brown Lt. Prem. Trans., second bead is encased with 591048 Yellow Straw and the last bead is encased with Root Beer.  The dot decorations are the same colors I used yesterday.  I am still not achieving the right background color but getting close.  I may have to mix my own glass for this one - first time for everything.  I'll be reading up on that.  I also think trying intense black may help with the dots but I'm pretty happy with the shade of brown used in the dots.

Here they are side by side with the batch from yesterday - for easy comparison:

When I look at them all together the last one is the closest to what I had in mind.  Now I'll see what my customer thinks and hopefully one or two more tries and I'll have the formula down and be making her the set she wants.