Do You Raku? I Do Now!

I had a fun day at the torch yesterday.  Hubby was at work and after I got my "must dos" out of the way I spent most of the day in there just making whatever I felt like making.  I had no specific orders to fill so there was no pressure so I started off with Raku.  I have used it a little before but had recently seen a demo on You Tube (by MercurysGlass - "how to make a Raku zebra bubbles bead") that got me interested in trying it again.  I'm glad I did.  My photos do not show all the wonderful colors in the beads and I have read more about Raku and think I may be able to get even more color out of it as I was not even doing any of the "tips and tricks" that other bead artists have shared. 

 The entire set that I made today.  The first one is similar to the bead made in the You Tube demo - mind ended up looking quite different from hers but still is a very nice bead.  All but the last one are made on black bases and have a stringer made of Raku and Intense black applied in some manner and then encased with clear.  The last one is on a base of ELO and has a couple plops of frit on it before encasing - nothing special there.

 In these close ups you can see more of the pretty blues and greens.

In the first (free) issue of Soda Lime Times they had a tutorial for Raked Dot Beads which looked kind of fun.  So I made one their way and then made my own variations.  I seem to be on this rainbow kick lately which you will notice in a few of these.

Okay Sally, this next batch is for you.  I know you said you were thinking about have something made with beads of this color combo but without the encasement.  I made a few for you to look at so you can decide if you still like them without the encasing.  They do take on a totally different look and while the colors don't react as much as I thought they might, the white will not be as crisp on the blue when done this way. 

 

 

Here are a couple cosmic storm beads - they are always fun to make!

A few more beads from the day:

These last two are total experiments and nothing more.  My husband thought they were "really cool" but I didn't like them so much but since he did I thought I'd post them.

I made a few pieces of jewelry last week too and I didn't get them posted.  The earrings are for me - to go with my commando necklace (oh I made myself a new commando bracelet too but forgot to photograph it - darn it!)

This bracelet will soon be for sale either at the salon or on my artfire site.

So that is 38 beads made in one day - not to shabby!  Thanks for reading my bead blog!!!!!

Black & White Thank You and More

On my recent vacation with some of my High School girlfriends to Puerto Rico, I met a very fun lady who bought us all dinner one evening.  I wanted to send her a thank you gift for such a nice evening filled with great conversation, great friends and great food!  Here is what I made her - I hope she likes it!  Figured I couldn't go wrong with Black and White right?

 Of course I made many more beads than I used in the necklace, because I always seem to get carried away when I'm making this type of bead, so here are all the black and white beads from my last few torch sessions.  I could make these masked beads forever and never get bored.

And this next set are for those new earrings I make.  These are very tiny beads that I will use for earrings similar to my last post showing a pair made for Amy R.  Those are now referred to as "The Amy R style earrings" for all my future posts and orders. 

And what would a current blog post by me be without a few more rings? I told you I was addicted to these and it seems that each time I sit at the torch I can't resist making a few.  These were delivered to SALVATORE CAPELLI SALON 114 W. South Boundary, Perrysburg, OH and are for sale along with many other pieces of my jewelry.

More beads from my last few torch sessions:

 The bead on the far left is an experiment.  I used ELO as a base instead of ivory and it created this very shiny finish to the bead.  I had ready another post where a bead maker was testing ELO and her results indicated it might be a nice white to use when you want a reaction like you get when using Ivory.  I got a reaction alright but it was not white and not a flat matte finish like Ivory - very interesting......

 Here I am testing the dk and lt. turquoises on a base of commando (far left bead only) and I'm not sold on it.  The rest of this series is for a project I'm working on - I'm sure you will see it on here in the future.

The following photos are for a pair of earrings (not all of them will go on one pair of course) that will be made in the "Amy R" style.  The customer saw that particular set and asked me to make her a pair but adding commando to the mix.  These are all tiny beads and were a ton of fun to make!

 Here is the finished pair - Sally Don't look unless you don't want to be surprised when they arrive in your mailbox. 

That's all folks!  I'll be on a mini vacation from my torch and jewelry making cave but I'll be back in about a week.  Until then, hope you all are having a wonderful summer!!!!!!!

Ring Addiction

I can't seem to stop making these right now.  They are so much fun to make and so much fun to wear!  Many of these discs are now for sale at Salvatore Capelli Salon located at 114 W. South Boundary in Perrysburg, OH.  And of course the are available from yours truly.  These are the disc beads that fit the Staxx Brand rings and now I see they also have a cool pendant that my discs will fit on!!!! I may have to get one of those and try it out for you all.  If you are in the Perrysburg, OH area you can get the Staxx Brand items (ring, pendant and toppers) at a local boutique at Levis Commons called Fiddle Styx and I am fairly certain you can get the base items from the Staxx website.  I wear mine every day and change the disc to match my mood and attire - so much fun!!!!

This one is mine - to go with my favorite commando necklace.

Wheel - Commando Green, Black & White

Wheel - Commando Green, Black & White

Square - Blue & White

Bullseye - Aqua & White

Bullseye - Black & White

Bullseye - Red, Black & White

Bullseye - Multi Colored Tilesque

Sunburst - Multi Colored

Funky - Multi Colored

Window - Green, Aqua & Black

Window - Green, Aqua & Black (side view)

Wheel - Purple & Black

Wheel - Pink, White & Black

Wheel - Purple, White & Black

Bullseye - Green, White & Black

Bullseye - Blue & Green

Window - Deep Aqua, White & Black

Window - Deep Aqua, White & Black (front view)

Window - Deep Aqua & Black

Fleur-de-lis -White & Blue

Almost the entire lot of the newly made discs.

Sunburst - Multi Colored

Sunburst - Multi Colored

Nope I'm not done yet - I have some jewelry to post too.  Most of these are commissioned pieces but a few of the earring pairs will soon be up on my artfire site or at the Salon. 

Deb's Bracelet

Deb's Bracelet

Deb's Bracelet

Amy R's earrings - I loved the way these turned out!

Deb's Earrings - unless she likes another pair better.

I have been wanting to make buttons with the button mandrels I got last winter but I just couldn't get motivated until I got back into making the ring discs so here are my first buttons.

The black and yellow pair on the far right are for a friend of mine who makes stuffed monsters.  She uses buttons for eyes so of course it was the perfect excuse to make some funky looking, funky colored buttons.  Can't wait to see what she makes with these.  The other 6 buttons I took up to the local Yarn store, Yarn Cravin, to see if they might like them.  They are going to see what their customers think of them.  The owner of Yarn Cravin is one of my former bosses - from the days when I used to work at her local gift shop, Tastefully Yours - sure do miss that place and all the great people I met over the years there - customers and employees alike.  Remember those Crazy Beanie Baby years?  It was hot when I worked there and boy was that a LOT of fun!!!!

Hope you all are enjoying this beautiful weekend!!!!!  As always, thanks for reading my bead blog!