Mondays Beads

These are the beads I made on Monday. I'm really pleased with the majority of them.

Firstly Reichenbach Iris Orange discs again. These still aren't coming out exactly as I hoped. I'm not managing to get any colour on the edge of the discs. So as I am planning to team the beads with a Lush Loops necklace I added a band or Reichenbach Opaque Purple which just finishes it off.

The two on the left are the ones I made on Sunday the two on the right are the ones above. I think they look quite nice with the pvc thong.

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Next up are the 2 small ornate beads that I made to match the larger bead that I made on Sunday. I'm still having trouble getting the ends neat and am having to cold work them so more practice needed there.

I wanted to make some beads to match the band in the middle and this is what I've come up with so far

 From the left CIM Peacock Green, CIM Sherwood, CIM Chalcedony, CIM Glacier and CIM Atlantis.

I think these 2 colours are the ones I prefer most, will make some more.

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Yet another at my attempts at what I am calling a Fire bead. I think I have finally decided on this colour combination. Effetre 412 Dk Yellow, 422 Orange and 428 Lt Red. The dots are CIM Tuxedo.

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As I mentioned before, I bought some frit from Christina at Frit & Glass. This one is Zenobia which is a Raku blend. Although the COE is 92-96 and the glass I use is 104, because it is used in a small quantity (less than 5%) it won't cause any inconpatability problems.

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The bead I made is using a base of CIM Dirty Martini. I also did an experiment. I have trouble getting consistant results with my Zoozii Pillow Press. One of the Pegasus bead rollers I bought at Flame of was the Cylinder combo (third from left)

I wondered if any of the cylinders would be the perfect size for using in my pillow press. So I used the one on the bottom right for the smallest pillow. It was a little small but not bad, especially when I added the frit. This I melted in and raked and then encased in clear. I'm not fond of this combination and I am sure far more can be achieved with this frit. Just need to do some research.

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And now for the piece de resistance. When I was at Flame Off, I did a swap with Madeline Bunyan for some Wigwags that she made with some glass that I didn't want as I had accidentally bought double.

These are the Wigwags. Unfortunately they didn't make it home in one piece but it doesn't matter, they can still be used. I wish you could see how sparkly they are. Anyway, I keep admiring them and finally decided it was no good, I had to give them a try. I don't know about you but I quite often buy something and then don't use it because I don't have the confidence and don't want to waste it.

Anyway, this is what I manage to produce. There seemed to be some lilac in the Wigwag so I chose CIM Heffalump as the base. I love the pattern that is created. It takes quite a while to slowely flatten the Wigwag onto the bead. Unfortunately I lost most of the sparkle, there was some when it went into the kiln but had gone when it came out.

I think she is planning to make and sell the Wigwags so look out for them on her website.