Craaaaak!

I have been trying to perfect my big wheel beads after my glass with Anita from Unikal Glass Design.

You can see some of her fabulous wheels here: http://pinterest.com/pin/71142869083585863/ and here: http://pinterest.com/pin/71142869085156623/

I also just found her Etsy store http://www.etsy.com/shop/atelierimwoeschhuus?ref=seller_info_count

I am fortunate enough to be the proud owner of this beautiful piece of art.

So the followers of my blog will know that I have been practicing my big hole/wheel beads since my course in September.

So Sunday night I started to make another one. I was over 2 hours into making the bead when craaaak! well, I say crack but it's more like a tink, or in this case several tinks. This is what happens when the bead gets to cold whilst you are working on it. I tried to heal the cracks by re-heating the bead but it was too late.

Such a shame isn't it? Any ideas what I can do with it?

Undeterred I had another go. Not such a big hole this one as I only have one mandrel that size. This one is made on a 9mm mandrel that I bought from Mango Beads.

This is the front and back shots of the second attempt. I am really pleased with it and I think I have finally made some progress with these beads.

I am really pleased with the colour combination. I need to work on the centre a bit more and I would like less white to show in the dot decoration around the top rim, but I'm getting there.

Getting a good photograph is tricky. I've emailed a local photographer to see if he can give me some lessons.

Linda
x