Finally

I was so thrilled with how these turned out I couldn't wait to post them. I couldn't even wait to clean them, so please forgive the mandrels and bead release. They are both heavily encased and decorated in or on the encasement, and they are both on the diet! I can stick to the diet and still produce beads that I can use for a project, as long as it's the right project.

On the left is a base of CiM tuxedo, encased with CiM clear, decorated with a twistie of copper green and CiM Slytherin and a flower or two of CiM poi stringer encased with ink blue. On the right is a base of CiM poi, encased with CiM clear and decorated with dots of the copper green and slytherin stringer. I really dig the way the poi shifts by encasement with the ink blue, and also the way the copper green and Slytherin react with each other. I think the combination works with the plaques better than either color alone would have. Who knew?

For a double shot of my beads on the Creation is Messy site, and to find out more about poi, click here for CiM.

I couldn't just make 2 beads, so I dipped the clear in the DH reducing frit blend I had made and made a fritty bead with this. The glasses were Aion2, CE 352 (when it comes into production it will be Calliope), Aurae, Triton, and Psyche. The Psyche didn't reduce, but everything else did and looks fascinating under the clear. Now I'll have to make more of these, which will mean making more frit, so I can do something with them.

Confession time. This is off the diet, but I couldn't resist using some CiM Sherwood to make the beads on the right. On the left is plain, middle with a wrap of a Triton shard, and on the right is encased with CiM clear and dotted with poi. I love the way the Sherwood is still a bit streaky under encasement.

Ever notice the way your state of mind affects everything you do? Yesterday was a good day and everything went right. The beads turned out the way I pictured they would (when does that happen) I finished in time, and the weather even cooperated today with just the right amount of sun so I could take some decent pictures. I'm going to quit while I am ahead. I have a doctor's appointment today and am hoping to get back to the day job so I can buy more glass again.

One more thing from yesterday: I found a studio near me, about an hour away in Booneville. I didn't get a chance to look into much about it and, frankly, don't have the money until I go back to work to do anything about it, but at the same time, the prospect of taking my first class or two and using a proper torch is scary and intoxicating. Here's the link to their website, and they also have a Facebook page which is how I found them.CNY Glass Studio

Scratch One

These are the last 2 beads I'll be making out of this twistie. I like the color that the Aion2 turns when you reduce the heck out of it and cook it, and the copper green flower (?) makes it look like the twistie is ending or something, but for the amount of effort involved, I'm not sure it's worth the bother.

No one would ever be able to tell, but underneath both these beads is CiM slytherin unique (dark) and a wrap of silver foil, melted in and reduced, like everything else. I wrapped the twistie so heavily around that the bead that the bead is encased.

The Terra 2 entirely failed to strike but there's some weird milky stuff going on under the clear the twistie was wrapped around. Could be the Terra giving it a go. the flowers were not really all that recognizeable because I melted them in too much. Not much else to say except that slytherin doesn't mind some very thick encasement and it gets along swimmingly with silver glass.  To see what other artists have to say about a fantastic color and see my blog hit the big time click here for Creation is Messy.

This one I consider a fail not because of the Terra 2, which struck nicely in spots, but because of my miserable technique. I was concentrating too much on not doing bad things to the color of the twistie, which was already suspect and didn't pay attention to the ends of the bead, and then in a hurry to finish the bumps so I didn't melt them in as much as I should have. Not much to say except sloppy and yet another learning experience in the category of not sacrificing the basics for the extras.

I made a few beads today and I think they actually might have come out pretty well, or at least better than these did. They go with my green aventurine plaques that I posted last time. Can't wait to see what I find in the morning.