Beads on the Table

If you're hungry for some bead soup, here's the link for the necklace I made with Hilary Frye's beads.  http://fire-in-ice.blogspot.com/2011/09/soups-on.html  To see the full list of participants, here's the complete list. 

I've been on an evil eye kick and this focal is one of the  beads I made in this style.

 The core is CiM Tuxedo, which is my official go-to black.  It's very black, doesn't pit or boil or go metallic or do anything else ugly.  And the price is about the same as the Italian blacks which do all of the above.  The white is Effetre because it really is a bit denser than the others and over black I really didn't want any translucency.  The aqua is CiM Pulsar just because I like it.

 Spacers, lots of spacers.  Oh, and another set of eyes.  Trying to get the small ones the same size gave me fits.  To make eye beads, I make a core of black and add large dots of white, melt it in, then add medium dots of blue and melt and small dots of more black and melt again, all the while trying to keep it round.  I finally discovered that if I flatten the bead slightly before adding the first layer of white it's easier to round out in the end.  I only wish I figured this out when I started.

 Halloween is around the corneer and I wanted to do a set in Victorian mourning colors because to me, they are so classic.  Who knew Effetre light grey separates on top of tux?  I used Vetrofond pearl grey for the large beads because that was what I had and was pleased with the match, but under black it goes a bit blue.  It does something weird with CiM Evil Queen, too.  Still, I think these are nice and Halloween-ey.

 And now for something completely different.  We've had nothing but clouds and rain for so long I'm seriously running out of patience.  These were, sadly, taken with artificial light because the watery light we've been having isn't cutting it.  The lime green is CiM Ephalba, the turquoise is CiM Smurfy (never do I buy Effetre turquoise again), the orange is Effetre light pumpkin and the purple is EDP.  It was a lucky break that the darker orange beads came out even but the "striking" of this color is impossible to predict.  I like the Effetre, I really do.  It's a nice orange when it doesn't go brown.  BTW, I tried EDP and pumpkin.  I got fantastic color out of the EDP without any devitrification at all, but the reaction with the orange is horrible.  Don't melt it in.  Trust me on this.

Play it Again, Sam

Ever have to make a bead/set similar to one you've made?  Ever forget what you used to make it?  This one was easy, because only two glasses look like this, CiM Canyon de Chelly and Double Helix Psyche.  I never tried to get such a thin layer of Psyche to reduce but the biggest effort was not to get too much gold/green in the spacers.  Canyon de Chelly is so easy to strike...and unstrike!

 This set, believe it or not, was a little more difficult.  Please forgive the difference in pictures.  As we brace for Irene, the clouds were rolling in faster than I could take pictures.  I was pretty sure I used CiM Smurfy for the base turquoise since I hate that grey thing Effetre does, but I'm not sure.  I decided to go with the CiM anyway, because I hate that grey thing Effetre does.

So what have I been doing?  I'm not sure it's a good practice to get into to list the glass I used for each bead/set in my listing, but when I'm saving to my hard drive and publishing to my facebook album, I'm listing what I made everything of and any special processes.  This way if I ever need or want to repeat something, I can.

CiM smurfy

Creation is Messy smurfy is amazingly well behaved. Up until now I've only used Effetre 236 dark turquoise and never saw any reason to do otherwise. Now I doubt I will use it again. Smurfy is not an exact match for the color; the Effetre 236 is a tad darker. Smurfy is a bit streakier, especially if the bead is simply wound and finished, as I usually do. There is no boiling and this glass is so much easier to work. I did have an issue with the flame on my HotHead reducing the first bead I made, but this was due to a problem with how the torch was attached to the new tank. I was very glad I was using a turquoise, since the minute it went brick red I knew I had a problem and was able to correct the reduction issue and go back to torching.

Plain, smurfy is a nice, medium turquoise with some streaks, which aren't a problem for me, and absolutely no pitting. With silver on its own there is some yellow fuming, which may work in a specific application that I can't imagine at the moment. The same bead reduced was neat to look at, but the minute I encased it, there was nothing to indicate that silver was ever there. With copper, there is a neat blue-black film and some less-neat bubbles under encasement. Without encasement the copper leaf looks like burned rice paper.

Considering what happened to the silver, I didn't think I'd like the Double Helix aurae, but I'm glad I tried it. Under encasement, there is an attractive, subtle rainbow that goes well with the turquoise. Without encasement, the gold makes a nice contrast.

None of the color reactions surprised me. From left to right are light (?) yellow pastel, ivory, EDP, red roof tile (which didn't do the dark orange to yellow fade I was hoping for), intense black, and plum silver.

I will be buying this glass when my current supply runs out, because even if it costs a few pennies more, it is so much easier to use I will save it in aggravation.