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.