Beads of Courage

Tonight I made a few butterflies for beads of courage. I received an email from a fellow lampworker that butterflies were needed for a ceremony at Standford Hospital in a couple of weeks. It's a little saddening making these beads since they're given to the parents who lost their children to cancer but I hope that they're a sweet reminder of their little angels.

Seed Bead Bug

I started playing with seed beads this year and really enjoy them! Seed beads are not new to me but the way I am using them is. In the past I used them so string necklaces or to fill the large hole beads to keep them from wobbling around when I wire wrapped them. Now I am teaching myself (with the help of books and magazines of course) how to weave them into rich and beautiful ropes that I use on necklaces.

I made this bracelet and a friend of mine bought it the next day I finished it. I will take more pictures of the other bracelets I made.

Mosaic classes are over

My classes are over and now I am looking for materials and tools for my next project...

I learned the indirect method where you glue the tiles backwards on butcher paper and then transfer the entire piece onto the surface you want to mosaic. I made a larger trivet with turtles using this technique.

My final project for the class was a flower pot. It wasn't easy to cut all the glass pieces and find the right size and angles that fit, but I like how it's turning out. It's not complete yet...I still need to do the rim of the flower pot.

Second Mosaic

This time we tried a different method. I cut a piece cellophane and mesh and placed it on my design (in that order). I then glued the mosaic tiles directly on a mesh with Weldbond adhesive. The beauty of this method is that you can see the design through the mesh and you can attach it to the surface later without the need of transferring the tiles.

The design was made on the fly again since I didn't know what the project was going to be so I went with folk chickens and a checker border.

After all the tiles were glued onto the mesh, I applied thin set to backing board and placed the mosaic on top. I pressed the mosaic a bit and left it to dry so I can grout it later.

Mosaics 101

I wanted to take a mosaic class for quite some time now and finally enrolled in a class. In the first class I made a trivet to get familiar with the tools and the materials. First, I drew the design (a fish) onto a 6 inch cardboard square. Then I laid down the tiny mosaics and cut a few of them to fit into shape.

I found a few glass shards amongst the remnants and thought they’d make perfect fins and fish lips. I also found a glass ball that I used for the eye. Once the design was complete, I transferred the mosaics into place ( a 6 inch ceramic tile) and ‘glued them’ using thin set. The instructor mixed the thin set for us and placed it on the surface (ceramic tile) so all I had to do is transfer the moisaic pieces in small sections at a time.

More to come next week!

My website is officially closed

And I am now transferring whatever is left to this blog. I have created multiple pages where you can find the beads and jewelry that are currently available. I haven't finished posting everything but the large majority is now here, so check it out!

Sale Ends Soon!

I just canceled my website contract so it will soon cease to exist...Hurry up!