Turn Glass Into Wood

I love so much about nature. Plants, flowers, birds, cute little animals all intrigue me. (well, except for some weird bugs which give me the creeps).

Sometimes it's fun to give them a place to hang out. Often trees, stumps and vegetation fit into that concept, so what's an easy way to make glass look like wood?

I use some silver glass that is from Striking Color on Etsy. I use it over a transparent base and just encase that glass well, so I don't waste the more expensive glass.

Here is an example. It's my "Owl on a Branch" which is in my Etsy shop. (I know, real original title. I must not have been feeling verbally inspired when I wrote it.

Only two beads make up this piece. The owl and tree are one piece, (boy was that fun to make. Talk about heat control!) and that bead sits on top of a flat stand to counter balance it.

So play around with the glass in a different way and see what you come up with. I like this for wood, but next, I want to make some birch trees, and of course there's this one plant in my yard, and of course the Crape Myrtle bark.....the list goes on and on.

See you tomorrow at http://www.StudioMarcy.blogspot.com

Silver Glass Class 3

My next silver glass tip, is something that is pretty important. Did you know that there are two categories of silver glass? One is reducing and the other is striking. Geesh, I was so far behind, I didn't even know that.

I've got two samples of striking colors on seashells. I used seashells to try out the different glasses and techniques, because they are sculptural with the ruffled lip and yet have some relatively smooth surfaces of regular beads. I thought this would give me both styles and an idea of how the glass reacts with both.

Both of the seashells were decorated with blown shards of the striking silver glass. I used a hollow mandrel to blow the bubble and then applied the broken pieces to the base bead.
(That's always fun!)

The top bead used Double Helix's Elektra Glass shards on an ivory base bead . You can see how the silver glass partially fumed the rest of the bead in places. I know you can get a variety of colors and metallic finishes with that glass, but I was going for the turquoise end of it.

The bottom seashell used Raku R108 shards that I blew. I applied them to an ivory base and added additional ink blue for the edge of the ruffle for fun. You can click on the link to my Etsy shop for more views of it.

I found when making the shells as samples, if I used the base bead color as the dots on top of the shell, it was easier to remember what I had done.

After I applied the shards and melted them in, I slightly marvered with my brass Stump Shaper. This was as much to chill the glass and help bring out the color. Both glass types were quick to do that. If I wanted, I could have cooled and then slightly reheated to strike the glass some more. I kept my flame slightly oxygenated for this.

So if you are a newbie like I am, you have a little homework. Go separate your glass. Not only should it all be labeled, but you should know which rods are striking and which ones are reducing. It makes a huge difference on you treat them to get the color out of them. And if they are both, it's your call. I bet you can guess what I'll be writing about next time it's a "silver glass" blog day. Yes, my favorite of the two types, striking glass. Love the shine!

Two For Tuesday ~ Artisan Beaders Give Away & Silver Glass

I've bitten the bullet and finally have tried silver glass. Our local glass chapter has a new member who makes it and he brought some to sell at our last meeting and to show us how he uses it.

To be honest, I had been kind of avoiding it. The cost of $100/lb of glass, seems so expensive to me, and yet, as a true glass-aholic, I finally stopped resisting and gave in.

Here's just one photo of my results on this seashell. (I have more views in my listing here.) I got a pretty wide spectrum of colors and it seemed like treating it more like raku, got me the best results. I've seen different results from just about everyone who bought that evening. I know flame chemistry makes a difference, as well as striking it over and over, chilling it and probably singing love songs might change your results too.

Bottom line is that I'm really glad to try it and I'll continue to use it, but in small amounts. It gives a pretty variation of colors and is a lot of fun. If you want to find my new acquaintance, he sells on etsy as Striking Color.

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And now for the FREE Giveaway from Artisan Beaders Street Team! Aren't these earrings lovely? They are classically elegant and perfect for just about anything that I wear.
(Including my usual casual jeans and a sweater)

This week, these black faceted glass and sterling earrings are from Kristy of Shiny Adornments. To find out how to win them, you need to visit the Artisan Beaders' blog and get the full directions. Just click HERE.

And if you ever want to read a fabulous blog full of selling and business tips as well as pretty jewelry, Kristy's is one of my faves.
I always learn great information from it.

So because of the multi-faceted post today, I have a few questions for you to answer...
Do you have a favorite silver glass- which one and where do you buy it? Do you have a favorite blog for selling and jewelry/lampwork business tips? What is the url? Oh so much to think about and it's just Tuesday. See you tomorrow... (oh, and p.s.- don't forget my BIG SALE in my etsy shop through this Saturday.)