More Hearts and the bead that got away!

Finished some more hearts today including some that aren't posted because they are a custom order and a surprise for Mother's Day - so I better not post. : )

Are you wondering about the bead that got away? Let me tell you, I really do feel like a fisherwoman that lost her prize catch. This is the picture of the rod I started out with - kind of baby poop color.



I didn't have an order or project in mind for this glass, it's that I tend to have attention deficit when it comes to making the same bead over and over again. So, it doesn't take much to get me started in another direction if a thought crosses my mind. And it's not that this rod is an eye catcher; as you can see. It's the possibility of what it can be that is the allure; and today I wondered what colors I could get to pop out of glass.

This is what we call chalcedony, (pronounced kal-sed-onie) a multi-colored glass originating in Italy in the early 1600's and introduced in London, England in 1862. It was really popular and used by hot-glass workers for beautiful vases such as this one.



It's also really popular for lampwork artists today and the trick is understanding how hot to heat it and how often to cool it to get the colors to bloom. Lot's of science involved in making this little bead. Lots of failures before success. Failure is getting a baby poop colored bead - but success, well, that is watching magic happen when the colors bloom from brown to blue, violet, green and yellow.

You understand what I mean by possibility now, yes? So these beads are what I worked on between my projects. My favorite one got a little too cool and broke in half. It may be difficult to tell in the picture, but it has an opalescent quality with shimmers of blue, yellow and green... sigh.. if it were a fish it would have been <<<<......................thisssssssss biggggggggggggg....................>>>>>>>>>>>

Hearts for People to People

Hello and thank you for coming to view this fundraiser for my nephew - Nicholaus. He's traveling to Europe with People to People this summer and in an effort to help him I am selling handmade lampwork (glass) pendants.

The picture is of a few pendants that I have on hand. Mizzou pawprints are really popular for MU fans. The pink ribbon bead was designed in honor of my mom who was diagnosed with breat cancer a little over 1 1/2 years ago, she's a survivor. The third pendant is a tiger stripe which is also popular at Mizzou.

These are available upon request,and you can request different color combinations - just let me know and we'll work it out. Each one will be slightly different since they are handmade.

The total cost is $15.00 for pendant w/ rubber cord. Request either 16 or 18" length. The earring wires are sterling silver. A total of $10.00 from each pendant will go to my nephew and the rest will be for overhead and shipping. Do you think I can reach $200.00 Send any questions or request to stephsbeadcorner@aol.com

Added a few more pendants and earrings too! Just thought you might like to see some variation. The pink heart is made from a type of glass called Gaffer and melts like butter; it creates a wispy soft look to the bead. The earrings are MU color but could be changed to any other sports team, Tiger, bulldogs etc... The round pendant is for someone who wants a little bolder look. I placed a quarter in the picture to give you a reference to size.

PROGRESS