Glossary and Eye Candy of new bead shapes.

I know we have discussed the new bead shapes that have come out.  I also know that the seed bead world has been turned on their heads with the introduction of so many of them.  Jenny asked me to give you all a glossary of sorts with some eye candy.  With the exception of the brand new ones I can not get my hands on I will show you the adds for the beads and what I have been able to do with them to date.  Are you ready?

These are the three newest beads that have been announced in the past month that I spotted.

Trinity

I am very intrigued by these. They look to me like 3 size 8/0 beads fused together.  I can even see a design in my mind.  What a fun bead for both weavers and stringers with so many possibilities.

MiniDuo

This is a design by the very talented Nancy Dale of the Beadsmith Inspiration Squad.  

Now this is kind of a no brainer for me.  I love superduos very very much so to make them smaller is an amazing idea!  In case you are wondering they are the little pink ones in the bracelets.  You know I would be able to rock these cuties in so many ways!

Halfmoon

I have to say these are not really a new shape but they are so much better from the look in the picture.  A bit thicker than the old ones with the holes in good position and of course the new finishes are to die for.

Infinity

Infinities came out in February and boy am I interested.  And as with the Trinity beads they look like fused seed beads. They actually come in two sizes 3x6 and 4x8.  This shape has sooooo many possibilities and with the different sizes they offer a fun challenge.
So on the beads that I have been able to play with.

Czechmate Crescents

I have mentioned this in previous posts but these sent a spark through me that hasnt happened since the introduction of twins and superduos.  I was instantly in love.  I had a design come to me the moment I saw them and as luck would have it, it was exactly what I envisioned.

I love this piece and as soon as I get another batch I will be writing a tutorial for those who may be interested.

Kheops par puca

I was not sure about these but I love triangles so on my final shop of last year I picked up a few.  Yes I have fallen in love.  So much in fact I have 2 designs that came to me.  The first one was fun and simple and the second well lets say I had a bit of fun

I still need to get a few more of the green to finish this one but I love where it is going.  I may even pick up some turquoise (because I love turquoise) and make a second one for a tutorial.


So does this help anyone with the new beads?

Stick a ball on it!

I have a mixed media friend who has a simple go-to whenever she can't figure out what comes next in one of her designs: she says, "Stick a bird on it!" The first time I heard her say it, I realized I have a similar go-to in my arsenal: "Stick a ball on it!"

Balls in a nest

Balls on rings

Balls everywhere! (I cheated - everything except the big one was pre-formed)

Hidden balls (in 18k gold)

I realized, as part of the design intensive retreat we did with Connie Fox earlier this year, that I really - REALLY - like using balls in my designs. The "why's" of it are complicated, but the "how's" aren't, so I thought today I'd share how to make sterling silver balls so you can use them your own work. It's a super simple way to use up scrap and add some dimension without a lot of effort.

You'll need:

• Sterling silver scrap
• Charcoal block or solderite board
• Butane torch (any size works)
• Small gram scale (completely optional)

Start by laying out a small pile of sterling silver scrap on your charcoal block. If you want all the balls to be the same size, weigh your scrap on the gram scale. (Usually, I just eyeball it.) Light your butane torch and start warming up the first pile of scrap. Do this by circling around and over it, making sure to keep the block warm immediately around the scrap. The block will glow and the silver will start to melt, pulling together into a ball. Watch the silver closely - there's a "skin" of impurities that will form around the ball, when it's still a dull orange, and then burn off as the silver turns glossy and shiny. As soon as you see the ball turn shiny, start pulling the torch away.... slowly! The goal is to let the ball cool down very gradually so that the surface of the ball doesn't wrinkle up.

Wait. Let me just show you.

(As an aside, I had fun making that video. Sorry about the sound quality and editing - we'll get better at it!)

A charcoal block works best for this, though you can use a solderite board if that's what you have. The charcoal helps to retain the heat, which helps with slower cooling. And you can see that I've used this block a lot, so the center of the top has been slightly burned out. This is actually a good thing, because as the silver balls up it has a tendency to roll off the edge of the block if you aren't careful. (Ask me how I know!) That little dip helps keep it from happening.

Once you've made the ball, you need to make the bottom flat enough to solder onto your piece. Here's how I do it (thanks Melissa Muir for showing me this technique!):

(Yeah, yeah... I'm a goofball.)

One of the things I like about this technique is that once you've sanded the bottom of the ball, you can solder it in place without having to pickle or clean it further, since sanding the bottom takes off any impurities that might keep it from soldering. This means you can pickle it later with the whole piece, making cleanup much easier and reducing the number of steps in your fabrication process.

 That's a win for me. The other win - and this is a big one - is that I am using and repurposing every single bit of sterling silver scrap and "waste" on my bench.

So that's how I make the balls I use in my designs - and I do it a lot! I hope this inspires you to hang onto all those little bits and pieces left over from your larger projects. And I hope you like the videos - they're kind of an experiment, so I'd love to know what you think!

Until next time -

June Firefly Theme Component of the Month Winners

Before I announce the winners, I want to remind everyone who didn't win, that you can still participate for the theme this month. You can create a component and/or art jewelry incorporating a handmade component with the theme of fireflies/lightning bugs. Just remember to email me jennifer.glassaddictions (at) gmail.com so I can add you to the reveal list. The reveal is June 30th. 

And the two winners for one of my lampwork beads to use for the theme of Fireflies/Lightning Bugs for the month of June are... Melissa Trudinger and Mary Detray! I will be emailing both of you shortly for your mailing address. 

Setting Tiny Stones

Recently on my blog I was asked how I manage to set such small stones, such as this 4mm peridot in my daisy stacker ring, so I thought I would share a few tips and tricks that I have learnt.

Daisy Stacker Ring With Lampwork by Jen Cameron 

The first thing I do when setting small stones is cut the bezel wire in half with very sharp scissors. I do this because the smallest bezel wire I can get is 3mm tall and when setting tiny stones this is much to big. The wire does tend to curl up but I just use my flat pliers to gently straighten it back out.

Cutting the Bezel Wire

Next, using this neat little gizmo called a mitre jig that I learnt about from one of my favorite blogs Cinnamon Jewellery (Tracy's work is just amazing as is her blog where she shares so much fantastic information, a really great source for learning), I clamp the bezel wire and file one side flat.

My Beloved Mitre Jig

Most of the tiny stones I use are 3-5mm in size because I use my bail making pliers to form my bezels, and they are 3mm and 5mm in diameter. Making bezels this way is a lot less fiddly than trying to wrap the wire around the stone and a lot easier then trying to measure the bezel wire to the correct size. I wrap the wire around the end of the pliers and press down at the join to leave a mark so I know where to cut.

Bail Making Pliers

After cutting and filing the marked edge I rewrap it around the bail making pliers and check that the edges are flush then I gently flatten the join with my flat pliers to hold it in place, once I am happy that the edges meet perfectly with no light showing through I solder the piece. Because it is so small I always use easy solder and go as slow as possible, it really is easy to melt these little things!

Flatten the Join 

Once soldered and pickled I reshape it on the bail making pliers, if by some chance it is a touch too small I then use my round nose pliers to stretch it, by simply placing it onto one side of the pliers and twisting and pushing it further down the tapered end of the pliers to stretch it. Alternatively if I am making an oval shaped bail I would place the bail onto the tip of pliers in the above photo while they were closed and then I would gently open them to elongate the bail.

Made Using Tiny Stones

Once the bezel is a perfect fit for the stone I solder it onto the backing plate, or as in the photo above, onto a coin and continue setting as I would a larger piece. Hopefully this has answered the question!

Bits of NikNats

Artisan Jewellery by Niky Sayers