Makes me want to try and do it, too. Etsy Treasury
wandering spirit
Big Hole Beads
Being part of an online exchange usually stretches my boundaries and makes me try something new. This time the exchange is for big hole beads and since I never do anything the easy way, I decided to see how well I could encase some long big hole beads, these were made on 1/4″ mandrels. The last pic is the four I made with only the two on the top pic making the cut for possible inclusion for the exchange. The second bead cracked since I admired it for too long and the one on the far right has a sharp end. I was able to make these with my Electric Mandrel Spinner– there’s no way my wrists could have managed otherwise. 
The short one is 14.5 mm long and the large one is 35 mm long or 1-1/4″.
I knew that thing would come in handy one day.
More Progress
Before LOS patina:
Patina applied, think these will be beadcaps:
The patinaed copper plate/pendant, not sure what will become of this one:
Is this one too…weird?
It’s very reminiscent of the hollow form on the left, from a year ago.
Metal Etching WIP
Apologies for the quick and dirty pic, wanted to have a step by step history for myself. Enjoyed doing my own version of Zentangles on some of the pieces. Depending on how these turn out, some may be used as bead caps on my hollows.
And Again..two more sets for Etsy
These look nice together- totally by accident that I put that strand of encased crackled beads together and after setting them next to the hollows noticed how nice they look together..hmm, I can see a new set in the future w/ a mix of matte and encased beads.
These will be going up shortly onGoing up Tomorrow on Etsy
ETA in Etsy shop —> after breakfast, before laundry 🙂
Etsy Update!
Finally getting around to re-opening my shop and putting up new work. These are smaller hollows than what I normally make- so if you like them snag them, because I didn’t make many.
These will be listed shortly:
Work, work, work
Trying to get the time to get all these listed is causing me a headache. About to head out of town for an appt. that will take most of the afternoon. Maybe tomorrow?
Argh, and all of these still need to be etched and photographed..maybe the in-laws won’t notice me slipping off while they admire the little man this next week?
And a closeup of a favorite bead.. still trying to figure out which color of coral it was. Pagoda Ring Class
The Pagoda Ring class at Ornamentea was great and especially nice since it was just me and one other student- which made it possible to pick our instructor’s brain. Ndidi was a great teacher and we learned how to etch, something I’ve been wanting to learn to do for years now and it’s so simple! There are a couple things safety-wise I might change, like the ventilation and wearing an apron, etc.
The leaf disc is Copprclay, not etched. For some reason my Copprclay hasn’t wanted to sinter properly..not sure what the problem is, but planning on opening a new packet and will see if that makes a difference. 
A handy trick using tubing as a riser- got to use a tube jig for the first time and must say it’s pretty handy. Which reminds me that I need to get over my fear of the saw from HF and use it for things like this. 
Got lots of compliments for the texture on this ring, reminds me of tooled leather. Still need to do some finishing touches, like filing and cutting the extra length on my fastener.
A handy trick using tubing as a riser- got to use a tube jig for the first time and must say it’s pretty handy. Which reminds me that I need to get over my fear of the saw from HF and use it for things like this. Got lots of compliments for the texture on this ring, reminds me of tooled leather. Still need to do some finishing touches, like filing and cutting the extra length on my fastener. 
Stayed tuned for etched bead caps and new work soon. Planning on re-opening my Etsy shop sometime this week, just have a whole lotta work to photograph.
Closer to Fine
It was an Indigo Girls’ kind of day today and my space is almost finished- now the finishing touches such as putting my glass in its place and hooking up my equipment, etc. need to be done. Behold my fabulous new work space:
I’ll be sure to get more photos of everything in its place by Monday- after some torching, of course. Have a creative weekend!
Aja Vaz 