Ugly slumps (or 'how not to')

I decided to try slumping some of my beads to eliminate the bead holes and turn them in to cabs for rings etc. I used kiln paper and selected some different shaped beads to experiment with, rounds, barrels, lentils, and so on, in the hope they would melt into smooth beautiful shapes like Mikelene of http://www.truewealthsbeads.blogspot.com/ makes:)

My results weren't pretty.

I thought the lentils would be a good shape but as shown in those on the left below the holes gravitated upwards and scarred the surface on most of them:(

Looks like I needed to do a better job of cleaning out the bead release too:( And it seems my method of pumping up the kiln to high heat overcooked the silver colours and what were 'luminous' greens and blues came out muddy greens and grays:(

I should have taken some before shots too but I was acting on an impulsive spur of the moment! 

 There are a couple of possibly usable cabs, I do like the round one below left.
Overall not a good success rate though.

I really need to get some tips! I hope it can be done without having to split the beads in half first.

A handful...

of rings of course!
Most of these are from a while back but have been refined and 'properly' polished now, amazing the difference from what I thought was shiny to how shiny shiny can be with tripoli, dialux and my dremel, oh and a few hours spent:)
Now I need to get better at taking photos to show the shine

This is one of the newest pieces, as yet unnamed, but really much shinier in person.

I'm excited to be starting a silver-smith night class again, a repeat of the class I did 3 years ago now but the teacher was great and let the students make what they wanted at their own level. I was only just starting to make glass then and that became my obsession instead, but now I have been playing with integrating the two I can't wait to improve my metal skills and learn some new techniques with that, I might do an enameling workshop too. FUN!

April Disappeared

 Obviously I'm not a very conscientious Blogger! I'm gonna aim for at LEAST one post per month though;)
And I did make some stuff in April...
These beads were all various Double Helix silver colours over ivory, yep my favourite go-to combo. I love the names they give their colours too, I think L to R are Aurae, Gaia, Psyche, Triton, Clio and ?

My partner and son (age 13) were playing around and did some matching up with some BHB's (big hole beads) which I left on as optional/removable extras, next time maybe I'll make some that specificly match.

My Mum's been having chemo for lymphoma and claimed all these as presents for hospital staff.

I also got to Justin Townes Earle show in Wellington which was fantastic, (he won me when he opened for Wilco last year!) He's a lttle more country/old timey than I usually like, (actually I really like the term 'revivalist' !) Actually that was still late March but anyway he was great, brilliant guitar playing and his violin player Josh Hedley was equally amazing.

And Angel and Paisley are getting more used to each other, (they have new matching collars now too and I'm in the midst of recycling an old sleepig bag as Whippet coats for winter lol) and I love this pic of them mirroring each other:)

Must-eat-more-chocolate

I love these Ferrero Rocher boxes for displaying my jewellery!!

The compartments are perfect sized and they come with a great lid too. Plus all the fun of emptying them:)

I also love our newly adopted whippet, Angel.

                                  

She has such a dignified personality, compared to wonderfully crazy Paisley 

                                           Here with Paisley in matching whippet pyjamas,

Awwwwwwww!!

Courage

I just put together two whole glass bead necklaces in record time!
These are for an exhibition the NZGBA are putting together in support of the Bead of Courage program. Children dealing with illness are given beads to represent the procedures they undergo. I don't usually do 'exhibitions' due to my dislike for deadlines and the whole submission process. I have donated random beads to BOC before but when I was asked at the last minute to contribute a necklace of a single colour to help represent a childs journey I decided I could manage that and actually did two from scratch in a week, (well it's a record for me!).
Lime green represents Isolation, fever, neutropenia

And purple for Morphine/dopamine/PCA infusion

The NZGBA is working with The Child Cancer Foundation to develop a month-long exhibition of Courage Beads for Child Cancer Month in March 2011 to be held in the foyer of the Vero Tower in Auckland.

For Joe

My best friend has moved to Australia, boohoo!
Before she left I made this ring especially for her, she chose the bead and I like that it is reminescent of the Mountain and surf here in Taranaki NZ, a good remember 'home' bead :)

I actually lost the whole ring while making it though, polishing with the dremel tool (*remember not to hold rings on cloth when rotary polishing*).
The whole thing flung out of my hand and across the workshop and I couldn't find it ANYWHERE! I thought I was going to have to CLEAN the whole place!
This is what my silver corner looks like, rotary tool on the left corner, (note fish tank at the other end of my bench)

I  even looked in there as a last resort after a frustrating half hour and pulling all that crap out from under the bench

It is already 'decorated' with reject beads and random bits, the fish like them. It wasn't until I actually looked over the top of the open tank I found the ring nestling in the back! Little sucker.

At least I found it, and lucky it hadn't smashed the glass tank, that would have really sucked.

progress

These are the rings I've made in the last few weeks. Actually I've really made twice as many as these because they've nearly all been made, pulled apart and reassembled! I had problems with the beads rattling inside the setting when it was closed, even though the fit tightly before closing, grrr.

I think because the beads are tapered on both sides so not a completely flat bottom, anyway the solution for those was a thin piece of suede under the bead - no more rattling :)

 I think they are improving...

No 1



no 3

No 4

No 5

No 6

And No 7



My favourite so far