Art Charms Sneak Peek

One of the things I love about other lampworkers is their ability to share with each other. This can happen in a variety of ways; sharing techniques, general knowledge, working together in groups and one fun way is bead swaps. I think of the bead swaps as a way for grown ups to play. Recently I joined an Art Charm Swap hosted by a lampworking friend of mine, Jennifer of GlassAddictions.

Jen put out the word that she wanted to host an art charm swap. She had clearly defined guidelines to follow and three colors to use. If you are curious about the details you can read Jennifer's blog here. She choose three colors from the Pantone pallet, living coral, chocolate truffle and lagoon. 

I have ten beads made up and ready to be made into charms. I will give you just a sneak peek.

What is a Twistie?

A twistie is a lampworking term which means to literally twist different colors of glass together. Twisties are used to decorate glass beads.

There is more than one way to create a twistie. I have my preferred technique, which I am going to share with you.

In this case I am making a twistie of green colors to use as a vine for pumpkin beads.

You can find pumpkin beads for sale in my Ema K Designs Etsy Shop.

  I begin by gathering a ball of glass on the end of a rod. This is my primary color (green)

While making twisties a lampworker

uses the glass rod as a handle, we call this a punty.

I round the gather and flatten the end, preparing for the addition of the next color.

The next color I am using is black.

I heat the two colors together, round out the gather and flatten the end. I will continue this process until I have added my third and fourth colors, which are yellow and another shade of green.

After adding the fourth color I have to move my punties or handles. The punties must make contact with all four colors of glass in order for the twistie

to include all the colors.

   

I have four colors and my two handles. I am ready to heat the whole gather and begin twisting and pulling out the glass.

      

The result is a thin piece of glass, usually 2-5mm thick, which can be used as decorative elements in the beads I create.

       http://www.etsy.com/listing/55903812/pumpkin-time-focal-lampwork-bead-by-ema

Fire Divas Quarterly Jewelry Challenge Fall 2010

Summer is winding down and the holidays will be here in the blink of an eye. The Fire Divas are hosting our quarterly jewelry challenge. Our theme this time is 'The Holiday Season', and we welcome submissions reflecting any or all of the holidays that are upcoming between now and the end of the year. If you'd like to see some holiday-inspired Fire Diva creations, check our our Flickr page.

As challenges go there are rules to be followed. You will find the rules at the end of my post, but first you must check out the fabulous prizes offered by our Divas....

 http://www.emakaye.etsy.com/

http://www.twoglassyladies.ca/

http://www.etsy.com/shop/JanelDudleyBeads

http://arensea.etsy.com/ or http://arensea.artfire.com

http://www.teasebeads.artfire.com/

http://www.artfire.com/users/BabsBeadsandDesign

http://www.lajewelrydesigns.etsy.com/ or http://www.lajewelrydesigns.artfire.com

http://www.hollysfolly.com/

http://www.lutrick.artfire.com/

Owl bead from http://www.maybeads.etsy.com/

http://www.beadygirlbeads.etsy.com/

Now for the details:

All submissions must feature Fire Divas' lampwork. We require the name of the Fire Diva who made the beads used in the submitted piece, so if you submit something, please be ready to provide that information.

We will allow one submission per person per contest, and a maximum of two photos per submission. Entries may be submitted here (http://www.flickr.com/groups/firedivachallenge/) for approval, no later than October 15, 2010. Please include, in the comments section, the following:

• Information about the beads
• Description of the piece
• Inspiration for the piece

Submissions will not be approved without all of this information.

Fire Divas reserve the right to approve or reject any submissions.
Fire Divas reserve the right to modify or cancel the challenge at any time.

The winners will be determined by an open poll which does not allow multiple votes.

Something New...Facebook Stores

Have you seen the new stores popping up on Facebook? I just opened my shop, Ema K Designs on Facebook.

I will keep adding beads and jewelry here so keep an eye out. You won't even have to leave Facebook to make your purchase. I think that is so fantastic.

Today I have an etched dragonfly bead for sale.

Murrini Grab Bag

I finally had a chance to try my new murrini. I was unsure what to do with my beautiful murrini so I decided to first work with the free grab bag I received from Lori and Kim. I was little afraid to use the murrini. It feels like a precious gem and I don't want to waste it until I have a brilliant idea.

I was satisfied with my attempt resulting in this bead, Field of Murrini Poppies, listed in my Etsy shop.

I received a conversation from ZionShore. She created this extremely beautiful treasury.

You may notice one row is duplicated. This is due to my lack of computer skills and my ability to capture the entire treasury in one shot. I do try. :D

Murrini Summer

Summer is underway and last Saturday I received my very first order of purchased murrini. For some time now Lauren of Maybeads has been blogging about murrini, you can see her Murrini Mondays blog. All her blogs and beautiful creations have convinced me that the time has come for me to give murrini a try for myself. However, with it being summer my kids have been keeping me busy and I have not been able to get myself behind the torch this week.

I am looking forward to a weekend full of fun 4th of July activities. However, in the back of my mind I am also looking forward to the week after the fourth. This is when I will finally get a day or two to use my new murrini. The following are some of the beautiful murrini pieces I purchased from Lori and Kim.

Aren't they beautiful? I feel like a little kid with a new toy. I can hardly wait to get these beauties on a bead.