Playing with Reactive Silver Glass

I've always loved reactive silver glass, as a lampwork bead buying addict they were always the first beads I searched for when browsing for new beads to buy.  The effects and colours that can be found in some of  these beads are just WOW!!  So when my lampworking journey began you can probably guess that some of the first glass I bought was the reactive silver glass.  I bought a single rod of some of the colours that I loved - Double Helix Luna, Ekho and Terra.  I also discovered TAG glass, the same kind of glass but by a different company Trautman Art Glass, also with amazing colours so I bought a few rods of that too!

Little did I know how difficult this glass was going to be to get those amazing colours that I loved!  Look at the piccie below, this is how that glass starts off...beige, colourless!

I read and read and read some more about how to get this glass to work, every time I went to the studio to work I would persevere and try again - nothing happened for me, all I got were poopy beige colours or lots of 'nothingness' - sooooooooooo frustrating!

These are some of the first beads I made using a tiny bit of Double Helix Terra 2...a tiny bit because this glass is omg so expensive! haha

Not great are they considering the next picture shows how they are supposed to turn out...

Image taken from Off-Mandrel.com

I wouldn't let this glass beat me and I kept on trying!

FINALLY! I got somewhere...The above beads were all made with Terra 2.  Now to get the others to work.  That would be easy now, right?  Erm, nope! 

Each silver glass likes to be worked differently, some like it hot, very hot, some like lots of propane, some prefer very little propane, some like to be worked high up in the flame, others prefer it low down in the flame.  PAH! I gave up, I stuck the rods in a jar at the back of my work bench and didn't touch them again for a few months.  I'm not a quitter so they eventually worked their way to the front of my bench again and I decided to have another play.  Still nothing, I felt like I had tried everything and was so frustrated.  I had a chat with my lampworking friend Debs about it the next day.  She talked me through it and found a video on YouTube that she thought I might find useful for working with the TAG glass.

I watched the video a few times and the next day went to play some more!  I wasn't hoping for much to be honest...

I followed the artist, Dawn Scannell on the video word for word...OMG it was only flipping working! I couldn't believe it...after all these months of poopy coloured beads, I had finally got it to work!!

Look what came from the kiln that day...the most gorgeous beads made with TAG Dalai Lama glass!

And the next day...TAG Fire Lotus!

I was so, so, so excited and happy!! I finally got it to work after months and months of trying...Thank you Debbie Dew, you're a star! 

These beads were made using Double Helix Ekho

And this focal was made using Luna 3

There are still loads of different colours to try, so guess what?! I ordered some more hahaha...Just need the nice Mr Postman to bring them now, the waiting is killing me ;0)

Thought for the Day:  NEVER GIVE UP!

The Decision...

I just thought I'd share this with you, it's not really about lampworking today but I felt I needed to explain a little bit about the situation I've found myself in recently.

Here Goes...

I had been pondering over which way to go with my businesses for a while, you may know that I'm also a jewellery designer and, well, to be perfectly honest. that side of the business has really been struggling with the current economic climate.  I'm not 100% sure why but part of me thinks that most people, including the market that I aim at are being careful with their pennies and in most cases jewellery is a luxury that the ordinary working class person just can't afford.  When times are tough, something has to go right?  I also believe that because there has been an incredible boom in the craft market and so many people are now making jewellery that the market is saturated with handmade jewellery and it's just not different any more...who knows?!

Anyway...

My business is a full time business, my bread and butter, and unfortunately it just wasn't paying as well as it used to.  It's fine if you're a hobbyist just wanting to make a few ££'s back for the cost of the materials but its a whole different ball game when you're trying to earn a living from it...Yup, I have dreaded bills to pay too ;0)

At the end of 2012 I knew I had a decision to make as far as Enchanted Handmade Jewellery goes...

I decided that I'm going to be taking a bit of a break from jewellery for a while, I'm going to be continuing my bespoke service, I love making jewellery to order.  By working this way I won't have huge amounts of retail jewellery hanging around my studio unsold but I get to 'keep my hand in'.  This also cuts down the amount I spend on materials (eeek if only you knew how much I spent on beads!).  I'll be concentrating more on the lampworking, which is really where my heart is.  There is so much to learn and I'm really very lucky to have gained a fantastic following already.  Why not come and join us on the Fyre Faerie Facebook page which I update regularly, or take a look at my Etsy shop to buy yourself a set of my beads...

I count myself very lucky to be a published designer and my work for the magazines Making Jewellery and My Creative Diva keep me busy.   I really value my work for the magazines and I'll still be coming up with designs for them, so if you're a fan of my work you'll still be able to follow it.  I'm also thinking of creating some quick and easy tutorials for you to follow right here on my blog.

You can visit the Making Jewellery website and learn how to make one of my earring designs.  The beautiful vintage style earrings below...

I have a great Steampunk Design in this months issue of Making Jewellery magazine which uses materials supplied by International Craft...I was chuffed to bits to find it on the front cover of the free Steampunk supplement, there's a sneaky preview of the project below, but do get yourself a copy its on sale right now!

I can now tell you too that I have taken on the position of In-House Designer for International Craft!  I'm very excited about this, they are a fantastic bead and findings supplier and I'll be designing some great tutorials with their supplies just for you to follow.  The first project is complete and is in the process of being made live on the internet for crafty folk all over the world to use. Watch this space!  I'll let you know when and where as soon as I get the go ahead...

Soooooo, after that you now know what's going on in my world!  I apologise for the length of my ramblings, wow I did go on a bit didn't I?!

Please feel free to share my blog amongst your friends on Twitter and Facebook or any of the other networking sites you use.  It'd also be really great to see your comments here, unfortunately with blogging you do sometimes feel as though you're rambling on to yourself, although I am used to that somewhat! LOL :0)