Pages

Thursday, 2 April 2015

B is for my Beadmaker Bead


B is for my Beadmaker Bead... the ultimate fix for any bead addict - have your own bespoke bead made espeically for you!!


Amanda was the lovely lampworker for Trollbeads (a brand of bead jewellery for the non jewellery AtoZ visitors) down at an event in Cambridge;  I spent a thoroughly lovely time watching her work her magic with the flame!

So much so that when it became time for Amanda to make my own bead... I was still mesmerised and hadn't decided what I wanted!

After much discussion, we settled on pinky purples and blacks in swirls... and now it was time to watch my own bead being created.  I won't labour on the details as I'll let the photos speak for themselves!











Then came the long wait whilst the bead was with Trollbeads to be cored.  

It's always exciting to see if the annealed and cored bead matches what you thought it would look like from your memories of the night!



I love my beadmaker bead made by Amanda, and look how well it matches another lampworked bead I bought shortly after!

It only remains to decide what it's first bracelet will look like... I think I'm still mesmerised as I haven't decided on the final composition yet!

Have you ever had, or wanted to have, a bead made for yourself?
What did/would you choose and why?
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , ,

16 comments:

  1. Sophie Duncan2 April 2015 at 15:56

    I have never had a bead made for myself, but I love watching artisans work, there is something captivating and fulfilling about it, so I think I'd just stand and stare too :)
    Sophie
    Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles
    FB3X
    Wittegen Press

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mars3 April 2015 at 09:56

      I could watch Amanda all day, in fact a lot of my Cambridge trip was spent doing just that! I have started the hobby of lampworking myself so I super appreciate watching someone who's actually skilled... my own is more of a comedy routine ;)

      Mars xx

      Delete
  2. David P. King2 April 2015 at 19:34

    So that's how it's done? Awesome. I'd love to word with fire. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mars3 April 2015 at 09:58

      It's so cool! Glass beads are handmade individually and the skill that goes into creating them just evenly shaped let alone with the patterns in is just lovely to watch... the flame can be quite mesmerising!

      Mars xx

      Delete
  3. A Tarkabarka Hölgy2 April 2015 at 20:29

    Wow. It totally looks like magic. It's magic, right?

    @TarkabarkaHolgy from
    Multicolored Diary - Epics from A to Z
    MopDog - 26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mars3 April 2015 at 09:58

      Totally magic, unless I do it and then it's a bit more Terry Pratchett...

      Mars xx

      Delete
  4. Sylvia Ney2 April 2015 at 21:16

    Amazing - I love those beads! New follower here - stopping by from the "A to Z Challenge". I look forward to visiting again!

    Sylvia
    www.writinginwonderland.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mars3 April 2015 at 10:00

      Hi Sylvia and welcome!

      Well if you love beads you are certainly in the right place!

      I'm going to try and catch up with my A to Z visiting over the weekend as Day 1 was productive but yesterday I was so busy at work I didn't visit anyone :( Still hopefully will make up for it today :)

      Good luck with the challenge!

      Mars xx

      Delete
  5. Anstice Brown2 April 2015 at 22:52

    That's so cool and clever and the result is beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mars3 April 2015 at 10:01

      Hi Tizzy

      I love watching skilled lampworkers do their thing, I'm utterly amazed at what can be created... love glass beads :)

      Mars xx

      Delete
  6. Tracy3 April 2015 at 01:10

    I had one bead made for me, but I would jump at the chance to have another one done!

    I remember looking for so long at the sample/idea beads that she had brought and I just couldn't decide. I'm very visual so it was hard to imagine the patterns in different colours. I also had to leave before it had cooled, so I didn't know the final colour until it came back from being cored. It was quite a bit brighter than I had imagined (I think I had requested something apple-y green, and it was lime green) but I love it!

    It really is very fascinating to watch the beads being made. I watched her make two or three beads before mine, and it was interesting to see some of the techniques.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mars3 April 2015 at 10:10

      I have two so far, Amanda's was my 2nd bead and I absolutely love it!

      I am really enjoying having a go myself, I cleaned my beads from the 1st and 2nd sessions last night and even the lumpy ones didn't look so bad when cleaned... I need a lumpy discarded beads project ;) Going to have a proper sort through today so I can plan what to make tomorrow!

      We have 3 accredited Trollbeads Lampworkers in the UK so I'm aiming for a hat trick!

      Mars xx

      Delete
  7. Anonymous3 April 2015 at 20:01

    Awesome! I love glass working & could watch it all day long!

    TheFrogLady

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mars4 April 2015 at 08:50

      I'm off to have another go later today, can't wait!

      Mars xx

      Delete
  8. Amanda Mac11 April 2015 at 12:35

    Beautiful bead, Mars!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mars11 April 2015 at 18:40

      Thanks Amanda, the "other" Amanda made it :)

      Mars xx

      Delete

I love saying hi to people who've read my blog, or are just passing through via the A to Z, or anyone not a spam bot!

P.s. If you use an iPad/iPhone and are having trouble leaving a comment on Blogger, you might have better luck using a browser that's not the default iPad one... Then from the "Comment as" drop down menu choose Name/Url (you can leave URL field blank or add your web address) or Anonymous and (hopefully) away you go! Mars xx

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)