This is what the majority of the beads I buy are made of, although I also have a penchant for silver and semi-precious stones too.
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| This is what a professional beadmaker looks like when they're making! |
Since I became Addicted to Beads, I've actually had a few attempts at making my own... here are 3 important things I've learnt about Glass.
- Glass melts at an extremely hot temperature which can go from "Yay it's melting!" to "Oh my *%$£ing god where is that glass heading???!!!" quite quickly. It helps if where it's heading is not onto an expensive torch or your body. Try not to panic; as the distance at which you can fling molten glass is surprisingly far.
- If you don't heat your glass rod up slowly (slowly means different things to different glasses) bits will ping off... some glass pings more than others... do not leave your cup of tea within pinging reach.
- If you hold your mandrel (thing you can wrap your glass around) vertically or horizontally or at an angle, whilst admiring your glass bead as it cools, remember that that glass is still moving, even if you can't see it... this is why many of my beads are lopsided until I heat them up again and repeat No.1.
What important lesson/s have you learnt when trying out a new hobby?
I like the advice about the glass pinging and the tea :) I've taken up the band loom recently and what I've learnt is that those little bands get everywhere!
ReplyDeleteTasha
Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)
Yes crunchy tea is to be discouraged! Funny how our hobbies can be so dangerous :)
DeleteMars xx
I have a troll bracelet, but have limited myself to special reason only beads, or I'd just keep buying them because they're all so pretty! Um, make sure you enjoy the hobby before you buy too much stuff would be what I've learned ;) x
ReplyDeleteAh Suzanne, you are the Trollbead mecca that us addicts aspire to be like, you can appreciate them but you are not ruled by them... I salute you!
DeleteGood advice on the hobby side, I am currently sticking to glass and mostly consumables as some of the kit is seriously costly and I want to make sure I a) do want to continue and b) can make a non-wonky bead so that it's worth buying some kit. I currently have my eye on a bead lining machine but I really can't justify that expense, it does look super fun though :)
Mars xx
I would really love a troll bracelet, they are so beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteIt's a slippery path Dani, I did find them a gateway to other drugs, er, I mean beads... I thought I could stop at 1, then I thought I would stop at one silver bracelet and 1 leather... and then it just went on from there... my only consolation is I've resorted to stealing from people's purses to pay for my addiction (only 'cos no-one carries around that much cash anymore).
DeleteIn all seriousness though a bracelet is a lovely thing to have... I do really get a lot of pleasure out of wearing mine, I do tend to stare at my wrists quite a lot and being a blogger, the things I do on trains... but that comes further down the alphabet so you'll have to wait to find that out ;)
Mars xx
Oops lol that should read I've NOT resorted to stealing...
DeleteDelightful! I am partial to semi-precious stone beads, but I also love glass. In college I once wrote a paper on Avar era glass beads, and I couldn't even fathom how people made them so detailed and perfect 1500 years ago...
ReplyDelete@TarkabarkaHolgy from
Multicolored Diary - Epics from A to Z
MopDog - 26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary
My husband has found me some articles on ancient beads but I've not yet uploaded them onto my computer. Lol maybe I need some lesson from the ancients!! Or perhaps I might find someone more local and er, current, I am looking forward to reading a bit more on the history though.
DeleteMars xx
p.s. still giggling inappropriately about your Group Hug post xx
I learned that heating up glass to make beads look suspiciously like cooking drugs...
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, you are a brave person for super-heating molten glass with your bare hands.
I do have 3 blisters from the session before last actually... the lesson there was that remember if you pull a stringer (a thin piece of glass to do detailed work with) that it's still super hot (even though it does cool quicker than you'd think, but not that quickly) and shouldn't be picked up when you drop it on your work bench!
DeleteOne on the inside of my thumb and two on the inside of my forefinger, made drinking my crunchy tea rather problematic!
Mars xx
Give that I can burn myself on a stationary oven, I don't think I should try melting glass! The first time I ever baked, I was making meringue, and I made a wonderful meringue mixture, it was perfect, stiff peaks and all that. I put it onto a baking tray, pavlova style, and put it into my preheated oven. Then I left it, since it was going to take an hour. When I came back, no meringue, but a rather sticky, black mess all over the oven. My meringue had exploded! I had put it in a 200 degrees but centigrade, when the recipe had been written in Fahrenheit! Never done that again! ;P
ReplyDeleteSophie
Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles
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Wittegen Press
Lol those pesky metric/imperial measurements! My husband once confused tsp and tbsp when making bread and adding the salt... it was like munching on the sea!
DeleteMars xx
It's amazing how many different worlds are happening all at once that "outsiders" know nothing about. I guess your work bench should not face a door in case you fling it accidently just as someone walks in.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very good point Kristin, one I'd not considered before! And as I actually rent a bench at a workshop and er, the torch I most prefer to work on does actually face a stable door to the public area... oops!
DeleteMars xx