Basic Beading Bracelet

Hello Bloggers!

I'm over due in posting. But I'm rather excited with how things have been going in these past few weeks! I have more orders for leather wrap bracelets and I've taught a friend of mine how to make them which is always exciting to see different takes of the same bracelet =)

On a side note, things to put on my mental list of duties: business cards.

Needless to say, I'm very close to getting this on the road--well the online road version.

So, to fill up empty space, here's a basic beading double wrap bracelet. This bracelet was done with shell beads, sterling silver rounds 3mm, and stringing wire (49 strands--18 gauge)










Thanks for viewing! Take Care,

~Leann

Mystery White Powder

I was going through some blogs today and came across one that talked about the mystery white powder you find on some beads. It washes off--I know because I've had to do that on some of the beads we sell.

The curious blogger said that her coworker "asked about some white dust coming out of the bracelet beads from the glass bead kit."

Nathalie, a Metalsmith and Lampwork Glass Artist, replied:

The white powder residue inside those beads is what we call "bead release" - it's what we coat our metal rods with (you dip your rods in this liquid) so that when you melt glass on the rod to create a bead, the bead will "release" from the rod once it has cooled down.

Without that coating on the rod, the glass would be permanently fixed to the rod. We would not be able to remove it.

This said, however, this white powder is dangerous to inhale. You should not purchase beads that have not been cleaned thoroughly, and you should not be making jewelry with these beads without them being totally cleaned out of any residue.

Most beads that are sold with white residue inside are inexpensive mass produced beads. They don't take the time to clean them out and they ship them out like that.

I would suggest that you equip yourself with an electric bead reamer (if you have a lot of those beads, it will be faster), or a regular manual bead reamer, run the beads under hot water (you do not want to be breathing in those particles!) and use the reamer to clean them out properly.

Also, often, these mass-produced beads are not "annealed" properly (i.e. once you take the glass bead out of the flame, it has to go in a kiln for the glass to be properly annealed - a proper heating and cool down to avoid cracks, etc), but most of those commercial beads are not annealed.

What does it mean? It means that these beads will often break more easily.

If you purchase handmade artisan lampwork glass beads from serious glass artists, their beads should be totally free of this white residue/totally cleaned out.

Here is more detailed information and explanation on this whole process:

http://www.self-representing-artist.com/about.htm

--

This was a rather insightful and informative response and I have to add that sometimes beads do get a buildup of oil, perfume, or hairspray products. There's yet another form of powder used on the beads when they're shipped. I've been told it's a powder they use to keep away insects when shipping the boxes from out of the country. This particular powder coats the beads enough to make them look frosted. Once washed, it’s a complete transformation. I don't know if this is "bead release" considering it covers the whole bead and not just the holes. So it can potentially be the spray they put on beads for pests.

That's my two cents!

Take Care,
~Leann

Leather Wrap Bracelet

Hello Bloggers!

Here's a completed project that I'm excited for! It's a gift for my friend's mother. This leather wrap bracelet (sometimes I call it a Chan Luu after the jewelry designer who has been credited for the design) has glass pearls size 6mm, black leather, and copper wire. I think the charms are rather cute.I might make a dangle bracelet similar to them, we'll see.

On a side note, ott-lites are amazing. I should have taken my other photos (which are on facebook) with the ott-lite. It's a learn as I go process =)





Take Care,
~Leann

P.S. I'm watching All About Steve and even though it's rather distracting... it's actually really good! =)

A New Adventure

Everything is starting to come together.

I've never tried something like this before—the experiences of showcasing my work. I've always admired people out there like professional bloggers who have such tantalizing layouts and beautiful projects. So please forgive me for my lack of experiences in this area!

I'm still in the process of getting things put together such as a facebook page full of wonderful pictures (one can only hope—it helped to read the manual of my camera! Go figure.)

Needless to say I'm very excited to get things going and I went ahead and blogged about it! Even though I'm not completely ready, I couldn't wait!

Being a student in college, I'm going have to juggle my time as best as I can but I do anticipate that this will be kept up to date. If not with a smooth stream of photos than with what I've picked up in the beading world since I'm still working for the bead store that's helped me experience both sides of jewelry: the selling and the making. The making, of course, is a lot of fun but I always enjoy helping customers make beautiful things of their own. It's always a pleasure to mix colors, to create things, and to teach!

I hope to bring yet another perspective to the jewelry making world. So before I ramble more, I best get to more beading!

Take care,
~Leann