I've been photographing again, I had to share my favorite necklace that I wear all the time. It's a lampwork cabochon that I set in a bezel setting made of silver. For the photograph - I doubled up a multiple strand cable necklace that has a cool bayonette clasp that fits so nicely through so many beads.

Back to the other beads - seems more finished pieces this go 'round... earrings and necklaces - some silver bezel pendants etc. and thought I'd share some here. Below - this is a variation to the paddle earrings - with the bullseye imprint. I've chosen to make the smooth side the primary side. What happens is the sunlight bounces around in the impressions and it looks like it's lined with a silvery metal...

It seems appropriate that these are called Aqua Drops... doesn't it? Graceful little drops - made en tandem on a single mandrel - to make sure they match. A sure feat of concentration and determination to watch as molten glass drips like honey - to just the right shape/size.

I'm liking this method of eliminating the need for a headpin in certain instances - it's silver wire looped up from the bottom - over the outside of the bead, then wrapped around and around below the bail. It also has the possibility of becoming a self-bead cap... by winding the wire in a concentric circle at the top... time will tell what comes of this!

I had a brief stint back 2004-2005 where I took a silversmithing class *loved it* and started making cabochons... and bezel settings - I loved it, but soon found that I really couldn't recoup the $ it took/hours it took to create these. I still have a handful around... but don't know if it's something I'll be dabbling in again anytime soon.
This particular piece is stunning because teh cabochon seems as if it has a life of its own. Created with Prussian blue, purple, black and silvered ivory... PLUS a heavy layer of encasing. It's very very pretty.

What do you think? I know you saw the beads - but - what do you think of the whole package - on a brass ball chain? It's a different look... kinda high tech... warm from the color of the metal... nice.

...and the process continues - I'm liking what I'm seeing - don't know how everyone else will - but it's pretty. It's still hard to limit the size of the beads - with the requirement that the holes be shaped so perfectly to be able to seat a nice core. It almost dictates the size of the bead.

N says that in her opinion, the size of the bead is more important than the fact that it's lined. That's an interesting point of view, as I'd be happy to make small intricate UN-lined beads - after all - small is my forte!!

Knowing that my photographic skills have improved, I re-photographed this set - and will re-post it to my gallery on my website. I remember telling Glassdaddy that Prussian Blue would be his biggest seller... it's just a shame that the factory couldn't ever reproduce that same exact color...

I was just leafing through my favorite places to hang out on the Internet - and was looking at the Treasury listings on Etsy... this is where people act as curators and put together a grouping of other artists' work, to allow viewing in the Treasury gallery. It's near to impossible to get to be a curator - I've had some work featured in a few. I just found this one, and am flattered to be featured.

Etsy Treasury - For the love 'o' glass!

I've been working on the Pandora bracelet style beads lately... some experimentation yesterday showed me that the standard size hole I've been using - WITHOUT - any metal core added fit nicely over the threaded points on the bracelet... but - when adding a core - I need to make a slightly larger hole in the bead. Which means that if I want to keep the beads 'wearably sized' I need to pay attention to getting as much into the bead as possible and stay conscious of the growing size of the bead.