Lampwork Glass On Beadable Items

I thought I would take a few minutes to show you all what I do with the beadable products. So many of you do such creative things with the beadable products! Polymer clay, fellow glass makers, hand painted wood beads, or just sourcing really unique items and charms! I love seeing what you do! Here are a couple of photos of what I do. I have a style that I have a hard time getting away from.. I guess there is something to say with what you are comfortable with! I tend to lay out the beadable items on my bench and make the beads specifically for the item. That way I can get almost the perfect size. I do take advantage of the clear or black silicone spacers. I like these, as you can get a really nice tight fit with no spinning of the beads. My other secret sauce is that I use red locktight on the threads. Now, this is not necessary, but I want my finished items to be permanent. What I do at art shows, is wait until the customer has made their final decision, and then I apply the locktight.

Ideas for disc shaped beads

Have you guys ever heard of cairn stones? Maybe you’ve seen stacks of stones while out hiking or walking. The idea of them is from ancient times and were used as a marker, or even as burial, or to hide things. While still used for these purposes, a lot of people view them as being zen like, so you might see them in people’s yards, and even in jewelry designs like these earrings! I love making disc shape beads, but to be honest, they are often one of the harder beads to think of a way to use creatively! Most of the time I would wire wrap them flat so they would lay against the skin, or dangle from an earring. One of my silver suppliers made these cage style beads years ago, and with the pandemic, I haven’t seen her in three years. But I’m finally stocked up with loads of these beads and I think they look amazing with the disc shape beads. See what you think!

Restocked Arriving Any Day now!

Baby spoons, salsa spoons, twisted pickle fork, etc are arriving any day now, so I’ve went ahead and increased the inventory so you can order now if you want! The salsa spoons are always super popular, so be sure to order plenty for your art show season! If you haven’t tried the beadable pencils yet, maybe order a couple. They are selling well on Etsy, but I haven’t decided if they will be a permanent item. Also, the hair sticks and picks are super limited supply, so if you have any desire to try those, I certainly wouldn’t hesitate!

New Beads and Beadable Items

In 2013 I was making these cute little push pins. Well, I recently had a customer on Etsy who had purchased several, hit me up and ask if I was still making them, cause she wanted to add to her collection. She told me she uses them to display necklaces in her closet. Such a cute idea, so I said, yes, let me make up some new ones.. and boy.. I used reactive glass and I have to say, these are some of the most striking beads I’ve made in awhile! I decided to bead up a ink pen, as well as one of the new “vintage” hair sticks I found in Tucson. Check out her cute necklace display for a fresh idea for how to display your jewelry!

Tucson Gem Show Finds!

This year’s gem show held a lot of the same predicable beads. A lot of boring round gemstones. But I always enjoy hunting for really unique items and boy did I find some goodies! The first find was at the Casino del Sol show. I really love this show, because it’s filled with one of a kind makers and designers. There are a lot of fellow glass artists, along with porcelain, raku, weaving, metal work, you name it! So I found this tiny section of these vintage hand painted porcelain beads that literally just screamed SOUTHWEST! They were handmade in Peru and I’m just absolutely stoked to have gotten my hands on these.

My next score was also at the same show, and I was talking to a very established glass maker, that has been in the industry forever! I was sharing my beadable products and he said, look what I have. Well, he pulls out a small box of these really cool 100% vintage beadable products made in Japan. They are very cool hair sticks as well as other little sticks you could use for garden sticks. I have to admit, I didn’t realize some of them are a little risky.. take a look for yourself!

Finally my second place favorite find was an etched agate that is being treated to look like antique DZ beads and I am just obsessed with the look. They look so incredible on the large beadable products and are effortless to design with. You spend 7-9 dollars on supplies and your finished product can easily be sold 25 dollars or more!