"Magic" color reactions and layering

Hello friends!

So I am pretty excited about this latest run of beads. I did some more designs in the "magic" color reaction colors so this is a nice addition to the beads I made last week. Getting a torch upgrade has been such an amazing thing! I can't believe the difference of all of the things I can do with all of that extra heat! It is so enjoyable to work! I wonder how I ever got by working on a hot head for almost 5 years!

So I thought I would go into some of my discoveries while making beads before heading over to the shop.So here is the first thing I discovered. Both of these beads are the same. So you want to know how right? Ok here is the deal.... The bead on the left is the bead on the right melted down into a round bead! Pretty cool huh? Same stuff, but a different look. As you also might notice I got some nice color reactions when the glass melted down causing that cool ring of orange. Now here is the thing. Only some of the colors react with each other and the others don't. That is why some of the round beads in the set have a few very crisp lines and others have more organic lines. The most reactive girls out of the bunch are 2 of my favorites: EDP and Rubino Oro.

The discs melted down make pretty plump round beads. They end up being 12-15mm which is pretty big for my normal size. :D Now the thing with making these rounds is that you need to balance the heat from top to bottom and side to side to make sure that all of the striped don't get swallowed up. The reactivity of some of the colors also "swallows" some of the color as well, so this might be something you want to keep in mind when making these style beads.

Here is my other experiment. The disc on the right was made with twisted cane and rounds of a solid color. The way these two beads are different was the application of glass. So on the right was a wind of cane, then a wind of solid color then melted into a solid disc.

The bead on the right was made by winding a disc of all solid colors and then applying cane on top of the melted in winds instead of inbetween them. As you can see by the results the different applications make for more of an organic style or more of a crisp design style. Pretty sweet eh?!

Now let's head over to the shop.

NEW IN THE SHOP...
The following beads have colors of: orchid, mint green, golden yellow, turquoise, and ruby pink.
"Gobstopper Batiks"- I named these beads because the rings remind me of gobstopper candy and the reactivity of the colors remind me of beautiful batiked fabric :D As I said above these pretty round plumpers were made by winding different reactive glass into discs and then melting them down. I just LOVE how you can see all of the neat color reactions from the glass reacting. A design with the beads facing hole side out would be a nice way to get the full effect of the beads.

"Stone Rekkets"- Another silly name,but they remind me of stone with their solid somewhat muted colors and "rekkets" because they look like vinyl records. I used the term "rekkets" for fun because with an Eastern accent "records" becomes "rekkets" lol. The winds of color stay separated in disc form, but look at all of the pretty colors! A design stringing them hole side out would be a nice way to show off the beads :)
"Concentric"- Rings of concentric circles make up this large holed disc. The hole is a whopping 12mm which will make it lots of fun for designing! The large hole actually fits my pinky finger. It makes me think of eating those little chocolate striped cookies but putting them on your finger and eating around them. You did that when you were a kid too, right? :) I think this focal with the "stone rekkets" set would make an amazing necklace.
"Helix Wheel"- I really like the way this one turned out! As I said above the different layering effects give it a different look. The twisted bands almost make it look like it's turning. This bead has a 4mm hole which gives it more design possibility. Again hanging it sideways with hold side facing out will give it the best look. This would be awesome combined with the "gobstopper batiks" set.
"Snakes Skin Vertebrae"- This focal got it's name from the look you get from the style of winding the glass above. Here you can really see that "snake's skin" look. I swear if you didn't know this was glass you would think it was stone. The bead is very thick and solid giving it a nice weight. This bead has a 5mm hole and would work great with a design where it was strung hole side out.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW?...

I am excited to announce that Genea Beads has been featured in the "Pastels" treasury posted by Mosiac Gems!

Well I just received my package that has some new glass inside along with something for the project on which I am working. I am excited to see how this will all work out. I will probably make some test lentils to check out the new colors I received. :D That is the tester side of me coming out lol.

Here is a picture Jan sent me of her gorgeous necklace she made with the "Vino Noir" set I listed the other week.
Isn't it just perfect with the Garnets she chose?! Wow!

Ok so this is totally random, but when I went to make dinner for Ricky and me I pulled the chicken out of the ziplock bag and thought it was cute that it had frozen into a heart! Silly, I know, but whatever keeps me entertained right?! :D

I think that's all I have to report for this week, but I will see you soon.

I hope you are enjoying springs warmer weather!

Much love,

Genea

I've got my mojo back

Hello friends!

I know, it's late. I was really excited about what I made today and I will have some interesting things to share with you about how they were created.

Sweetest dreams and Good night,

Genea

Zebra of a different color

Hello friends!

Are you excited I have an update for you? It's a day later than I normally like to list, but at least I have things to offer this week, right? :D

I don't LOVE all of the things I have for you today! Which is your favorite?

NEW IN THE SHOP....

Where to start? They are all awesome! "L'amor Flutterby"- It's been quite some time since I have made a large butterfly focal. I only made a limited run of 3 the first time I created them. This little one is a bit different too! I tweaked the design so it is a bit smaller than the originals with a different "twist". Heh. twist... twist in the design... Yeah, ok. *ahem* Anyways, there is a twist in the design by the wings and a small raked heart on the belly. The wings are a pale lavender pink with ruby spots.Here are a few more views.
"Desert Serpent" - This set of 7 lentils is made on a base of dark ivory with twisted serpent canes, and rainbow raku . The chemical reactions produce an amazing dark blackish brown curdled veining that is just INCREDIBLE! These are a PERFECT match to my Ancient Tablet "Serpent Corazon" focal I listed the other week. I loved the focal so much I thought it HAD to have some matching beads!"Desert Serpent" pair- Ok so I got a bit carried away making these beads and had enough to offer a pair as well. They are dark ivory, with serpent twisted cane, rainbow raku and AWESOME :D They would make super SWEET earrings, no?

"Zebra Batiks"- Don't you just LOVE the "magic" colors?! Me too! This time around I even made cane for extra appeal! Pretty sweet huh?! The twisted cane made me think of zebra stripes and the "magic" colors always remind me of batiked fabric which is my absolute FAVORITE :D Colors include: ruby pink, pale yellow, mint green and turquoise.
"Zebra Kaleidascope"- So yeah, pretty sure this focal is f*ing awesome! The twisted canes and "magic" colors really do remind me of looking through a kaleidascope and seeing all of the ornate patterns. Both sides are different so there is something interesting to see from every angle. Colors include: ruby pink, pale yellow, mint green and turquoise. Did I mention it would be KILLER with the above set?"Zig-Zag Zebra"- Ok so it may be a mini, but this is a very special bead. It is part of the project on which I am working. I can't really give more details at the moment, but it may quite possibly be very famous. Moving on... Twisted canes make up the design on this little trio. If you had not noticed the rounds are actually different. One has mint green and orchid and the other has turquoise and orchid. Bet you wouldn't have ever known huh? ;) Anyways, they are both awesome and tie in with the twisted lentil. This little set would make a cute pendant and earrings or be a great addition to the above beads!

WHAT ELSE IS NEW?

Well it certainly has been GLOOMY here in the midwest! The constant rain and cloudiness are kind of taking a toll on me. I know you are shocked because I am ALL about rain, but I could use a few rays for some sun therapy. Taking pictures has been an absolute NIGHTMARE. The lack of sun requires many more lights for illumination. I am planning on getting some more lights, bulbs and making a light bounce thingy. There is a cheap design for one on the Frantz Art Glass blog by Pat Frantz. I can't find the link to the page, but if you are resourceful you can google it ;)

I think that's really about all. Sorry I don't have more exciting news for you.

See you soon!

Much love,

Genea

Randomness

Hello friends!

I bet you have been wondering where I have been right? Well I have been working(or well trying to work) on some testing, beads and another idea to make a business page more informative. That has been what has been taking up my time. I got a set and a pair of beads made last week which didn't seem like much of a listing so I opted to wait until this week. Normally I would post beads tomorrow, but as I have said I have been working on different things and have not gotten as many beads made to sell as I would have liked.

I got a bunch of cane pulled so I think I will continue tomorrow what I wanted to get done today. With all of the cane already made, stringers pulled and glass sitting on my table I will be able to get right to work tomorrow. I will be excited to see how the different canes I made effect the designs on different color glass bases.

That has really been most of what has been going on. I wish I had more exciting things to report.

Oh yeah I did get my beads from artbeads.com for our summer blog! I need to get some beads made to go with the ones I ordered. I have to think up some designs. :)

Here is the picture I owed you of "Gold Member" my Mini CC torch :D Isn't he amazing?! :D I am totally in love with my torch top marver as well! It is set perfectly so I can just roll my glass into barrels and all that fun stuff. It's super spiffy 'cause if you flip it over it has 3 size round marble molds for shaping! :D My set up wouldn't be complete without my old style Creation Station! It was seriously like one of the BEST tools?( if you want to call it a tool) I have ever bought!

Here is a picture I forgot to share with you from the other week. My hubby presented me with these AMAZING rainbow roses! Yes, they are dyed, but they really are THAT vivid! :D They make my eyes happy :D
Here is the baby sparrow we rescued from my aussies. I was sitting outside with Amanda while she was smoking and we saw the dogs sniffing the ground very excitedly. We heard a few peep peep HELP ME's and rushed over to get them away. We brought him inside and took him to the emergency vet. Sometimes if they have room they take wild animals if they have room. I couldn't get him back in his next. I am thinking it was in this hollowed out part of a branch in my Silver Maple tree which is monstrous!This is a picture of my Silver Maple without leaves in fall, but you get the idea of just how HUGE it is!I saw this little guy a few nights ago too. I a pretty sure he was dying. He wasn't really moving around. He was chillaxin on our shovel out in the garage. Maybe he ran himself too many times into the lightbulb thinking it was the moon. Poor guy. He was pretty anyways. I had never seen a moth like him. He was a bit more yellow than the picture.

Well that is about all for now. Hopefully I will have some beads to list later in the week.

Have a great week if you don't hear from me!

Much love,

Genea

Large and In Charge Organics

Hello friends!

I had the best intentions of getting to you yesterday, but alas life comes up as it always does. I didn't manage to get my photo editing finished until 10pm and by then I was pretty OVER doing any descriptions and posting. So here we are mid-day and I am refreshed from my crazy photo edits. It's always amazing to me to see the images that come out of a camera. All of the organic focals and beads I made have SO much detail on just every inch of the bead. I wanted to make sure to take TONS of pictures so you wouldn't miss anything. I did my best, but there is really nothing like holding the beads in your hand to examine all of them!

NEW IN THE SHOP....
Just a reminder with these and everything you see here you can click on the image and it will make a larger image in your browser window. Today you will ESPECIALLY want to give all of the pictures a zoom!

I just got my new Mini CC torch set up and thought I would give some BIGGER beads a whirl. The tremendous amount of heat makes Raku sing and makes creating big beads a breeze. There is so much radiant heat that you don't have to worry about parts of your bead cracking from getting too cold!

Ancient Tablet "Goddess"- a base of velvety black is decorated with silver leaf, rainbow raku, silvered ivory webbing, bubble button raku dots, twists, twirls and creases and finished off with embossed spirals! I would have to say that this focal is my very favorite! I am totally in love with spirals!A size image.
Views of the back side.
"Goddess Coins"- a black lentil base is stamped on both sides with a spiral making a coin shape. Spots of rainbow raku are twisted with silvered ivory and silver leaf.
"Goddess Coin Bracelet"- lentil spiral coins make up the base with size 13 faceted seed beads and spacer beads that "float" over the top and end with a wave spiral sterling silver clasp. Beads are decorated with rainbow raku, silvered ivory, silver leaf and magic!Another close up view of the bracelet.

"Ancient Pebbles"- a set of 5 teeny black spacers with wiggly lines of silvered ivory and spots of rainbow raku. Perfect as an addition to projects, dangles or fun earrings.
Ancient Tablet "Serpent Corazon"- base of curdled and feathered dark ivory is accented with dark velvety black ribbons, striped cane serpents, silver leaf, raku splatters and rainbow bubble button dots with twists and whirls. The shape of this bead kind of looks like a mottled heart and the stripey canes look like snakes. This focal really speaks to me as well. It is a close 2nd favorite! There is so much detail, color and texture to this focal! It is just incredible!
A size image.
The back side.
One more close up image to show details.
Ancient Tablet "Mortar"- names for its resemblance to sand. This was the first bead of the series and is more rectangular and "tablet" shaped. The golden yellow base has splashes of silver, whirls of silvered ivory, spotty splatters of Raku and Raku rainbow bubble button dots, thin lines of black ribbon, rainbow dichro and textured creases. There is just SO much to look at on all of these focals! There are little worlds in each one :)

An image for size.
I just LOVE that speckled wave of Raku on the bottom left side! Yum!

SO WHAT ELSE IS NEW?...

Well Ricky has been kicking our asses with our work outs! We have all been meeting in the yard and exercising! It feels great to be working my body hard and getting some sunshine! We are working with kettle bell weights and it is just amazing how much it works your whole body! You can get more details about our works and join us in getting fit by following Ricky's blog.

All of the crap in the air has me feeling like shit today. I guess the allergens are high. Ugh. It was so nice not to have allergies growing up! It's pretty cold outside today too. It says it's 70 outside, but its only like 60 something inside and my hands are freezing! I will warm up soon with our crazy work out we have today so no worries on that.

Well it's just about time to work out so I better get on my exercise gear and get my sweat on!

Have a wonderful day!

Much love,

Genea