Here is a picture of the fused color samples from last night's fusing. I am really pleased with the results of the colors I combined. I do wish the orange on purple showed a little bit better.
Anyone a fan of pansies? I am and at least 13 years ago I came across a gorgeous color combination called "The Joker" A rich deep blue violet purple with a bright orange face. Therefore lies the origins of the purple and orange color combination. I knew the color combination on the bigger pieces would be great so I fused them in this batch.
And last but not least is the three small pieces I put in for a stress test. Two of the colors struck (changed color). They were the red and the blue/grey combination. You'll notice the color change. As you can tell the pink and green are still pretty. The blue/grey glass isn't compatible so it failed the stress test. BUT the pink and green didn't fail and are compatible! Out of all the colors that was the one color I wanted to use the most!
P.S. Different glasses expand and contract at different rates. In fusing they have to expand and contract at the same rate or they are unstable and will break. Some will literally pull themselves apart.
These are actually trial samples. I'm *hoping* the color combos will turn out well! I decided to do some small earring sized samples before fusing the pendants. If I don't like the combo I can still use the glass for something else. I also have one set that I know will look great and am running some glass samples for a stress test. Cross your fingers for me! I so hope those pieces are compatible. If they are, WOW I'm going to have a blast making cabochons out those glass scraps! Mmm, a lovely rose pink & spring green, a gorgeous blue & soft gray, and a really pretty red.
I don't have much to blog about tonight other than I decided to end my sale with a bang. Everything has been reduced 40% and there is still free shipping on all orders (international included) of $20 or more!
Oh! I was featured on lajewelrydesigns blog yesterday! Her blog makes my pieces look so elegant. Thank you Lea!
I spent most of today reviewing my dichroic glass earring prices. I've updated almost all of my earring prices, not including the fancier wrapped pieces.
In this process I've discovered two things. One the amount of glass used in the cabochons doesn't have a very significant impact on the overall cost of the piece. What has the biggest impact is the gold filled earwires VS the sterling silver earwires. My favorite gold filled ones (like in the picture) are nearly five times the price of the same style in sterling silver. Ouch! Also the gold filled wire I've used for wrapping is twice as much as the sterling silver wire.
As you browse my Artfire studio you will notice that the earrings done in gold have increased in price. Sterling silver earrings have gone up, down or stayed the same.
With the addition of listing this Green Patterned Dichroic Glass Bracelet I have all my upcycled link bracelets done! I finally found a watermark program. (As if one couldn't tell?) I think the watermark adds a bit of class and professionalism to my pictures.
Spent the afternoon working for my Aunty. Topash (her older dog) has had a nice soothing bath with the special moisturizing shampoo the vet recommended, followed with the special leave in lotion. He was a very good boy for me. The shampoo had to sit for ten minutes. 'Pash serenaded me for most of it. LOL! The rest of the time was spent pulling weeds in the garden for her. I am going to be hurting for the next three days now. But it is a good hurt. I so need the exercise. I hate exercise just for the sake of exercise. So I need to get it while doing something useful like weeding, vacuuming etc;!
Just listed this lovely Rainbow Patterns Dichroic Glass Bracelet in my Artfire studio. The majority of the day was spent helping one of my best friends move out her dinky little apartment to a bigger, nicer one! Now she will have somewhere for her boys to sleep when they visit and her dogs can come visit on the weekends too.
One of the things I do besides fusing glass and making jewelry is teaching stained glass. Usually I teach the copper foil method or the "Tiffany" style of stained glass. I teach a very small "hands-on" class designed to allow the student to see if they really like doing stained glass before they invest a lot of money into tools and supplies.
This is my current student's work in progress. He is a beginner and this is his second class. The background is a white iridescent wispy glass and the star is out of Fremont scraps. The amber moon is going to be changed to blue. Although it looked good with the pink and green glass...it just looks "off". I think it is because there is no amber in the iridescent coating of the white glass. The medium blue waterglass chosen should really tie the whole piece together nicely. It is really neat to teach someone who isn't afraid of color!
I tried to go to sleep at a decent hour last night-instead my mind decided to have a major brainstorming session that kept me up until almost three. I've been wanting to come up with some different jewelry collections/lines. I love using different techniques to get different looks in my dichroic jewelry. Which has helped me to realize that I already have "informal" collections. What I need to do is to define these these styles and name them. Then I can design new pieces to compliment these collections. I was actually able to define one of these last night. I believe I shall name it "Modern" or "Modern Bold". These are the pieces that are bright, bold, colorful and have a lot of the dichroic coating facing the top of the glass, uncapped just like this bracelet!
