Don't Let the Bead Bug Bite!

You read that right! Bead bug (not bed bug!)!

I took a bead making class at United Art Glass at the end of February. And I am hooked! I absolutely love the bead making process. The teacher was remarkable and taught the class clearly and concisely. His style of teaching really worked for me. I made the beads below at the class.



I got this key chain (above) at the bead store. Splurged! The bead is so cool! This was the second one I made.

The beads below were made at home. In the freezing garage. I really need to do some insulation or a space heater or anything to make the garage warmer! Yikes! It's cold out there! It took me hours to get warm after making these beads. And I think the cold air temperature in the garage made it harder to make the beads. The glass seemed to cool over very quickly.

The funky white one was supposed to have mica powder in it. I didn't have my reference chart and tried using the lime green powder. Didn't work! It disappeared. The grooved blue bead happened when I tried raking the dots to make hearts and the bead release crumbled. I think it was from the cold air!

Below is a closeup of my favorite bead so far. I did a clear core, then a blue and white twist, then another clear layer, and lastly a green and qhite twist. I made the twists in class. I couldn't make a stringer worth anything but I could make some incredible twists!

I can't wait to make more. I just need it to be a little warmer. I wish I could make beads indoors.