EllyLoo Creations-Lampwork & Jewelry

So, Lately, my glass mojo has been ‘leaking’ out.  I’ve been making spacers, and pretty beads, but nothing new that I’d go “OOoooo” over.  So I tried a tutorial that I haven’t tried since I was a brand spankin new glass girl, and sooo excited because I had been eyeing this tutorial, and always wanted to try it. 

So I allowed my mojo to mutate a bit, and I attempted another implosion.
Next time, I will be leaving the flowers off, they’re not that hot.   This is a Mandrel Wound Implosion bead.  YOu’ve seen implosions in boro pendants, in Marbles, etc, but this is with soft glass.  It involves a large disk bead, lots of dots, and lots of patience.  (I get my glass too hot, you can see how the implosions ’swirl’ around the mandrel…that’s ok, I LIKE them that way.  I also like my marshmallows burned and crispy.  Really!)

I think next time I will try silvered ivory dots.  I like how they implode.

This is one of the most common questions I’ve heard about this type of bead.  It’s quite flattering! 

There actually are no real flowers in this bead!  Even if I tried, the poor flower would vaporize in the flame I use to melt the glass!  Everything you see, each design element, is made from different colours of glass!  This bead is made from layers upon layers of glass. 

The bottom layer is black, and I drizzled colours on top of it that make it look like vines.  Then I “encase” it all with a thick layer of clear glass.  Once I get the basic shape I want, I start adding the ‘flowers’.  Each flower in this bead is comprised of 6 very thin layers of glass! 

Pretty suprising, even to me, when I just counted it up! The design is made up of dots of glass, melted in, and layers of dots on top of it.  It still looks like a bunch of dots, until I take a sharp tool, and POKE the center down deep into the bead. This makes the dots all of a sudden become PETALS.  And if you look closely, you’ll see a bubble trapped in the middle of each flower, sparkling and special.  This is done deliberately.

Since each floral like this has so many layers, the time taken to make it can range from 20 minutes to an hour!  It all depends on how many flowers, layers and other details are included! In this bead, I put a little bit of Dichroic glass into it for a beautiful delicate sparkle.

This bead is made into a pendant already, and if you purchase it, will come ready to wear right out of the box!  It’s a lovely size.  Don’t forget to tell me how long you would like the chain!  
$50 + shipping($6.50)

Chain Length?