Hat Pins

I just found some hat pins over on BeadFX that you can lampwork onto!

They look like stainless steel - although the description says nickel silver. In any case - they held up fine in the flame - although, admittedly - I wasn't blasting away on the mid-range - just using a smallish flame on the mega - because I was trying to keep the end decoration small.

The metal darkens in the anneal, but a quick swipe with super fine sandpaper brightened it back up. It doesn't seem to darken as much as a mandrel - so maybe it is nickel silver.

Anyway - you could do this your self with fine mandrels if you have a grinding wheel and wanted to point the ends up, and then source the clutch that goes on the pointed end - but you know me - I'd rather melt glass.

Effetre 263 Mou - revisited

I reviewed this back in 2011, and it was completely different. Then it was a transparent golden amber that reduces to a metallic.

Now - for one thing - it is almost stringer width - and two, it is like a kissing cousin to EDP and other similar glasses.

It devits. Like crazy.

And goes wild sunset colours.

I don't know if this is mis-labeled, or just a wildly different batch. Anyway - it's very interesting.  Very interesting indeed.

Blue Aventurine Frit on ...

Blue Aventurine (Goldstone) frit - well - this frit is so fine that it practically a powder. Can't begin to remember how long I've had it - and only just found something cool to do with it.














 Blue Aventurine frit over silvered ivory

  Blue Aventurine frit over ivory - too dark.

  Blue Aventurine frit over Effetre turquoise. Nice!