Any christmas bead tutorials?

[playswithfire104]

I'm wanting to start making Christmas beads. I'm thinking round beads with a small silverish thingie on the top as a Christmas ball. Any suggestions as to what color to use for the silver part? Last year I tried Christmas tree beads and they were just sad. Any pointers? What about wreaths? Or presents? What kind of other Christmas beads would be good?

[paintingwithglass]

CandyCane peppermint candies...you know the red and white striped candies with a clear wrapper...just make a white round bead then stripe it with red...squish....then take rake the stripes to the center...you can twist the center too by using a cold stringer and touch it to a heated center then twist...wait and break it off....then use clear and add on a few layers of clear to each end...use your tweezers and cinch the wrapper....

shoot...I do not have a picture...lost them when my old computer crashed....:hide:

[paintingwithglass]

42463

christmas bulbs...very easy to make...just make a cone shaped bead then add on grey or metallic tube then use your razor blade and cut into the tube the screwend side of the xmas bulb...

[paintingwithglass]

Let me know if you need more ideas....

[paintingwithglass]

here is an easy snowman
42465
....use three sections of the fused lentil 5 stamp (http://cattwalk.com/formingtrays.htm#Fused Lentil 3)from Cattwalk.com to form the graduated body of the snowman then use a razor blade and cut in between each ball...add a hat...poke in the eyes...do the carrot nose...add the scarf and button...this one is very easy to create!!

[playswithfire104]

Oh I LOVE those bulbs!!! Any Christmas tree ideas? Or wreath or ideas? How about Santa? Thanks so much!!

[Just Nancy]

Oh no. I posted a reply. Now I'm wondering where it is and if it went to a different thread. :lol:

Those bulbs are fabulous! I've tried some before and couldn't get the screw end to look right. I'm hoping I've got gray. My mother has a sweater these would be perfect with.

I've never figured out a wreath. My trees look pretty sad. I've done some Santas also not so fabulous. I do boots/stockings. (Barrel with extra on the one end for the open end and extra on the opposite end for the toe.) I've also done snowmen heads, and Santa hats (but mine aren't very popular so I'm looking for either tips or something different for this year).

[Keltik]

42503
Basic leaf but try to keep it straight, add dots for decoration and a trunk, there ya go a Christmas tree. I added a loop near the top on the rear to hang as a bead. This is with boro but same can be done with Moretti.

Dave

[playswithfire104]

Thanks for the ideas!

[Beads-on-Toast]

For an xmas tree could you make a cone bead and use a razor tool to make the tiers?
Know what i mean?

Wreaths
You could make a U shape and bend them to meet in the middle?
Or make a transparent lentil and decorate the rim?

[swamper]

Another Bulb tut - I did a few years ago on WC.

I started with shaping a half of a bicone on the end of a 3/32" mandrel. It can look like a real mess until you marver the small end of the bulb. Then it just takes shape. I usually have a little problem joining two colors together (say at where the screw end meets the bulp) so i marver a little neck of the colored glass to start my grey glass on for the screw end. Once that's shaped and marvered, I wrap silvered ivory around the grey to make it look like screw threads.

[Emily]

Silver plum (light or dark) for the screw threads on the bulb or for a hanger on a Christmas ball? Haven't tried it myself. Or reduction glass, as long as your bulb color isn't something that objects to being reduced (like rubino).

[CraftymissKim]

I am going to try the bulb idea.

Thanks everyone

Kim

[swamper]

Silver plum (light or dark) for the screw threads on the bulb or for a hanger on a Christmas ball? Haven't tried it myself. Or reduction glass, as long as your bulb color isn't something that objects to being reduced (like rubino).


Oh, Emily. that's a wonderful idea and would make them so much classier. thanks.

[cmhorvath]

These are my Christmas beads. Nothing too fancy but I like them. (lots of pairs for earrings too)

I made a matching Christmas tree using the basic winding (disc) method - starting with a skinny at the top and then winding on gradually taller and taller discs towards the base. Then I added little red hanging balls for ornaments. It was really great looking when it came out of the kiln. Unfortunately, I broke it when I was cleaning it. My hand slipped and my dremel tool sent it ricocheting around the kitchen sink, breaking off the bottom "branch" of the tree. Bummer. I'm going to make another one though - and I'll post here.

47060

Cheers,
Cheryl

[Just Nancy]

Wow. Those bulbs, when my dial up loaded I thought they were real.

Wowser! Way better than mine. (Which I can't seem to get loaded at the moment.)

[Just Nancy]

Dang. Time for a new monitor. I hit refresh and checked out all the pictures. They are so much nicer than this laptop display than my usual monitor. Now I may never post pictures again, but I'm ga ga over yours.

I ran out and made a half dozen. I think the tips here have been invaluable. Thanks everyone. I am so excited I can hardly stand it. :koolaid:

[swamper]

Christmas ideas.

[chevygirl70]

Hi all - I just found this old link for ICICLE TUTORIAL and thought this was neat from FrogSongStudio - I made some earlier today... Was very kind of FrogSongStudio to share this in 2006... Cool stuff!

http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36419 (October 2006 from FrogSongStudio)