Figment Necklace

This necklace was made by request to match the colors of Figment, a Disney character. It will be worn with a viking dress of similar colors. The colors are purple, orange, and pink. It contains annular beads, and lobed/melon beads, both very generic period beads. The larger focal beads are inspired by several types of Hiberno-Norse beads.

Class Notes: Making Period Glass Beads as a Beginner

At Pennsic this year I am teaching a class called "Making Period Glass Beads as a Beginner."

Class Description: Creating historically accurate glass beads is not as hard as you might think. You can make period beads at any skill level! Resources and strategies will be shared with attendees in this lecture/discussion class to help get you on the path to making beads that you can enter in A&S displays and competitions. We will discuss good starting points and first projects. The instructor will use her knowledge of Anglo-Saxon glass beads as an example, and share research and projects that others are invited to use and make their own. This class is appropriate for beginning bead makers and intermediate bead makers who have not done much research into period beads or entered their beads into A&S competitions before. Experienced bead makers are invited to attend to discuss their own first projects and to share additional resources and strategies

You can read my complete notes for this class by clicking on this link: Class Notes.

Stuff for Colin

Colin asked me to make 12 beads that he and Marion could use on the palm coronets they are making for Iron Bog's court at Pennsic. Below are the beads I made him, in Iron Bog's colors of black and white. These didn't need to be super special or even "period" (the theme of their court is a luau!), so i used the opportunity to practice some bead design techniques I've seen in modern lampworking books.

Also, about a year ago,  I had made a few beads with a version of the Iron Bog heraldic charge (because Colin asked, and so he could use them as favors). However, I was never truly happy with them, because I did not have a bead press to help me make a nicely shaped bead with a large flat surface that I could easily draw on. I have since bought a bead press, and I'm much happier with this version of the bead. It made things soooo much easier!

http://www.ironbog.eastkingdom.org/ 

40 Beads for Bhakail's Gift Basket

Beads given to Bhakail for the Royal's Gift Basket Challenge.

These beads were actually all ones that were left over from other projects! The beads are all reasonably good. Some of them were left over from A&S projects I've been working on because they have minor design flaws. In other cases, the bead was just not quite what I was looking for (the bead was the wrong color, not large enough, too small, the design elements were too close together, or to far apart, etc.).  It is a happy thing that I can put these beads to good use in this challenge.