Glass Headpin Challenge Reveal!

Remember these lovely glass headpins?  I won a set during a giveaway over on Lorelei's Blog last month.  

The glass headpins were made by Anne of Gardanne Beads.   The headpins not only have a beautiful glass piece on one end, but a bead has been drawn on the other end of the pin.  What does "Drawing a Bead" mean?  Well, I've actually done this in my limited experience with torch firing enamel.  Basically, you torch the end of the metal, which melts into a lovely ball.  Here's a better picture that shows the ends of the headpins.

Normally, I would use a headpin to string beads on, but with the ball on one end, only large beads can fit.  But, I took one look at the head pins I got a decided I wasn't going to use them the traditional way.  

But, first, I needed to get out my torch, and draw some more beads on the end of a wire.  I was experimenting with some Blue Steel colored Parawire since the headpins I got were the blue one's on the left.  But Parawire doesn't seem to react to the flame the same way an uncoated wire does.

So, I went back to an uncoated copper wire and torched that.  That wire responded just like I thought it would and some lovely bead balls appeared on the ends.  (It is a bonus that the wire gets a beautiful charred patina on it as well.)

I have had flowers on the brain lately.  I'm getting ready to landscape my front yard (I've ONLY lived here 12 years!) and I remembered I had purchased some Vintage Meadow Artworks hand painted lucite trumpet flowers a while back.  These babies are hard to come by and I have been hoarding the 4 sets I bought, waiting for the perfect project or two.  Well, the blue flowers were a dream match to the headpins.  I used both ends of the headpin, added a few tendrils of the copper wire I had torched, mixed in a few findings (bead caps from Vintaj and copper ear wire I made) and Voila!

I really love these.  I'm a sucker for Fuchsia and these remind me of those beautiful blossoms.  I also loved that I had an "excuse" to get out the torch and play a bit.  I haven't had nearly enough time to just experiment with techniques I have learned but not mastered.  

Visit Anne's Etsy Shop and pick up some headpins of your own to play with.  She updates her shop every Wednesday and there are lots of great goodies to choose from.

And, Thank You Lorelei for hosting another great challenge!  It's always a pleasure to participate.

Now, go see what other lovelies were created by the other blog hop participants.

Lisa

Lorelei Eurto 

Lesley Watt

Lisa Cone (you are here)

Song Beads

Starseed Jewelry

Alice Peterson

Rochelle Brisson

Star Girl Jewelry

Pam Ferren

Pine Ridge Treasures

Glass Headpin Challenge - Part 2

I can't believe I'm writing anything at the moment.  I've been writing and editing copy for my PreFurred Pet Care website.  ALL.  DAY.  LONG.  We are INCHES away from launching and we were pushing our way to the finish line...and then the server went down.  We finished the copy but, by the time the server was back up, it was late...much too late to completely finish.  But, I can see the end and it is near!!!

Meanwhile, I received my package from Lorelei yesterday for the Gardanne Beads Glass Headpin challenge.

See those blue beauties on the far left?  Those are mine!  I'm thrilled and I have a concept I want to play with.  My idea involves getting out the torch - which always scares me a little.  I'm slightly afraid of fire (which I'm not sure is something allowed for a fire sign).  I jokingly blame Disney for my uncomfortable feelings around fire.  Growing up in Huntington Beach, Disneyland was close by and we visited often.  I remember riding Pirates of the Caribbean at a very young age (I was 4 when the attraction first opened).  The last scene before you go "up the waterfall" is the burning prison.  It both fascinated me and scared me enough to produce some fire nightmares.  Around the same time, Bambi was re-released in theaters and that story has a monumental fire scene as well.  I am not one to be afraid of much.  I really have no major phobias to speak of, but, there's just something about fire......

Anyways, I have a torch.  I've used it for enameling on and off and I also use it for annealing wire and drawing a bead on a strand of wire, but, I'm certainly no torch master.  So, wish me luck and pray I don't burn the house down.

Meanwhile, the Art Bead Scene challenge this month uses this Van Gogh piece for inspiration.

Well, Montmartre is one of very FAVORITE places in the world.  It doesn't take much for me to transport myself back to that lovely place.  Inspiration is something I have in spades.  My problem is going to be more one of editing and focus.  If I used every thought that this scene brings to mind, I would have one royal mess on my hands.  I drew out a concept last night to try to start the editing process.  We'll see where it takes me.

I hope you all have a lovely week.  I hope to get some quality studio time into my week.  The messy closet can wait, right?

Lisa