Etching is easy

I don't think I've seen any blogs on etching & thought I'd share....it is a fast, inexpensive & easy metamorphosis for glass beads in their original, shiny state to a gorgeous matte finish that resists finger prints.  Start with beads that are shiny like this, then....

Put them in a small jar or tupperware container & pour etchall over the beads.  Stir once or twice during a 15-20 minute soak in the etchall.  Please be careful, this is acid and can burn your skin if not washed off immediately.  And pay attention to the manufacturer's guidelines to not ingest, this is toxic.  Now, in spite of these scary warnings, I have safely used this product for years with great results.  Be safe in your handlings as you pour the etchall out of the original container over the beads, stirring the beads for all-over coverage/etching and then pour the acid back into the original container because it can be re-used over & over & over.  And over.  Then thoroughly rinse your beads and dry.

Then the matte finish magically encompasses your beads, transforming them into new & different beads.  A great solution if you've grown tired of their appearance, don't love them as much as you thought you would or just want a fingerprint-free finish.  Voila.  Your shiny beads are now given new life with a more organic appearance, transforming the above beads into these new beauties.
Or transparent glass beads into beads that look like glass that has been tumbled for decades in the ocean....

You can buy the etchall online, but I have no problem finding it in my local craft stores (think Hobby Lobby, JoAnn's or Michael's) for the same price & no shipping charges.  Just another excuse to go buy more craft supplies :)

You don't have to thank me now.  Shoo.  Go.  Shop victoriously.  Buy yourself some etchall & etch some of those orphan beads that have been sitting in your bead box giving you dirty looks for not using them yet.

Torch & Jewelry GNO, or rather GNI

Wendy came over last night with cake mix & icing (God bless her for saving me so I could make a birthday cake in time for my Mom!) and 2-bite brownies.  I'd be willing to take the 3.5-4 hours to make the Italian Cream Cake (on a weekend, of course) for Mom, but she just wants the yellow cake box mix with chocolate icing.  So that's what I made while helping Wendy eat the brownies.  I think Betty Crocker should double the size of the box mix so you can make two pans and still slurp up half the mix, but I had to settle for whisk drippings.  Once the pans were in the oven, we headed to the studio.  Happy Birthday Mom!  I hope you had a great day and I enjoyed cooking dinner for you tonight!!!

Wendy fired up the torch and made a ton of beads in three hours while I strung up jewelry.

I like floating necklaces and with the mini-crimps (yes, even those are sterling silver), they are much easier to make.  The Swarovski crystals I used have an AB finish, so they have that cool metallic glint which blends right in with the special Striking Color glass I used to make the dots on the black beads.  I LOVE how this glass reacts and changes into so many different colors after I have heated and cooled it a dozen times before putting the beads in th

e kiln.  I also made some matching earrings.

Then I made this necklace with a bunch of different really cool seed beads I bought at the bead shows in Tucson last February.  My beads in this necklace also use the same Striking Color 

glass (Brad Shute makes this by hand and it has a lot of silver in the recipe, which causes these great reactions!), but just wrapped

clear base beads.  I heated and cooled these beads many more times than the black ones above, which is why they are creamier, with more ambers and gorgeous green.  

It also has a really cool square toggle clasp that I don't think I have used before now.

And lastly is a pic of the updated hair cut.  I was ready for a change, so before showering yesterday I put my hair in a ponytail and cut off around 6-7 inches.  Afterwards, I got Todd to hold my hand mirror so I could see the back better to shape/stack it up.  

I'm pleased with how it turned out and have received compliments that it doesn't look like I cut my own hair, so that was positive.  It is just long enough to tuck behind my ears.  

Three words for this winter:  Need.  More. Scarves.

I bought a new torch!

It is a little propane torch for soldering and I tried my hand at it for the first time.  I realized that I need more workroom space and that the garage is better than my glass studio for this.  When I saw Lorelei's stand that her husband made her, I knew that this was a great idea and I needed to try it out for myself.  I made one a foot tall for necklaces and another 6 inches tall for bracelets.  I'm so excited!  I will be able to use these next Saturday at Cas's house when we have a jewelry party and then again at my house the following Saturday.  :)

Thanksgiving was an excellent day of relaxation, hanging out with my family 

(we were several important people short this year so I didn't have to cook as much....which freed up more hours to just hang out with my Mom & Grandma, look at the sales ads and sneak a nap before dinner!)  Chloe was my right hand at preparing all the dishes Thursday morning...she even made the green bean casserole all by herself!  

I had typed a TON more, but blogger is not behaving and I'm too tired to keep re-typing since I've figured out it doesn't like for me to copy/paste within this Creation Post spot.  I'll try updating later this week, along with a pic of our Christmas spirit and all the windows bedecked in wreathes as of this afternoon.  Check out pics below of beads just waiting to be strung up!