Day 26. I never really know how red glass is going to turn out. It can lose all of its colour when it has been heated, but then it can return by heating it up. It’s an interesting process, and I am glad to see how dark these beads turned out.
Day 27. I love working with @bethanywines_barossa wine bottles, and creating new pieces of jewellery for them. The next collection of work has been inspired by their beautiful new labels. Swipe to see the first pair of earrings. Can’t wait to go on a road trip to the Barossa Valley at the end of this week. One of my favourite places to visit, and incredibly beautiful in winter.
Day 25. I always love how a functional object like a cup can be transformed into a wearable object like these earrings. I am often asked to make special pieces of jewellery from broken glass objects for people, for all sorts of lovely sentimental reasons. I love being able to turn these broken objects into new pieces. There are so many different ways of making beads with recycled glass, but there are also some limitations.
Day 24. Not all glass likes being heated up and melted. This glass wasn’t loving the heat, and you can see all of the bubbles in the beads. I was reluctant to make this pair of earrings, but then I remembered that there are times when something I find disappointing, can be something that someone else might find lovely.
Day 23. I had a feeling this cobalt blue jug would be a lot like Skyy Vodka, so I added some colourful bits of smashed up glass to the larger beads to give it a different finish. And then I put a little silver bead in between the beads for a slightly different way of making earrings. Small changes.
Day 22. This green glass did some strange things in the flame! But when I added some silver pixie dust, it made the glass sparkle beautifully.
Day 21. Oh yay! I never really know how glass objects are going to react to being heated up, but this pink glass made some pretty beads, and I like how the earrings turned out. I decorated the bottom beads with some smashed up glass, just to add a little bit of extra colour. It’s always nice to have some pink recycled glass beads in my mix of beads. I will be making more with the rest of this glass.
Day 20. Today I am on the torch and making beads from this interesting group of glass objects. I was recently given all sorts of slightly damaged glass items, and I am glad I finally have some time to make test beads. It will be interesting to see how the red glass turns out! Stay tuned. I will share photos of the items I make with the beads over the week.
Day 19. Inspired by yesterday’s bracelet, I thought I would try some of the new small glass beads that I got from a bead shop recently. I didn’t think the grey beads were quite right, so I took it apart and tried the pale green beads instead.
Day 18. This bracelet features a mix of handmade recycled glass beads made from wine and gin bottles. I love how the beads sit on the wrist, letting lots of light through, and making them extra sparkly. Thanks to Kerry for reminding me of this bracelet style.