TWR004 Beaded 3D Heart Tutorial

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Work Room chat:
I know I've been spending more time writing tuts and learning stuffs and travelling than creating. My mood's kinda crappy lately. Talk about designer's block! o_O I reckon writing tuts would at least help me get back into creating mode?

On a side note, was at Lancaster last weekend for a beginner's silversmithing course. Those are some serious labour work, I'm telling you!

I'm done with all those jewellery making courses.....for now.... I think! Guess it's time to put the new found techniques into practise? o_O
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Remember this?

Yupp, the one I made for Shaunee for her birthday.

I've written a tutorial for it if you're interested to learn how to do it. :P





Another beaded heart for your collection! ;) Beaded using RAW, this beaded heart is very versatile for you ro incorporate into any design of your jewellery pieces or they're just a very fun piece in itself as a collector's item! LOL....

You can of course vary the heart with the use of different shapes and sizes of beads although this tutorial shows you how it's done using crystal bicones, in clear pictorial illustrations..

Note: This tutorial does NOT include instructions for the wire wrapped pendant bail.





Tools & materials used:
• (37) 4mm Swarovski crystal bicone
• (80) size 11/12 seed bead
• Fishing line/ monofilament or equivalent


Number of steps: 36
Page count: 17


IMPORTANT NOTICE:

1. This tutorial is in PDF format and you will require Adobe Acrobat Reader to open them.
2. File size: 884 KB
3. The PDF file will be sent to your email address registered with PayPal within 24 hours or less.

PLEASE DO NOT DISTRIBUTE, LEND OR COPY. DO NOT MASS PRODUCE. PLEASE ALWAYS GIVE CREDIT TO THE DESIGNER. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING DESIGNERS' COPYRIGHT.

nb: Prices may be subjected to change without prior notice.
Malaysian buyers, please contact me by email (atelierworkroom@gmail.com) for quotation in RM and payment by local bank transfer.

This tutorial is also available for purchase for instant download @ de-cors.com

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Glass Bead Making : Full Professional Grounding Introduction Class Pt. II

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Work Room chat:
Will be away this weekend, thinking of making one or two scheduled post but Blogger's been acting up in that feature lately and I couldn't seem to get it sorted out. o_O
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Part V,Part IV,Part III, Part I



And so the course was jointly taught by Diana East and Sally Carver at The Old Dairy, Diana East's studio in Enderby, Leicester.


That's Sally on my right and Diana on my left. They've got pretty cool highlights on their hair! Sally's in green and Diana's in blue, which I reckon must be their favourite colour! XD Sally's wearing her own logo T-shirt cuz if you've been to her site, she called herself RedHotSal. Erm, wait.... then does that make her favourite colour as red instead?

The Old Dairy was a small but spacious studio with 7 stations to work in.




3 on this side. 3 more on the opposite side and one more at the entrance. The table in the centre was where most of the demonstration took place and also where the kiln is to anneal the beads.

And to the other corner of the entrace are these few tall glass cabinet.......





where Diana keeps her collection of glass beads by other artists.

The class starts at 10.00 am and I was late for the first day's class.

Well, we reached there at 9.50 am already actually but had a hard time looking for Studio 19, which is where The Old Dairy was at. Can you believe that there was 2 streets of the same name in the same place but at different corners? Even GPRS was not of much help because we were going in circles in that place and even when we try calling the studion, nobody answered which I reckon was because class has started. The funny thing though, the GPRS managed to lead Sa Kor to the right place the second time around when she came to pick me up after class! Just when you question on the reliability of modern technology...... o_O

Anyway, I ended up half an hour late to the class! Well, there were a minor traffic along the way which we weren't expecting. Uni of Nottingham was having their Open Day and caused some congestion there. So even if we had had a hard time searching for the place, I guess it might not have been so bad if we have had arrived much earlier. Oh, well....

I was put at the work station right behind at the corner. Oh well, not that I've got much of a choice anyway.

Like damn pro, right? :P

So, those were all the tools and materials for the glass. The pile of rods you see on the right will be what we are going to melt into glass beads, which is the same as the ones I saw in Uncle Ghee's studio!

By the time I entered the studio, Sally was already explaning on the gas and torch used as well as the safety precautions in the studio.



To be honest, I was quite lost then. For one, because I was late and missed out on the front part. Secondly, all I was hearing was some technical jargons like flashback, arrestor, regulators, propane and what not. o_O

Okay, moral of the story is be prepared when you are going for classes like these. When I say be prepared, I meant go and buy yourself a book to read up on it. Some technical knowledge prior to the class would be very helpful for you to follow what is going on in class.





Well, I did read up a bit from the internet but it obviously wasn't enough. All I know before going for the class was whether or not to use a Hot Head and we did not even use Hot Head in the class! We were using the minor torch.

Which brings me to the topic of torches in lampworking.

You see, the heat has to be of a relatively high temperature in order to melt the glass into molten glass to make glass beads. Therefore, for this purpose, you'll need an oxygen-propane systems i.e oxygen gas mixed with propane.

There is the option of small, inexpensive single fuel torches to sophisticated oxygen-propane systems to choose from. Hot Head is one of the popular single fuel torch, to be used with the MAPP gas tank where the two gasses are premix inside the torch and exit together at the tip. Inexpensive because it only costs £31 over here in the UK. Yeah, rite....can someone define what's expensive then? o_O





The sophisticated oxy-propane system would be the minor torch by Nortell which utilizes surface mixing of the gasses. Minor torch invloves a more complicated set up of an oxygen tank and propane tank. Yes, I meant T.A.N.K. Major setup there, I tell ya. Just the torch alone will set you back at around £170 over here. And we have not even include the cost of the gas tank hoses, regulators, flashback (I think it's something to do with the flow of the gas) arrestors and what not! Rrriiggght....so THAT is expensive. -_-



Despite the price differences. There's still reasons why one would choose one over the other. Why Hot Head is what they call the entry level torch and why you might read some can't be done with a Hot Head.

To begin with, Hot Head is much noisier and its flame isn't as hot as the flame produced by minor torch. This is probably good for beginners as this allows for more working time to construct your beads. The minor torch however gives you much more control over the flame quality and produces a hotter and quiter flame. So, the common practise seems to be working with a Hot Head first before investing in a oxy-propane setup.

So this is what I've come to understand after missing the first half an hour class!

Diana demonstrating how to turn on and off the gases on the torch.





Another safety precaution that is NOT to be ignored is the safety glasses. These don't come cheap either, and it's not like you can replace them with dark glasses, ok.... unless you want to risk a detached retina from the soda flare!

These are called didymium spectacles.


The first pair they gave me was the one at the back which turns out to be too big for my face which they later on changed to this pair for me.


And just to demonstrate why these glasses are so important.....

This would be how the flame would looked like to the naked eyes.

Very glaring hot flame on the molten glass.

And this I took through the lenses of the spectacles.

Notice how the flare of the molten glass is reduced to an orangey glow?


And the cost of the spectacles? Well, it averages around £50 over here. Well, do the maths! And we haven't even touch on the glass rods YET! o_O

No wonder this craft is pretty slow to develop.....

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It has been a while.......

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Work Room chat:
Does anyone knows how does the Google Adsense thing work? Sounds bit confusing to me, really.... o_O
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Yeah, it has been a while since I last created anything for real. Well, I did made one or two stuffs here and there in workshops and for gifts but what I meant was one with my soul in it. A bit dramatic there, I must admit but then I guess that's what happens when passion meets craft. LOL......

If you looked hard enough, fact is, I havent's created anything throughout this year. Well, for one, there was the relocation and also some personal matters which kinda upset me a little. The soul was literally empty......

I spend most of my time thinking bout lots of stuffs rather than making meaningful jewellery pieces. This year has been one hellavu emotional roller coaster ride for me. I don't know how I forgotten that it was in jewellery making that I seek my refuge. I really should start again....as in making it for real.

But you know just like how car engines are like, it takes a while before it gets heat up. So, anyway.....to warm up the engine. I made these.

Nothing too brain wrecking or hair pulling. I saw a similar cuff bracelet in Primark some time back, which I thought was kinda cool. So, I came back and recreate them. Pretty nifty, aye? ;)

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TWR003 Beaded Bubble Heart Tutorial

In this tutorial, you will learn how to bead a 'bubble' beaded heart using Right Angled Weave. I called it a 'bubble' heart because the surface of the heart motif actually bulges up like a bubble rather than laying flat. The beaded heart is finished off with a loop at the top for you to use it in any way you like! Hook it onto a pair of earrings hook to make a cute pair of earrings. Run a chain through the loop to turn it into a heart pendant or connect it with a lobster clasp to a handphone charm. The possibilities are just endless!





Although this is somewhat for the more advanced beaders, there should nevertheless not be a problem for anyone in the intermediate stage of their beading experience to follow this tutorial as you will be guided step by step throughout, illustrated over  clear, zoomed in pictures! ;)



Using 4mm Swarovski crystal bicone bead, the final beaded heart measures approximately 3cm X 2.5cm.




Tools & materials used:
• (37) 4mm Swarovski crystal bicone
• (87) size 11/12 seed bead
• (1) 2” head pin
• Fishing line/ monofilament or equivalent
• Chain nose pliers
• Round nose pliers
• Cutters


Number of steps: 65
Page count: 25



IMPORTANT NOTICE:

1. This tutorial is in PDF format and you will require Adobe Acrobat Reader to open them.
2. File size: 1.15 MB
3. The PDF file will be sent to your email address registered with PayPal within 24 hours or less.

PLEASE DO NOT DISTRIBUTE, LEND OR COPY. DO NOT MASS PRODUCE. PLEASE ALWAYS GIVE CREDIT TO THE DESIGNER. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING DESIGNERS' COPYRIGHT.

nb: Prices may be subjected to change without prior notice.
Malaysian buyers, please contact me by email for quotation in RM and payment by local bank transfer.

This tutorial is also available for purchase for instant download @ de-cors.com

Read More...

Glass Bead Making : Full Professional Grounding Introduction Class Pt. I

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Work Room chat:
I don't think a post or two would be enough for me to talk about my experience with lampworking. I'll be breaking them into a few parts. How many, I'm not sure but there will definitely be more to come!
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This was the very first video I watched on glass bead making and I was intrigued just as I was enthralled. I came to a somewhat of a finality in decision after watching this. The first thing that sprang to my mind was that I could really JUST do this for the rest of my life! I made up my mind then to devote the rest of my life to jewellery making. It wasn't an easy decision and neither is the journey a bed of roses, a decision that I sometimes still questions when the going gets tough. But all I have to do is to start creating again and all is well again! LOL... XD

I got to know about this class by accident really. Glass bead making is still relatively new in other parts of the world but it's really popular in US. I knew it was something I ultimately wanted to learn. As a jewellery artist, it is only a matter of time that I wanted to make my own beads for my pieces.

I knew there were classes offered in the US but I sure wasn't expecting there to be any in the UK! But by sheer luck, I bumped into Sally Carver. Sally has been making glass beads for almost 10 years now. I was even more excited to learn that she actually offered one-to-one classes and that Leicester (which is where Sally is based) is not too far away from Nottingham! Approximately less than an hour's drive away.

There was one problem though. I can only make it for weekend classes because only then Sa Kor is free to take me there and Sally's one-to-one classes are run on weekdays. Bummer!

But all hope is not lost though! XD Because Sally got together with Diana East for a joint teaching course on weekends at The Old Dairy (Diana's studio), which is also in Leicester, luckily! Phew!

A little bit on Diana East. I have no idea who Diana East was until I was at the class. She turns out to be one of the most prominent glass bead artist in the UK! Diana has been making glass beads for around 15 years now (I think!). She started out as a freelance silversmith/jewellery designer/maker for 20 years before eventually branch out to glass when searching for a new medium of expression. She was featured as one of the artist in Cindy Jenkin's book, and for your info, Cindy Jenkin in glass bead making is like how Eni Oken is in wire jewellery.

So, yeah, wow! What an honour it was to be learning from a THE artist!

And that was how I ended up signing up for the Full Professional Grounding Intrduction Class in glass bead making at The Old Dairy.

I've noticed though that here, they like to use the long terminology; glass bead making whereas in the US and Canada, they just call it as lampworking. LOL......

All I can say for now is that this is a highly technical craft compared to what I have been doing all these while and definitely something VERY expensive to get into!

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First workshop

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Work Room chat:
This is somewhat a backdated post since the workshop was in June but I reckon I have to just get it done or I'll have even more backlog of stories to post. There's still the glass bead making and metal clay course that I wanted to talk about and I'm going for a beginner silversmithing course next weekend already! I've just got a feeling that next month ahead would probably be just as insane! I'm pretty much done with all the jewellery making courses already but then, there's still some visitting to do!
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Seeing how much free time I have, Aunt Jenny asked me one day if I would like to conduct a jewellery making workshop at Funky Pots. She told me to come up with a simple project which can be done by beginners, prepare the leaflet and what not and she can help me to put up the advertisement in Funky Pots.





I gladly said yes. I feel like I needed some variety in the things that I do. Making jewellery has become a little monotonous already and I just think it would be great to have some form of an an interaction with people, especially with jewellery maker enthusiasts alike!

Somehow, without too much deliberation, I already knew what the project for the first workshop would be. A bead charm bracelet. :)



I'll tell you why I think a this is great for a beginner's project.

For one, you basically learn the very basics in wirework which will then allows any beginner to explore further in this craft of jewellery making. The fundamental basic here is the making of 'lolly loop' and the opening and closing of jump rings. With the knowledge of these two, anyone can go on creating more jewellery pieces; necklaces, bracelets and earrings.

Secondly, I think charm bracelet are very effective, in the sense that it uses only simple techniques to bring about great result, which does in fact serves as a great confidence booster to go on making jewellery.





This is Sarah. She has been hanging out in Funky Pots West Bridgford doing pottery painting for a while now. When Aunt Jenny first encouraged her to join the workshop, she was a little hesitant because she was worried that she might not be able to finish completing the piece during the workshop and it appears to be a bit difficult to her.

Aunt Jenny nevertheless manage to persuade her to join the workshop and she got hooked with jewellery making ever since! LOL... Yes, she found out that it was not that difficult after all!

And one thing you'll realize through this project is how much the final piece actually says about the maker. Very interesting...... like some sort of a personality test or something...... LOL...








Ouh, and my students were very fast learners too! ;) Or..... they actually had a good instructor! :P

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TWR002 Sparkly Flower Cocktail Ring Tutorial

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Work Room chat:
Will be doing a 2 days beginner silversmithing course this month in Manchester.
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Rings are one of my favourite piece of jewellery, especially cocktail rings! Being girly and all, I made this ring with a beaded flower motif right at the centre using two needle R.A.W (Right Angled Weave). This is a very simple and fun ring to bead. Perfect for beginners!

As you can see from the pictures, the flower motif does not lie flat on your finger but rather 'pops out'.



This tutorial contains 15 steps illustrated over 37 clear pictures. Pictures are zoomed-in and approximaately 280px X 190px in size.




Tools & materials used:
• 1 4mm montee rhinestone - set in prongs with a cross track in the back
• 6 3mm Swarovski crystal bicone 5301
• 6 4mm Swarovski crystal bicone 5301
• 6 6mm Swarovski crystal bicone 5301
• Seed beads – 2 different colours
• Fishing line / monofilament or equivalent


IMPORTANT NOTICE:

1. This tutorial is in PDF format and you will require Adobe Acrobat Reader to open them.
2. File size: 596 KB
3. The PDF file will be sent to your email address registered with PayPal within 24 hours or less.

PLEASE DO NOT DISTRIBUTE, LEND OR COPY. DO NOT MASS PRODUCE. PLEASE ALWAYS GIVE CREDIT TO THE DESIGNER. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING DESIGNERS' COPYRIGHT.

nb: Prices may be subjected to change without prior notice.
Malaysian buyers, please contact me by email for quotation in RM and payment by local bank transfer.

This tutorial is also available for purchase for instant download @ de-cors.com

Read More...

Country Love Ceramics Open Day Pt. III (Final)

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Work Room chat:
For those of you who does or are interested in polymer clay, you might wanna check out this site with heaps of tutorials on not just the clay itself but also the different clay effects. The turials made it look so simple...... o_O
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The last instalment to the CLC Open Day post.

So I did glass painting, and then fabric painting. What's next?




A notebook?

Earlier on, we were shown a sample where the cover of the notebook was painted with some kind of paint. Some kind of paint cuz I don't remember what paint Jenny says it was already. :P


It didn't work cuz the paint cracked on the cover.


Hhhmmm, I'm not too sure about the 'didn't work' part cuz I find the cracked paint on the cover looked kinda cool.


Anyway, we won't be doing any painting to our notebook cover. Instead, we'll be doing some paper craft!




These are special kind of papers, called the Decoupatch papers. I couldn't find much info in English about these papers so I'll just be telling you what I heard from Uncle Ghee.

These papers are produced by a French company. The papers comes in an array of colours and designs (I've noticed that they are all actually patterned papers) and are very thin, something like those tracing papers back home. Even thinner, I dare say! But the difference is, these papers have got a more luxury feel to it and I also find them quite strong.

They are thin enough for you to tear but yet don't tear easily. Erm, get what I mean? A little contradictory there, I know but in other words these are good quality wafer thin papers. There, that should sums it up! :P

In fact, I also find that you could easily hand tear them in a straight line.





There's one catch though. You can't just use any glue. You'll have to use their special glue for the paper to end up with a nice glossy finish.




The paper can be used on any type of surface. We did ours on thick cupboard on the cover of the notebook. Uncle Ghee tried it on pottery before. I've seen them in his studio in the city. I'll take a pic of it and show it next time.

It appears that the company who produces those papers even coat 32 layers of them on the surface of their company's car to be driven around France. Some sort of publicity, I reckon.

Anyway, there's no doubt that those are really nice papers indeed!

So here's what you do. You brush the surface with the deco glue. Paste the paper on and then brush another layer of glue on top of the paper. The glue is white but dries clear. So, no worries there.




I was told that I could just take one big piece of paper and glue it straight away to the surface. But then, what fun is there? :P

I've decided to do it collage style instead! LOL........




So, I just simply tear and paste and came up with this!


No masterpiece there, but it was fun! :P


I quite like the one done by the uncle sitting next to me though.


Nice colour combi there!



And this is Uncle Ghee's.


The green-ish part felt a 'lil Christmas-sy, don't you think?




These should look very familiar to some of you. ;)




Polymer clay is something I've always heard and wondered about but only come in contact with for the very first time.

I know many beaders have been playing around with polymer clay for a while now since it is fun and very convenient to get involved with since these clay only requires to be oven bake.

Frankly speaking, I don't know much about polymer clay other than the two brands of Fimo and Sculpey.

Anyway, that was the first time that I actually touched and felt what polymer clay is like although I've tried those Korean air dried clay, I-Clay by Amos before. I didn't use them for jewellery making though. Just some figure sculpting for fun.





We were supposed to make a cupcake with the given clay.


And that's Andy. He's the expert for the day. He was the one going on rounds demonstrating how those stuffs are used. I think he's also conducting a workshop on polymer clay at CLC some time in August.



And so, I made the cupcake base with the brown clay.


I think it looked more like a mushroom than a cupcake! LOL.....


And then, some icing decoration on top.....


That's one ugly cupcake for you. -__-


But, but.............. I was relieved that mine was not the most un-cupcake looking, to say the least. :P You should look at Uncle Ghee's.

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What the.......??? All you need to do is to draw a pair of eyes, a nose and a mouth and there you have it! A man with pink turban on his head! LOL..... :P


Even the uncle who sat next to me made a nicer cupcake than mine lor. -_-




Emmmmmm, at the moment, I feel that polymer clay is not my thing. I'm not sure if it's due to the lack of time (cuz the polymer clay session was the last one for the day and everyone was packing to leave already) or what, but I sure did not manage the clay well and neither have I got the urge to explore further. Oh, well..... maybe in time to come when I've learned how to make more yummilicious looking cupcakes! :P

Anyway, the cupcake was not oven bake. So I wouldn't know how it will turn out but it's not like it will miraculously turn into this gorgeous looking yummilicious cupcake anyway. :P

You really gotta give it to those polymer clay artist la!

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