New Beads, New Fun: Etching!

Not only do I love being crafty, I love playing with "dangerous" things (well, to a point).

I just got a big ol' bottle of acid etch for my glass beads and I must say, that stuff is expensive! It's probably a couple of bucks worth of ammonium biflouride, which sounds dangerous but is not as caustic as hydrofluoric acid. Therefore it goes without saying that the first warning on the label says "avoid contact with eyes and skin" (common sense, it's a caustic compound). Second warning on the label, "Do not taste..."

I'm thrilled to find that it comes in a 10-lb. bucket—just in case I get hungry! It's pretty expensive. I'm assuming that the cost of liability insurance is built right in.

What's really cool is that it makes shiny glass look like beach glass in about 5 minutes.

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Wire Wrap Cuff Bracelet Preview

Well, "finished" in the wirework sense. I still need to give it a patina...yukky pic, but I was so excited to be finished with the wire part... I call this my " Three Tutorial Bracelet ". When I first saw the wire-wrapped bracelets made by Julie Sigmund of Jewlie Beads my jaw hit the floor! I was perusing the Lampwork Etc. galleries last September/October and saw her bracelets: WOW! They were "just my style" made with mixed copper and silver and highlighted with a lampwork bead. What could be better? Why... a tutorial or pattern, of course! Eventually she wrote up the tutorial and put it up for sale on Etsy. This is the bracelet that she wrote the tutorial for: To purchase your own copy of Julie's tutorial go to JewlieBeads.etsy.com and look in her shop for the " Tutorial for Wire Wrapped Cuff Bracelet ". As you can see, I did not use a lampwork bead focal for my bracelet. It isn't that I don't have one, I had one all ready to go,...

Jewelry Class In-a-Box

Jewelry Class In-a-Box! I have always been crafty and love to work with my hands. I love needle arts, crochet is my favorite and the first of the arts that I learned at the tender age of 6. I started beading just four short years ago. I was looking for something to do for "extra income", something fun and crafty. I found my passion at the local Joann Craft and Fabrics in Kissimmee, Florida, in a package called Jewelry Class in-a-Box . Hey, it was on sale—something like 40 or 50% off. Couldn't pass THAT up! I had really not made any type of beaded item before. I had done some on-loom bead weaving and had made a couple of crochet necklaces from yarn but had never created a strung beaded object so it was all new to me. The kit came with glass pearls, crystals, bugle beads, metal beads, beading wire, crimps, clasps, head 7 eye pins, earring findings, a bead board, and some round-nose-type pliers. I followed the written instructions carefully and was...

What is the Legal Definition of ‘Ice Cream’?

Image via Wikipedia I never thought I would have to ask that question. I was at the grocery store. I wanted ice cream. Not just any ice cream, chocolate ice cream. The suggestion had been put into my head during a recent Twitter conversation—I'm easily influenced when it comes to dessert foods. The ice cream selection at the local supermarket is unbelievable…it's huge! I don't buy ice cream very often but I do know that I can just pass the frozen yogurt, ‘lite’, soy, rice, non-dairy, sorbet, and otherwise marked package right by. If I'm going to eat ice cream, I want ice cream, full-fat and full-flavor. This particular grocery store didn't carry my favorite (and trusted) brand, Blue Bunny , so I was forced to find an alternative. Pint-sized premiums like Ben & Jerrys , Haagen Dazs , or Starbucks were out. A pint is [almost] too much to eat in one sitting but since any amount left in a pint is "too little to save, I might as well eat it all…"...

Rachelle Keller

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