Posts Tagged ‘Boro Beads’
…And a Partridge in a Pear Tree
Did you go out shopping on "Black Friday"? The roads and stores around here are so jam-packed that I just order most of my gifts online. And fortunately, my family as a whole likes gift cards and certificates, so most "shopping" is fairly easy.
Christmas Tree Pins by Eisenberg, JJ and Art (Click to Enlarge)
However, David and I ventured out yesterday (Saturday) in search of more flea markets. We've been traveling around South Florida, and have even ventured up into Central Florida searching for treasures. And aside from some things that show up in virtually every flea market we've been to (Avon, lucky bamboo and parakeets), you never know what you'll find.
But you know what I am having a tough time locating? Christmas tree pins. For that matter, Christmas jewelry as a whole. I see a ton of jewelry sellers, but they are mainly the gold-plated chains and sterling silver jewelry. Oh, and the stretch bracelets. But no one has Christmas pins!
(Of course they could always be like me and be hoarding them.)
Well, I have managed to snag a few from ebay, but in some cases, they were a hard-won battle. At any rate, let me leave you with a photo of the pins I have won from ebay.
Then later on today or perhaps tomorrow, I will share with you pictures of a gorgeous Christmas gift I got from Jennie, involving lots and lots of seed beads in bracelet form. I don't even want to think of the time it took her to make them!
Today's eye candy consists of , which even though I don't work it anymore, I still love the look.
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 nmg handmade lampwork glass boro beads 10 bead set  US $9.99
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 GG Lampwork Boro Focal Bead Set Rivers Edge Beads US $24.99
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 nmg handmade lampwork glass boro beads 8 bead set US $9.99
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 nmg handmade lampwork glass boro beads 9 bead set US $9.99
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 5FISH BoRo GLaSS LAmPwoRK SeT BeaDs Exotic Earth US $12.57
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Can I Interest You in Boro?
For awhile I worked with borosilicate ("boro") glass. It's a different kind of glass from what I normally use (soda-line or "soft" glass).
Boro lampwork beads are different in many ways than "regular" glass. For one, boro is stiffer and takes longer to melt (quite awhile if you're on a Bobcat with 2 concentrators, like me). It also stiffens faster out of the flame, which is both a blessing and curse.
These days, there are a lot of glasses that can reproduce the "boro effects". The newest silver glasses can give those swirly, streaky, "oil slick" look that boro does so very well.
Still, there are days when nothing but boro will do. There are some pendant beads that I've tried to reproduce in soft glass, but they just aren't the same. For one, the optical qualities of the boro are unmatched by the soda-lime glasses. Yes, the bead is pretty with soft glass. But it's awesome done up in boro!
I don't really have any of my boro work left (sold it all, sigh), but I want to show you some work by Lori Robbins. I was honored to be a student of Lori's, where she was able to teach me more than I could have ever learned from a book or DVD. Anyway, I'll leave you with some of her work on ebay, so you can marvel at what a lovely job she does!
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 Lori Robbins Handmade Lampwork sra Boro Beads C023236 US $31.11
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 Lori Robbins Handmade Lampwork sra Boro Beads C103207 US $26.50
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 Lori Robbins Handmade Lampwork sra Boro Beads C103210 US $51.02
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 Lori Robbins Handmade Lampwork sra Boro Beads C103217 US $24.99
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 Lori Robbins Handmade Lampwork sra Boro Beads C103221 US $28.99
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