Fake Borosilicate Bead

Borosilicate or boro beads are very popular but they requires a super hot torch to make. This bead was made using soft glass and reduction glass frit.

Wave Bracelet

I found this design in a bead magazine where Swarovski crystals were used. Since I happen to have a stash of curved Thai silver beads, I made this bracelet using my orphan beads. I plan to make many of these for the holidays.

A Fused Millefiori Pendant

Happy Thanksgiving. This is not a new piece but I thought it would be an appropriate entry on this wonderful holiday. I enjoy fusing Italian millefiori canes with dichroic together. Here I also included butterfly and frog canes by glass artist Beth Olsen.

A focal bead

I like how this one came out. It is a transparent bead with encased dichroic and 24kt gold foil and surface rolled in glass frit. It is made with my large lentil press and measures over 30mm diameter.

PI Glass

My appologies for the poor picture. These are test beads made with PI glass and glass frit blend from Blue Heeler Glass. You can see that some of the colors have reactive characteristics similar to Moretti. This is important to me because unlike Moretti, PI glass is COE96 and therefore totally compatible with furnace glass frit.

Fossil Beads

Like many fellow bead makers, I am addicted to using glass frit and powders to accent my beads. I like how these came out. They look old and have nice soothing bumpy surface texture. These will be the prize for the next bead drawing on November 27. If interested, please visit my Ebay store (bead shop link on the side bar) and join my mailing list.

Bead Transformation

This is a cabochon made from a bead which broke due to thermal shock. I was crushed when it happened but now I purposely break beads to make cabs. Many customer like them because they look 3 dimensional.

Silver and Glass

Bead makers are always searching for a clear glass which can be applied over silver and not turn it into gold. Often we substitute silver with palladium leaf which is very expensive. Therefore I am very pleased that the new Kugler 104 clear used to case this bead kept the silver foil sparkling.

A custom order

These are the dichroic leaf focal beads I made for a jewelry designer in Australia. They are made with Moretti glass and CBS dichroic. It is interesting that when I started lampwork many years ago, I made leaf focals like these. Today they are still my best sellers.

Dancing Frog Jewelry

Ebay Store

Dichroic Pretzel Cabs

I like to make these cabs with lots of stringing holes. They are made of 100% dichroic glass. I play with colors and patterns of the dichroic pieces until they are just right and fuse the cab in a high temperature glass kiln. The dichroic are fused exposed for bumpy satin texture.

Some customers just glue a finding on the back and wear them as pendants or brooches. Although most of my customers make them into jewelry by bezel setting them in silver.

Dancing Frog Jewelry

My Ebay Store

Val Cox' November Frit Sampler

Many of us in the lampwork bead world have heard of Val Cox. Val is not only a talented bead artist but a savvy business person who introduced lampworkers to the magic of glass reduction frit (small glass chips). Val has a frit of the Month club which I am a subscriber. This month I received a sampler of frit consist of pink, ruby, fuschia glass shards( confetti) and flakes of silver foil. Above is a set of beads I made using the sampler on various colors of transparent and opaque glass base. I like the reaction (dark spots) created by the reduced silver foil.

Please read my bead diary

Dancing Frog Jewelry

My Ebay store

Bullsye Luster colors

The new Bullseye luster colors are copper green, uranium yellow, brandy, and green. Here is a set of beads I made recently using these colors.

See more fused and lampwork beads, please visit

Dancing Frog Jewelry

My Ebay Store

My many bead adventures are documented in my Bead Diary