Blue Mini Rose Window Pendant
These Rose Window pendants remind me of medieval cathedral glass.
I used a wax seal stamp to create the pattern in the glass.
The back is coated with clear UV lacquer to protect it.
The mini pendant is 12mm in diameter.
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glass + 925 sterling silver bezel and chain.
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18” x 1.5mm sterling rolo chain
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All glass beads are handmade by me. Making a glass bead requires a flame and a kiln. FIRE!
If you’re having trouble visualizing this, I encourage you to watch my super old video explaining the bead-making process. I look like a baby in it!
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These pendants are made on the end of a mandrel, like a pencil topper. After shaping and decorating the glass, the whole thing goes into a kiln (like ceramics), and anneals for about 8 hours.
Annealing allows the glass to cool slowly. If you move your bead out of the flame for too long, or you don’t anneal it properly when you are finished, the glass will crack or shatter. You will probably want to cry if this happens, especially if you have spent an hour making something really cool.
The kiln takes a few hours to cool down after it runs its program, so I have to wait (impatiently) to take the beads out. For this reason, I like to make beads at night, so I wake up to a nice surprise in the morning!
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After retrieving the beads from the kiln, they need to be removed from the mandrels and cleaned. This process involves using a Dremel to remove the clay solution in the hole of the bead. Bead release prevents the glass from sticking to the mandrels, which are made of steel. You will definitely cry if your bead release cracks while you are working on a bead.
Finally, a bail (the metal piece) is glued into the hole of the bead so the glass bead can be hung on a necklace.
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There you go! Every bead is like a little baby I’ve released into the world. Chances are, if you buy one of my pieces, I would be able to tell you when I made it, what I was thinking, what was going on in my life at the time or, if you like *says in hoity-toity voice, “The inspiraaaaation behind it. Dahhhling!”
That will probably take the magic out of it for you. I’d rather you create your own story for your new piece! 😉
