Making Lampwork Bead Earrings And Other Trinkets

By Ines Flores


Whether one is a retiree living alone, or the head of a household, arts and crafts are an excellent way to convert free time to productive time. A person with the ability to make beautiful things can become the envy of everyone they know. One looking for a place to start might consider learning how to make lampwork bead earrings.

This process is called lampworking and it involves melting glass with a torch or lamp, although modern methods generally utilize a torch as well as various glassblowing tools. We can guess that the technique has been used for thousands of years even if we cannot pin-point a time or place of origin. It has been used throughout the ages to make beads as well as other small ornaments, lamp shades, trinkets, and other jewelry.

The soft glass known as soda-lime is the glass most often used in this technique even though the inherent instability can cause it to crack, and any chemical incompatibility can cause colors to run in ways not intended. The harder glass, known as borosilicate, is much more stable and better for creating multi-colored pieces, but it can be more difficult to get it heated up adequately. The ancient techniques used to heat the glass to a melting point would have made the use of borosilicate less time-effective.

Anyone learning to do beadwork with these pieces should consider starting their new hobby by learning to make the beads themselves. This ancient skill was also called flameworking or torchworking, as these are the methods that were used to heat the glass to a melting point. Recreating the old way before learning the modern and more efficient method can give anyone a new appreciation for our technological advancements.

Whenever a person learns a new skill or art, it can become a means of generating income for them. A quick online search reveals countless small business owners selling hand-made items. Additionally, artisans can travel with Renaissance fairs or other gatherings to sell their products as a vendor while also enjoying the ambiance of the event and networking with other artists.

Saving money at Christmastime is another benefit of cultivating a new artistic skill. Anyone can appreciate beautiful hand-made gifts, and most people probably prefer them to items that come from retail stores. The loving hand of a friend or family member makes a gift truly special.

With families struggling to stay afloat on lesser incomes, establishing a new business can help provide comfort and stability. No one coming from a corporate environment really likes working fast food or retail, but bread winners have always taken the reign and done what they have to in order to provide for their clan. A family business is a much better model for young people than parents who work tiring and stressful jobs for low wages.

These families who sit together at an arts and crafts table making beautiful items of ornamentation probably enjoy a much healthier and happier way of life. Just the interaction alone makes them different from many Americans. Laughter and communication are the keys to happiness, and doing things together are the keys to laughter.




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