Strange Bead

I had hoped to have a happy ending for this tale of a strange glass bead...but I don't.

I actually made this bead back in April and had hoped to have the kinks worked out by now... The center is made of copper mesh. Copper does wonderful amazing things to beads... but apparently not in mesh form.

This all started when I lost the washer for key mandrel. Wanting to make a key and not go to the hardware store, I searched the stamp shop for something to "fake" a washer. I cut a large strip of copper mesh and was actually punching a hole in it to place on my key mandrel when I questioned the low melting point of copper and thought better of it! I didn't make a key that day but I was fascinated by the little strip of copper laying on my table.

I just adore that cased copper over white makes a lovely turquoise blue.  Ugly bead but please look at it for color.

All that rich blue mottling was created by copper leaf.  (If only I didn't have to decorate beads... or actually made a plan before I made a focal! OY!) This was actually just a color test to see if the copper from one of my rubber stamp vendors would hold up under the flame. It's cheaper and still gives great color! Whoo Hooo!

Isn't that color awesome??? I can see it as the ocean in a bead or a lovely cone shape... Do colors speak shapes to you or am I just that weird???

And copper leaf yields such tints to moody colors such as Opal Yellow, EDP,  Copper Green or Copper Red...  It turned the EDP a  pinky maroon in the bead below... and look at all the blue mottling in the middle of the bead!

Unfortunately, my copper mesh never really melted to give off another color... but that has me thinking of other options....  Stay tuned...