The Dot Diaries - Days 7 - 8

I'm starting to hate this exercise... sigh! Day Seven's returns were most disappointing. This is the worst set yet!

The first set was to be a somewhat Morrocan Tile pattern... an elongated ellipse with smaller dots on top / bottom and both sides.  Something like this:

And... as you can see above, they look more like soft diamonds... ugh!

Carrying on with that theme... I wanted to make "flowers" with four petals and then with five. Each time, I started with a large center dot, melted it and added stringer dots. This was my first use of stringers in this project. And... it sucked! They don't look floral-ish at ALL!  More like "drunk clouds!"


But I will say, I get more ideas each time I do this... Keep pen and paper handy and you will have your next torch session penciled in! This session made me want to try butterflies.... OY!

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Day 8 
Now, I'm doubting my color choice! Great Hol, you're  26 beads into a 40 bead project and NOW you doubt your color choices??? Sigh....  But I seriously wish I hadn't used a reactive ivory. It bubbles and doesn't always go on "clean."

But first, I allowed myself to make a bead that's not in this project... And I love it. I also made another mini focal from a dot bead that got weirdly big on me....

I started out making "rat heads" - I made the vertical ones first... they mostly look like mishapen hearts, But the horizontal ones hit the mark.

Butterflies were attempted next. I had the bright idea that two larger dots placed next to each other with two smaller dots on top might melt into a butterfly... They didn't. I was hoping this might give me a successful idea for a better looking flower... but no.

I'm at a cross roads where I'm questioning my skills and my own laziness. I realize how much I rely on a marver ...but it is FASTER to marver. I also realize just what an impatient bead maker I am... I hate waiting for glass to melt. And forcing myself to do it slowly is torture! Maybe if I hoped to actually sell the beads I make, it would be worth it. But at this point... it's not a career. It's a hobby.

Still, I've learned a lot and as of this writing... I'm only two beads shy of 40!