A Bit of Alchemy

Magic? You Betcha!

I love to add a bit of silver to my beads. A nice silver core, some clear, and some color action over it all is a lovely effect, and it adds that 'bling' that so many folks crave.

But a funny thing often happens when I work with silver. I can't help thinking of it as a kind of alchemy. When I put the hot clear glass over the silver foil, it often turns a beautiful gold color. What makes that happen? Well, like the alchemists of old, I really can't say. My feeling is that it has something to do with the heat of the glass that is applied over the silver. But I don't know for sure. Usually, if I apply the silver foil, burnish it on well, and apply some nice hot clear on top of it, it will turn a lovely gold color, but sometimes it is a mixture of gold and silver, and once in a while it stays just plain silver. You can see how different it can look in the photos above.

P.S. Check out the newest issue of The Flow- There's a tutorial by me about scissors- my favorite tool, along with a lot of other great tutorials.