New Headpin Tool, New Ideas!

A couple of months ago I had an inspiration- a headpin tool that is easy to open and close, and that the wire could fit inside to solve the making a bead on a moving wire experience. I spoke to Craig Milliron at Arrow Springs- and voila! Just like magic he made the tool I was looking for!

It's so easy to use too. Just cut a length of wire (I like to use wire that is about 18 - 20 gauge for a nice sturdy headpin), make sure it's pretty straight, open up the jaws of the clip, push the wire down inside leaving it sticking out an inch or two so you're not overheating the tool, and get to work making your headpin. Since the wire is nice and stable, it is really easy to make anything you'd like on the end of the wire. I decided to try making some hearts and was very pleased.

When you're ready to put the headpin into your kiln, swish it through the flame, grab a bit of the wire between the tool and the glass with a pair of tweezers or a locking hemostat, open up the jaws and pull it out. Caution: the tab of the tool may be a bit hot, so give it a quick test before you press down. Craig put little thumb tab on the tool to keep it touchably warm- just in case you put it right into the flame.

There's a bit more info on how I make headpins here.

Here are some of the results. Need one? You can get it from Arrow Springs! They call it a broach clip.

Making Lampwork Glass Headpins Tutorial

Ever wondered how to make those cool lampwork glass headpins you keep seeing around? Here's a tutorial showing how it's done. These are really simple to make, and are pretty versatile too. I've been using them to make Christmas ornaments lately, but I've also used them for necklaces and they're great for earrings too! P.S.- for info from me on making headpins with a wonderful new tool that makes this all so much easier, look here!

As with all of my tutorials, these instructions are meant for those who are familiar with working with hot glass and torches. Your safety is your own concern. This should only be attempted by adults. 

Tools and supplies:
Copper wire-18 gauge
Small pin vise device         Scissors
Locking Hemostat            Graphite paddle 
Amber and clear glass       White enamel           
Goldstone stringer             Raku Frit

 Have frit and enamel ready to use. Mine is laying out on a piece of marble on the workbench.

Cut a piece of copper about 7-9 inches long, or whatever length you prefer; cut it at least an inch longer than you want the finished head pin to be. Flatten end of copper gently with hammer if desired. I'm adding a little caution here- some folks say you must flatten or ball the copper to make sure the copper will not pull out of the glass later, so it is most likely best to do that! Insert bottom end into pin vise. Make sure it is secure and will not pull out accidentally.

Warning- the copper will move and bounce around as you are adding hot glass. This copper is not nearly as stiff as the steel mandrels you are used to.

Heat Clear glass and add a blob to the copper, encasing about 1/3 inch of the copper in glass and being sure to cover end completely. You may find that you need to wrap the glass around the wire rather than rotating the wire and letting the glass flow on. The movement of the copper wire just makes it hard to do things the 'right' way. Since you are working at the end of the wire, it really won't cause you any problems to work this way.




Heat Amber glass and encase clear with amber glass. Yes, it's kind of blobby. I'll shape it nicely in a minute!








Roll the glass in white enamel, melt in and then roll in raku frit. Make sure the glass is pretty hot for this step as you can't really push it down well. Melt in. Rolling in the enamel and frit will help to smooth and round the glass.

 Add 4 or five stripes of goldstone
stringer working from base to tip.
Warm tip of amber rod and attach to the tip of the headpin. Twist a bit and detach rod with flame.

Heat glass to smooth. Hold vertically with tip up while hot to allow glass to droop slightly towards the back end, making sure glass is nice and smooth and there are no tiny stray bits that will crack off later. Repair if needed by adding a little glass to that end  to even up. Roll on marver to smooth further.

 Heat tip of headpin and tip of amber rod.
Attach and pull firmly to point the headpin.

Now comes the fun part- detaching the copper from the pin vise. I have found that it is quickest to lock the hemostats onto the copper about 1 1/2 inches above the top of the pin vise and simply cut through the wire. It can be really difficult to open the pin vise and pull out the wire. That can be done after the headpin has been put in the kiln.



I like to leave as much of the copper as possible sticking out of the kiln. That way it will not become dead soft from the heat. Though the copper on these can be cleaned with pickle, I prefer to soak them in warm water for a few minutes and then sand the fire scale off with 220 grit wet/dry sandpaper. The headpin may need to be hardened a bit by hammering with a rawhide mallet if the copper has become overly soft.

This tut is just a starting place for making headpins- you can decorate them in any way you please, just like beads!These are made from Italian Moretti soft glass. I've also made a few of these out of recycled bottle glass- go here for special tips about that.

Handmade Lampwork Glass Bead Headpins and Sets

I've been working on beads sets a little at a time lately. Trying to make more supplies available in my etsy shop. I've kind of decided on the name 'stone soup' for the types of sets I'm making right now. They look like they've got bits and pieces of stone all through them- very organic.



I've also made some headpin sets. These are great fun to play around with! When I made the pins, I left the copper wire about 5 or 6 inches long, so there's plenty to work with. Before I used them, I decided to hammer them flat just because I like the way that looks; then I went to town! I've made a few necklaces out of them-added a few flattened copper baubles as well- making these little paddle dangles is a wonderful way to use up copper scraps. Being new to metal working, I always seem to have a lot of those lying about!

Green or Not? Recycled Bottle Glass Headpins

I've been playing with a bit of bottle glass that I found lying about on the streets here lately. I just couldn't resist those lovely blue bottles any longer. In the beginning I thought- what a cool thing- free glass, nice color, and I can do a bit of small time recycling. But, after fooling with it a little, I've pretty well decided that it might actually be anti- green to work with this stuff. They are now in my etsy shop.

It is definitely more time consuming. First you have to clean and cut up the bottles- watch those precious hands, you don't want to cut them to shreds! Maybe gloves would be good idea? I asked my fusible friend to give me a quick bottle cutting lesson. Turns out his are just as jagged and nasty as mine. Oh well...

Then I had to melt the stuff. As you may (or may not) know, Italian Moretti glass (Effetre) is fairly soft. That means it melts relatively quickly. This bottle glass is not. I'll bet it took me nearly twice as long to melt it as it does to melt my regular glass. Of course, bottle glass doesn't have to be specially transported to my house from Italy, so maybe that makes up for some of that extra energy; it's already here!

I also figured out  that you can add just a wee bit of extra color to this glass by rolling it in Thompson enamels, which makes it a little more fun. Oh, and if you decide you'd like to try this remember that the fire will creep up a flat side, so be sure and put it into the flame on its edge, not on the wider flat section or it will creep right up to your wee fingers!