question on bead making

[killxsmileys]

hello,
has anyone heard of rolling a hot bead in baking soda? if so, what do i do...
i tried making a blue bead with red dots, rolling it in baking soda while it was still hot, then i put it back into the flame and then put it in the fiber blanket.... it turned out, although it looks a lot like a plastic bead... any suggestions??
also, is there any other things i could use... (stuff from around the house) that would look cool on beads?
Thanks,
Happy Holdiays :-)
Ben

[skookum]

Hi Ben,

There are a couple of things you could do with baking soda.

Roll the bead in the baking soda and introduce back into the flame to get a faux stone look. You can repeat this as many times as you like to get the effect you want.
Lightly sprinkle baking soda on the bead. Do not put back into the flame, but keep under the flame to keep warm. Encase with clear to get a fizz look on the bead. This works well with the transparents especially blue and red.Clear sand will give an interesting effect.
The one thing I will strongly suggest that you do not use is salt as the effects are extremely toxic.

Have fun!
Sherri

[dkaylu]

Salt - toxic? Didn't know that.

I've done baking soda beads many times, although, I have found that it needs to be the final step, if more glass is added - ie..... dots, stringers ect.. it seems to not adhere to the bead?! One time I douced a bead repeatedly in baking soda to see what would happen, reheating every time, it came out of the of kiln soft...I could dent it with my finger nail....guess I won't do that again!

[killxsmileys]

hello,
what kind of kitchen goods besides baking soda can i use on my glass beads to make a cool effect?
thanks
happy holidays
Ben

[richsantaclaus]

I literally cooked to death a bead I made using baking soda as I wanted the bead to look old and weathered - worked fine and was solid as an old looking rock!