Bead Tutorial: Twisted Flowers
Materials:1 rod light turquoise
1 rod light ivory
Tweezers
Remember to occasionally flash your bead in the flame so it doesn't crack!
| Step 1: Gather your materials. With your tweezers, pull a few stringers of light ivory. Also, pull a short (1 1/2") stringer of ivory with a larger base, so you can hold onto it to twist. | ||
 | Step 2: Make a basic bead of light turquoise. Make sure you are happy with the shape - you won't really be able to adjust it after you add your dots. | |
| Step 3: Add 3 dots of ivory in thirds around the bead. Make sure they are evenly spaced and about the same size. |  | |
 | Step 4: Melt the dots in. Be careful not to let them get too molten, or they will misshape. | |
Step 5: Heat the space in the middle of one set of three dots. With your little handmade twisting tool, twist the space in the middle of the three dots, turning only about 1/2 to 3/4 of a turn. The more you twist, the more your circles will distort. After you twist the dots, wiggle the tool a little bit. If it's cool enough, it should pop right off. If not, blow on it slightly then wiggle - the tool will come right off and you'll be ready to twist the next set of dots. | ||
 Finished bead! | Step 6: Continue with the other two sets of dots. When you are done, put the bead back in the flame to flame polish and shape it up! |
Of course, you can do other things with this basic tutorial, just use your imagination! Make 5 petals; make the petals two-toned; leave the petals raised!
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You make it sound so easy! I have always wanted to learn lampworking. I use a micro torch a lot as a metalsmith, but I'm a little scared of glass, I'm not sure why. I would love to take a lampworking class, but I live in the boonies! The closest town big enough to offer such a class is almost 2 hrs away. Oh well, someday.....
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Angi Mullis dj2isme@aol.com
Great tutorial, thanks for sharing.
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