I use dark Ivory and pure silver foil to make my stringers but when I use them all I get is a black line and a cream line, I cannot get the beautiful patterns in the silvered ivory I see lots of people getting. Does anyone have any ideas what I could be doing wrong. I have had my silver checked and it came from a good reliable source so I am confident that is not the problem and the ivory is labelled dark ivory and I have tried two different batches.
Thanks ;D
Try working it hotter, until it starts to move around and you should be able to see the webbing reactions in the flame. You might need to try different base glass too. I find light ivory is good as a base. You could also try turning up the propane, although I don't know if you are on a hothead.
Don't be too tight with the silver too - I like little bubbles of silver to show on mine once its applied to the bead. :)
Be generous with the silver foil and burnish it in well, but when melting it in tilt the rod upwards so it almost encases itself so you get more out of it. You can also twist it like a twistie when pulling it to get a more uneven look.
Kazx
Thanks for all the tip, will give them a go. ;D ;D
On a slightly related note, I am finding that my latest pull of silvered ivory (light ivory, lots of silver) gives a midnight blue tinge when used on black - very pretty, just not what I wanted! Is it the silver fuming a bit, d'you think?
I use silver leaf on dark ivory - way too tight to use foil for SIS! So my first thought was that you've got too much silver in the mix, but as the others seem to also use foil then maybe that's not it ::)
I use leaf, and I generally use light ivory. Don't like it too dark.
Might sound strange but I have never even opened a packet of silver foil!
There are some colours that don't 'like' silvered ivory; when it's applied it just goes into a thin black line. Most opaque pinks, Effetre petroleum green and quite a few more that I can't think of right now :P