FLAMIN FLORALS

[beads-on-toast]

i am

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PANTS at these

I shall add pics and you can hopefully tell me where i am going wrong.x

[beads-on-toast]

Here are different beads i have made

the first ones are so faint and the white and the petals have gone transparent, then as it goes along it gets better as i increase the sze of the flowers but the encasing layer is making the beads HUGE

Can anyone suggest anything?

[Billie]

That's exactly what happens to mine... I wondered if it was because I'm using a HH.  I get so frustrated I leave it for a couple of weeks and go back to it but with the same results...  I'd be interested in any advice too

[beadysam]

Me too - encasing and I don't get on!  PPP I guess...

[littlegiggles]

you could try doing three petals, melting them down, then doing 3 petals over the top then plung the centre cos that way the flower would be in a smaller area, so the petals would be darker and the overal bead would be smaller.

they look good tho

[♥♥Tan♥♥]

I agree they look ok, much like mine but ooooo encasing will be the death of me, if you discover that secret you could make a million!!

[MyPrecious]

They look ok to me! You should maybe try not to melt in the white dots so fast so you don't over heat them, melt them in slowly, because if you overheat white dots or stringer work, it goes transparent (sort of ).?

[glassworks]

griet has had a peep and suggested using a really solid dark opque as your very first layer - and she agrees with kathy that th white might be going transparent with slightly too my heat...?...

i'm just the messenger on this as griet is a little tied up right now...

well, you know what i mean........

she is MAKING BEADS!!!!

[Les]

I hear that opal yellow makes a nice base colour for the petals...

[Shannon]

I never use white to back my flower petals, I always use a pale solid which compliments the transparent colour I am going to put on top. 

For small beads you really do want to use really thin stringer to get small petals, or as suggested, make your flowers with only three of four petals, this will keep the size down.

Another hint I use (don't know where I heard this), is to put a small dot of either black or dark blue transparent where you want the center of my flower to be.  Put the petal dots around this central dot.  What happens is when you plunge the center of your flower it gives a darker shading so it looks much deeper.  Really nice.

It looks like you are doing a good job of keeping the base bead cool when you encase so you don't smudge the flowers.  I'm not sure how you are encasing, but the way I do it is I spot encase over the flowers only, this works great when you are make the beads on a transparent core as you have...Get a pea size blob of clear molten hot, push it right onto the flower and push the rod around until all of the flower colour is covered.  Once all of the flowers are covered this way,  put some dots of clear to fill in the big gaps in between the flowers and then just slowly melt it all smooth.  You have to use slightly less encasing glass this way and reduce the chances of smudging.

I haven't made flower beads in ages.  I should give it a go again.

[♥♥Tan♥♥]

griet has had a peep and suggested using a really solid dark opque as your very first layer - and she agrees with kathy that th white might be going transparent with slightly too my heat...?...

i'm just the messenger on this as griet is a little tied up right now...

well, you know what i mean........

she is MAKING BEADS!!!!

If you say so........tied up indeed!!

[beads-on-toast]

SO many smashing ideas!!!
I shall try again with different coloured petals and i shall post the outcomes.x

[ebj]

they look fab to me! You should see my first ever attempt - I posted it on the old forum and now when i look at it I CRINGE - what ever possesed me to put a pic of it on show and tell I'll never know - must have been a newbies enthusiasm!

I have got a bit better - but not much and for what its worth I practice with 3 petals and always on a dark transparent. They are still rubbish though lol!

x

[LesleyMac]

I agree with Griet, try a thin opaque barrel as a base,coat this in either frit or stamen cane or both and encase with clear then small dots for petals and melt slowly.
I tend to use white dots and maybe a transparent colour over the top of each dot. Cover completely unless you want white edges to your petals and then dump case as Shannon says. Apparently if you have light flowers use a dark opaque base and for dark flowers try a light opaque base, this is supposed to look better and it does make sense as the flowers stand out more.

With flowers you just have to practice and practice and practice. 

There is no easy way but you will get it in time, its very frustrating but you gradually get a feel for and sense the heat you need and they do improve.
Honest.

[Mary]

http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=395647&page=3  Maureen Kennedy posted a great tutorial. She uses a dark transparent base, I do too. The petals spread better than opaque, and your encasing doesn't need to be so accurate because the transparent won't bleed like an opaque would.