FREE "Aurora's Illusion" Tutorial by Debby Gwaltney

[starlightdesigns]

Hi all,

By request, I have written up a tutorial on how to make my "Auror's Illusion" beads, like the one shown below.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/starlightdesigns/aurorasillusions/ai20.jpg

So, here ya go!

http://www.starlight-beads.com/aitut.pdf

Let me know if you try it, and if there are any areas that need fixing or clarifying or anything.

Enjoy!

Hugs,

[shawnette]

Thank you!! (Beautiful bead, btw!)

[donia]

Thanks for sharing! \\:D/

[joansown]

Thanks for sharing this beautiful tutorial. Joan

[Damselfly]

That's a great tutorial! thanks for posting it!

[GlassGalore]

Thank you for the great instructions! So nice of you to share that. :love:

[J&M]

Wonderful tut! Thanks for sharing it.

Jack

[Moth]

What a beautifully well-done tutorial. Perfectly clear and the pictures are great.

Thank you!

[Dread]

Informatively put together - great pics and instructions !

[Afterdark]

Very nice!!! Thanks for the new lesson to try.....

[ukiacat]

Love the double layer twist, that's really cool. Thanks for sharing this.

~J

[Diane (clarus)]

Thank you! What a great technique. Your tuturial is very clear and well written and photographed. Thanks for your generosity in sharing this info.

-Diane

[margriet@stainedglass.nl]

Great tutorial! I have printed it and will show here my beads.

Thanks for sharing!!!

[Darlene Balkcum]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
I jumped over to your website and you enjoyed the "3-in-1 Bead" tutorial that you have there too! You are very generous.
thanks again,
Darlene

[Kalera]

What a gorgeous bead - thank you for your generosity in sharing a tutorial on it!

[Juliac]

That is very kind and generous of you. Beautiful tut!

[cadia]

Thank~you Debbie, great website too!

[BeCharmed]

Debbie that is so generous of you! What a fab looking tutorial and beads. I already learned something new just reading through it, can't wait to try it out..........Thank you so very much.

[thatsmithlady]

[QUOTE=starlightdesigns;2600451]
Let me know if you try it, and if there are any areas that need fixing or clarifying or anything.QUOTE]

This is really well explained, well photographed and logically laid out. Thank you for a great tutorial. I look forward to trying tis bead out. I'll post when I do. ;)

[PaulaD]

Thank You Debbie. Beautiful Bead!
Paula

[ekkc]

It's fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing!

[starlightdesigns]

You all are soooo welcome!

Someone on WC suggested I add page numbers, so I've just done that. Can't believe I forgot!

Anyway, enjoy the tut ~ thanks for all the kind comments on the tut and on the website... I sorely need to revamp that baby, but that is for another day!

Can't wait to see all your beads! Please do post them here! :)

Hugs,

[lwilson21]

Thanks so much for sharing such a wonderful tutorial. Very clear pictures and directions.

Leah

[debkauz]

Great tutorial! Thanks so much!

[Moth]

I made two of these earlier today. The first one was a flop and I knew it would be because I was being lazy and using a black stringer that I knew was too fat but thought I'd get away with it...but I didn't get away with it at all.

But the second one turned out fun! I'll post pictures when I get them taken.

Thanks again for the fun tutorial. I really had a good time and I hadn't printed it out...was just going by memory from your post. You did a great job explaining.

~~Mary

[RUSirius?]

So pretty! What a nice tutorial, too. I am going to have to try that this weekend.

THANKS!!!

-Ona-

[Troll Lover]

Debby, how nice of you to share this tutorial! I will surely give it a try, thanks!

[StephBonniwell]

Debbie, thank you for sharing! Gorgeous work and beads!

[Flame Crazy]

Wow, a free tut! It is wonderfully written with lots of great pictures. Thanks for sharing!

[starlightdesigns]

Mary,

If you're going to use black stringers, try encasing them in clear first, to get them thinner. I also use intense black since the regular black loses it's opacity so much. Encased intense black behaves itself, for the most part, most of the time.

[Judith Billig]

Debby, thanks so much for the great tutorial. It's so well done and easy to understand - a real treasure. And how kind of you to spend the time and share your skills with us in a free tut. Thanks :) :) :)

[tnehlers]

This is awesome, thank you, I can't wait to try the technique!

[cakelady]

Thanks, that is an awesome technique.

[iloveglass]

Debby, thanks for the tutorial. I have my kiln ramping up as I write ... can't wait to try it. Also, the tip about encasing black stringers will prove very valuable, I am sure.

[killerbeedz1]

Thanks for taking the time to write a great tutorial. Love your bead!

[Shane]

Wow, thanks Debby. I tried to do this once (black ends on a wonky barrel) on my own and now I know where I screwed up. Ends are hard but you make it look really easy. Thanks for sharing!

[Bruna]

wonderful tut, and a big thank you for making it and sharing it. =)
can't wait for the summer to end so I can torch again.

[Bead_lover]

Thanks a bunch, Debbie,
Really nice tut, great pictures, too.

[starlightdesigns]

You're welcome, everybody!!! :)

[Tillie]

Thank you so much! Beautiful bead and easy to understand tutorial! I've got it bookmarked and I intend to try it this week.

[2xMI]

Wonderfully done; very clear instructions and good photography. Thank you so much!

Mimi

[PerfectDeb]

thats great - i'm going to try it

[Ruth Nichols]

Very Nice!!!!

[beadmama]

Thanks Debby for sharing with us! Becky

[dichromary]

Thank you for sharing. I had fun making my first bead following along. Changing hands and rolling in place are great tips.

[spencer]

really cool, i've never thought about doing the double-helix type effect. Thanks!

[PattyK]

Beautifully done tutorial - thanks! :wave:

[squid]

Very nice tutorial! I am amazed by how clean your beadhole is the first post. What kind of bead release do you use - the hole is so clean!

[tt4st]

Wonderful tute and the pictures are excellent! Thank you so much!!!

[starlightdesigns]

Very nice tutorial! I am amazed by how clean your beadhole is the first post. What kind of bead release do you use - the hole is so clean!

Most of the time I use Sludge Plus, but sometimes I use Foster Fire. Either way, I get my bead holes cleaned by super cleaning with my rotary tool, especially if the glass is transparent. Opaque?, not so much! LOL!

Thanks for the compliments everybody! I am really happy you all like the tut.

Too bad I don't know anything else or I'd write another one! LOL

Hugs,

[SunDoorBeads]

Debby,
From the bottom of my heart thank you so much this tutorial is so well written and has a wealth of information!!! I am off to the torch to try this and make it a base for some of my froggies and maybe even the shell to a hermit crab!!! TOODLES!!!

[nmsaddlebum]

Awesome tutorial and bead. Thanks so much for sharing your time- you rock!

Kate

[effemess]

Thank you Debby - lovely tut, great pics and..... it was free :) :) :)

[chrisdd]

That was great, Debby!

[Art of Hand]

Thank you for an amazing tutorial!

[anitah]

Thanks for sharing...great tut!! Anita

[SilverRiverJewelry]

Wow! I haven't even taken my first bead making class and I was able to follow that completely. I don't think I could do it yet lol! but I understood the directions and they were very easy to follow even for me who has yet to heat up a piece of glass.

[Maria Louisa]

Thank you for sharing this with us Debby.
It's a beautiful bead.

[Nitadee]

I have oogled your bead photos in the gallery, and have been a fan for a while now, LOL!! Thank you so much for sharing this technique.
Nita

[starlightdesigns]

Wow, you guys have been so nice! I had no idea this tut would be so well received. I've got that really warm fuzzy feeling right now... Thank you all so much for all your wonderful comments and encouragement. I appreciate it so much!

Hugs,

Debby

[Torch Singer]

What a great tutorial. I wondered how you got the ends to look so nice and now I know. Thanks for being so generous of your time and techniques.

[PerfectDeb]

Mary,

If you're going to use black stringers, try encasing them in clear first, to get them thinner. I also use intense black since the regular black loses it's opacity so much. Encased intense black behaves itself, for the most part, most of the time.

I'm voting this my tip of the month! i've been fighting with thin intense black stringers for ages with no success - you can pull them thin but as soon as you heat them they ball up

encasing intense black is difficult though - i made a paddle, laid the black down half of it then folded the end up and sqashed it all together then pulled, brilliant!

[starlightdesigns]

Glad you found the tip useful, Deb!

The way I encase is to simply stripe on the encasing glass right onto the end of the rod of the base color. Heat up sections and pull into stringers.

Even so, encased intense black CAN misbehave if given enough heat, but it can definitely take a lot more heat than the unencased stuff.

Have fun!

Hugs,

[ljkerr]

Thanks for the great tut I will try it and post as soon as we get the studio moved

[PerfectDeb]

heres the ones i made last night

[starlightdesigns]

WOW, Deb, those are AWESOME!!! I especially love the middle one! You really got the twist going on that baby!

Thank you so much for posting your photos. Now maybe you'll inspire others to try it!

Hugs,

[PerfectDeb]

here is last nights effort - encased triton with triton ends. i had plans of putting little triton dots on the ends but didnt pull enough stringer:doubt:

[starlightdesigns]

Wow, Deb, you are on a roll!

[Gillianbeads]

Thanks so much for your generosity! I can't wait to try a bead like this...your tutorial was so clear and easy to follow!

[KJJames]

Thank you Debby for so generously sharing this incredible tutorial. It is wonderful! I can't wait to try it! Thank you!!!

[Bunyip]

Sharing rocks :)

[sierracatzlampwork]

Thank you so much for sharing your technique...I have admired them for quite some time but couldn't quite get my mind to bend around the concept...thanks for making it so clear...

[Cherry]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge It's great to see someone sharing a great idea for free!
It looks great fun and is very easy to follow your directions. Thanks Debby.
Cherry

[PerfectDeb]

hey!? how come no one is posting pics but me? - c'mon guys

ok, er.. the multicolour one is not part of this tut but i got carried away

[starlightdesigns]

Yeah, c'mon guys! We wanna see!!!

Deb, I'd say you got this tut nailed down to a T. Awesome job and I really love that last one!

Keep 'em coming. I just created a new design with these I can't wait to show you guys. I'll have to get some pix taken first!

Hugs,

[Little Lilypad]

Thank you for sharing!!!

[valerie_folly]

Your so generous! Thanks, can't wait to try next time I turn on the torch!

[FERRET]

Thanks a bunch for the tut Debby. These are my first two beads useing your tut. Showed them in the gallery section a few days ago but thought I should show them here because you deserve th credit.

[starlightdesigns]

Those beads totally ROCK! Love the colors you got! Thank you SOOO much for posting them! Keep up the great work!

[Donna T.]

Thanks for sharing this tut Debby. Very easy to understand. Great pictures too. I can't wait to try it this weekend. Thank you!!!!

[Tsai]

Very well written with great pics for example. Thank you, Debby!

[tenor_ringer]

Debby,

Very cool beads! Thanks for sharing the tutorial. It looks great.

[starlightdesigns]

You're very welcome! Hope you have fun with it.

[fannydotson]

That was great! Can't wait to give it a whirl!

[mwaldren]

Debbie, Thankyou so much I really enjoy trying new things from someone elses perspective! I love the way you do your end caps, much easier than the way I have done them on some of my latichino beads. Very pretty bead! Michelle

[Habman]

Awesome beads. I am going to try this the first opportunity I get. Thank you.

[carrieb]

Just saw this and wanted to say thank you very much for sharing. I've always admired these beads. You are awesome!

[Shrimp]

Thank you Debbie! Nicely done, and VERY GENEROUS OF YOU to share!

[lvsglass]

Hello Debby! I visited your website and wanted to let you know that I appreciate your sharing of techniques. You do beautiful work! Jolene

[starlightdesigns]

Thank you, Jolene! You're a dear for looking. Glad you like it!

Debby

[Vicki B.]

Thanks so much for making this tut available, Debbie! These beads are gorgeous! Don't know if the hothead will provide enough heat, but it will be fun to try!

[s38hyler]

Wow, what a nicely done tut, and your kindness in sharing it with us.
thank you so much, I can't wait to try it. I will have to print it so I can try it.
thanks,
Sandra

[starlightdesigns]

You're welcome, Vicki and Sandra! I really appreciate your kind comments. Thank you!

[AcidFly]

Cool thx :)

AcidFly

[Sarabella]

Well done! Thanks so much.

Sals

[starlightdesigns]

I'm so glad people are still enjoying this tut! Thank you all so much!

[GlassTorturer]

Hi Debby,
That tut was amazing and I appreciate your detailed explanations and photos/diagrams. I'm going to be the only 'dummy' out of all these posts, and ask a question...I know for the doubled bead you said to repeat steps 4 & 5 then go to 8, but your finished bead is so glossy that I wondered if you didnt encase again before adding the black end caps. I'm a 'newb' so sometimes I see questions where I shouldn't. Thanks so much!
Judy

[starlightdesigns]

Hi Judy,

I'll be happy to answer your question, and you're no dummy! :) Your question is a very good question.

You CAN encase again if you want, but that will make a really large bead. The bead in the photo you are referring to is not re-encased. I'm not sure if I have ever re-encased a bead like this, I don't think I have... As it is, there are a lot of layers. I appreciate the compliment though! Glossiness is achieved by rubbing the bead with a soft cotton cloth before photographing. ;)

Good luck and more importantly, have fun!!!

[Ness]

What a wonderful tut, I am itching to get back to my torch to try it out. This is one of the first things I'm going to try out when I get set up again.
So very generous of you to share. Thank you

[GlassTorturer]

Thanks Debby for the explaining the encasing vs polishing. I'm looking forward to trying your technique!
Judy

[sangell]

Can everyone else get to it?