Cased florals.. this is where I get hung up...

[sleekbeads]

Hi. Me again!

I get through the bead to the point where I'm casing over my florals....
I've got lumps of clear glass everywhere and even though they seem somewhat symetrical, let's face it... they're blobs of clear glass all over the place. This is where I get hung up.....

what part of the flame should I be rotating my bead in to get the clear to melt down without damaging my petals, etc.?

Seems like I just can't get that right....

When I am too hot, obviously, the petals and unders melt in and mar my entire bead... HOWEVER... if I am not in enough heat, the clear refuses to cooperate and I end up with a bead full of glass blobs.

Really having trouble with this.

Joanna

[Kevan]

Do you have the petals COMPLETELY covered? If not they will get pulled out of shape.

I'm not a great encaser, but I do know that much. lol

[wendbill]

Good question. I always end up dissolving my petals as well. I try melting it in more slowly then I get impatient....

[Pookies85]

If you make sure each one of your flower petals have a drop/dot of clear melted in before you start encasing, it will keep the flowers from smearing. Just doing that helped me a ton. Also, make sure your base bead is fairly cool when you start encasing. Other than that, I am not much help. My encasing method is way out there.... I taught myself and have never seen anyone else do it my way.

Lisa

[Heather/Ericaceae]

If your flowers are completely covered with clear, but they're still getting mushy when you melt in your encasing, it might just be that you're over heating the whole bead. To melt in a surface layer only, position your bead so that the flame is just going across the top or bottom of the bead - not right in towards the mandrel. This might help.

It's more likely that the smearing is from the actual application of the clear, but your question seemed to be more about melting in so I hope my comment was helpful!

-Heather

[Solana]

When I encase, I love using the thick 12mm rods. I make my encased florals on the small side (between 9-12mm hole to hole) so the thick rod makes it pretty easy for me to cover the bead in one swoop.

I heat the bottom 1/2" of the clear rod until it's molten. The entire time I'm heating the clear, I tease the bead in the back part of my flame. Heating this much clear at first may help you control the flow of the glass so you don't end up with big globs.

Once the clear is ready and molten (it's pretty soupy at this point), I touch it to the center of my bead and rotate the bead away from me. While rotating the bead, I also apply a little pressure to the clear...if I want thin encasing. If I want it thicker, I just wrap the clear around the bead.

Once my central wrap of clear is applied, I'll go back and add another swipe of clear around each side of the bead and then use my magic wand to push it to the mandrel. Then I heat ONLY the clear to smooth it out. My base bead doesn't get red at all....only the clear.

I don't encase my flowers first or anything like that. I just make sure my beads is pretty cool before applying the clear, and I very rarely have any smudged flowers.

Good luck!

[sassy]

Thanks for the tip Karla, I am going to try that. oh can I borrow your magic wand?

[Solana]

You're welcome Phyllis! I'd love to loan you my Magic Wand, but we're pretty far apart! :) However, I think you can still order them from Corina's website (http://www.corinabeads.com/catalog.php?category=5).

[sassy]

You're welcome Phyllis! I'd love to loan you my Magic Wand, but we're pretty far apart! :) However, I think you can still order them from Corina's website (http://www.corinabeads.com/catalog.php?category=5).

LOL I was joking. I need a r-e-a-l magic wand.

[ocdlampwork]

I use the side to side method and even used it as a newbie. It was tough getting used to but made a huge difference in my florals. Since I'm self-taught I didn't know there was a "side to side" method until about a year later.:oops: I thought it was all around the center and I was doing it *ss backwards like I do everything else.\\:D/
This does NOT work on smaller beads. They need to be at least 10mm. (core bead approx. 5mm. wide) or else you'll just end up with big globs of clear stuck to the mandrel on each side of your bead.
Swipe a strip of clear from one end of the mandrel to the other ON THE BEAD ONLY:smile: Next swipe will touch first swipe and so on until you complete the bead. Start heating on one side of the mandrel and gradually move to the other side. You will see the air bubbles working their way out this way and you won't trap all that junk and have it look like a bubble fest. Then heat the whole bead to shape.
To keep the petals from smearing make sure your base bead is not glowing at all. Melt the clear til glowing then wait approx. 3 seconds BEFORE making your swipe. This gives just enough cool down so it doesn't smear as you push the layer of clear on.
I'm sure I've just made it even more confusing. P.m. me if you have questions or just want to tell me to stop offering advice.;-) This is why I don't offer to help very often. I'm terrible at explaining things.:( You should hear my directions.:shock: :-s

Tracey

[Kevan]

I was just looking at Kimberly Adams book The Complete Book of Glassbeadmaking. She shows a technique of using a larger mm rod, melting the end and flattening it with a masher, then heating it and wrapping it around the bead.

I haven't tried it yet, but I plan to.

[sleekbeads]

thanks for the info everyone...
Mari Johnson taught me the side to side method... but I still am having trouble with it... just another practice makes perfect thing I guess.
Shawn T pm'd me and sent me a tutorial through email... it's pretty good.
Maybe we can get her to post it!
Joanna

[kimberly]

Hey Joanna,
Did you get my email?
Kimberly

[sleekbeads]

Oooops...

YES, Kimberly, I did get your email and accidentally called you Shawn T above. So sorry about that..
She's also been sending me tips and hints and I got confused.
Geeez, I hate when I do that... didn't mean to mistake you!
anyways... yes, thank you so very much for the email.
I truly appreciate all the guidance I get in this forum!
You're the best....
Hopefully, I can memorize your tips and make some and get some pics up here soon!!!
Joanna

[dla]

I was just looking at Kimberly Adams book The Complete Book of Glassbeadmaking. She shows a technique of using a larger mm rod, melting the end and flattening it with a masher, then heating it and wrapping it around the bead.

I haven't tried it yet, but I plan to.

This method worked GREAT for me yesterday !! I had tried everything I've learned to get encasing to work for me except this and something just CLICKED ! Now, it wasn't perfect as I had to add a bit to the sides but otherwise it worked !
Debbie A.

[kimberly]

Oooops...

YES, Kimberly, I did get your email and accidentally called you Shawn T above. So sorry about that..
She's also been sending me tips and hints and I got confused.
Geeez, I hate when I do that... didn't mean to mistake you!
anyways... yes, thank you so very much for the email.
I truly appreciate all the guidance I get in this forum!
You're the best....
Hopefully, I can memorize your tips and make some and get some pics up here soon!!!
Joanna

LOL!!! No worries. I NEVER get confused (NOT!!!!). Just wanted to be sure I didn't send it to the wrong addy. I had a bunch of stuff to send to folks and I KNOW I sent at least one wrong thing to the wrong person.
Anyway, hope it helps you!
Kimberly

[dla]

Kimberly, Joanna - Would you all care to share ???? I'll take any helpful tips about encasing anytime ! lol !
Debbie A.