Petals maker

[Bobby]

I answered a thread in the "Tips" section and thought it might be something that could be a quick tutorial on making petals.
Anything I can tape down to a pair of tweezers or tongs and use for manipulating glass makes for more "monies" to buy more "glass".

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another tutorial

http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1933

[Laurie L]

Great idea and lovely flowers from the tool. Way to go !!!

[Marie C]

Nice!

Just a few questions:
OK, you make the petals and leaves individually, keep warm, then assemble?

How do you make your leaves? They're really pretty!

Approx. what size do you make the petals (inches, please :) ) ?


When assembling, are they attached to each other or to a base bead? What do you do with them, make rings, earrings, pins?

Thanks for sharing!!! Warmly, Marie C

[Bobby]

The petals are from 1/2" to 3/4". I make some 1" for pendants. Any size will work......just depends what you want to do with it. I made a red/white/blue flower for the 4th and the patels were almost 2". I used a velvet ribbon and made a chocker.

I attach most of them to a small tab bead and sometimes add a little glass to the backs of the petals if there is not a lot of overlap.

I mostly make pendant necklaces and bracelets. The petals for the bracelet flowers are just under 1/2".

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A link to the off mandrel leaves.

http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1933

Hope this helps.

Thanks
Bobby

[angie]

Wow great idea!!!

How do you attach the leaves to the tab bead? do you reheat? or glue?

[The Pear Door]

How smart you are!!!! I use a spoon all the time to shape lentils.....why didn't I think of that! My daughter laughs at me because I have better kitchen utensils in the studio than I do in the kitchen! I just told her that beading is more important than cooking!

Thanks for the idea!

[KEW]

Wow, so simple,yet so smart!

[tangentgirl]

This is supercool! So much for our spoons...

[GinaJ]

What a great idea!!!! Thanks!

[Beadbug]

WOW wonderful

[Bobby]

thought I would bump this up for awhile.

Bobby

[ItsMeRoRo]

I saw a question about keeping petals warm - I use a very small crock pot set on high. Works for me better than a warming plate (does not melt). Hope this helps!

[theglasszone]

So, then - can you make a bunch of petals, let them cool and accumulate them to assemble later - then warm them all in the crockpot when you get ready to use them? I'd think it would be a PITA to dig through vermiculite to find them all during assemblage...so do you just put them into the crock pot without any suspension material - just right onto the bottom of the pot? Also, if you make them all in advance, is it a good idea to anneal them before you go to the assembling step?

I love home-made (SMART) tools - thanks so much for sharing and for the bump-up back to where it should be!

DeAnne in CA

[RuskinDesigns]

You can also use those cheap candle warmers or coffee cup warmers to keep your components warm.

[Bobby]

DeAnne..........I make mine and put them on a little egg cooker. At the end of the day I just turn the egg cooker off and the glass that is left goes cold. Next day I just turn it back on and it heats the glass up again. Have had very few crack but that's why you make more that you need.
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Love the idea of the small crock pot.

Bobby

[Juliac]

Thanks for this Bobby. could you put them just inside your kiln door and use them that way?

[Bobby]

Juliac..........yes you can. I use the egg cooker for the smaller petals because it seems quicker but for bigger things I lay them inside the kiln door and fish them out with long tweezers.

Bobby

[Dreamscapes Studio]

Bobby ... oh my goodness ... another awesome tool idea!!! Such ingenuity!!!

[Bryon]

Harbor fright has welding plyers that about 3" wide by 1" deep flat cast iron for like $3.98 (orange handles) B

[theglasszone]

DeAnne..........I make mine and put them on a little egg cooker. At the end of the day I just turn the egg cooker off and the glass that is left goes cold. Next day I just turn it back on and it heats the glass up again. Have had very few crack but that's why you make more that you need.
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Love the idea of the small crock pot.

Bobby

Thanks Bobby - but what the heck is an "Egg Cooker"? (My hubby actually called me that during my pregnancy...ha!) I usually cook my eggs on a thing called a "stove" (giggle!) :)

DeAnne in CA

[Bobby]

DeAnne.........I thought I had a picture on one of the tutorials. Couldn't locate it so will upload it here. I put a little foil hood around it...........not sure why except that it might hold the heat in better or not let the air waft over the hot glass...........who knows ! ! ! The plate gets pretty hot and seems to keep the glass from breaking. I can reach in with the tweezers and pick a petal I like for the flower.

Cute hubby......haven't heard that one in a long time.

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Bobby

[Bobby]

Here are a few more flowers from the quicky tutorial..........
I was really into flowers for awhile..........
need to get back to them since spring will hopefully be here soon...........
wishing wishing wishing ! ! !


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Bobby

a link to the leaves that also go into the cooker:

http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1933

[Michelle Walsh]

When you use the little crock pot that is without vermiculite, right? So you can just look in and see which petals you want to use?

Thanks~

[Jeri]

I bought a device that is supposed to make two grilled cheese sandwiches side by side. It has a black non-stick interior. It is great for keeping petals quite warm. It has totally supplanted my George Foreman Grill, which is what I used to use! (Sorry George) Jeri

[theglasszone]

Thanks Bobby and Jeri for the suggestions...I have one of the little "Coffee Warmer" type things, but I believe the very top of it is some sort of plastic...I'd worry about putting newly created, still-quite-hot (hotter than a coffee cup could ever get, that's for sure!) petals atop it! Egg Cooker or Grill Cheese Maker...I'm going to check my "Big Lots" to see what they have!

Thanks again,
DeAnne in CA

[Jeri]

I got my grilled cheese thingie in K-Mart. You are right to be leery of the coffee warmer's surface, I have melted them with hot petals! Jeri

[Dreamscapes Studio]

A toaster oven works great too ... or a hotplate with a steel plate on top works great too.

[Kybeadmaker]

I have used several types of petal makers and I have one problem that happens too often, one or more petals break off. Many times this is several weeks up to several months after I have made the bead. I keep all petals in my kiln until they are attached to the base. I keep the base, as well as the petals, rotating through the flame and appear to have a good attachment with each petal. The petals are not thin and I have a solid base bead that I am attaching them to. I find this happens more with odd lot glasses and silver glasses. It is driving me crazy because I love making these type beads, but I am scared to sell them. Last week I found on flower on my bead table, that was made three months ago, and suddenly there was a broken petal. Is this happening to anyone else?
Harriet

[Bobby]

Harriet

First off.........I love your beads ! ! !

When I finish the first row of petals I go into the back of the bead where the petal touch and add some glass to fill up the void. You can't see it from the front but it gives a little more body to the narrow part of the petal that touches the glass.

When I make the two layer flowers I put the front row on first........then the back row on next.......... and then go to the back of the flower and add glass where there are voids between all of the petals making sure that the voids are filled. From the back they look solid and from the front they look like seperated petals.

I have found that if you just attach the petals there is not enough glass to be secure and with just a little movement they can snap off.

Hope I haven't just muddied the water on this one.

Bobby

[BarbaraB]

Ditto to what Harriet said.

Barbara

[Just Nancy]

Make me three. I've had similar issues. :(

[Kybeadmaker]

WOW, thanks Bobby, for the compliment and for the tip! I will try that the next time I make them. Very helpful !!!!!
Harriet

[Miss Kate]

This is a wonderful thread! How did I miss this the first time around?

Miss Kate

[bob]

Do you make the petal off mandrel. I know the spoons are for shaping, how do you build up your ball of glass .

[Anzie]

Ah Ha! I now have a use for that silly hamilton beach gril my mother gave me for christmas! A petal keeper warmer! Thanks guys. I'm sure if it's on high it won't melt the glass right? I can't imagine a grill getting that hot.

[Chau Nguyen T]

Thank you Bobby. Now i know what's to do with all of my baby spoons. My DH kept throwing them away and i put them back every time since all of my children are all grow up.

[Bobby]

Bob..........I put a little ball of glass on the end of a clean mandrel.............no release..........and add the colors to the glass and then mash it with the spoons. After I have mashed it I heat up the glass at the mandrel tip and pull the petal off with tweezers and set it aside. Hope this helps.

Baby spoons and salt spoons are great.......lately I seem to save everything in case I can make a tool out of it later.

Bobby

[bob]

Thats exactly the info I was looking for. great tutorial.
Thanks
Bob Proulx

[Tillie]

So, those candle warmer thingies and the sandwich makers (I've got one of those and also a waffle maker thingie in the back of my cabinets!) will work to keep the petals warm enough so that when you make the base bead, you can just pick up one of the petals with tweezers and attach it to the hot base bead? Then add glass behind the petal to make it more sturdy? I've got to try this! I have a couple of the candle warmers, the little crock pots that melt candle wax or heat up potpourri that I don't use anymore AND a sandwich maker! Man! I'm SET!! Also got some small spoons to make petal mashers with!! YAY!! This tutorial section is amazing!

[Gwood]

Thank you for all of the work that you put into this, it is great.

[Heather/Ericaceae]

Cool tool and gorgeous flower, Bobby! Thank you for sharing!

[Michelle Walsh]

I think I read somewhere that the candle warmers aren't warm enough, that we need to get the coffee warmers. Or did I just imagine that..... :-k

~Michelle

[Bobby]

Thanks to everyone for bringing this back.

H/E..........just checked out your beads. WOW ! ! !

Bobby

[anne225]

What kind of tape is used to fasten on the spoons? looks like floral...( HA )
Doesn't it melt from the intense heat being thrown off/

Anne

[SunDoorBeads]

Thank you thank you- I have not one but 3 sandwhich makers (don't ask) and now I can finally use one!!!! About the spoons all my baby spoons are quite broad does anyone know of a good place to find some of these smaller spoons? I am hungry to try this. Thank you again for all the time you put into this tut!!!!
Michelle,
www.sundoorbeads.com

[Bobby]

Thanks to all of you for keeping this tutorial going. Homemade tools and glass.................how magical can it get ! ! !

Anne..........the tape is the green masking tape found in the hardware stores. I've had the same tape on spoons for over five years and it still holding up. You can stretch it a little so it holds very tight. The heat from the bead never reaches the tape since the metal soaks it up.

Michelle.....I found mine at the second hand store. I needed to go back a few times but if you keep looking they will seem to just pop up. Little sugar and salt spoons also work.

Take care
Bobby