Did I sleep through this lecture?%!?*

[kramdas]

Ok, you know those beads people make with the twistees that spreaddd oouuttttt across the entire bead, all nice and feathery looking? Well, what's the trick to that?! I'm not asking anyone to give away their secret family receipe, just the actual process that makes that phenomenon occur. Is it a heat thing? The right color combo in the twistee along with the right base color? Gravity? Full moon on the third Tuesday of the month? Anybody care to share their thoughts with me? Please? [-o<

[Raven Wylder]

I think it's both heat and the right color combo's. Try it out, you'll be amazed at what you get...

[Karen Hardy]

Try a base of opal yellow, and a twistie made with
turquoise, EDP and intense black.
Roll the twistie on and heat it until you get the spreading
effect you so desire. Shmoking...... :-$

[kramdas]

Ahhhhh, thank you both for the reply...I think that explains my problem-I'm on a not so hot Hot Head :???: I'm going to try the color combo you mentioned anyway, and maybe I'll get lucky!!!!!

[Ellen Haskell]

I found I have the best luck getting my twisties to spread across the bead by starting off with several wraps of glass forming a disk. Then I apply the twistie and then cover that with 1 or 2 wraps of clear glass. Then I heat the entire mass only on the sides, switching back and forth only heating the sides. I try to avoid heating the middle of the bead. This takes a while, but it you are patient the twistie will naturally spread across the width of the bead. I've read in the other posts that the glass will naturally flow towards the heat, so keep this in mind. Eventually the bead will shrink down, spreading your twistie and forming a nice shaped bead with good dimples around the hole. I hope this makes sense. I used to have the same trouble not getting my twisties to spread until I took the time to heat the sides. I got impatient at first and put the whole mass of glass in the flame, but once I slowed down concentrating the flame on the sides only then I had better luck. So bottom line is... aim the flame where you want the twistie to spread to.

[Curly Irish Girl]

Almost anytime with any glass as the base....if you use IB in a twisty and melt it in you will get that vertebrae effect and web-like spread.

[Carolyn M]

Any twistie made with EDP and turquoise will spread, it's a reaction. You can put it on a base of black, opal yellow, pretty much anything and it will spread, you don't need to heat it very much. After you have spread it try putting a stringer of copper green down the middle, it 'splits' it. Fun effect!

There are other colour combos that spread, I'm too tired right now to think of them!

[kramdas]

You guys are the best, thanks! I ran to go try all of the tips and combos, and I'M OUT OF GAS!!!! ](*,) I'd get more flame from a match right now, but I'm gonna try to make the twistees until my tank is delivered! Thanks again!!!!!!

[Curly Irish Girl]

Oh! I wish I had known you are in the Tampa area - just spent 3+ weeks there with my brother as he recuperated from a major cancer surgery....would have loved to have met you for lunch and a little glass talk! I'll be back there yet this summer....he's having a little more surgery in a bit...maybe we can meet!

You guys are the best, thanks! I ran to go try all of the tips and combos, and I'M OUT OF GAS!!!! ](*,) I'd get more flame from a match right now, but I'm gonna try to make the twistees until my tank is delivered! Thanks again!!!!!!

[kramdas]

Lynn-sorry to hear about your brother! Is he at the Moffitt Center? I'm actually west of Tampa on the Gulf coast, north of Clearwater. Let me know when you're coming back and we can get together!!!

[sarah_hornik]

Don't forget Rubino! Rubino makes really cool twisties.

[kramdas]

Sarah, I'm wondering if the rubino would burn up before it feathers out? Our HHs require the glass to spend so much more time under the flame.....Using a base of ivory would help things move faster, but ruby and ivory don't play well together...have you had any luck with ruby and the effect I'm try to achieve?

[sarah_hornik]

Naaa, I use Rubino a lot.
Well, maybe not as much lately, but I used to use it in almost every bead I made. :-) Not with ivory, though. It doesn't like ivory. Or coral.
You can definitely use it to get the "spreading" effect you're talking about - it makes great twisties with copper green, violet, opal yellow, silver pink, turquoise, and, well, just about everything else.
You can also get a cool effect by twisting EDP with Rubino. Try it out!

[kramdas]

I sure will! Got a fresh tank delivered today and I'm ready to go! Thanks for the info!