How do YOU use your green aventurine?

[Bubbyanne]

I just read the other thread here about pulling goldstone stringer and started thinking.

I have green aventurine and when it's pulled into a stringer it's all lumpy and globby. I've heard this is typical. Originally, I bought a bunch of it to use in my vine cane but have been less than thrilled with the results. I am going to try encasing it thinly and not pull the stringers so thin, which is what I've learned from the other thread about goldstone. That is as soon as my torch is going again.

I have stopped using the chunks for now and have just been using the powder and smallest pieces as frit from when I broke it down. It's great for the base of encased florals.

So now I'm wondering, what the heck can you do with it if it's just going to be all clumpy?

Should I just crush the rest of it up into frit, or does some one know a way to pull it into a more uniform stringer to use in the vine cane? Or can you tell me how you use it in vine cane?

Does anyone know why it clumps like that?

Thanks for indulging my curiosity and any tips would be greatly appreciated.

[coyotesfamily]

i usually encase it. Make sure it is evenly heated. I have used it as vines alone....hmmmm I don't have any made up rightnow. I may have to play with it next torching session. But i would encase it before adding to your vine cane

[jokersdesign]

I encase it just like goldstone

[Julz]

I used the bumply stringer for sparkly dots. I liked it just fine... and it didn't crack. But I have some that I think is compatible with 104, and some other that is from Bullseye. Is there actually a difference in COEs of the aventurines, or should it be treated like frits of different COEs- no more than 5% of the bead surface and it should be okay?