Flower help : )

[flamesofglass]

OK, another basic question I'm sure however, I seem to either be overheating my bead or just mixing incorrect colors. When making my flower bead I seem to get a great looking flower after melting in my dots, pulling out the edges slightly with my tool & then poking in the middle to place my last dot. My problem is that when I go back to reheat and shape my bead my perfect flowers become distorted and blurred.

Am I getting the bead too hot when reshaping or are my color choices just not working together when heated together?

Thanks to all :-P

Cheers ~

Robert

[totallytorched]

I am no pro, but it sounds as if you are getting the center of your bead to hot, you want the middle to be cool, and only heat the outside, but not to an orange glow, hopefully some floral experts will chime in here for some better tips. Another thing, when you are encasing, what method do you use?
Here are a couple of different methods that might help
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Articles2/24464/484/

http://www.angelcreationz.com/encased_floral.htm

Good Luck!!

Jenni

[flamesofglass]

Thank you!

To this point I haven't even encased any flowers due to the distortion I've gotten. I may have goten the center hot but only because after pulling the leaves out the shape of the bead is quite distorted. I may however be getting the outside of the bead red hot. I will try without getting the outer area as hot and see if that helps the distortion/bleeding of my flowers.

Cheers ~

Robert

[Cosmo]

Try turning your flame down a little and just spot heating the area you are working on. You only want the petals/leaves to be hot. You want the bulk of the bead to stay cooler.

Keeping the base bead cooler and stiffer will also mean less work to get it smooth again after making the flowers, so there is less of a chance of distortion.

[flamesofglass]

OK, sounds like my process has been a bit overboard. Seems as though I am getting the glass too hot to do anything causing me to have to rehead destroying my flower petals. I'll try it cooler tonight and see what I get...

[Heather/Ericaceae]

Your choice of colour could also be a factor. Are your dots "blending" into the base colour? This happens when you use two really soft colours together, like opaque pale green and white. Periwinkle is also very soft and blendy. The red colours and deeper blues and greens tend to keep crisper edges. Hope this helps! -H.

[flamesofglass]

My dots tend to do a few different things: 1. they bleed into a big mass instead of their intended shape of a leaf 2. the leaf just seems to almost disolve into about 1/2 the size and again kind of bleed into an unrecognizable shape 3. turn back into more of a round shape than the leave shape I have created

I'm not sure what to change as I get other beads with dots red hot and they are fine...

[Heather/Ericaceae]

What colours are you using on your base bead and your dots? If you're making a leaf, you're probably using a green, which is a very soft and blendy colour. Try using a stiff background like lapis blue or opaque orange. In general, transparents are stiffer than opaques and dark colours are stiffer than light colours. Soft colours spread out over stiff colours, stiff colours sink into soft colours, stiff colours remain crisp over stiff colours, and soft colours bleed and blend into other soft colours. In general!

It also sounds like you are possibly leaving raised points where you pull your dots into leaf-shapes. This means that when you re-heat they can suck back in towards the main dot and you lose your shape. Try patting down the points with a tool right after you stretch out your dots... they stick better that way. Also, as everyone says, heat control is key! Hope this helps, and good luck.

-Heather

[hummingbird3172]

My dots tend to do a few different things: 1. they bleed into a big mass instead of their intended shape of a leaf 2. the leaf just seems to almost disolve into about 1/2 the size and again kind of bleed into an unrecognizable shape 3. turn back into more of a round shape than the leave shape I have created

I'm not sure what to change as I get other beads with dots red hot and they are fine...


Try making your leaf dots smaller than you really want the finished leaf to be, then make sure you put a layer or clear or transparent color totally covering the leaf dot (before you do this it looks cool to use a razor blade and create a slit in the leaf). When you try to give the leaf a point don't stick the poker into the edge of the leaf, stick it into the base right next to the leaf edge (if you are sticking it into the leaf dot it can make the points of the leaves look indistinct)Once you stick the poker in pull it away from the leaf--this should bring your leaf into a point.

Try using a transparent color as a base bead, it is a harder glass and other colors don't bleed...or if you want a solid color base, encase the base color with clear before you add your flowers.

If you keep trying and playing with the different techniques you WILL get it, I have been obsessed with flowers for months now and I am amazed at how I have improved with practice...you learn what works best for you! :)

[flamesofglass]

Thanks so much for the advice. I'm sure I'll make improvements with time and your help!

Cheers ~

Robert

[fyrebeadz*]

Another idea, if you are using frit for your background, it tends to make your flowers "run" and not look crisp but rather, distorted.