Enamel Stringers
 

There has been some interest in pulling enameled stringers and so I thought I would try my hand at giving my first tutorial in LE. I hope this all helps those who wanted to do this. smiles Kerry

Supplies, 1 rod ivory, needle nose pliers, and some enamels

Heat the end of the ivory rod till you get a pea size ball at the end.

Roll the end of the rod into the enamels, and heat. The more you repeat this step the darker the stringer.

Heat it in well but do not over heat as it will bubble away and this is called boiling the enamels. Which has it's place in some designs for sure.

Once heated thouroughly, take out of the flame let cool a bit then grab with the pliers and start to pull.

The slower you pull the thicker the stringer. the faster you pull the thinner the stringer.

Pull out to desired length and let cool.

Take your pliers and break off close to the rod. Repeat these steps using different colors till you have a variety of colors to work with.
Have fun. and always remember to wear appropriate safety gear when working with enamels. Kerry

Thank you !

You are welcome. smiles Kerry

this is great !!! Thanks

Thank you so much for sharing Kerry! Your beads are simply gorgeous!

easy piezy!!

Nice first tutorial.

Thanks for this tutorial! Now I just need some enamels and an N100 mask!

:) Kelly

Great tutorial! Thank you very much!
ginger

I went to bed thinking about this :P, do you only use ivory or will any light colored rod work also.

Great tutorial!! Thanks. Wish I could see a pic of the gorgeous bracelet you are wearing.

Jeanette

Experiment with different colours! Try opaque and transparent too. A little enamel goes a long way, so don't be scared!

Thank you everyone,
Cathie I tend to only use Vet. ivory because it bleeds the way I want it to when doing my Van Gogh beads. If you want a more stable color then use moretti white. This is what I use sometimes for my water color beads, but mostly for those I use white moretti rods rolled in either Reichenbach or Kugler glass.
Jeanette, geeish I can't even tell what bracelet that is. I love braceletes and make many and wear even more lol.. Maybe it is on my web site? smiles Kerry

Thanks for the tut, I have wanted to try this for some time. Are thoes paint can lids you are using to hole your powders?

Hi-
What is the different effect you get from using an enameled stringer versus a stringer of that color? I mean, the difference between a green stringer, and an ivory rolled in green enamel?

thanks-
Ana

Okay, i'm going to post again....but there are lots of others who do enameled stringer stuff here's one way an enameled stringer can go-see how the colour isn't solid as when you just use a stringer with just that colour? I didn't do anything extra to the dots except to poke the centre of the flower so the petals point inward. I love the 'shading' that happens.
http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/at...1&d=1193514898

Thanks for this tutorial Kerry! Your Van Gogh beads are very cool.

Elly, nice bead - now I can see the possibilites. Did you use white as the base before adding the enamel?

I did! I have experimented with dark colours and light enamel though... it's interesting too. :)

wow, I have never done this..I have a question...why ivory?? doesn't it react with the colors or the color you use the stringer on??

and do you have some examples of your work ?? I would love to see.

I have to try this...I need something to set a fire under me and make something new...I have been in a slump

hummmmm any pics of ivory w/turq enamel over it? I wonder if it would react like Kaye suggests and if it would be different than the usual ivory/turq black line thing....

geeeez only other lampworkers would truely understand that statement, huh?

LOL, guess that's why we love each other, huh? the synergy of our creativity! (hugs Kaye, btw... got your comment on my blog, just hadn't had time to respond yet!!)

Hey there Tracy, nope those are frozen juice lids, Thanks to my friend Ania Kyte for that great idea. You can see her work often in The Stringing mag.
I do not think the colors change, but you be the judge, here are a few more beads with writing on them with turquoise stringer that I pull, shoot I don't think I ever have bought a stringer other than clear..and a few other beads to give you a good show of what happens.
Ana, a stringer of solid color will be just that 'solid' it is the watery affect that I needed to achieve..VanGogh always left some of his canvas showing and so I needed some whiteish color to show through the stringer and other colors..
anyways here are more beads. Smiles Kerry

So nice of you to do this! Looks like fun.

Ooooh, ok, now I get it. Very cool. Thanks Elly & Kerry!

Ana

it's Kerry's tute. :)

I love her van gogh's.

Nice tutorial---thanks! I love the Van Gogh's and Ellyloo, your bead is really pretty also.

Leah

Nice tutorial Kerry! Thanks for sharing it.

Sals

Thank you everyone. I hope it helps out for those of you that want to work with enamels. If you have any questions please pm me,, smiles Kerry

Chicken!
 

I have had my enamels for a number of years. Have the safety mask to wear and know to be careful of letting any enamel float in the air, but am still too leery of enamels. I have read so articles on the danger if not being very careful in using them. Love the look. Maybe will get brave some day. Peg M

I've tested all of the enamel frits (yes, they're available in frit form now, as well as the powder) and you don't get the color reactions with ivory or any of he copper containing colors like turquoise. The best way to think of the colors when you're using the enamels is that the colors are not chemical based like we usually think off, but if you think pigment based, you'll be pretty close. Mix yellow and blue frits and you actually get green.

Hugs,
The other Kay (but without an e) ;)

Do you still need to wear the mask when applying the stringer to the bead? Say for instance, you put the stringer aside for another day, do you still need to wear the mask although your not using any enamels??

I wouldn't think so.

However, lately, I'm starting to believe it wouldn't hurt to wear a mask all the time. I sure feel better when I wear a mask and I don't suffer from chest pain when I wear one like I do sometimes when I don't wear one.

I hate wearing masks, but I hate chest pain more.

\\:D/

Thanks Alma for posting the tut again.
Kerry

A quick add-on for this great tut--if you use dark gray transparent or cobalt blue transparent and do the same process with black enamel, you'll get a great substitute for intense black at a much lower price. Kate Fowle-Meleney taught this in my very first class over 10 years ago, and I think it's still the best way to get a clean, very black, non bleeding, non purpling stringer.

Ooooh, Thanks for bringing this back to the front page. I love it!

What a great tip!! I'm going to try this one tomorrow.
Thanks for the tutorial. I've done similar using white base for this set. I can actually get some different pinks with enamels.

Post some pics when you have some. Would love to see them
Kerry

Wow... this is so cool.

Can't wait to try it!

:love:

~Rachel

Cool tut Kerry! Thanks

And Ellyloo - - - love that bead!!! I must try that (darn, I wish I had some pink enamel - - ugh!)

What about using pixie dust if you don't have enamel of the color you want? Would it work in a similar fashion?

Elly...

That bead is SO pretty!!! :fireblob:

~Rachel

Wouldn't pixie dust fire out in the flame?

Barbara

Hey all.
Yes pixie dust would fire out. Enamels are
bits of glass so they melt right in. The enamels come
in a multitude of colors. I mix them together
to achieve new ones.
Kerry

Thank you :-)

Kerry, firstly thank you so much for posting this!! It was just what I was looking for!! I have a couple of questions though:

You talk about kugler and reichenbach for the powders that you use but I only have Thompson's enamels for 104 glass will this method work?

Second, is there a good way to get that intense color on the bead without pulling a stringer? I am just VERY enameled challenged.

Oh and one last one if I am allowed :oops: I am assuming if there was a color I was after in the 96 line I would buy the "powder" version of that color correct?

Thank you Kerry and I will post pics of my beads once they are made!!! And a huge thank you to Elizabeth of Practicalmagicglass for sending me to this thread!!!

No worries Any questions are good.
Thompson enamels are what I use. I must have written something about making my own powders using R&K glasses.

You can use the enamels directly on the glass. Just roll your hot bead in it then return it to the flame to melt in.

Yes to achieve a certain Color you need to buy that one. But please never hold back from experimenting with mixing colors and base glass types and colors.

I hope this helps.
Kerry

Kerry, I have just visited you site. Your beads are beautiful!

Thank you so much Barbara.
Glad you enjoyed my site and my beads.
Kerry

bump