Here is mine:
1. Pick the colour you plan to make the elephant and make a cone of about 3-4 cm ( I Measured one of my elephants, it was 2,8 cm high). I prefer making it thin side towards the end of the mandrel, so its easier to add detail to it.
2. Heat the thicker part of the cone from about 1/3 of it's height. The bead should look a bit like a pear. Ad one round of glass to the thin end and melt it down. You can let the body droop a litle from two opposite sides.
3. Make a big blob on the rod you want to make the head from. (I make mine about the size of the tip of my forefinger) Attatch the blob to the bead (on one of the drooped ends) and let it cool down a bit. Pull the rod off and leave a long "trunk" hanging from the blob. (Don't let the trunk melt in, because it won't be easy to pull it back!)
4. Separate the legs with razorblade. Add the tail (I use a rod - not a stringer - of some other colour than the colour of the body).
5. Add blobs of glass on the sides of the head (You can stack two or more colours if you like). Nip them with tweezers. With the last nips turn the ears backwards. Don't make them too thin, or they will beak. Heat he rims of the ears a bit, so they will get rounder and more earlike.
Make eyes with white and black and tusks with ivory. Leave tusks sticking out a bit. It will be aesier to make the tusks with a rod. -While you make the details DON'T LET THE REST OF THE BEAD COOL DOWN!
6. Heat the trunk gently and turn it up (for good luck) with txeezers and form into S-shape.
Add the feet (little bolbs) and the toes (if you want). It's again easiest to make the toes with a rod, just touching the feet and then pulling it off, leaving little spots of glass.
7. Have fun!
-Paula-
|