[Emily]

The bead itself only has to be warm enough not to crack. It shouldn't be glowing, because if it's glowing it's hot enough to change shape. You don't want your base bead to be too hot because you want it to be solid enough to keep its shape while you're putting the dots on. You want to be able to think about getting your dots well-positioned and the right size, and you don't want to have to worry about having your base bead droop out of shape while you're thinking about your dots. I guess "not quite glowing" or "just a little cooler than glowing" is where you want your base bead. You want to have gotten it nicely shaped, and then let it cool just a little so that it holds its shape. Keep it warm by flicking it in and out of the flame while you're picking up your rod or stringer for putting your dots on.

If you're putting on a dot that you intend to leave raised, you want to have the dot well attached, so it's a good idea to warm up the place on the base bead where you want to put the dot. Just give that spot on the base bead a quick flash in the flame before you touch your stringer or rod to the spot. Remember that when you're touching your stringer or rod to the bead, you need it to be perfectly perpendicular to the bead. Don't come in at an angle, or your dot will be a funny shape. Apply your dot with both the bead and the stringer/rod out of the flame, pull the stringer/rod away slightly, then bring that spot into the flame to cut it away from the bead. Don't pull the stringer/rod far away from the bead or you'll get a long thread of glass that might flop back onto your bead.

When you're applying your dot, just touch the hot glass to the bead. Don't squash it against the bead. If you're getting irregular dots, you may be pushing the glass against the bead. If you want larger dots, add more glass to the top of the dot before it's melted down. Make sure that the peak is standing straight up and isn't tilted over. You can use a tool to straighten dots up. You can remove glass from dots with a rod of the same color. You want the glass that you're removing to be HOT and the rod that you're using to remove it to be WARM. Don't get the rod too hot, or you'll add more glass. You can also take glass off with tweezers. You'll need to warm them a little, or the glass won't stick to them.

Remember that different colors of glass have different characteristics. Pastel (opaque) dots on transparents will spread out. Transparent dots on pastels (opaques) will sink in. The hotter you get the glass, the more pronounced this effect will be. Transparents are stiffer than pastels, and some transparents are stiffer than others. (The aquamarines are the worst, and bubble like crazy, too.) Remember that Effetre black is really just very dark transparent purple.