Just in case newbies are a bit put off trying something so seemingly difficult, I'd like to share how easy it really is to make these lovely shapes.
I'm definitely not saying that this is
my design by any means, however I did stumble across this method at the torch one day when something else I was working on went all wrong
The Eureka! moment was priceless for li'l ole me
There are no pics of how it's done, I'm afraid - I can't take pics and make a bead at the same time.
However, if you like these, then I'll try to explain it step-by-step.
These are all around an inch high or wide, give or take.
What you'll need:
Glass of your choice
Torch (all of these are done on a Hothead)
Pick
And that's all.
1. Make your base bead - whatever size, colours or style you like. Plain, encased designs, whatever. Just be mindful that there will be a lot of shifting inside the bead, because you'll be getting the whole bead soft at least twice.
The best shape would be more rounded than olive-shaped. The puffier you want your heart, the rounder you'll need your base bead to be. Naturally, if you want a slimmer heart, then you can make it less round. But by all means, play around with this part and see what you get.
2. Get the bead all glowy and pliable, but not too droopy.
3. Grab your pick and press one end of your bead from the mandrel to midway down the length, making a single crease, running parallel to the mandrel. . Turn, and do the other side.
* I like to crease from the end of the mandrel end of the bead*
You will notice that most of the glass on either side of the creases has also moved to the other end of the bead. That's ok. It's supposed to. It'll look like you've done your heart already. But it's really upside down.
4. Now for the fun part. Point the creased end of the mandrel downwards, and sideways, and start melting one side of the bead at a time, while letting gravity form the 'cheeks'.
You will need to change hands in this process, just to even up the thickness of the body (the back and front), as you let the cheeks build on each side.
You will also notice that as the glass moves back up the mandrel, the bottom end will start to naturally get thinner. Remember, you're melting your cheeks sideways and down, so the glass runs with the gravity. You can control how thin you want your end, by how much glass you allow to move downwards.
Just keep melting the cheeks to where you want them. You will have to be careful during this part, to ensure that the cheek you've just heated to droop is allowed to harden a little before flipping the mandrel to melt the other cheek. It's easy to let the melted cheek fall onto the mandrel when you flip it over, otherwise.
The hope is that you have enough glass to fill cheeks, while your original crease is still present on each side, so the bead remains 'puffy'. This is usually possible, because while you've let the cheeks set enough at the top, not to touch the mandrel with each flip, the bulk of it sags a little towards the centre in the face of the heart, enhancing that cleavage.
Just play around with this stage, and see what happens when you do this or that. Some beads will happen very quickly, depending (I suppose) on your torch, but also depending on what glass you're using, or whether you've got an encased design. Others will take some babying, especially if you don't want to disturb an encased design; or if you have potentially sooty glass.
Decorations are possible on the surface, whether it's shards, stringer, whatever.
Have fun!
If you have any questions, just sing out. And please show how yours have turned out. I'd love to see
Hand-Shaped Puffy Hearts
