How do you use your Enamel?

[ellyloo]

I was looking and loving the enamel thread in the gallery.
I have problems when it comes to enamel --i don't have the knack of getting any sort of depth or pattern or anything remotely artistic when it comes to enamel. It just looks like glomped on colour.

So, how do you use your enamel?
Do you mix your enamel colours at all? do you use it with frit? Do you lay it out in lines? do you sprinkle it on, roll it on, dip and shake....make stringer? Etch? Is this just something I"m going to have to experiment with?

I HAVE had luck making enamel stringer for water colour'y flowers.
That's about it.

[scoutycat]

Sometimes I mix enamel colors, but not always. I usually heat the bead to a soft red glow, then sprinkle on the enamel with a spoon or from the container, then dump the excess. If I want light coverage, I will take a blade or spatula tool and scrape off the excess, otherwise I just melt it in.

[artsyuno]

If it looks glomped, you may be putting it on and melting it in with the bead too cool so that it's balling up on itself instead of melting into the bead.

Sometimes I sift it on and sometimes I roll or pat the bead in it, depending on what I feel like doing or what effect I'm going for. Occasionally, I pull enameled stringer and use that. Sometimes I etch it.