Stamen tutorial - a quickie for now

[AngelHeart]

As a few people have been waiting on the stamen tutorial I promised in conjuction with my encased floral tutorial I have just written up a quickie to tide you over until I get the time to do a proper one with pics etc.

As I did this in a hurry there are bound to be things I have missed so any questions, suggestions etc please just ask.

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1. using a thick rod of clear (doesn't matter what glass) I make a punty.

2. I start with the middle color for the stamen which I generally make a different color than the rest. Take a fairly thick stringer, about 3mm, and melt it to the centre of the punty so it sits pararell to the punty sort of like this:

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The magenta lines are the stringer.

3. Using clear apply around the whole stringer until it is totally covered. You have to watch the heat here as the stringer melt pretty quickly and bends all over the place.

3. Take a stringer of the color you want the next lot to be, using the same size - 3mm, and lay it against the clear. Continue to do this until you have 4, 5, 6 or how many you want around the clear.

4. Now take your clear and cover all the stringers you just applied and smooth it down a bit so it is easier to apply the next lot.

5. You can use the same color stringer for the next lot or choose another color that would look nice. I sometimes like black as the outside ones as it gives the stamen a bit of definition but it does depend on what it will be used on. Apply the stringers around the clear as in step 3 but this time put each one in between where you put the previous ones. You could also put a stringer in between as well as in the same place, it depends on how full you want the stamen to be.

6. Now you just cover the whole thing with clear, smooth it out a bit.

7. Get another punty ready to attach to the end of your cane or you can use pliers but the punty is much easier as you will have a thick lot of glass to grab.

8. Heat the stamen until is is glowing red, attach the punty and take it out of the flame. Wait a couple of seconds and start pulling.

I do mine in sections as my arms are definitely not 10 feet long. Also you will find that you need different thicknesses of cane for your flowers depending on their size. So I pull some very thick, very thin and in between. When you cut it into lengths don't make them too long as it makes it more difficult to manipulate them when plunging into the flower. I usually cut mine about 5" long.

This is time consuming but the cane will last you a long time as not much is used in each flower.

As soon as I get the visual tutorial done I will post it here.

Have fun!

[KAS]

Ooooohhhh...Thank you Carol! Great tutorial...can't wait to try it! Kathleen

[GlassyLady]

Great tutorial! many thanks and I will definitely try it!
Galia

[Jude Rose]

Thanks, Carol!

[JCHerrellGlass]

Awesome!

[glasser]

I noticed you wrote this in 2005, have you had a chance to do the pictoral tut? Thanks, Pam

[debkauz]

Couldn't you encase the first stringer before you put it on? Wouldn't it be easier to not melt it?

[nevadaglass]

Dumb question, but why couldnt you just take about 4 or 5 rods of filigrana of various desired colors, bundle, melt together and pull down to size stringer you want? Did I miss something in the effect you are trying to acheive?

[jjglass]

Not a dumb question. You can absolutely do that if you want, that is how I make my stamen cane and it's much easier for me. You just won't find all the colors that you may want to use for a stamen in filigrana, in which case you need to make your own.

[nevadaglass]

Originally Posted by jjglass

Not a dumb question. You can absolutely do that if you want, that is how I make my stamen cane and it's much easier for me. You just won't find all the colors that you may want to use for a stamen in filigrana, in which case you need to make your own.

Got it - makes sense!
So when you want to use that Tangerine plum passion fruit for a stamen - its roll your own

[Calypso]

Thanks Carol

Ana María

[artsyuno]

How long are the pieces of stringer?

[jjglass]

Make them as long as you want, but keep in mind that you have to be able to control them while encasing etc. You essentailly use as much as you need to create the length of stringer you want in the end. Remember that your final product will go a long way as, generally, you will be plunging flowers with it and snapping it off, so a little will go a long way.

BTW, Carol did this tutorial back in 2005, you can see the date on the post at the top. This tut was ressurected in April with a question, now in August, so I thought I would respond as she hasn't posted in the forums since 12/01/2005.

Happy stamen making, florals are fun and thanks Carol for doing this tut.

[killerbeedz1]

I've been making stamen cane for awhile, but the stamens seem to get lost in the flower. What am I doing wrong? For instance the stamen I'm using was made with the middle being black, encased in clear, 8 stringers of yellow around it and then encased in clear once again. When I use this cane the stamens are not popping out. It looks like I did nothing special and the clear that was around the stamen pushes the petals of the flowers aside and my petals get distorted (looks like a clear hole). Any suggestions, would be appreciated as I have been trying this for over a year with horrible results.

[papimom]

You might try reversing your color order.
Opaque Yellow center, clear, thin black stringer stripes, clear.
This gives me a bit more contrast and visibility.
Joan

[killerbeedz1]

Thanks Joan. Any advice about the distortion of the petals when clear is plunged in the middle and looks like like a hole?

[Byrdbeads]

Sounds like your plunging too soon. Wait a tad longer so the glass isnt too soft and your stamen stringer pulls the petals with it. I will spot heat, bring out of the flame so the heat is absorbed and then when the glow is gone, spot heat again then wait a few sec then plunge. if you start to plunge and you can tell it is too soft, stop for a sec then continue. Is a matter of seconds cause your stamen stringer will cool it too so you will have to get the feal.

Robyn

Also if you use Intense black it wont loose as much color as the reg black when you do your pull and use a little bit thicker stringer so will be able to see it when the pull is done.

[killerbeedz1]

Thanks Robyn I will try that.