Seahorse Twisty Tutorial

[kimberly]

I have wanted to do this for a while, but just now got some good photos. My son took them for me and he did a fabulous job!! I hope I can do a decent tutorial here!

First, I make a gather on the end of a mandrel. Get the tip of the mandrel really red hot about 1/4 inch down. Then heat your glass and apply it to the end of the mandrel. The gather should be about the size of the average red grape. I am using Opal Yellow for the core of the twisty.

[kimberly]

Now, marver the gather into a cone shape.

[kimberly]

Now, to add a little color. I added one large stripe of EDP and one large stripe of Copper Green. Keep the core a little cool so it doesn't distort when you add your stripes of color.

[kimberly]

Now, I add a couple of thin stripes of Intense Black. They are not evenly spaced but they are rather thin. To keep them thin, PUSH the stripe on, starting at the top of the gather and pushing toward the bottom. I think I added two or three stripes of Intense Black.

[kimberly]

Now, heat your gather until everything is pretty much melted in. It doesn't have to be smooth, just no big bumps. Allow to cool a little bit, then heat gently in the flame, grasp the end of the gather with some tweezers, twist rapidly with the hand holding the mandrel (the mandrel will help you do this) while you very slowly pull out the twisty with your other hand. Keep flashing the gather in the flame, then out, in, then out to keep the gather just hot enough to pull. I takes some practice, but you will eventually get a very tightly twisted cane that is wonderful for organic beads. I couldn't do my seahorses without these twisties!!!


Hope this tutorial is okay!

[DreamMuse]

Wow, thank you so much for posting this!!! I'm dying to try it now!

Yer the best!

[Bear Rampant Glass]

How freaking amazingly cool! You are great, Kimberly!!!

Jeannette

[kimberly]

I forgot to say that these are very thin twisties. About the diameter of a small darning needle or even smaller. They are also brittle, so be careful with them!

[chrisdd]

This is the most unique way to make twisties that I've ever seen. Why do you use a cone-shaped base?

[kimberly]

Originally Posted by chrisdd

This is the most unique way to make twisties that I've ever seen. Why do you use a cone-shaped base?

I get very little waste that way. Most of the pull is in the thick part of the cone. By the time you get to the bottom of the cone, you still have enough stripes left on the core that you can pull down to the bitter end. Great way to use odd lot colors that you don't have a lot of.

[BiaggiaBeads]

Thank you Kimberly! Pulling twisties is one of my most dreaded skills and it's great to see another technique! Can't wait to give it a try! Thanks so much for sharing this with us all!

[chrisdd]

Originally Posted by kimberly

I get very little waste that way. Most of the pull is in the thick part of the cone. By the time you get to the bottom of the cone, you still have enough stripes left on the core that you can pull down to the bitter end. Great way to use odd lot colors that you don't have a lot of.

Ooooh, I get it. Damn, I am SO glad I played hookie from work today. I'm going to try this today.

[Sam_W]

First - thank you so much for this, Kimberly. The generosity you display with your knowledge is really humbling.

Second, is there anyway we get some kind of tip jar tied to these tutorials? Honestly, the material posted here is often unique and valuable, it'd be awfully nice if we could toss a few bucks into a tip jar for the authors.

Aaaanyway, thanks again Kimberly, this is a great tutorial and it answers a ton of related questions I've had about organic canes and methods for pulling them. Now, if we could just get you down to Dallas for a class . . . .

[Shawn T]

Kimberly,
Awesome!!!
What a wonderful tutorial so easy to understand. Great photos and wonderful descriptive words to go with it. Thank You so much for sharing your way for making twisties.

[kimberly]

Credit for the technique should go to Andrea Guarino. She is the first person who showed me how to use a mandrel to pull twisties.

[WhiskerWood]

5 STARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Awesome tutorial Kimberly!!!
And your son did am awesome job on the pics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Craftylady]

Thank you kimberly for taking the time to put this together. And please tell your son how much we are enjoying his photography work! I cant wait to try this.

[Nicker]

Kimberly that's an awsome tut, great pics tell your son thanks!

[Travelin'gal]

Excellent! A++++++++. Great job kimberly. Thank you!

[GreatBeadsOfFire]

Thank you very very much! You ROCK!

[DawnT]

Thanks so much Kimberly! I have a terrible time with twisties so glad to see another way of doing them!

[Sharlee22]

Thank you so much Kimberly for this tutorial. I've never make such nice twisties before. I used your technique with the mandrel and WOW!!! Long, even and incredibly nice twisties...
Thanks a lot for sharing this with us!!!

[sadiesmom]

WOW KIMBERLY!!!!! I'm going to try this out today!!

This seems like one of those tips that someone would try to keep from others. And you shared it with us!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!

[lbjvg]

Just when I thought I knew all there was to pulling twisties - marvering into a cone is something I didn't know about. Thanks for the tip!

[Stinky Jr]

Kinberly,
Thank you so much for the infomation. This is wonderfully generous of you. And thanks to Andrea Guarino for teaching you. I can't wait to try pulling twisties like this.
Linda

[Jacinthe]

Awesome Kimberly!

[Curly Irish Girl]

So...when you are done pulling the twistie do you plunge the mandrel with remaining glass in water to get rid of the remaining glass????

Excellent tutorial - I can imagine attempts at seahorses all over the place tonight!! Thanks!

[kimberly]

Originally Posted by Curly Irish Girl

So...when you are done pulling the twistie do you plunge the mandrel with remaining glass in water to get rid of the remaining glass????

Excellent tutorial - I can imagine attempts at seahorses all over the place tonight!! Thanks!

Yes!!!! I love the hiss!!!

I want to see the seahorses folks come up with, too!!!

Kimberly

[sadiesmom]

Well I'm not making sea horses... but I sure am having a good time!! I'll take pictures when I'm done.

[kimberly]

They are fun to use, aren't they?