By: Beth Appleton

Glass beads


      To make enamel beads, you need a propane torch, copper tubing, chunks of
enamel, and <umm..> "resist".  When I got my supplies, I also got an asbestos
pad to work over, & they recommend heat-proof dishes to put the enamel chunks
in.
      We've been having discussions on how you get started. I learned (not very
well I might add) to paint one end of the copper tube with resist, and paint a
stripe around at where I wanted the bead to end.  A friend of mine cuts her
tubing into bead-length chunks (with the hacksaw or jeweler's saw I forgot to
mention that you'll need) and then paints a coathanger with the resist, and
uses the coathanger to keep the hot tube away from her.
      Then you heat the tube in the flame until it's glowing hot.  Dip it into
the enamel chunks, which will stick, and then put it back in the flame,
rotating it for even heat, and so that the enamel is staying mostly round when
it melts. Repeat this until the bead is as big around as you'd like.
      You can decorate it with spots of different enamels, or by adding glass
threads (this is tricky).
     I made 1 bead in the class I took, which came out ok, and tried to make 1
bead at home.  It was not a success.
     I got my supplies from Thompson's (address later - I have to find the
catalog), and I thought I'd try the little sample packs instead of buying just
one or two colors. Well, they didn't do chunks in the samplers, so I got powder
-- mistake.  It's *much* harder to work with.
     It's been so long I've forgotten quite what I spent -- it wasn't cheap, by
a long shot.  $50-60??

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