More torching

Tonight I tried a burch of techniques. In a way, I'm reviewing what Tink did with me before I move ahead. Although I did try two new things...

• Made two beads on a mandrel. This was pretty hard with the cooler torch, especially since the tank was already at the "need-to-rest" stage. But they pretty much match in size. Neither is perfect, but they're both workable. Note that the dark shapes on the beads are reflections of other beads.



• Used this wonderful color called "copper green," recommended and sold to me by Debbie. Wow, it's beautiful! And it winds onto the mandrel like a dream. Especially good after a green bead I made out of what must have been Bullseye accidentally; it took tons of time to work with! Very pretty now, though.



• I then added some frit given to me by Debbie to the copper green. She wasn't sure it would work, but it's really cool! I love this bead.



• And for the grand finale, I made an indigo bead, added organic stripes of black, then ivory, and encased it (!!!!)


• If that weren't enough, I wanted to try a square bead. Frustrated at the lack of marvers, I looked again at my stainless steel table, and thought -- why not! So I used that surface, carefully reheating each cooled spot after pressing it, and voila - an encased square bead!

I'm so proud of myself.