| Technical Tips |
| Clean it up Soak your Moretti Dark Turquoise Beads Are you Dark Turquoise beads silvery black? Just soak them in CLR and you will have beautiful turquoise beads in a few hours. Be sure to read the label and follow all the safety precautions. Read more about the product |
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| Copyright Nina "Sam" Hibler 2007-20089- all rights reserved Site content and images are property of Dream Fire and are not to be reproduced without written permission |
| Steady It Wire your beads without any wobble or shifting Do your lampwork Beads wobble on the wire you are using to finish them? Most beads have a 3/32 hole size. If you are using head pins or 20-22 gauge wire you can use seed beads to fill the space. Simply run a few seed beads on your headpin/wire then slip the bead over the seed beads and wire. Now the wobble is gone and the seed beads are hidden. |
| Slow Down and Soak In To increasing the heat in your glass whether you are heating a bead to shape it or getting a cane ready to pull. Turn slower in the flame removing your glass for a moment or two (still turning gravity does not stop just for you!) Let the heat soak into the center and then return it to the flame. Repeat until you have even heat and glow. This will give you the heat you need for shaping your bead or to pull a good smooth cane. This also applies to life during the Holidays! Slow down and soak in the Now (life does not stop just for you). Don't miss the moment. Happy Holidays! |
| Stay Put This Months tip for my fusing friends and students. It is one of those simple "why didn't I think of that tips". When you are using small murrini or stringer components on a fused piece they don't want to stay in place. If you do get them to the kiln they sometimes jump right off as the temperature increases in the kiln. How do you keep them in place? SUPER GLUE the cheapest kind you can buy at your local hardware store. Just a small drip of super glue will hold a group of murrini or stringers in place. When using any Toxic materials you should have a well ventilated room. This is true when using the super glue. Use common sense and do not stand around the kiln room when the piece is firing. The fumes are toxic. I credit this tip to Jayne Persico. |
| Inspiration I'm often asked where do I get the ideas for my beads? So I thought I'd show you. Why is this a tip? The answer is. Students and customers ask me to reproduce, or how to make, an exact copy of a bead someone else had made. In my opinion practising technique is the only time it is acceptable to copy. When you are learning you may copy to work on different techniques. As and Artist you have to find your own voice. And you will not find it looking at other peoples beads My inspiration comes from nature, fabric and literature. Sometimes it is my interpretation of favorite object like the alligator pin below. |
| Shake it up ! Yes long time no tip. Life just gets so busy. I have decided this section is no longer the tip of the month. I don't seem to be able to get a new tip posted each month. I just might get it done but this way the tips can be added with out the pressure of a deadline. I was telling my beginning beadmaking class about this tip this weekend so I thought I'd pass it on. You have to add a little water to some brands of bead release as they tend to dry out. The next time you add water throw a couple of your little wonky beads in too. They will help "stir up" the bead release with every shake just like the little steel balls that use to be nail polish. This will give you smooth lump free bead release. **************************** |
| My Annealing Schedule This is a question I am ask often. For both Bullseye COE 90 and Moretti COE 104 this is my Annealing schedule Ramp 1- Full, Temp 1 - 968 F, hold 8 hrs The 8 hr hold is my working time while I make and add beads to the kiln Ramp 2 - full, Temperature 2 - 968 F, Hold 1 hour This gives the last bead in and hour at the annealing temp. Ramp 3- 150 F, Temperature 350 F, Hold 0 This is 150 degrees and hour from 968 F to 350F and then the kiln turns off ********************** |