Terri asked how I make stringers:
Using my bead making torch (Lynx), heat a blob of glass, grab with
tweezers and pull. To get a flattened stringer, I flatten the blob of
glass on a pad, both sides. You can use a masher that has parallel
sides too. Then heat again and pull. I use a glass cutting tool to
make the pieces from the stringer.
For a flower murrini you add stripes, like toothpaste, to another
rod. You can shape that up a bit and add more stripes. If you put
thin stripes they come out like lines. If you put fat stripes they
look more like petals. A combination of both in different colors is
fun. Then get it evenly hot (as well as possible), pull out of torch,
wait, wait, wait, PULL! (Don’t twist!) The cool thing with making
murrini for the mini-mosaics is that you can leave edges and fill
them in when adding stringer/tesserae! I still haven’t found the
earrings, when I do I’ll post the pix.
Hope this gives you some good ideas!
Barb V.