Days 1 & 2

So far I've watched the DVD once, and read and re-read the first two books I got off amazon many many times. (I still haven't picked up the other two books from my mom's house yet.)

Working with glass is more difficult than I remember it being, and therefore making beads is not as easy as I imagined it being. This could be because I am working with a different setup and different type of glass than before. It is going to take practice and more practice to get good at this.

Day 1

My first three beads

• To start out with I pulled some stringers for decoration using the pliers method. So, far all of my stringers are coming out way too thin and are very difficult for a beginner to apply.

• The first bead I made was the blue one above. It was decorated using a black stringer. The shape is not at all symmetrical. I was also unable to remove it from the mandrel.
  

• The green bead is my second. It was decorated with a white stringer, and a reddish stringer. This bead is more symmetrical than the first, but still has a point on the top. I need to work on my application of the glass to the mandrel.
  

• The third bead is multicolored, with the base bead being made up three translucent colors, a purplish pink, a dark blue, and a lime green. It is decorated with a white stringer. The purple end is okay, but the green end... not so much.

• I had started one other bead between the first and second beads, but the bead release began to come loose from the mandrel, and I had to stop.

Day 2

Second day's beads

• I was only able to successfully create two beads this day. I had more problems with the bead release breaking loose from the mandrel. I'm going to have to work on pulling so this won't happen again.
  

• The first bead I started with white glass, and layered different shades of pink on top of it. I was unable to get the bead to round out, so I played around with the shape. I must have put the bead into the fiber blanket too soon, because some of the fiber stuck to the bead. I also managed to flatten it a little while putting it in the blanket, so it must have really been too hot.
  

• I then tried my hand at making some twisted stringers, and managed to do so fairly successfully.
  

• The second bead I made with clear glass, because I wanted to practice getting the shape right (round and symmetrical). I actually think this is best bead yet. Then I attempted to apply my twisted stringers, and the application didn't go so well. They partially broke off later when I removed the beads from the fiber blanket and placed the beads (still on the mandrels) into a glass of water. I'm not sure if they were cool enough yet, because I noticed the water got hot, even though beads had been left to cool for hours in the fiber blanket beforehand.