Okay...I FINALLY got around to taking pictures last night. Placing the beads under incandescent lights really brought out the stringer work, and there are even some colors. However, I don't really care for how they look. I thought they'd be more vibrant...colorful.
These beads were made using the suggested stringer on a base of Moretti striking red and encased with Vetrofond clear.
These beads were made using the stringer on a base of Moretti striking yellow and encased with Vetrofond. I don't really care for these since there was a reaction on some of the beads between the stringer and yellow that turned an ugly brown color.
Regarding how much iris gold I used in my stringer, I heated a nice gather of transparent brown (around 10mm) and rolled it in enough frit to coat the entire gather. Then, I heated it in until it was white hot and pulled into stringer. Are you suggesting I use more iris gold?
Edited to add: Actually, after looking at my beads, I think I got the best color where I had more stringer on the bead. For example...in the red set, there are two beads with dots of the stringer. These beads have the most amount of color when compared to the other beads. I added two layers of dots to these beads, whereas the other beads only had one "layer" of stringer. So, maybe more stringer does show more colors?
Thanks!