[gmkcpa]

I've been waiting for a curious person. Hi,Dave. This is how I made the eyes for the aliens and their pets. I used Momka's Brown Glitter (MB-092). Pull a short stringer (an inch is enough) of it about 1-2mm thick. Push it up into the flame until it forms a small ball, then nip it off (I use small wire cutter pliers). Take a clear 5mm OD tube and close off one end so that inside the tube bottom is flat or very slightly curved. Then drop the small ball down the tube. Heat the bottom of the tube until the small ball is encased, hopefully without any bubbles, clean it up and put it on the end of a clear 5mm punty. Stick it onto your maria. When I did the alien skulls the eyes were the first thing I put onto the maria.

Before I nip off the small ball I make sure that it just fits into the tube. I keep (for future use on a project) all the small balls that are just a bit too large to fit into the tube.

I was an accountant, not an engineer, but here is my logic for why this works. I've read that one should not deeply encase Brown Glitter or Loch Ness NS-98, because they have cracking issues. Fine - let them crack, but CONTROL the crack - that's why I encase the little balls in the clear tubing. Also, I've used them to make a pendant, and this did NOT work very well - my guess is that with a pendant they don't get encased deep enough to completely crack. And when I used Loch Ness I got the same effect but with tinges of green/blue/teal among all the sparkle.

if anyone has more questions, ask!