I've been asked a few times how to do these so I finally took some pics as I was making one. This is my first tutorial so hopefully I included all the steps.
Off mandrel rose
Material needed:
Petal mashers
5-6mm boro rod about 6” long
A pick
Needle Tweezers
Annealing kiln
Glass rod for leaves and flower
Make a ball of glass on the end of a rod
and mash it with your petal masher.
Pull the petal off the rod, set on non burn able pad (marver)
and pickup with tweezers and put in annealer. Make all of your petals and leaves in advance, make extra as they may crack when you flash them in the flame.
Vary the size from 3/8" to 3/4" or so, you need at least 3 of each size you make. As you are doing layers of 3.
For soft glass... using a boro punty heat up
and maria the end,
add a small pea size amount of your leaf glass,
then either add a pea sized ball of your petal color and pull and shape a center
or add a petal and using the needle tweezers roll it into a cylinder.
Add a small petal above the leaf color and pull slightly to shape,
using the tweezers to also roll the petal,
pull slightly to shape.
Rotate 120 degrees and add a second petal and pull and shape,
then a third between the two, pull and shape.
As you add the petals, place them on 90 degrees to the flower and then use the tweezers to roll the petal more round then pull and shape.
Now add a row between each previous petal, on the bottom of the petal, pulling and shaping as you apply. Remember to flash it in and out of the flame.
Continue until it is at least 2 layers , Adding just above the leaf color and between each petal. (I've made up to 5 layers on a minor and an oxycon)
Now if you want it to hang add a loop to one of the last petals you added by applying a dot of glass about center of the petal and one forward of that,
continue to flash everything, build up the dots into 2 columns, turn upside down and join the two columns together making a loop, form and straighten the loop.
Add leaves same as the petals. Heat the leaf and pinch the center with the tweezers. Reheat and pinch the edges at an angle. Heat just enough to pull and form.
Or if you have a leaf masher you could pre make the leaves with that
Flash the flower in the flame, grab a center petal with tweezers and heat the bottom to remove from the boro punty.
Marver the bottom flat and melt in.
Place in kiln
You really have to remember to FLASH everything!!!! Don't stay on one spot.
The largest flowers 15 petals are the size of a silver dollar, the smallest with 3petals about the size of a dime