SIS Silvered Ivory Stringer

[Wendyki]

is it light or Dark Ivory and yes I realize I am a dork.....


What other things can be added for more organic styled beads?

[Emily]

Whichever you like. I prefer dark ivory, myself.

[*Naos*]

Oh let's see here...

Dark Ivory, definitely...

You can roll the melted end of the rod in enamels, then in a half sheet of silver before you reheat and pull the stringer... that has some neat effects on a bead when melted in completely.

[krisdaka]

Well I may be the dork here I've only used Light....What a silly goose I am. LOL!
I guess I have something new to try out tomorrow.
Amber If I don't own any enamels, will pixie dust work? That's all I have. If it I guess I'll skip that part.

[Mustang Dawn]

I like using Dk ivory stringers. Cut your sheet of silver leaf in half and then roll your stringer the long ways on the silver. You have to wet your premade stringer first.

Dawn

[*Naos*]

Dawn - Wet? I just heat my premades, roll them over the silver sheet longways and burnish them on in the flame...please explain "wet"? heehee

[Emily]

If you're using silver leaf, wetting what you're touching to them can help keep the leaf from flying away.

I never use premade stringer. I use rod. I have silver leaf on my table marver with an index card or something sitting on it to keep it from flying away. I get an inch or so of the rod nice and warm, get it close to the marver, lift the card off, and roll the rod on the leaf before it has a chance to get away, then give it a nice burnish with a tool before putting it in the flame, heating it up, and pulling it into stringer. I guess if you start with stringer, rather than rod, you get a higher concentration of silver to ivory.

[Ms.Giggles]

Originally Posted by Mustang Dawn

I like using Dk ivory stringers. Cut your sheet of silver leaf in half and then roll your stringer the long ways on the silver. You have to wet your premade stringer first.

Dawn

Thanks Dawn, I didn't even think about using ready made stringers. That just sounds like it will make it so much easier, I am definitely going to try that. What do you use to burnish the silver on? Would just a graphite marver work?
Carol

[Mustang Dawn]

Originally Posted by *Naos*

Dawn - Wet? I just heat my premades, roll them over the silver sheet longways and burnish them on in the flame...please explain "wet"? heehee

The technical term would be "spit" on your fingers and transfer your spit to the rod...

[Mustang Dawn]

Originally Posted by dogzbreath

Thanks Dawn, I didn't even think about using ready made stringers. That just sounds like it will make it so much easier, I am definitely going to try that. What do you use to burnish the silver on? Would just a graphite marver work?
Carol

Just burnish them in the flame, no marver needed. You'll never want to pull SIS again

Dawn

[Beadbug]

Hey Dawn, If you are going to be at the meeting in Lansing this month would you mind showing us this method. I just see my stringer turning into a wad of glass not staying a stringer.

[Mustang Dawn]

Originally Posted by Bead_bug

Hey Dawn, If you are going to be at the meeting in Lansing this month would you mind showing us this method. I just see my stringer turning into a wad of glass not staying a stringer.

Sure I can. You'll be suprised how easy this is to do and how great it looks on beads. I'm really looking forward to Saturday

See you then!

Dawn

[RyanTheNumberImp]

I use vetro dark ivory, roll a huge gather into as much as a full sheet of leaf, mix it in really well, roll the entire thing into *another* sheet of leaf and pull it.

[NLC Beads]

I've used dark or light ivory, for different effects... I pull off the rods, too....

[Wendyki]

hmmm I guess I used too much silver then my dark ivory turned black

but then I used a whole sheet in one stringer *hide* I tend to overdoo things

[Wendyki]

thanks everyone for the response

[Mustang Dawn]

Originally Posted by Wendyki

hmmm I guess I used too much silver then my dark ivory turned black

but then I used a whole sheet in one stringer *hide* I tend to overdoo things

Yep, a whole sheet is a bit of an over kill. I use silver Leaf and cut my sheet in half.

Dawn

[cherylsart]

Using a stringer sounds like it would be tough on a HH. I double roll my gather in silver so I get a thicker coat of silver on it.

I like to use silvered clear. It's great on my celestial themed beads. Lots of us make beads like that and we all have our little techniques for getting the look we want.

Silvered River Rock is pretty as well.

Cheryl

[Wendyki]

I soooo need a few more pounds of River Rock I am out *sniffle* and broke....

Ohh well soon soon I tell ya

[Mustang Dawn]

Originally Posted by cherylsart

Using a stringer sounds like it would be tough on a HH. I double roll my gather in silver so I get a thicker coat of silver on it.
Cheryl

Hi Cheryl,

It does not matter what torch you are on to make sis with premade stringers. Here is how I do it.

1. Use premade ivory stringer ~2mm
2. Cut silver leaf sheet in half and place 1/2 on marvler
3. Spit on your fingers and then dampen the top of stringer (the length of the silver leaf).
4. Starting at the edge of your silver leaf roll your stringer the long ways across the silver leaf. (the spit holds it in place and it rolls on really nice)
5 Burnish silver stringer in upper part of the flame, you are not melting the stringer when doing this. Now your stringer is made.

I usually make 10 to 15 of them at a time so I don't run out. They just take a few seconds to make too.

I'll have to try some River Rock. That is one I don't have.

Dawn

[tt4st]

I've been making them like Dawn but I use skinnier pieces of silver (like 1/4 sheet) and dampen my finger in my quenching water that sits on my table and roll it on. If I want the silver to be firmly on my stringer - I have even tried taking a tiny bit of Elmer's glue mixed with some water and lightly applied (with my finger) that onto my already made SIS - let dry and it worked great to keep my silver from peeling off without any residue on my bead.

[Mustang Dawn]

I also tried using my water but found spit to work better Never thought of using glue....

Dawn

[Emily]

I think people may be using "burnish" to mean different things, and that people have different methods of using silver with ivory/dark ivory. Maybe my method isn't what people mean any more when they say "silvered ivory stringer" -- I guess it could have developed into a specialized term of art by now! As I said, I use full rods, not premade stringers, and pull stringers from them. I don't use water or spit. I heat the glass before applying the silver, so really what I'm doing is applying the silver to a rod the same way I'd apply it to a bead.

When I say "burnish," I mean to rub a tool gently against the silver before putting it back into the flame to make sure all of the silver is flat against the glass. If there are any loose, fly-away bits of silver, they'll just vaporize the minute the flame gets hold of them, and won't color the silver at all. You can use either a graphite or a metal tool for the burnishing. I think it's easier to do with a hand-held tool, but if it works better for you to rub the glass against a torch marver or a table marver, do what works for you.

The more silver you use, the more discoloration you're going to get. It still will be only the surface of your ivory, though, so if you think you've over-silvered, manipulate your ivory with something (rake it, pull it, twist it) to bring some of the inside to the outside and you'll get some color variation back.

[lavendar420]

I do what Emily does, but she sounds neater. I generally have a full sheet of leaf on the table or marver or whatever, get a glob, marver or squish it into a barrel shape without any concern for perfection, just to maximize surface area, roll across the silver, burnish/rub with a tool, heat back up & pull into stringer. I hold the sheet of silver down with a tool so it tears as a roll the glass - no need for a big glob o silver leaf on the end. These are more fragile than normal stringer & will shatter if not treated nicely.

[*Naos*]

Ah ok Dawn... See, when I figured out how to use the premades (trying to make Michael Barley Window beads), I just heated the stringer at the tip and flashed it through the flame before I rolled it over the half sheet of silver leaf. Then I flashed it in the flame and reburnished on my graphite marver. Works like a charm.

[cadia]

Who sells Vetrofond drk ivry stringer?
Does it exist?
thnx!

[Wendyki]

I sooo need to work on my silver skills

[Mustang Dawn]

I used to make my SIS like Emily too until I saw this method.

Sally, I'm not sure about Vet. Dk. Ivory. I bought my Moretti dk. stringers from www.howacoglass.com

Amber, yeah I don't use the heat until the very end to make the silver grab on to the stringer. When I took Micheals class a few months ago he showed us how to make his window beads. He found a better way to to make them since he 1st started to make them. I should go look at my notes and try to make one

Dawn

[jaci]

I love SIS and sivered tongue pink stringer! I think tongue is my new 'gem' it does SO much!

[barbaracollins]

So, what other colores make a good silvered stringer?