At one of the retreats I went to last year I had a chance to use one of the biggest mandrels I had ever used before, the thing was 1 1/2 inches!
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This is Annie Shook holding the mandrel, we tag teamed it until it was finished-so much fun. |
So as soon as I got home I placed an order for 2 mandrels, a 1 1/2" and 2".
The first time I used these I was hooked! Here is the 2" in action
And here are the finished beads
What the heck am I going to do with beads that big you ask? Well, I am still pondering that but I have been having so much fun making them, it's kinda hard to stop.
Last week I decided to break out the electroforming kit that I purchased years ago and here is that process:
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The kit |
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The bead after painting with the copper paint. |
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The bead in the solution |
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plating |
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My "go to" book |
And after 20 hours and some patina, here is the finished bead:
What do you think?