Tips & Tricks

I created these little tidbits of more or less useless information over quite a long period of time (around 17 years) – nothing really spectacular but my friends who worked on the new website decided that they didn’t want this stuff to disappear in cyberspace. The picture quality of some of the images is a bit, well, not so great – remember when digital cameras recorded onto floppy disks? Yes, the info is THAT old…

I will try and add some new ideas now and then, but at the moment I’m more into recording videos, which you’ll find in Corina’s Vault.

Click on each title to be taken to the actual tutorial page – well, you know what to do…

Corina at the Torch
How to make a “don’t worry” style bracelet

How to make a “don’t worry” style bracelet

I have made these colorful bracelets for many years, and I called them “Don’t worry, be happy”, because I truly believe that jewelry can make us happy, especially when it’s invites you to “play” with it. for this reason one important “factor” in making this type of...

How to Make Pacifier Earrings

How to Make Pacifier Earrings

I was originally planning to turn this into a printed tutorial, but it was so difficult to explain how to move the mandrel in order to heat the earring the right way. Therefore I decided to just offer this for free as a Youtube video. Hope it will inspire you....

How to Create Cabochon Earrings

How to Create Cabochon Earrings

One comment: pay attention to the "change of hands".....sometimes you hold the glass in your right hand, sometimes in your left...it definitely helps to do that! BEFORE YOU START: you might want to read my little blurb on HOLDING TOOLS1. Heat the tip of a rod of glass...

Inspire Yourself

Inspire Yourself

I think every bead maker has his or her own way of creating beads - sometimes you "play as you go" - and sometimes you plan. I do both, but often I work on a bead in my head, just before I fall asleep, or on a plane, or sitting at the Tire-store to wait for my flat...

How to Make Silver Lined Dots

How to Make Silver Lined Dots

I'm not sure "silver lined dots" is the official name for this technique...but I think it sounds good. This is not "my invention" - but a little "trick" cooked up by the fantastic British beadmaker Diana East. "What on earth is she doing, giving away someone else's...

How to hold more than one thing in one hand

How to hold more than one thing in one hand

There are lots of situations in beadmaking when you find yourself wanting for a third hand: pulling off scum from a clear rod, pulling off the tip of a balled up stringer, pulling a striped cane to a point, stuff like that. I have seen lots of people "circumvent" the...

How to Handle Hair-fine Stringer

How to Handle Hair-fine Stringer

Please make sure to read the TEXT first, and not just scroll down to the pictures! The text is an essential part of the tutorial. When talking about stringer, there are two basic aspects: learning how to "deal" with stringer - and then learning (or figuring out) WHAT...

How to Make Pandora-size Encased Florals

How to Make Pandora-size Encased Florals

Before we get started, I wanted to talk a little about the objective of most of the steps I will be showing. Making an encased floral is not all that much of a mystery anymore, most beadmaking books, including my Passing the Flame include some sort of tutorial. What...

How to Make Frog-Egg-Patterns

How to Make Frog-Egg-Patterns

You might have seen this pattern on one of the frogs I listed today. Some of you might immediately see how this "dot ladder" is created, others might scratch their head. It's fairly simple to do, but it does require some preparation: a "clear core cane" (or murrini)No...

Applying Murrini

Applying Murrini

Making a "Starburst" Murrini is one thing - APPLYING it is the next big "secret", so, here we go again: 1. Cut the cane into small pieces. I always try to get a variety of LENGTH, since this will alter the appearance of the finished piece just as much as the diameter...

Mixing (or Blending) Glass

Mixing (or Blending) Glass

Here is a quick look into mixing colors, in case you have never tried this before: The color I am showing you to mix is going to be a dark lavender/purple color, as a result of the combination of black and periwinkle. The directions are the same for any color of...

How to Build a Glass Storage Shelf

How to Build a Glass Storage Shelf

This shelf was designed by my friend Geno, and of course, because he is a nice guy, he doesn't mind if other people copy his idea. Depening on how much glass you insert into the tubes, the shelf can get pretty heavy - it CAN be hung on the wall, as long as you find...