UPDATED with solution - Picking up Petals for Sculptural Rose

[Enchanted Cobwebs]

I have made my first few sculptural roses, I enjoyed it but chasing after the petals is putting me off! I'm using a tea light with a metal dish on top to take the petals and keep them warmish but they are slippery little beggars and I'm playing fishing with one hand trying to keep the rest of the bead warm. I tried baking foil but managed to burn some onto a petal, tried hubby's fiber paper but the fumes put me off.

Is there a tool like a nice little rack type thingy to hold the petals at an angle so its possible to just pick them up easily? Or is it just a case of improving my fishing skills?



UPDATE -
Cup warmer, little metal dish and a handful of shot = Success!!!

Now I did still have a few go ping, seems some colours are more picky than others so I annealed all the left over petals, put them cold onto the shot the next day, warmed up my cup warmer (with a tinfoil lid!) and when it was alll nice and too warm to touch I started up again and they all worked. It might be beginners luck but it actually worked!!!!

I also found a solution to the middle dip mandrel dilemma when you try to do it in a beadcube but I will add that to the original thread (if I can find it!)

[Magpie]

When Sabine demo'ed it at flame off several years ago she had her mandrel in one hand, the glass rod in the other, melted a gather, juggled what she was holding and picked up her mashers with her spare hand, squished the gather into a petal and stuck it onto the rose. All while keeping the bead warm of course. Lots of juggling but you don't need a hot plate or anything.

Personally I've used the juggling technique for gremlin ears but not for a rose.

[Enchanted Cobwebs]

Ooh, never thought of trying that! Gotta be better than trying to pick the slippery so and so's up so I shall have a try. Thank you!
Hx

[Trudi]

You could also try leaving them attached to the rod while warming

[Enchanted Cobwebs]

You could also try leaving them attached to the rod while warming

I had a go at something like this, might not have got it right but anyway I ended up with 12 rods eaach with a petal on the end inside  the beadcube keeping nice and hot while I made my base. Then when I wanted one and with one hand only opened the door we had a wee landslide when 3 fell out! Maybe I shouldnt have used full rods

When Sabine demo'ed it at flame off several years ago she had her mandrel in one hand, the glass rod in the other, melted a gather, juggled what she was holding and picked up her mashers with her spare hand, squished the gather into a petal and stuck it onto the rose. All while keeping the bead warm of course. Lots of juggling but you don't need a hot plate or anything.

Personally I've used the juggling technique for gremlin ears but not for a rose.

Tried this last night and have decided that it must take years to get it right! My left hand is a bit weak too so it must have been a comedy to watch!

I have now made tubes of tinfoil into circles, squashed them so I have little pockets to stand the petals upright in on my little metal saucer on top of my charity shop trivet with a tea light underneath! If it works I will post piccys and do a very happy dance! If not its back to the drawing board!

[Trudi]

You could also try leaving them attached to the rod while warming

I had a go at something like this, might not have got it right but anyway I ended up with 12 rods eaach with a petal on the end inside  the beadcube keeping nice and hot while I made my base. Then when I wanted one and with one hand only opened the door we had a wee landslide when 3 fell out! Maybe I shouldnt have used full rods

Try them on the warming plate and pulling the rods a bit thinner .. might help x

[firedinglass]

I have a little cup warmer that I bought on eBay for about £5 . I put my murrini and shards on it, it might help but it is electric so needs to be near a plug.

[Enchanted Cobwebs]

Try them on the warming plate and pulling the rods a bit thinner .. might help x

Will give that a try!

Thanks

I have a little cup warmer that I bought on eBay for about £5 . I put my murrini and shards on it, it might help but it is electric so needs to be near a plug.

Think I might combine this with Trudi's suggestion above as my makeshift thingy shows potential but its a bit wonky and high so a lower one like the cup warmer idea would be far safer. Then I'd also eliminate the picking them up problem using Trudi's method

Off to try again, glad the weather is crap otherwise we might have had to go to a barbie and I'd prefer to stay home and play!

[Cecilia]

Hi, I have tried Sabines methed but I am not a good juggler... I have a slow cooker which works on a hot plate (seperate caserole dish) I have a piece of brass that I sit ontop till it is pretty hot. I have a selection of tweezers but still struggle to pick pick petals up with them. I tend to slide them to the edge so I can get underneath them. I am just thinking a saucer instead of brass sheet might be better to get a grip with because of the lip...?
X

[Moira HFG]

How about a strip of tin can bent into zigzags, on top of your plate?
Sturdier than tinfoil, but still bendable. You could make big or small zigs, to fit your petals, perhaps?

[fionaess]

Use boro and not soft glass 

[Madam Steph]

I wish I had shown you how to do this at Flame Off, Helen.
It's a 3 hand job as some have said.
Make your base bead and keep your mandrel in the same hand as the one you melt your rod in. Melt a large blob for petal.
Mash your petal with the other hand, (not your actual hand..have some mashers to do this), pull off the petal with mashers, quickly to the base bead with the base of the petal, quickly to the table with the mashers and pick up a marver with a long handle with that same hand. Heat to the join of the petal to the base bead and marver to ensure it doesn't come away. All the time keeping the flashing the flower on the mandrel through the flame to keep warm.
I needed to remind myself of the sequencing so I made this,  a chance to use my new (to me) Maxi kiln:

<a href="http://s755.photobucket.com/user/a_perfectly_pretty_poppy/media/My%20Lampworking%20History/rosecover_zps61e3e175.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i755.photobucket.com/albums/xx196/a_perfectly_pretty_poppy/My%20Lampworking%20History/rosecover_zps61e3e175.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo rosecover_zps61e3e175.jpg"/></a>

This, btw was made on one of Sabines ring nuts

Linda x

[Madam Steph]

Meant to say...at first I struggled to keep hold of the petals with the mashers, until I found I was holding them to near the round bit at the end, so lost the purchase on them and ended up with a petal strewn desk.
Yes...I did the same today again, at first 

Linda x

[Enchanted Cobwebs]

Thank you everyone, and well done Linda, thats lovely!

I have been trying to make 2 tone petals, this involves adding another colour around the tip of the rod so the 3 hand exercise (which I failed at miserably) wouldnt do what I was after , thats my excuse anyway!
I have had fair success today making my petals, putting them on my heated tray into the tinfoil pockets and picking them up the right way round from there. I suspect I will be better off with the cup warmer and once I get that will post piccys of the aparatus and the results

[Enchanted Cobwebs]

I now have a cup warmer, my metal saucer thingy sits on it perfectly. To overcome chasing slippery petals around I tried part filling the saucer with seed beads, this worked lovely but they were tiny and slightly stuck to the petals. I then tried vermiculite and again it worked but was too dusty.

I have now decided to try using some steel shot, wont be dusty and hopefully wont stick so easily. I heated the shot up last night on the warmer and it gets nice and hot so will have a go tonight with petals and post the outcome