Handmade Beaded art by Carter Watkins
No. 1
Longhorn Skull
30+ colors
I learned so many valuable lessons while making this skull.
Dont heat your wax up on the kitchen stove. I was heating up my wax pan in the kitchen, as I was taking it off the burner a bead that was stuck to the bottom of the pan exploded, I jumped. wax got everywhere. Had to take a 3 hour break to clean it all up. It was a nightmare.
Clear enamel resin must be applied in a climate controlled and ventilated room.
After 3 months of beading I decided to spray the piece with some clear enamel resin to lock the beads in place. I sprayed it and left it to dry in my garage (it was about 100 degrees in my garage). I came back a couple hours later to discover the epoxy had formed millions of tiny air bubbles and was not totally clear. I spent hours picking and scraping the botched enamel off the surface. Nightmare.
Keep the wax warm while you work. it makes it a lot easier to set the beads if the wax is soft.