Handmixing Transparent Chocolate Brown
This is probably one of the most frequently asked for when it comes to techniques and tutorials. I figured out this brown accidentally when I was trying to mix a light honey color, and it was the best mistake I ever made! This handmixed brown is featured in many of my bead sets now.**UPDATE - as of 2009-2010, many of the 104 coe glass manufacturers have released new colors, and they seem to have focused on these shades of chocolate brown. Vetrofond has a striking transparent brown out now that mirrors this handmixed color. They call it Light Brown, but it is a vivid chocolate/coffee syrup color. CiM also has a color called Maple that is a lighter, more transparent version of my handmixed color. So if you can get your hands on those, you won't need to mix your own. Here's the recipe anyway - just in case!
You'll need these colors to do it (they're all Moretti/Effetre):
Handpulled Light Brown Transparent (018)
Handpulled Opaque Sage (211)
and Dark Topaz (016)
Here's how I mix it:
Take one rod of light brown and heat the end of it. Then paint a few small stripes of topaz along the end, about an inch or so. Then take another rod of the light brown and attach it punty style. With your flame up a bit, mix it until it's well blended - it will look like a dark honey color at first. The longer you work it, the darker it gets. It's a striking color, so don't worry about the honey tones. Then you can pull your thin rod, and use the leftover for stringers.
To get the color to really pop, make a small bead in sage, layer the mixed brown (just a small amount) over the sage, and then encase it again in the light transparent brown, and use that as your base. The longer this mix spends in a cool, oxidizing flame, the darker it gets. It will vary slightly with each batch, and it's difficult to achieve the same exact brown every time, so be flexible. :)
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