6-18-02: What I've been working on since yesterday is a layered chop with NO TOSS. The canes that went into this chop are these links below.
How it's done is to take your different canes and chop them up and set aside in separate piles. I have this plastic lid that's 2 inches square and a half inch deep. I layer the chop three layers high. I take the block of chop out of the lid and cut it in half. In some I put finely chopped up bright colors with black on one half side. Put the two halves together like a sandwich.
Here's the thing I learned. DO NOT REDUCE, as in pull or stretch this cane. Because when you make your natasha beads you'll get two sides that are just stripes. Those stripes are made with pulling the colors. What you're going to do with this block o chop is to carefully compress the air out and then roll it with a brayer to even out the sides.
When cutting this loaf always make sure you're cutting through all the layers or what's the point of getting this far? LOL I speak from sleep deprived experience.
Ok take that loaf and cut it in half going through all the layers. Cut the halves in two, to get four thick slices. Then take one slice and slice in two. You'll end up with eight rectangular blocks of layered chop. Now make the natasha bead with those rectangular blocks o layered chop. You can keep the bead rectangular at this point or you can pull the edges together. You can poke a hole down the center or poke it at the top. You can poke both ends and string the necklace like an Egyptian bead bib. Hang them on strings and cover the kitchen door like a tacky cantina, hey that's a good idea.
Change the colors, change the designs of the cane, change the thickness of the layers of chop, all this will make your layered chop and no toss beads totally unique.
On the girlie side ... these multi colored necklaces will go with a number of outfits. Before you slice off the blocks for beads you can slice off the one big mirror image that cutting the loaf in half makes. Then take that large slice and make a pendant.
Big Tip Time: using something like that plastic lid will make your layered bead experience Easy Breezy. I made all these beads in this last wake cycle. As soon as I post this page to the list I'm catching a few winks.
Obsessively Yours,
NJ
