Lampworking day #3. Bad news and a little worried.

Bad news first, right?  No further ado.

Yep!  Officially every bead I liked yesterday has cracked and split in half.  I don't know whether to cry or to be calm and patient because this is all happening so that I can learn how to make stronger beads. 

Yeah I'm going to cry.

I've basically learned all I know from watching YouTube and reading things online.  I've spent a lot of money on this and I don't want to spend more on books or a kiln!!!  (At least not yet)

I've learned how to make the glass melt without shattering.  I've learned how to get the glass on the mandrel.  I still need to work on the following:  getting the bead release just right so that the beads won't stick to the mandrel.  Keeping the beads from cracking. 

Alright, so I read yesterday about flame annealing.  And I tried it.  And I don't know if I did right.  But the beads came out beautifully!!!  (6 out of the 10 spacers broke while taking them off the mandrels, fml.)  I'm pretty sure some of them will break anyway because of the size and shapes, but I'm crossing my fingers and searching for a kiln.  It is IMPOSSIBLE to find a store that sells a kiln in Panama.  This does not exist.  Art is dead here. 

Here are the pics: 

Actually I tried to put my so-called murrini in this bead but it didn't quite work out.  I still like it though.  It looks like a marble.  :)

Yeah... going to cry.