I posted about using Flair and wire to create smoke on my main blog in March of 2007 and I'm repeating the posting here rather than trying to explain what I am going to do with the wizard's cauldron. The principle is the same, I just need to decide whether to use grey or white Flair. I pulled out various colors of Flair from my stash over the weekend but the purples and blues and reds and oranges didn't look as good with the canvas as grey or white do.
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The photo above, when you stop laughing at my pathetic drawing of Aladdin's lamp long enough to notice, shows how to create and use wired Flair. I used 28 gauge green beading wire, turned the ends back into loops, and threaded the wire through the Flair. Actually, this is the hardest part of the whole deal since Flair is slippery and if you don't bend the wire, the sharp end goes through the side of the Flair.
I generally cut the wire to be an inch or two longer than the Flair as I usually scrunch up the Flair enough to expose 2 inches of wire at either end. I use wire cutters to cut the wire, by the way. It is thin enough to use scissors on but I don't want to blunt my embroidery scissors. Once you cut the Flair and the wire, then thread the wire through, poke the thread and wire through the canvas hole to the back where it should come out of the lamp's spout. Secure the wired Flair to the back. In the example above it is attached on the front so you can see. You'll notice that I have a loop at both ends of the beading wire. You only need it at one end to go through the Flair but I've discovered it is easier to tie down the ends if you have loops to stitch through.
Once you have the bottom of your thread secure, start gently bending it into the shape you want. Make loops, curliques, waves, whatever. If you are careful to couch only a few times you will be able to bend things a bit more even after they are couched down. In the example above I couched in four areas only. You will see that I also have some areas where the Flair is smooth and one at the top bend where the Flair is wrinkled. You can use whichever effect suits your canvas. Be careful not to couch your Flair down too close to the end as you still have to poke it through the canvas and secure on the back. You will need some slack to be able to do this. I would not use wired Flair on anything that will be handled often. It is delicate. A framed piece will be best.
Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow
