I tried to make a rose cane out of black+white. I was hoping for more gray and less black actually but it's really hard making skinner blends withOUT a pasta-machine. I can't wait to get one....I found a really cheap one on ebay and am now waiting for the bidding to end *smile*. That would be a great help and I'd probably have much better (and faster) results! It is a neat design though and it will be interesting making beads with this cane.