F is for Fused Glass

I can't believe I almost took pictures of Fruit Loops instead of thinking of this! Hopefully this will be slightly more interesting than cold breakfast cereal. The picture above is of some pendants that I made. Except the squarish one - that is a pin. The pendants actually hang as a long rectangle - most of them are pictured sideways. A chain or some type of cord can be slipped through a hole that goes through the top.

Several years ago when beads were my thing, I did a little research on what it would actually take to make my own lampwork beads at home. Now my husband has always supported my crafts, but when I mentioned I wanted to bring home glass rods, a torch, fuel and oxygen tanks, and a kiln, he frowned. He then envisioned all that could go wrong, fires, big explosions, and then he told me to pick a different hobby. So we compromised and I decided to work with a small kiln and learn to fuse, slump, and mold glass that way. The item to the left is a little plate I did. The design was created with frit. Frit is crushed glass.

These little guys are magnets and pins. Their hair and facial features are made with copper wire. Sometimes they end up with beads in their hair.


And last but not least, here are some stitch markers that I made with some little beads I made in the kiln. I haven't done much glass work since we moved into our house three years ago. I really don't have a place set up to do it yet. Cutting and grinding all the pieces of glass can create quite a mess. But it is really fun to do. It is the only one of my hobbies in which my husband is an actual willing participant.