New Swizzle Sticks

 So I started to work on some new swizzle stick designs using decals.  It's been a journey so far and I'm pretty sure it's not done..  I've used decals a few times in my designs but not often enough to really learn the best way to incorporate them into my kiln firing schedule.  

So my first attempt was full fused, you could see them but they were really faded, so I ground those off to clear blanks. Sadly no pictures.

My second attempt was, first I full fused blank clear glass swizzle sticks. After they were fired and cleaned I than added the decals. Once they were dried I fired those to the suggested decal firing.  It worked a little better but still lost color.  So I than figured I'd add white powder frit (ground up glass) to the backside and it helped.  I did another firing with the frit.  Once that was cooled I noticed I wanted more white so did ANOTHER firing with more powder frit.. Got to say I like how they came out, so cute. 

this is the only one I did on fully white glass.

I loved them.  they will be going up in my shop in the next few days.

cute, right?

I even ordered more decals so I can play with other designs and make more.. :) very excited.  Someday I need to learn how to make my own decals.. Oh well..

Until next time, my friends, stay colorful and have a day!

Making Frit Cast Rainbow Feathers

(you can find the video on my Pinterest if it's not working here)

 I've been obsessed with rainbows 🌈lately.  I just love the mixing of the colors and how cheerful rainbows in the sky are.. To me they've always been a symbol of hope and survival.  I say survival because I always seem to see them after bad storms and to me it means I've lived through the rough and came out better for it.  Hope because there should always be hope in everything we go through; hope for better, hope for happiness, hope for love, hope for strength.  Lord knows we need all of that in these stressful times. Enough of my soapbox and that's my semi deep thought for the day.  Back to what I'm creating.  

I'm using frit glass (bullseye glass) and putting in the feather mold. Once I'm done with my colors I then top it with clear glass. Firing it in the kiln to become one solid piece.

You can find these in my shop 3fatesfiber.com. I also have a fair amount of other rainbow things I've made; a flamingo, a soap dish, swizzle sticks.. Anyway here's a blurb about me and what I'm doing now heading back to my studio to make more rainbow items.. Stay colorful🌈 and have a good weekend!

definitions;

frit - ground up glass

swizzle sticks - drink stirrers

Recycling Fused Glass into Coasters

 The cool thing with working in glass fusion, is mistakes and broken pieces aren't that big of deal.  Well they are from an emotional standpoint but they can be recycled and re-fired into a different creation or sometimes into the same depending on the break.. 

When my job closed (yes due to Covid) I got a fair amount of fusible glass.  Some were old samples some were scrap but there was a fair amount of it.  Unfortunately it's not the *COE (Coefficient of Expansion) I generally work with, which basically means the glass I got from work would not work with the glass I typically work with. Mixing the 2 *COE's would be very bad. So I have to not mix them EVER.  So what can I do with all this glass, can't sell it as mine as I didn't make the samples. Not a fan of some of the designs created, so what did I do???

I had a mold, that's basically a coaster or tile mold. I actually have 2 ones a single square and ones a 4 square (so big that its the only thing I can put in my kiln when its being fired). So I chopped up a bunch of the glass and laid it in the mold fired it and taa daa! Coasters, really cool coasters. 

pre fired coasters, just the glass in the mold

after firing in the kiln, glass is all melted and fused together

finished coasters

so many different variations

close up view of one

same close up view but different angle.

DEFINITIONS:

COE or Coefficient of Expansion - how much a material will expand for each degree of temperature increase.