Allods Online Forum

I know this Fairies work isn't perfect - a far cry from it but I'm pretty content to it as it is my second glass work ever! First one was a practice flower for how to cut, shape, polish etc. (I might add a pic of it later). Never knew how fun it is to work with glass! Too bad my opportunity only lasted for 18 days.

Quoted from "Pochtron"

I'm actually curious about the different steps of the process, if you put some pics it can be interesting to see

Thanks I don't have pics from the process but shortly explained for melted glass....

1. You design your work on paper either by drawing the picture or printing a ready model from computer. You have to leave 0.2-0.5 cm space between each piece of glass or they will all melt together at the end. Then you cut templates from plastic sheet according to your design.

2. You choose the glass colors and possible textures. (In a workshop where I did mine, there was reference pieces of each glass showing how they look after melting as the glass color doesn't always match the end result. The blue bubbly wings for example were dark green looking before melting. The glass has a fine kind of laminate surface on the back side, while the front is clear glass. The end result of each glass also depends which surface is up and which down. Had I put the blue fairy wings the other surface up, it wouldn't have bubbles.)

3. You use a special marker pen to trace the templates on the glass surface. This has to be done either 1 piece at a time and cut it or leave enough cutting space between shapes, if you draw multiple at once. Recommended 1 by 1 on thicker or textured glass.

4. Wear safety goggles and good protective gloves. You cut the shapes from glass using a pen-like glass cutter. Always from edge to edge. You can't stop cutting in the middle so all wavy shapes and turns have to be cut without lifting the cutter or the glass may break off badly. Different glass surface may require a bit different cutting approach. Thin glass breaks easily so you don't have to use that much pressure when cutting. Thick and texture glasses require more force and textured glass may shatter to wrong direction from the cut depending of glass quality and the texture. You use different pliers to take off the excess glass.

5. Wear goggles. After you have your glass pieces cut, you polish them in a special grinder meant for glass and gems. Your goal is to grind all excess glass away and the edges nice and smooth so that the glass pieces fit in to your paper model.

6. Wear safety goggles and good protective gloves. Then you measure your final work's size and cut a clear glass piece as background.

7. You may drill holes with a special drill and water to the background glass from where you can hang it up with fishing line etc.

8. Wear vinyl gloves and wash the clear glass background in as hot water as you can and dry it by rubbing old newspapers to it - gives a lovely shine. Don't touch this glass with bare hands anymore and but it on clear surface.

9. Wear vinyl gloves. Then you clean the colored glass with a liquid meant for it (don't know the word in English). Wash clear glass, if used, under as hot water as you can manage. And dry with old news papers - gives a lovely shine. Put all on clean surface and don't touch them with bare hands anymore. Otherwise all finger prints are burnt on the glass at the end.

10. Wear vinyl gloves. Now put your paper design under the clear background glass as model. You need to glue the clean and dry glass pieces on the background with a special glue meant for melted glass and only a small drop in middle of all glass pieces. You may have to use tweezers when working on tiny pieces. The glue dries fast, so be sure to put them on right spot from the start.

11. Fill the drilled holes on background with a special wool meant for melted glass, that prevents the holes from melting shut.

12. Then it's melted in a special oven for 24h. My instructor does that so I don't know the temperatures etc.


All glasses used must be meant for melting. There are lots of different glasses for different styles. So called "Tiffany" glass works are quite different with whole different glass used and are tinned instead melted but that's another story...

Quoted from "Windstorm"

Very beautiful work thank you for share it !

Thanks

Forgot to update the pics of the Tiffany class works mentioned in the original post, so here they are:

Tiffany flower - with tin plating.




Tiffany heart - before soldering with tin.




Now the reason I dug up this old thread wasn't because of the pictures above but for using this same thread for other handicrafts...

Made a hat for myself using so called Trinity Stitch or Raspberry Stitch. Was a first try since I haven't knitted all that much and never a pattern stitch other than colored knitting. Feeling very pleased It feels nice on head too and the folded ribbing will keep ears warm.






Here's colored knitting socks for my mom. Designed the flower pattern myself but am not 100% happy with it. It's supposed to be (Finnish White) Rosa spinosissima "Plena".