Fused Glass Bubbles, Take 2

So, sure enough when I opened the kiln this morning - lots of bubbles! Remember the glass circle that looked like this yesterday....

Well this is how it looked this morning after its firing...

Some of the glass squares covered special, coloured, bubble powder. So, what looked like whitish powder going in, actually matches the other powder coming out only with bubbles! Kinda fun really but I'm thinking I'll have to do another circle now with the 2 coloured squares as I actually liked that effect too.

Something else that came out of the kiln today were these coasters with very delicate enamel design.

These coasters will look great on a light coloured surface to show off the design!

Fused Glass Bubbles

But not the kind that fusers are usually either trying to create or prevent. These ones remind me of those littles pots of liquid, with a wand, you can get for kids. At least that's what I was thinking of when I was cutting all these small circles of glass. Some of the circles are in opaque glass but some are cut from clear irridescent glass so the 'bubbles' actually change colour with the light. Then I added some dichro slide circles that are just like the tiny bubbles with intense colour. Think I must be going back to my childhood with this one. Maybe I'll just go out and buy one of those little pots...

Staying with the bubbles theme, but this time the deliberately made air bubbles inside the glass, the kiln contains a piece that will hopefully have lots of them... and several other things as well.

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Getting back to blogging

Well it's been so long since I added anything to this blog. It's almost like I'm starting from scratch again. I am, however, starting with really good news as I've had my larger items of fused work accepted into a local gallery! I've even had my first sale, which is great, and so have to bid farewell to Sparkling waters. Such a lovely blue colour! I need to get some more of this glass!



It's interesting that the blue should sell as I made another blue bowl this week, still with a water theme but with lots more texture. Blue waves!



I've also been doing a bit of a website revamp, and I'm much happier with the overall effect this time around. The subtle colouring of the site lets the glass speak for itself. I've even managed to put a few things up for sale in the shop.

Getting ready for Christmas!

Well its been ages since I added anything to this blog! Where does the time go? I know the last few weeks I've been concentrating on getting some fusing done so that we have enough stock for the four day Christmas Fair in Glasgow this coming weekend. Luckily I'm not on my own for this event as there are 3 of us sharing the table. Really not sure how much stock we need for four whole days.


Some of the things we've made definitely have a Christmassy feel but other things like this dish decorated with wig-wag twisties will do well for any occasion.

We have lots of candle holders and little dishes which are great for night-light style candles. Who knows, some of these little guys might make an appearance too.

Something else I've been trying recently is making woven treasure bracelets. They are really fun to do and are a great way of using my handmade lampwork beads. Here's the first one I made...
and here's the next one ready for Christmas...


Sometime recently I actually found a moment to make some more beads and here's one of the sets that I was really pleased with.

Beadmaking workshop

Something totally different for me this week as I spent the whole day yesterday at the Lochgelly centre doing two informal demo and teaching sessions. Rachel from Retro Glass was a star as she gave up her day off to come along as chief navigator, photographer and moral support! I've never done anything like this before so it was pretty nerve-wracking but it was lovely to meet such a friendly group of people and everyone was great about my novice demostrations.

After I'd chatted about safety and setup and shown the basics everyone who wanted to then had a chance to have a go at pulling stringer and then making a bead of their own!

There were some really good first attempts at making beads. Here's a shot of all the beads that were made by both groups. I'm now going to pop them in my kiln to anneal and they will then go back to their owners for safe keeping.

Big thanks of course to Rachel and to Gillian at the centre who organised the day and everyone who came along to the sessions for making it such an enjoyable time. Special thanks also to all those who supported my habit by buying beads!

Autumnal beads

It's been really pretty in the woods recently when I've been out walking the dog. With all the leaves changing colour and falling it's made for some colourful scenery. It's also inspired me to try and make some autumnal beads. One set were autumn colours with some leaf beads.

So a new location for the blog now and hopefully one that will be permanent! Should make it easier to keep it up to date.

Been doing more fusing recently, tried my hand at glass weaving which is great fun! Here's a pic of the second attempt, the first time I used a mostly clear glass with black which didn't give enough contrast to show up the actual weave so the second time I used red and black!


I also made a green bowl using a new mould and I was really pleased with the way it turned out. What do you think? I love the way the light shines through this one!