…but I guess I’ll just sort some instead:
Nifty, huh? I have been picking away at sorting beads throughout the Christmas break. I needed something to store small pots of beads since whenever I would open said pots they would fly hither and thither around my craft room, hence, I never used them! Then I remembered that I had bought plastic test tubes a couple of years back for party favors (and they were so cute I could not part with them) and they would be perfect for storing these beads. The rubber stoppers on the end are secure yet easy to remove so I can get to my beads without spilling them but if I knock a closed vial on the floor the stoppers will stay put. These are not real test tubes, they are test tube shooters (ya know for liquor shots…so I’m told…) and they are pennies a piece I think the tubes are 6 cents and the stoppers are 2 cents each, I got a set of 50 tubes and the holder for $18 at Shot Wizard.
So here is my very sad, neglected, abandoned work table today:
Why am I not making beads you ask? Because one of my little ones is sick with a stomach ache and nasty cough, I will be taking her to the doctor in a few minutes to make sure nothing serious is wrong, I worry about pneumonia whenever there is a rattly cough…and she has had the cough since Friday. Poor dear. 😦
Wanna see more crafty workdesks? Check out What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday at The Stamping Ground. It is a fun peek into the mes…er, studios of other artists and it might even make you want to go make something! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
OK, tell me you haven’t dreamed of the day you could turn all of those fancy wine bottles into vases, glasses and other home decor projects.
I remember seeing Carol Duval (I think) cut a bottle on TV years ago and ever since I wanted a glass bottle cutter. Well, last Christmas my husband bought me one. I couldn’t wait to try it out…an hour and a sink full of glass shards later I was frustrated and disappointed and the poor little glass cutter was on its way to cabinet where I put all the other gadgets I had to have but couldn’t figure out how to use, move over Ron Popiel Pasta Maker, you have company.
I did not completely give up hope though, I was watching a science video on you tube and a guy had the same G2 Glass Cutter that I had but instead of doing what the directions said (holding it upright and spinning the cutter) he laid the cutter on the table and spun the bottle, brilliant! Way less awkward! I was so excited after this worked that I made a quick video to show you all the steps in cutting a wine bottle, have a look:
OK, so you might have noticed that I changed my hair color, I was in such a glass cutting frenzy yesterday that I did not “fix” it so here is a photo of my new red hair:
Just like a deciduous tree I like to change my colors in the fall!
I can’t wait to play with some more bottles! I have friends saving me wine bottles now! I have a feeling I will be choosing my wine by the color of the bottle more than the contents for a while! Now…if I could only figure out how to use that pasta maker… Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
PS the G2 Glass cutter I used in the video can be purchased on Amazon for $20 😀
…Or maybe I should say “hottest” craft! For the past two days I have been obsessed with making fused glass in my microwave!
Can you belive I made this in the microvave!?!
I am NOT kidding, my sister (who is the most awesomest sister in the world) remembered that I saw an ad for a microwaveable bead kiln in a magazine and bought me one for my birthday! She gave it to me Thursday! I love this thing, it is made by a company called Diamond Tech and the brand is Fuseworks, she got me the beginners kit that came with some colored glass rectangles, glass shards, foiled glass, millifeori slices, the kiln, kiln paper, glass cutter and heat resistant gloves. Now, I have an old wimpy microwave so I was very skeptical that it would work since it recommends a microwave with a wattage of 800-1200 but it worked! I just had to nuke it longer! Here is how it works:
Place a piece of kiln paper on the kiln and lay your staked glass on top. Place it in the microwave for 2-4 minutes.
Here are some glass scraps on a peice of kiln paper 😉
Put on the gloves and peek under the lid to see if it has melted yet, if it had take the kiln out and set it on a trivet to cool for 30 minutes (no more peeking under the lid!) If not heat it for 30 seconds to a minute at a time until it is melted.
Let's Take a peek in the kiln. Yes, it glowing, it's that hot!
After cooling for 30 minuted remove the lid and let it cool some more, trust me the glass will still be hot and hot glass looks just the same as cold glass (don’t ask me how I know)
Remove the glass from the kiln and enjoy!
After a few beads I knew I was hooked so I went on-line to see where I could get replacement glass and kiln paper and no surprise It was pricey, a small bag with a couple of glass scraps was $6 so I found some old glass I had leftover for a stained glass project and tried that in the kiln and it worked just fine! I even sandwiched some glass slivers between a microscope slide and that melted too! I also found that if the kiln paper was still intact you could use it over again, try to remove the bead without disturbing the paper, I got 4 firings from one piece of kiln paper. The kiln paper keeps the hot glass from sticking to the kiln. After experimenting with random glass I decided to visit mt friendly neighborhood stained glass supplier where I bought a jumbo coffee can of colored glass scraps and a 18″x18″ sheet of ultra thin kiln paper fro under $15. The lady at the stained glass shop was familiar with the kiln, she even had one of the Fuseworks kilns. The glass I got from her was 95 COE (coefficiency of expansion) and the stuff in the kit was 90 COE but they both worked just fine. As for the ultra thin firing paper I had to use two layers of it but I could get multiple firings if I was careful and as a bonus it left the back of my glass and edges a lot smoother.
This is so much fun! I am glad you can use off brand supplies with it although the beginner kit gives you a lot to work with, I approve of this kit and if you shop around on line you can likely get a good deal on it! I saw them for $95 various places.
Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting…now what can I melt today….
