CBJ08 pp61 Glass Beads Judith_Beading 13/10/2010 08:45 Page 61
GLASS BEADS MICROWAVE KILN
candy
JUDITH HANNINGTON DESIGNER
GLASS
By using the ridges on textured glass to hold stringers in place, you can create your own quick-to-make pretty striped pendants with no glue required!
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1 Short lengths of stringer contract significantly during fusing so cutting the lengths wider than the base glass will ensure they cover the width of the final pendant
‘Cook’ the glass in the microwave until it is fully fused (the corners rounded and the upper surface smooth), then remove the kiln from the oven and leave until cold – the kiln lid can be safely removed after 30 minutes to aid cooling. Wash any kiln paper residue from the hanging hole and the back of the pendant and dry thoroughly. Insert the silver bail into the drilled hole and pinch the two halves snug before threading onto a chain.
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MATERIALS • clear Bullseye 90coe 2mm reed texture glass • clear Bullseye 90coe 2mm glass • pink, purple and blue Bullseye 90coe 1mm stringers • silver pinch bail • silver chain
TOOLS • kiln paper • Fuseworks microwave kiln • microwave oven • glass cutter • glass breaking/ running pliers • 2mm diamond drill bit
TO CREATE Cut a 15mm wide strip of textured glass with the ridges oriented across the width. Cut the strip so that you have 19 ridges along the length. Cut a very slightly smaller piece of clear glass. Drill a bail hole in the textured glass between the second and third ridges, and drill an identical hole in the clear glass.
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When drilling holes in glass, sit the piece to be drilled on a folded sheet of kitchen towel in a shallow dish filled with water – this will keep the drill bit cool and extend its life dramatically
Sit your clear glass on a piece of kiln paper on the kiln base and position the textured glass on top. Roll a small piece of kiln paper into a tight coil and insert it into the bail hole through both layers to keep it open during the fusing process. Snap off 20mm lengths of pink, blue and purple stringer using pliers and arrange between
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the ridges of the textured glass (see Fig 1, above right).
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WHERE TO BUY Visit www.madcowbeads.com for the Fuseworks Microwave Kiln Starter Kit used here, which has all the basic tools and equipment you will need (apart from glass breaking pliers), together with an instruction book demonstrating the basic techniques of glass cutting and microwave fusing The Bullseye glass and stringers can be purchased online from www.warm-glass.co.uk, which also stocks the silver findings www.creativebeadsandjewellery.com
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