When you are looking to expand your tool kit of cool things that can be used to make recycled glass art, don’t overlook the craft store! Not all cool glass tools come from glass companies, there are a ton of scrap-booking and craft store items that can be (mis) used to good effect in the glass studio. Here are a few:
Scrapbooking Department:
Scrapbooking Molds
These silicone molds are in the scrap booking department, I’m not exactly sure what their purpose is, I’m not a scrapbooker! Several uses come to mind though, Freeze and Fuse as well as a great way to make plaster elements that I can fuse glass over. Like so:
You can see the entire tutorial for the Butterfly Pendant here.
Mini Punches
These little punches are inexpensive and used with thin copper sheet or copper mesh, make awesome little inclusions:
Mold Making Compound
This is a two part mold making compound, it’s a little expensive, but a great way to rapidly make a mold that can be used to pour plaster into and then fused over. For example, this compound and an antique button could make a very cool set of plaster elements.
Rubber Stamps and Embossing Ink
Embossing ink is quite sticky and is great for holding onto powder or frits. Simply stamp your glass with an image, sprinkle powder or frit and clean up details with a fine paint brush. I made fused glass name tags with this technique
Model Making Department
1. Copper (and other) Foil Leaf
These extremely thin foils can be layered in between glass to create a color and shaded effect. Many of them are aluminum that has been tinted to resemble other metals, so read the label carefully.
Bowl with imitation gold leaf, copper wire and mica. You can read more about it here.
It helps to have an open mind as you wonder the craft store, don’t dismiss an area because you don’t do that craft, glass crosses all borders, and lots of things can be appropriated for the studio.