Fuse and Fold Honey Bee Materials
Materials needed:
Unrolled brown bottle glass (yellow brown will also work)
Paintbrush
wire cutters
round nose pliers
glass glue
Honey Bee Pattern (Download free PDF Pattern here: bee.pdf)
Trace glass pattern onto glass according to the pattern instructions. You’ll need 2 bodies, 1 thorax, 2 upper wings and 2 lower wings.
Cut wire according to wire cutting guide on pattern. Add dots of glass glue on 1 body piece where wire is indicated.
Add wire
Add wire to body and top wing where indicated by the pattern.
Add top body piece, double check to make sure wires haven’t shifted.
Add bottom wing to overlap wire on wings as indicated by the dotted line on the pattern.
Add glue dot for thorax.
Add thorax piece to give your bee dimension.
Paint on stripes and eyes using gold mica paint. You could also paint veins on the wings if you are feeling creative. Fire to full fuse when dry.
After fusing, add seed beads to antennae and legs if desired.
Carefully bend the wing wire into an S shape with the round nose pliers. Try to avoid putting pressure on the glass, as it is quite easy to break the wire out of the glass.
Round the end of the leg wires into feet with the round nose pliers.
Finished!
You can also purchase an already made Fused Bottle Glass Bee if you want to skip the making and get straight to the enjoying!