Glass Stars for Christmas

 In an attempt to feel more festive I was back at West Dean this week for a one day course on copper foiling.

When I booked it there were several different classes to choose from but in the end the stars won.  If you know me, that probably didn't surprise you!

 

We were a group with mixed experience, some had done this and stained glass work before, some were complete novices.  I've never really been interesting in stain glass, past admiring it in passing but I'd been thinking about ways to use and display my glass leaves and the copper foiling looked like a possibiliy.  Then I found out that you can make 3D things this way and I had to have a go! 

 

Copper foiling and stained glass are very similar, but stained glass is more robust and can be used outdoors if finished correctly.  Copper foiling is more delicate which is just what I was looking for.

First we were shown how to cut glass.  I have cut glass before, but not much, so it was good to get a refresher and by the end of the day I was much more confident.

 

Preperation was everything, so we needed to make sure we cut our glass precisely.  Any lumps or bumps needed to be ground off and the glass had to be washed to make sure it was really clean, otherwise the foil won't stick.

We had 3 different sized star templates on paper to work from, which worked very well.  We also had 5 different types of glass, one for each point of our stars.

 

With all our bits cut and cleaned we then learnt how to apply the copper foil.  It's very important that this is stuck to your glass very well, otherwise it can come off when you start to solder!  This means lots of rubbing to make sure it is stuck fast.

Once all our parts were ready we could then solder everything together.  First we tacked them together so they wouldn't move around, then we covered the edges before doing the joints.  It was quite a fast process.

 

The class was for 3 stars, but we could make more if we had time.  I made 2 more, a medium and a small.  I rushed the last small one so it didn't come out as well as I'd hoped, but I learnt lots from the mistakes I made. 

This was a fab little class.  It's very different from working with hot or even warm glass, but another string to my glass bow that I am very happy to have added.  I've got lots of ideas now that I want to try out!

Making A Mosaic

 

I recently joined my local Arts and Crafts Socity.  

One of the benefits I'm really enjoing is their monthly demonstations.  Here a local artist spends a couple of hours demonstrating their craft, and some times we even get to join in.

Last month Tamsin Norris did a demonstration of how to create a mosaic.  I'd never really considered that they had anything to do with glass, until Tamsin showed us some of her work.

 

Once she'd shown us some examples and talked us through how it worked we were able to have a go.

We were each given a square tile, some PVA glue and a tub full of glass tile shards.  It was suggested we'd want to draw a heart but I ended up with a star.  We covered our shape in glue then found chunks of glass to fill the space.

While this was fun, what I enjoyed most was just being able to chat with other creative types.

 

At the end of the session we got to take our tiles home with instructions to let them dry for at least a week before grouting them.

Inspired by some of the other things Tamsin showed us, once home I also used some of my sea glass to make a heart on a stone found on the beach at Easter.  I wasn't sure if this would work, but it did and once grouted a little rub of bead wax made the sea glass shine.

I'm not sure I'll do any more mosaic, but it was brilliant to find another application for glass, and learn a new skill.

 

Fixing My Jeans

 

I wouldn't normally bother to post about a small fix to a hole in a pair of jeans.  However, I tried something a little different this time.  Rather than just patching the hole I added a little decoration, and I have to say I'm rather please with how it turned out. 

 

Normally when I see things like this on the internet and have a go for myself, I don't get quite the same effect, but for once its turned out just as I wanted.

While I've sewn a patch inside the jeans the little stars just help to secure it and add a tiny little detail which now makes these jeans kinda special.

I'm looking forward to making my next repair, although I'm pretty sure 'im outdoors won't want anything like this on his work trousers.

Five point origami star garland

Last Christmas I came across a tutorial to make a five point origami star garland.  It looked so pretty and would be a lovely addition to the Christmas decorations, however what with work and being ill and all the family stuff I never had the chance to actually make it.

Front of a star

Finally with a week off over Easter and nowhere to go, I had time to give it a go.
I followed this brilliant tutorial, first learning how to make my square origami paper into a pentagon and then how to fold it into a star.  Once I understood how to do it, it was really easy and I soon had a good pile of stars ready to make into a garland.

Back of a star

The hardest part was getting the garland to hang right - too much thread and the stars all slide down to the middle and too little and they sit against the wall and don't move. 

The garland looks good now, but took nearly as long to get right as to make all the stars! So now I can't decide if I should pack it away with the Christmas stuff ready for December or leave it up.
I'd love to have a go at making them with bigger or smaller paper and see how far I can take it.

Rainbows and Stars

There has been an explosion of rainbows in windows all round the village.  Not really wanting to make a rainbow but wanting to join in, I made some new paper sun catchers to put in our front windows.  

The biggest is a rainbow star, so nearly right!
They were fun and quick to make and make a nice decoration to match the rest of the street.

Paper Sun Catchers

A couple of months ago I made myself a sun catcher. It's already starting to fade, but it's still really pretty.

I liked it enough to purchase a whole book on how to make them.  Its not very big, with maybe 8 or 9 different designs, but you can make many variations just by playing with the colours.

So when I decided to leave my current role for a new job, they seemed a really pretty but quite simple thing to make for everyone as good bye gifts. 

Every single one is different although some are similar, coming from the same design but using different coloured papers. 
 

On the desk

On the window

Spread out on my desk most people couldn't work out what they were, their pretty secrets hidden, but held up to the light everyone seemed impressed.

I really enjoyed making them, its quite a repetitive process so you can let your mind wander a bit, but the end results are so impressive. It's hard in these photos to show quite how much they glow.

I've still got lots of kite paper left so I'll be making more of these sun catchers.  Might even make some white ones for Christmas, if there is time.  They really do brighten up a window.

Rainbow Window Star

I saw a rainbow window star on a blog somewhere, probably All Things Paper, a while ago and wanted to have a go - it looked so pretty.  Having received some waxed kite paper for Christmas I was ready, I just needed a long rainy weekend to have a go.

I followed Helen Hiebert's instructions and came up with this wonderful creation.  Mine is a bit bigger than she suggests, but I had a big window to fill.  
Having made this one I think it would be quite easy to make a more complex star.  I'll see how this one fairs in the sun.  I've chosen a window where it will get a bit of sun, but not full sun so hopefully it will last a while. 

You can't really see it in the photos, but even on a damp rainy day it seems to glow!  Love it.