Make a Zipper Pull from Scrap Glass

Happy President's Day!

Spring is auction season in Washington, DC and today we made a custom zipper pull from scrap glass for a local school to sell at auction to benefit the scholarship fund. The zipper pull is in the kiln...so you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see the final product.

Make Glass & Copper Earrings

Broken Bowl

Today we took some more glass from a broken bowl and some pieces of scrap copper and turned them into earrings.

Materials
22-gauge copper sheet metal
20-gauge round copper wire
Glass

Tools
Diamond hole saw
Diamond drill bits
Acid etching cream
Disc cutter
Mandrel
Wire wrapping tools

Step 1

After: Earrings by GeltDesigns.com

Cut the glass into two disks using a hole saw. Drill a hole in each piece of glass with a diamond-coated drill bit to attach findings. File and sand the glass until the edges are smooth using a diamond file or glass grinder and then wet/dry sandpaper. Etch the glass with acid etch (or by sandblasting).

Step 2
Purchase or cut two copper disks. Cut a hole in each disk so it has a large off-center hole.

Step 3
Make or purchase copper ear wires.

Step 4
Assemble the pieces.


Related Tutorials
How to Drill Glass
How to Acid Etch Glass Beads
How to Use Sand Paper 
How to Use a File for Jewelry Making
How to Use a Disc Cutter
How to Make Your Own Hoop Ear Wires 

Further Reading
"Contemporary Warm Glass: A Guide to Fusing, Slumping & Kiln-Forming Techniques"; Brad Walker; 2000.
"Complete Metalsmith: Professional Edition"; Tim McCreight; 2004.
"Contemporary Copper Jewelry w/DVD: Step-by-Step Techniques and Projects"; Sharilyn Miller; 2010.


Day 50.  Month 3.  Jewelry from Found Objects.
Found materials: broken glass, scrap copper
New Jewelry a Day.

Make a Glass & Knotted Leather Necklace

Before: Broken Plate

Our internet is back up and we can post our projects again. Yeah! Between the snow and our technical difficulties we were forced to take a break from publishing, but now we are back and looking forward to sharing our upcycling adventures.

Imitation Leather

Today's project was derived from the same broken plate we used to make our glass & brass link bracelet.  Let's face it, it was a large plate...so we our goof yielded a LOT of glass to use in jewelry making. It really is a good thing my daughter and I both love to work with blue glass.

Rather than attach the beads to a brass chain, today we strung the beads on some imitation leather we had in the studio and use for our favorite vegan friends, family and customers.

After: Glass & Leather Necklace by GeltDesigns.com

Materials
Glass
Imitation leather cord
Spring ring clasp (sterling silver or 14kt gold-filled )

Tools
Glass cutter
Diamond hone, diamond files or a glass grinder
Drill and diamond coated drill bits 
Barges glue

Step 1
Wash the glass with glass cleaner to remove kiln wash and other dirt, grease and grim.

Step 2
Cut the glass using a glass cutter into three -1-1/2 inch square glass pieces.

Step 3
File the edges of the glass smooth using a diamond hone, diamond files or a glass grinder.

Step 4
Drill two holes in two of the glass pieces using a drill and diamond coated drill bits. The holes are needed to create the beads. The holes should be large enough to feed through the leather.

Step 5
Finish the glass beads. We fire polished the glass in our kiln, but you can polish the glass using by hand using sandpaper if you do not have a kiln. The process of hand sanding is labor intensive, but quite effective.

String Glass Beads

Step 6
Feed the imitation leather of other stringing material through the glass beads. Pull the string so the beads sit one on top of the other and they create a natural arc.

Step 7

Knotted Leather

Center the beads on the string. Measure up about 1-inch from the bead on either side and make a knot.

Step 8

Attach Clasp

Measure another inch from the knot and create another knot. Continue until you created a knotted chain that is either 16-inches or 18-inches long, depending on the length you want for your necklace.

Step 9
Feed the clasp on the imitation leather. Attach the clasp by doubling over the imitation leather and then tying the end in a knot about 1-inch from the clasp. Add a drop of Barges glue to the knot for added security.

Glass & Leather Necklace by GeltDesigns.com

Step 10
Create the eye by repeating on the other end of the necklace chain. Double  the imitation leather and then tie the end in a knot about 1-inch from the clasp. Again, add a drop of Barges glue to the knot for added security.

Related Tutorials
How to Drill Glass
How to Cut Fused Glass with a Tile Saw
How to Slump Glass
How to Add Oil to a Glass Cutter
How to Prepare a Slump Mold with Kiln Wash for Fused Glass
How to Make a Slumping Mold
How to Remove Devitrification from Fused Glass
Repurpose Empty Wine Bottles
How to Melt Wine Bottles into a Bead
How to Melt Wine Bottles into a Cheese Tray
How to Melt Wine Bottles into Jewelry
How to Melt Wine Bottles for Lampwork
Make a Kiln Formed Bracelet
Make a Glass Charm Necklace
Make Recycled Glass & Sterling Silver Earrings
    
Further Reading
"Mod Knots: Creating Jewelry and Accessories with Macrame"; Cathi Milligan; 2009.
"Decorative Knot Craft: Over 20 Innovative Knotting And Macrame Accessories"; Kim Sang Lang; 2008.
"Elegant Knotted Jewelry: Techniques and Projects Using Maedeup"; Becky Meverden; 2009.

Books on Kiln Formed Glass
"Warm Glass: A Complete Guide to Kiln-Forming Techniques: Fusing, Slumping, Casting";  Philippa Beveridge, Ignasi Domenech, Eva Pacual; 2005.
"Contemporary Warm Glass: A Guide to Fusing, Slumping & Kiln-Forming Techniques": Brad Walker; 2000.
"Fused Glass Handbook"; Gil Reynolds; 1987.
"Fuse It - 18 Fused Glass Projects": Petra Kaiser; 2007.
"Innovative Adornments - Introduction to Fused Glass & Wire Jewelry";  Jayne Persico; 2002.
"Richard La Londe: Fused Glass Art and Technique"; 2006.

New & Noteworthy
"Contemporary Fused Glass";  Brad Walker; 2010.
"Microwave Kiln Techniques: For Fused Glass Jewelry, Stained Glass Projects and Silver Clay"; Geneva Perkins.

Day 40. Week 5. Month 2.  Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent: 0
Found materials: Broken glass plate
New Jewelry a Day.

Make a Glass & Brass Link Bracelet

Before: Broken Plate

Sometimes ideas are born from failure. One of the things I love about glass is that almost all glass -- even reclaimed glass-- can be reused and made into something new and exciting.

This piece of glass was reclaimed Cathedral glass. We tried to slump it into a bowl and the glass very nicely demonstrated the trouble with using reclaimed glass in the kiln. Reclaimed glass is even more unpredictable than other glass and it is more difficult to control when firing.

After: Bracelet by GeltDesigns

I am not entirely sure why the huge, unsightly bubble formed in the glass when we were slumping it. We may have fired to rapidly for this glass. We may have drilled the holes improperly when we made our slump mold. We may not have checked to be sure the holes in the mold were not clogged with kiln wash before we slumped the glass. Or the glass may have had an imperfection that would have caused the bubble no matter what we did. At any rate, the glass was a failure as a bowl.

We decided to cut up the glass and make it into a bracelet.

Step 1
Wash the glass with glass cleaner to remove kiln wash and other dirt, grease and grim.

Step 2
Cut the glass using a glass cutter into three -1-1/2 inch square glass pieces.

Step 3
File the edges of the glass smooth using a diamond hone, diamond files or a glass grinder.



Step 4
Drill two holes in two of the glass pieces using a drill and diamond coated drill bits. The holes are needed to attach the chain to the glass.

Eye of Glass Clasp by GeltDesigns

Step 5
Use a hole saw to drill a hole in the center of the third glass piece to create the eye of the clasp for your bracelet.

Drill a second smaller hole in the glass piece; the second hole should be the same size as you drilled in step 4. This second hole is used to attach the chain to the glass.

Glass Clasp by GeltDesigns

Step 6
Fire polish the glass in the kiln.

Step 7
Make or purchase the chain and the findings. We made an "S" chain from 16-gauge round brass wire. We also made a "hook" for our hook and eye clasp.

Step 8
Attach the chain and findings to the glass pieces.

Boxed Bracelet by GeltDesigns

Related Wire Tutorials
Make Your Own Hook & Eye Clasp
Make Your Own "S" Chain
How to Make Your Own Wire Wrapping Tool Kit
How to Care for Your Wire Wrapping Tools
How to Use a Wire Rounder or Cup Burr
How to Straighten Wire
 
Related Glass Tutorials
How to Drill Glass
How to Cut Fused Glass with a Tile Saw 
How to Slump Glass
How to Add Oil to a Glass Cutter 
How to Prepare a Slump Mold with Kiln Wash for Fused Glass 
How to Make a Slumping Mold
How to Remove Devitrification from Fused Glass
Repurpose Empty Wine Bottles 
How to Melt Wine Bottles into a Bead
How to Melt Wine Bottles into a Cheese Tray
How to Melt Wine Bottles into Jewelry
How to Melt Wine Bottles for Lampwork 

Other NJAD Projects
Make a Kiln Formed Bracelet
Make a Glass Charm Necklace
Make Recycled Glass & Sterling Silver Earrings
 
Further Reading
"Warm Glass: A Complete Guide to Kiln-Forming Techniques: Fusing, Slumping, Casting";  Philippa Beveridge, Ignasi Domenech, Eva Pacual; 2005.
"Contemporary Warm Glass: A Guide to Fusing, Slumping & Kiln-Forming Techniques": Brad Walker; 2000.
"Fused Glass Handbook"; Gil Reynolds; 1987.
"Fuse It - 18 Fused Glass Projects": Petra Kaiser; 2007.
"Innovative Adornments - Introduction to Fused Glass & Wire Jewelry";  Jayne Persico; 2002.
"Richard La Londe: Fused Glass Art and Technique"; 2006.

New & Noteworthy
"Contemporary Fused Glass";  Brad Walker; 2010.
"Microwave Kiln Techniques: For Fused Glass Jewelry, Stained Glass Projects and Silver Clay"; Geneva Perkins.

Day 25. Week 4. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent: 0
Found materials: Broken glass plate
New Jewelry a Day.