Made A Fused Glass Christmas Tree Decoration
11th December 2023 - New Experience Number 36.
I’d wanted to work with glass for a while and when I spotted a kit to make a fused glass Christmas tree decoration I swiftly put in an order to hopefully make something classy, or should I say, ‘glassy’!
I bought two kits, one was for the Other Half’s Mum as a birthday present, and we completed the colourful make together on a grey November morning when we got crafty and also made a vase of flowers out of paper.
Mail Order Craft
The compact kit arrived in the post with the contents carefully wrapped and packaged to avoid any mishaps in transit. The Orkney Glass Hut had included everything we needed to design and assemble the tree-mendous decorations. The final firing was the only part we couldn’t do since we didn’t have a kiln. Instead, that was done back at their studio.
So, once we had created our designs, we popped them in the post and waited for them to be returned in all their fused glass glory.
Stay Glassy
The kit contained several packets of different coloured pieces of glass in a variety of shapes and sizes. We tipped them into a Yorkshire pudding tray to keep them separate and contained.
Of course, glass can be quite sharp, whatever its size, and the instructions recommended wearing gloves and safety glasses for protection. We also used the tweezers included in the kit which were very helpful.
Making A First Draft Of The Fused Glass Christmas Tree
The foundation for the decoration was a plain triangular base glass. We got creative with the embellishments, although we just had to make sure not to cover the black dot which is where a hole would be drilled and a ribbon added after the firing.
Not wanting to commit our designs straight onto the base glass, we rearranged our patterns on the blank paper template provided in the kit until we were happy with them.
Almost A Glass-Tastrophy
We set to work, firstly applying the PVA glue to the base then carefully using the tweezers to take each individual glass piece from the paper template, and sticking them into position.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t careful enough as I caught the edge of the paper and disrupted my meticulously crafted design! It was like a mosaic and each piece had to go in a particular place for it to all fit together. After slowly rearranging them again, I took even more care than before to apply them.
Finishing Touches To The Fused Glass Christmas Tree
There were a few gaps in my design where I sprinkled some of the finest glass flakes, and I loved how it looked.
While we’d both made quite different designs, each one looked pretty. Free from any cuts or scratches we meticulously tidied up – making sure no stray remnants of glass were left behind. Later, when our trees had dried, we wrapped them up and sent them back in the post to the Orkney Glass Hut who fused it all together for us.
Fab-Yule-Ously Festive Delivery
The parcel arrived a week or so later. I eagerly ripped off the packaging and was very impressed to see our fused glass Christmas trees all fired and finished.
This certainly was a lovely craft, and the possibilities for designs were only limited by our imaginations!
I love having a home made decoration that’s got a bit of a story to it. Each year when I get this one out, it will remind me of the Other Half’s Mum.
Want To Try It Yourself?
The kit we used was from The Orkney Glass Hut on Etsy.
As well as the Christmas tree, there were several other designs available.
There are numerous glass craft kits available on line so take a look for one that catches your eye.
Cost Of Experience
The kit contained everything to make two fused glass Christmas trees cost £29.50.
There was an additional cost of the postage to send the decorations off for firing.
Recommendations
Take care if you use a glass kit as the pieces are small and have sharp edges.
Put down newspaper or work on a table cloth to catch any stray pieces of glass.
- The kit isn’t recommended for children under 5 years old, and all children should be supervised if doing this activity.
Get creative! It’s entirely up to you what sort of pattern or design you create!
- Let me know if you’ve done any crafts with glass like this, and how you got on.
- Don’t forget to take some pictures of your home made unique design!