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Glass Fusing Ideas For Beginners

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Glass Fusing Ideas For Beginners

Fusing glass is a beautiful form of art that allows you to create a variety of pieces for a variety of purposes. In this article we’ll provide glass fusing ideas so you can make different items and try different fusing techniques next time you work with glass. 

Fusing glass doesn’t require a lot of materials or equipment. As long as you have fusible glass, a kiln and proper safety gear, you’re good to go. 

If you are new to glass fusing, we advise you to read this article about the basics of fusing glass, in which we explain what kind of glass you can fuse, how to do it the right way, what kind of glass fusing kiln to get depending on the pieces you’ll make and the safety gear you’ll need to buy before you start your first project.

Here are the glass fusing ideas:

Plates

If you want to make any kind of tableware such as plates or spoons, or really any object that will come in contact with food, you need to make sure the fusible glass you use is compatible and FDA approved. This information is usually displayed on the label, package of the glass or on the manufacturer's website.

Strip plates

Strip plates are usually square or rectangular plates made out of fusible glass strips of different colors placed next to each other and then melted in a kiln. For this technique to work properly you need to make sure the pieces of glass you work with are compatible with each other, which means they need to melt at the same temperature. Otherwise, the plate might fall apart as soon as it cools down.

You can achieve a perfect square or rectangle by creating a frame with the help of kiln shelves. For decorative purposes, you can make flat plates or coasters. But, if you want to make them more functional, you can give them a slight curvature with the help of molds. 

Here are some strip plates glass fusing designs using this technique: 

Regular plates

If you want to go with something simpler and easier, forget about strips! You can make simple plates by melting glass panels of  multiple colors. Here are some ideas:

Jewelry: Necklaces, earrings and rings

There are many types of jewelry you can create by fusing glass. Making glass pendants is fairly straightforward and you can get as creative as you want by mixing different fusing techniques, colors and textures. You can attach them to gold or silver chains and hooks to create fancy necklaces, earrings and rings, or you can simply use leather if you want a more rustic look.

Here’s some ideas:

Swizzle Sticks

This is an easy (if not the easiest) glass fusing idea for beginners. Swizzle sticks are sticks used to stir drinks. You can make them using the same type of fusible glass strips we mentioned above. If this is your first project, then melting a few strips of different colors will get the job done. You can also build a stick from several small pieces of glass of different colors to create multicolor swizzle sticks or even create different shapes on either end. Here are some ideas:

Garden Stakes

With the help of wooden or metal posts you can create functional and beautiful-looking garden stakes to support your newly planted trees, label different plants and flowers, divide your garden into different zones or simply leave them as decorative pieces in your front or back yard. Here are some design ideas: 

Christmas Glass Fusing Ideas: Ornaments

How cool would it be to create your very own ornaments for your Christmas tree? Well, you can make it happen this year! 

Besides fusible glass in multiple colors, you’ll also need to get either hooks or metallic cords used for decorating and gift wrapping to hang the ornaments once they are done. Common designs include candles, bells, birds, wreaths, stars, mini christmas trees, santa, angels, gifts and candy canes. Here are some ideas:

Other Ornaments

Similar to the process of making christmas tree ornaments, with the help of extra materials you can transform your pieces into anything you want. 

For example, you can buy small magnets and make fridge magnets, make keyrings or frame your artwork and transform them into wall art. Here are some more glass fusing ideas:

The tools you need to make fused glass art

If you need help or advise on what kind of glass and other supplies to get for your next projects, check out our glass fusing 101 guide, in which you can learn everything you need to know about the supplies, tools and materials you need to fuse glass. 

In order to fuse glass the right way, you will need a glass kiln. A kiln is an oven specially made to dry clay and melt glass. They come in a variety of sizes you can choose from depending on the pieces you are planning to make. 

Microwave kilns, for example, usually have a chamber of up to 6 inches of diameter and tend to work quite well. In a matter of about 10 minutes, most of them are able to fuse small pieces of glass. This is the cheapest option and it’s recommended for those who are just planning on fusing very small pieces of glass in small quantities at a time.

For those who need more space and are planning on fusing glass on a regular basis either as a hobby or professionally, an electric glass kiln is by far the best option.

At Soul Ceramics, we’re experts on the matter and we can help you get the glass kiln that best suits your needs. If you are not sure what kind of glass kiln you need to make your fusible glass ideas a reality, read this article about the best kilns for glass fusing or this guide on the best glass kilns for beginners for more guidance.

If you already have some experience, visit our glass kilns page and check out our catalogue. We have kilns in a variety of sizes and models! 

If you have any questions about fusing glass at all, feel free to contact us and we’ll be happy to help. We hope you liked our glass fusing ideas. Good luck!

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  • Alex Santiago