Quick Tips: Working Glass Jewelry Starters + Bonus Project

I call these "working glass" because this quick project has the glass doing most of the work. 

Ingredients:

Clear glass for caps

Large scraps of patterned dichroic on black or clear thin substrate. I try to find patterns with a predictable repeat, but sometimes the more "organic" ones (where I don't do that and cut at random) are actually really cool!

Procedure:

For pendants:

Cut dichroic rectangles 1/2" by 1" (or to your desired size)

Cut an equal number of clear caps 1/2" by 1" (or to your desired size)

For earrings:

Cut dichroic squares 1/2"  (or to your desired size)

Cut an equal number of clear caps 1/2" (or to your desired size)

Place on the kiln shelf which has been covered with Thin Fire:

Place the dichroic pieces on your papered kiln shelf about 1/2" apart.

Cap each dichroic piece with a clear piece of glass. These are tricky. Make sure that the cap and the dichroic are properly aligned. Some people cut their caps a hair larger than the dichro. I do not glue up this type of project because I do not want carbon staining.

Set your kiln to the desired fuse. I want the earring starts to be round and the cabs to be oval. 

Keep notes! These were done in my table top kiln where I could keep a good eye on them. 

Variations: Place clear patterned dichro over a solid or multi colored glass. 

Bonus Project Single Layer Working Glass Jewelry Starts:

Cut patterned dichroic into desired shapes

Fuse just to soften the edges. I do these in my smaller kiln on medium high, just until they start to form rounded squares. If you let them go too long, the patterns distort. 

Left: In the kiln

Right: Finished. These will be pendant and earring sets.