April 26, 2024 • Transparent Week!
Grab some coffee, because we have LOTS to talk about! :) I’ve been working on these transparent treasures for about three weeks now. Just when I thought I was done, I felt like another color or shape was needed. Finally I had to stop, but am tickled to death over these beautiful designs that will go on sale tomorrow, Saturday, April 27, at NOON Central time.
Boy, were these hard to photograph (I have an undergrad degree in photography). In person they are sparkly and my friend Lisa says they look like “jewels”. After tons of photos I decided I needed to make a clear cup and put them on a light table. That helped, but they look so different depending on what is behind them. That’s why there will be lots of photos so you can see what they look like on clear, a light background, in the sun, not in the sun, tacked, and fully fused. This is one of the reasons that kept me from doing a week of transparents before... our background choices are limited. But they are oh-so-perfect for garden stakes, sun catchers, wind chimes and more! They are also different when tacked and fully fused. I hope I will have covered most of it by the samples and testing I did.
I’ve also bagged most items at 1oz. packages this week, as singles and mixes. I wanted to make packages smaller and at a lower price point since transparent glass is a bit less expensive. This way you can affordably mix and match more colors. I also pulled some canes a bit larger, so 1oz. packages have between 4 large canes to 6-7 regular size canes in them - on average about 6 I’d say.
After Saturday’s sale, reach out to me if you missed out on something (not as a Facebook comment, but via my Chat button on my website) so I can work with you personally on what your project needs might be. Always happy to do that.
Interestingly, the thinner you snip these murrini the lighter they get. So if you see a flower that looks like some petals are darker than others, it’s because some petals are thinner. Also, they will feel a bit stiffer when snipping. If you haven’t turned the wheels of your nippers lately, now might be a good time. ;)
Let’s get started!
Every day my husband says “I LOVE our new house numbers!”…which makes my heart happy. These are seed packet plant markers that I got from Joann’s Fabrics that Joni turned me on to (50% off they cost me $8 for a three pack and they are nice!). They are also available other places online, but don’t overpay…I’m sure Joann’s will have them on sale again soon. Every design this week can be found on these three panels.
Here they are from a bit further away. The glass panels are about 4X5”, so they are pretty good size. More on this project in a minute.
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Let’s look at this week’s designs. There are 16:
NEW! Philodendron Leaf
This new beauty is transparent with an opal vein. There are clear areas on the sides to create the look of a “split philodendron”. Loving how it fuses and adds the perfect touch to these floral scenes. They will be various sizes, but most are on the larger side. If your wheeled nippers open big enough, put the wheels on the widest part and snip! If your wheels don’t open big enough, you’ll need to switch to your Chipper Nipper. I tried to snip these pretty thin and most times it did well, but other times I got a sliver that wasn’t a full leaf. However, I used them in my scenes as a leaf that was peeking out from behind something or put it under a vine! 1oz. for $17.
Multi-size Two Toned Grape Flat-End Petal
The main photo is the most accurate when it comes to the true color of this petal. It reminds me of grape soda. It’s created with Oceanside Grape and Light Grape. GORGEOUS in the sun but also on white. There will be mixed sizes in the order and inner design will vary slightly. 1oz. for $15. Wheeled nippers work best placed right in the center of the petal.
Transparent Orange and Bronze Daisy
This beauty is fun tacked to fully fused. These will add a splash of color to your scene. They are on the larger side, so if your wheeled nippers don’t open wide enough, you’ll want to switch to your Chipper Nipper tool. 1oz. for $17.
Transparent Tack Fuse Amber Butterfly Wing
Looking into the end of the cane, these don’t look very interesting…but snip off your wing and let the light show you all the fun shades and lines inside. This is a TACK fuse murrini, as this particular design does not keep its shape in a full fuse. Use wheeled nippers only and find my “Butterfly Wing Snipping Tutorial” in the Tips section of my website. 1oz. for $17.
Transparent Flat-End Fancy Olive Green Petal
This is one of my favorite designs and colors! This beautifully frilly petal is really special as the interior designs are clear and it has a lacy effect. Versatile as it can be used around a center dot to make a flower, used as a single piece with a stem to become a little bud popping out of your garden, and it also makes a fancy leaf! Wheeled nippers as well as the Chipper Nipper work on these. Pretty tacked to fully fused. 1oz. for $16.
Transparent Chambord Swirl Petal
Created with Oceanside’s Chambord transparent glass, this beauty is more on the purple side than pink side (very similar to light purple). The interior designs are opal and change throughout the pull. The tips snuggle up together nicely to complete the design. Photos don’t do this beauty justice. 1oz. for $16.
Transparent Caribbean Flat-End Petals
This one is really gorgeous. Great tack fused to fully fused, the interior design makes the petals pop! I love this guy. Wheeled nippers worked best for me with the blades placed right in the center. Place these petals around a dot or frit to complete this very special flower, use it by itself with a stem to create a little bud, or can also be used as a leaf. Pairs perfectly with the Caribbean/Teal leaf. 1oz. for $16.
Transparent Light Purple and Pink Ripple Petal
The center dot of this cutie is Youghiogheny Pink Opal surrounded by Oceanside Light Purple which to me looks almost like “Chambord”. These ripple petals are best snipped with sharp wheeled nippers. If you have a mis-snip, don’t worry as there are all kinds of fun places in projects to tuck the broken side into and have flower peeking out! 1oz. for $16.
Transparent Flat-End Champagne Petal
This is an elegant but tricky color. It looks best snipped just a tiny bit thicker and is beautiful tack fused on clear and tack/fully fused on white, but it nearly disappeared when fully fused on clear held up the sky (see full fused sample below). It was impossible to get a good picture of them in the cup as they are not that color in real life, however, the fused versions are accurate. The thicker these are snipped, the more color you’ll see in a tack fuse, but in a full fuse they looked about the same. These are soft and elegant and looked like some kind of glistening jewels when snipped down. 1oz. for $15.
Transparent Amber and Yellow Bud Petal
This is certainly a versatile shape. It can be grouped as a delicate flower, used as a single bud, or as a leaf on a stem (which I did in the house number project). The center has a yellow opal design that is clear in the center. You’ll fall in love with this one. Both types of nippers work well. 1oz. for $16.
Transparent Curved Green Leaf
This popular leaf design is great for this week’s mix. It adds the perfect touch to your little garden scenes. Best at a tack fuse to keep its outer shape and both types of nippers work well when snipping it. 1oz. for $17.
Transparent Slender Blue/Teal Leaf
This is another one of those designs that’s very versatile. You can use it as a leaf, spiky flower petal or as a bud coming out of the garden. One side is Caribbean blue and the other is Teal. The dividing line is opal peacock. Only use wheeled nippers on these and place the wheels right in the center of the design. You’ll tend to get a “cupped” shaped murrini from it, but use that to your advantage when placing it over a stem. 1oz. for $16.
Transparent Pointed Orange Petal with Transitioning Center
This is a stunner in person. The Opal inner design subtly changes throughout the pull. The photos lean toward a red/orange looking color, but it is Oceanside Orange as the main color and is definitely orange. Perfect for using just a few petals to create a flower, or as many that will fit in the circle. Tack to full fuse. I had better results using wheeled nippers placed in the center of the design. 1oz. for $16.
Transparent Sapphire Swirl Center Petals
The inner tips of the petal have a curved design that makes for a gorgeous center of a flower. The design is subtle, but this color is BOLD! Fully fused the inner design really makes a statement. Fun to work with and both nippers work well even tho I gravitated to the wheeled nippers snipping from the fattest part of the petal. 1oz. for $15.
Transparent Sapphire Straight Lined Petals
Same as the petal above except the inner tips of the petal have a straight design that makes for a circular look to the center. The design is subtle, but this color is BOLD! Fully fused the inner design really makes a statement. Fun to work with and both nippers work well even tho I gravitated to the wheeled nippers snipping from the fattest part of the petal. Yep, this is also the same design used in my Christmas Bulbs. So these will also make perfect blue string lights! 1oz. for $15.
Transparent Blue Butterfly
This stunner again looks like nothing from the cane, but when snipped all the stripes inside come alive! I used various shades of blue and teal. Keep this design at a tack fuse and use wheeled nippers. My “Tips” section has a tutorial for how to snip these wings. Gorgeous in the light. 1oz. for $17.
Transparent Red Flat-End Petals
Simple and stunning. Red is my favorite color, so for me these are perfection. Place the flat ends around a center dot, murrini or frit to create something bold and beautiful. 1oz. for $15.
Grape/Red/Pink Mix
This mix has one each of the canes shown. These colors all work beautifully together as the reds, pinks and different shades of purple are a mix of subtle and bold. 1oz. for $17.
Transparent Orange and Blue Mix
This mix has all the blues with a POP of orange to add a little pizzazz to the party! Lots of versatility with the petals that can also be leaves or buds. 1oz. for $17.
Transparent Warm Mix
The murrini in this mix were made for each other! Warm yellows and greens are perfect together…then with a kick of orange. 1oz. for $17.
SECONDS:
Organic Vein Philodendron Leaf
These are seconds of this NEW beautiful transparent leaf as it's just past the best part of the pull and the veins are beginning to curve outward. There are still clear areas on the sides to create the look of a “split philodendron”. They will also be various sizes, but most are on the larger side. If your wheeled nippers open big enough, put the wheels on the widest part and snip! If your wheels don’t open big enough, you’ll need to switch to your Chipper Nipper. These will be a normal full package of 1.5+oz. for $17.
Small to TINY Transparent Amber Petals
These cuties are toward the end of the pull of it's larger more defined Amber Petal. The design is mostly gone, but leaves a lovely line down the center as a subtle accent. Cute placed in a circle to form a small flower, but also makes a fabulous leaf! 1oz. for $12.
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Full Fused Versions from the front (left) and the back (right).
Note: The Champagne petals are very faint when fully fused on clear (and pretty much disappear when held up to the light), but pop out beautifully on a white background. The leaves also held up well in the full fuse. Obviously different, but certainly not bad…just rounded. To make the Olive half-flower, I had fully fused a transparent Olive dot and with wheeled nippers snipped it in half. Then put the stem up against the flat portion. Wished I had done this with the tack fused versions as well. Pretty cool.
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Now for some details on the House Numbers Project!
You know how you buy something for your glass projects and have TONS of ideas for it, but never use it? This is the case with these spectacular numbers I bought from Irene Richardson’s Happy Glass Art Supply. I bought these a few years back thinking I’d do some kind of house number in a fully fused piece. But boy, was I ever glad I had them in my tub as they were perfect for this project!
The garden stakes are actually meant to hold seed packets, but that means there is a perfect channel running down the sides to slide our glass in. More on these details in a minute.
There isn’t a lot of instructions to be given this week as it’s all very straight forward “decorating”. But one of the most important tidbits is I made these on 2mm thick white glass. The very bottom of the channel on the garden stake narrows down and 2mm fit better inside. Since these were just taken to a light tack fuse and the thickness of the glass didn’t change, they were perfect. If the edges were to dogbone in a hotter fuse, you might have trouble fitting them in the channel. I still took some pliers and gently widened the bottom of the stake so the glass slid all the way down, but was easy peasy.
After I got my numbers placed in the center, I did put a tiny touch of superglue along the edge of each so they didn’t move as I decorated.
I snipped one cane of each design and laid it on my little towel so I had them handy. You’ll see my little superglue tube. I use Dollar Tree super glue and don’t have much problem with it burning off, but I also use the TINIEST amount possible. For positioning the flowers around the numbers, I did use a little dot of GlassTac that I spread around in a thin circle with my finger, just to hold the petals better as I placed them.
I used a lot of stringer that I had pulled as scrap coming out at the end of my pulls, but Joni (from Aggie Glass Designs) has pulled matching stringer for you this week, too! Oceanside straight stringer can also be used when you need something very thin. I like to put my stringer in a hothead torch to bend them in curves and wiggles to make the vines more adventurous as they are growing up my design! I love stringer as accents. :)
Here is the completed design in the kiln ready to be fired. Note the arrow at the top. I have my butterfly wing hanging over the edge on purpose, and I know that in my top temp of 1300 with no hold, it will not be hot enough to make it droop over the edge. However, when showing this to a friend she said “WAIT! Your wing is over the edge!!” I then second guessed myself and put a little piece of fiber underneath it to hold it up. Even tho I’m certain it would have been fine, it’s a good idea as my kiln does have some hot spots that can be unpredictable at times and I would have shed some tears had it drooped. Thanks MKZ!
My fusing schedule for these:
300>1150>30
350>1300>0
9999>950>3 hours
150>700>10
300>70>0
After fusing, I slid my panels inside the channels of the stakes. On the back side I put just a little smear of E6000 between the glass and the channel in just one spot as a little safety net in case one got bumped by my neighbor’s dogs. I didn’t push the glue in too deep in case I wanted to run a blade down it and remove the panel.
Suncatcher Wind Chime TEST Project:
I had some extra pieces snipped, so I went ahead and did a fun tack fused wind chime. This was created as a TEST for Mike’s fusible glass bails. I put them at the top (the project weighs 1.5 lbs) and then his little tack bails at the bottom to run my string through. He and I had talked about how much weight they might hold, so I’m doing a test on them and will keep you in the loop. I can't image a better test as not too many projects would take such a beating. I had made some transparent chimes with his clear bails at the top, but promptly broke one when the chimes bumped into each other. So I also had this opal version made as well with metal loops fused at the top. Probably a better idea here as that's where all the clinking action will take place.
One fun thing to note is I took green stringer and in the torch just bent them into ‘L’ shapes. At the bend I snipped them in half and laid that little curve over the top of my flower box to make it look like they were growing out of it. At my low temp of 1300, I wasn’t sure if they’d droop enough.
And of course be sure to put fiber paper in the little holes of the tack bails. 
I’ll keep you posted on this test...but it would be nice to have clear hooks and loops and not see wires in our transparent projects!
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Hints on the Horizon
Next week I’ll have some requested remakes and a really adorable project using ALL of them in one scene.
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Helpful Links:
If you are looking for COE 96 stringer, Joni pulls matching stringer for the items I have each week. Find her beautiful work at Aggie Glass Designs!
If you are looking for Mike LaChance’s COE 96 fusible bails, find his unique work at Mike’s Innovative Glass.
I got my fusible COE96 Numbers from Irene Richardson’s Happy Glass Art Supply.
Check out Jamaison Schuler's, Suncatcher Using Murrini and a Decal video https://youtu.be/APPW6cJFUr4 as a way to use this week's murrini!
If you use COE 90, be sure to shop Lori’s beautiful murrini and mille options found at Wilderness Glass.