CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS

Christmas trees:  I made a few trees of various sizes, all lined with clear glass and covered with decorations. First I fired the triangular base using the Panel Fuse Schedule on the Colour de Verre instructions for a panel on which you place a snowflake.  I followed the following schedule:

300 dph...............................1265 degrees.........................30 minutes
300 dph................................1435 degrees.........................10 mins
Full.........................................900 degrees.........................60 mins
100 dph...................................600 degrees.........................off

This schedule worked well edges were smooth.  Then I covered it with some pieces of a snowflake that I had previously fused along with millefiore and used the Tack Fuse Schedule to tack fuse it on the panel:

250dph........................1215 degrees.......................30 minutes
250dph........................1315 degrees........................10 minutes
FULL............................900 degrees........................60 minutes
100dph...........................700 degrees........................off

And that worked except I tried to attach a bottom piece to it that did not connect.  I don't think that the edges were straight but I figured if the glass melted enough it would have attached better to that piece.

So now I am trying to make snowflakes and I put several together and then realized I did not have a firing schedule, so I put together a blank in which I used 2mm as well as 3mm glass.  So then this piece will be thinner than the piece I will ultimately do.  But there are several pieces of 1 1/2" squares that I have placed on each other and have fired it with the following schedule:

500 dph.......................1000 degrees................................15 minutes
Full .............................1400 degrees................................10 minutes
Full...............................900 degrees..................................1 hour
100 dph........................ 700 degrees......................................Off

Along with the blank snowflake I placed a small christmas tree ornament that I draped over a base piece and refired that at the above schedule.  We shall see how that works out.

Some of the squares in the ornament looks a little pulled on the sides.  That may have happened with the 22mm squares only.  No it is with the squares, at least some of the squares that overlap the other squares.   For this one I am going to try to not bring it up so high and hold it for less time.  So up to 1375 degrees and hold for 5 minutes only.  I will put only one in there and see how that works.  I will only use 3 mm clear glass squares for this experiment.

350dph.........................................1150 degrees......................................15 mins
450dph..........................................1375 degrees......................................5 mins
Full                                                 900 degrees.......................................1 hour
100dph............................................700 degrees......................................off

So now I think I have it. I will try one with colored glass at following schedule:

400dph..........................................1000 degrees........................10 mins
600dph...........................................1350 degrees.........................5 mins
Full..................................................900 degrees.........................60 mins
100 dph............................................700 degrees..........................off

More Christmas trees:

So I prefused the panel using the firing schedule from Colour de Verre Snowflake panel firing schedule and that works fine to put two pieces together.  Then I added cut up rod pieces and a base for the tree.  On the other tree I also added stringer along with cut up rod pieces and a base for the tree.  And I fused them using Bullseye tack fuse basic firing schedule as follows: 

300dph.....................................1000 degrees..............................hold 15 mins
600dph......................................1425 degrees..............................hold 10 mins
Full.............................................900 degrees..............................hold 1 hour
100dph........................................700 degrees..............................hold 1 min
off

And that worked.  Now I will try to drill a hold in two layers of glass using an 1/8 " drill bit and here we go. 

Now snowmen ornaments.  Got an easy idea off of the Delphi Glass catalog, "artist Kim Heenan" and did it my way  as you can see from the 2 pictures above. Used 3 piece of white glass, the head 1 inch square, the torso 1 1/2" square and the lower body 2" square, something like that.  Rod for eyes and buttons, stringer for nose and mouth.   I put fiber ropes behind their head and so their heads will have lumps.  I will fire them with the same schedule I used on the snowflakes:

400dph...........................1000 degrees.....................hold 10 mins
600dph...........................1350 degrees.....................hold 5 mins
Full..................................900 degrees......................hold 1 hour
100 dph...........................700 degrees......................hold 1 min
off