Measure Twice, Cut Once, Part II

Each tile has 5 separate pieces of glass for the second layer.


There are 10 tiles and each tile requires 2 gray, 2 light coral, and 1 piece of crystal clear glass. I'm being extra careful in setting up to cut; I'll need 20 pieces of gray.


Measure twice, cut once: A black sharpie was used to mark 3/4 inch cuts; then to be sure I had the correct width, I placed the pattern on the glass.

I used the grinder on all the cut pieces to knock off irregularities and to even up the edges to match the white base piece of glass. Each piece was thoroughly washed in soapy water and rinsed.



To be absolutely sure no fingerprints are on the glass, each piece is wiped down with alcohol.

All tiles assembled and glued with a glass glue which, by the way, does not hold very well. The tiles are fired upside down to keep the lines of glass straight. The glue was supposed to hold it together when turned over -- it did not. I'll have to speak with my glass guru to see what I'm missing. :D


Stacked up and ready to carry out to the kiln. I can only do two tiles at a time in my kiln.



Yippeeeeeeeee! The lines stayed straight and match up. Matching up was of great concern to me since I have to rebuild the tile upside down and cannot see clearly through the white opaque glass.

The edges will probably be cold worked to even up. We'll see after the last firing when the entire tile is capped with a crystal clear glass.

Eight more tiles to go in the first firing. In fact, two are in the kiln right now. We are leaving tomorrow to visit my good friend in Houston. So, it will be next week before the rest of the tiles are done. Then, it is over to the glass shop to use the sandblasting machine. More steps to come but, frankly, do not know how many more since this is a try this and that to see what I like. lol

Happy Thanksgiving to all. If traveling, I pray travel mercies over you for your safe trip going and returning.

Until next time, God bless.

Measure Twice, Cut Once, Part I

It is back to the drawing board to design 5 feet of back splash for our front bath redo.



This is the second trial before firing where I used a glass paint and then sprinkled some powdered glass over the wet paint. It did not work out like I hoped. More than anything else is the fact I cannot draw very well and paint bled underneath the stencils. lol It was back to the drawing board again.



But, when using a powdered glass, you need to wear one of these. You do NOT want powdered glass in your lungs.


I came up with another idea that does not require drawing. I cut a pattern to make sure the dimensions are correct. The tile is 4 x 6 inches and 10 are needed.


Cutting the 4 x 6 tiles.


Twelve 4 x 6's are stacked, giving me two extra to use for testing and samples.

After cutting, the grinder is used to knock off irregularities on the edges.

To keep the lines straight when firing, the tile is stacked upside down. Not to waste a firing on just one piece, the glass squares on the side will round and be used as accents in other projects, maybe even this one.

Aha. This looks very promising. The middle requires a design, but this the basic tile.

You see! The squares became dots.

Stay tuned for Part II because I'm off to cut the next layer of glass for 10 tiles. The second layer will required 5 separate pieces of glass.

Until next time, God bless.

This and That

I haven't been posting very often these past few weeks. There has not been time between redoing the bathroom, weaving two scarves for Christmas presents, gardening, Bible study, and then creating a design for a fused-glass back splash for the updated bathroom.


The redo is almost completed with a back splash lacking. When the back splash is up, you'll get to see the vanity. :D

Weaving is great! It is so relaxing. The scarves have been washed and the fringed given a crisp cut. The small piece on the end will probably be finished as a purse at some point time. I'm scheduled to do two more scarves and to learn to warp the loom and probably have another small piece from the leftover wool. Another purse, maybe?


Flat parsley and cilantro (coriander) seeds are coming up. I planted some carrot seeds this past week. The cabbage has been attacked by a worm; read this morning to sprinkle red pepper on it and worms will leave. Hopefully, that will be the case. At this time, the cabbage leaves remind me of lace. lol

This has been the greatest Bible study. I highly recommend "He Speaks to Me" study by Priscilla Shirer. This girl is good.

We are in deep discussion, I think.

A not so deep discussion as we are at our "We've completed another one " lunch at the Creek Road Cafe.

The second try which does not fly, but may use a technique discovered when doing this trial and the first attempt. Then, again, maybe not. :D I used a copper paint then sprinkled powdered glass over the top. The colors work. Now what?! Back to the drawing board. I do love a challenge.

Until next time, God bless.

Weaving 101, The Old Oaks Ranch Arts Center, Part IV

The Fiber Arts Center is truly unique. My first three visits to The Old Oaks Ranch Fiber Arts Center were concerned with choosing wool for scarves, setting up a time to weave, learning to weave the project, and completing the task. I rushed in and rushed out. But, as I was leaving Friday night, I made time to stop to photograph a stone structure that catches one's attention. In doing so, I was captivated with all the sculptures around the stone structure and in the garden area. When blogging, you learn to use a camera; and, lo and behold, you see things you never would have because you take time to smell the roses to take pictures.


A Long Horn greeting as you drive in the gate.


This is the stone structure. One reason it is so unique is because the stones are standing up instead of laid flat. As you walk closer, you hear water.


There is a waterfall into a fish pond.

My trusty Jeep in the background, but you also get a feel for the size of the fish pond.


Suddenly fish appear.


There are a couple little holes around the floor of the structure with bubbling water.



These guys are my favorite, I think. The title is "The Conspiracy." Don't you just love them?


Isn't this lovely?


Looking back toward the Fiber Arts Center, there is a piece of art atop each fence post.

This is truly a wonderful piece.


Suddenly I spied this one.

This piece caught my eye; but if you look closely, you'll see two more pieces in the background. The area abounds with sculptured art.



True to its name, The Old Oaks Ranch, old oaks are everywhere. It reminds me of a heart.

Last, but not least, a couple of alpacas in one of the pastures.

I hope you enjoyed the tour as much as I did taking the photos. Until a couple of months ago, I had no idea this place existed. I'm doing my best to let people know about it.

Until next time, God bless.

Weaving 101, Part III

When you enter The Old Oaks Ranch Fiber Arts Center, you are greeted by Paris, the shop dog. Not only is he precious, but he is a ham. He gave me several poses.





If you will recall, I had a photo of this wrap just a few minutes after Kathy had finished warping the loom. It took hours, so I can only conclude that warping a loom is real work. :D


The finished wrap is 82 inches long. Kathy is tying off the fringe.


The finished wrap. Isn't it beautiful?! It needs to be washed and the fringe clipped.

There are several tabletop spinning wheels around the shop. I've yet to see someone spinning yarn, but the shop is prepared to do so.


This is a tabletop loom. Instead of pedals, there are hand levers to lift the threads.

The shop project. Everyone adds their touch to this piece. Notice the pegs at the top and there are pegs at the bottom. Weaving can be done on just about anything.

Until next time, God bless.

Weaving Day 2, Part II

The goal was accomplished on Day 2 of Weaving 101 at The Old Oaks Ranch Fiber Arts Center.


The scarves still need to be washed and the fringe trimmed. The third piece on the right was was the left over wool on the loom after completing the scarves. I've folded it over and will probably make a small purse and, of course, trim the fringe, etc. Nothing is wasted.

To give you an idea of how the looms work, I took a photo of the 18" loom on which I wove the scarves. This loom has 4 pedals; bigger looms have 6.


I used 1 and 3 pedals to lift the threads when I went from left to right.

The pedals lift the two "thingies" in the back higher than the other two. The "thing" in the very front comes forward to beat the weaving thread down onto the piece being woven. I had a tendency to beat it pretty hard when Sandra, my instructor, told me to kiss it. Made sense to me and used a more gentle touch in the beat down. BTW, I don't have the lingo down yet, so "thingies" it is. lol Actually, while it is important to know the names of various pieces of equipment, I'm perfectly happy as long as I know what to do with whatever until I learn the language.

This is what it looks like from the side when the pedals are pushed down. A wooden boat holds the bobbin thread which passes between the lifted threads.


Pedals 2 and 4 are used to lift the threads to go from right to left. It is good to wear socks when working the loom.

The Old Oak Ranch Fiber Arts Center is so unique that I'm doing two more parts in this series. Stay tuned and check out the website.

Until next time, God bless.