Speaking of Crafts...

...Andy, Jenn, Rachel, and I learned a new one yesterday afternoon.  There's a paint-your-own-pottery studio across the parking lot from Mom and Dad's office.  Mom pointed out that they also teach glass fusing and suggested we all give it a whirl.

They have a shelf full of different-shaped glass pieces sorted into a rainbow of squares.



You pick out a base, clip and lay out the various pieces to make a design, glue them in place, then wait two weeks for them to melt the whole thing together.

Here's Jenn in action, gluing the finishing touches on her owl-plate:



Here's Rachel's finished piece:


Andy's Van Gogh-inspired tree:


And mine:


I wound up making two small pendants instead of one big piece (I included a toothpick in the picture for scale), creating a base for each out of scraps instead of using a prepared setting. I'm not sure if that's allowed, and, counter to the instructions we received, I didn't make any borders either. We'll see if they turn out. You can see the layers of glass that make up the bottom one in this picture:



I enjoyed the process, and I'm always glad to know how to do a new craft. Plus, as Jenn, Andy, and I found out, glass noodles sound pretty when they're dropped on the floor all at once!