Friday, May 27, 2016

Glass Flower Making

When I posted recently about Irene and I making glass flowers, there were questions about how they are made, and how I use them in the garden.  I have posted about this before, but it has been several years, so I have produced a new tutorial.

For those of you who don't care about how, just skim through the "how" until you get to the "where". 

We buy household glass at thrift stores. Here are the elements of a glass flower. 

Start with a plate.
 Rubbing alcohol works to remove sticky price tags, or just wash everything in dish detergent and use a scrub brush.  
 Second, add a smaller diameter bowl or plate. 
 Then a third bowl or plate.
 Finally add a candle holder or small glass and perhaps a center embellishment. 


Then glue the pieces together using one of these sealants. 

Let them rest overnight to set up. Then glue a bud vase to the bottom of the flower and let that set for 24 hours.
Cur re-bar to the desired length and bend one end of it to fit the length of the bud vase. 


 Tom uses plastic tubing over the bent portion to protect the glass. 
The bent portion slips into a bud vase to hold the flower at an angle
We went a little crazy then, using up all of our new supply of glass and most of the old stuff. 
Most of these are still on the work bench, but we did add two new ones to the garden. This is the spot where we removed a dead dogwood. It called for a glass installation, which is what I call placing several glass flowers together, along with several "bottle buds". 

We already have singles and installations throughout the garden. 
 That piece with the three suspended lenses Tom just made using copper wire and conduit and recycled glass from Bedrock Industries in Seattle. 




 We also have a few towers.




 Forgive me, but I went a little crazy with my camera at this point because  Wednesday morning the garden was so beautiful. 















 The yellow flower in the center here is the only one I purchased. It is hand blown and on sale cost $80. I wanted glass in the garden but couldn't afford those prices. We saw some homemade glass flowers in a garden, which gave us the idea of creating our own. From there we went bigger and bolder. And maybe even a bit over the top. 

The new ones still on the work bench will find homes. We'll swap out a few old ones we don't like as much now, add a few more, give a few away, and perhaps offer some for sale at our open garden in July. Then we'll go out of business for a while. 

18 comments:

  1. I love your ability to create a wonderful garden on your property. Very beautiful, Linda. Love the glass art.

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  2. Not something I'm likely to take up, but they sure are pretty! :-)

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  3. Very pretty. What a nice way to recycle mismatched plates.

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  4. So pretty... the glass flowers and your garden. I made one of the glass towers a few years ago and it is still standing. I really like the way you put the vase on the back and slip them onto the rebar. What a great idea. Thanks so much for sharing your tutorial.

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  5. I love glass in the garden, it picks up light so well. You've really made some lovely things. I'd never thought about towers. Tom's piece is also nice. Anything that adds color is good in my world.

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  6. They truly are beautiful, a work of art in the garden, inspirational.

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  7. Those are just beautiful and placed just right in your gardens!

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  8. That's a lot of work but you certainly make some interesting pieces using color and shape.

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  9. Awesome! You guys are just so amazing! You should invite Chihuly to visit you.

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  10. Great tutorial. I am mainly using copper pipe, so mine are more upright. I am going to try to glue some square vases on the large plates...and see if I like that look. Collecting glass can be an obsession, I found a few good pieces today. It is a fun project! I have made some towers and given them away...!! I don't have mine up in the yard yet...maybe soon:)

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  11. Your glass flowers are beautiful. I bet Ken and I could make some after reading your tutorial. Thank you.

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  12. You two are just so darn clever. What a great way to spice up a garden with color and not have to worry about pests. I really love that garnet,blue and green tower.

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  13. They make a nice accent to your garden. No need to tell you guys about idle hands being the devil's workshop!

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  14. Your garden is amazing as are the glass flowers. Thanks for posting the info on making them. I could cry when I think of the glass candy dishes etc. that I've put in the give-away box over the years. Now I have to find some.

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  15. The glass flowers are great. I'd love to have some in my garden. It seems like a great creative experience.

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  16. Thanks again for sharing this great technique for making glass flowers! I've still got boxes of stuff to make more one of these days. Your garden is looking especially beautiful!

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  17. How wonderful! I might try my hand at making one or two for my yard (very small yard especially compared to yours). Mahalo for sharing!

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  18. These really show well amongst the flowers.

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