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Setting up a Glass Fusing Studio…the small version

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gstudio2

So you want to fuse glass. But how do you get started? Well, I’ve been looking up different sites trying to find well rounded advice on what to do, how to do it and where to do it. I’m going to share a couple of different sites and you can check out what they have to offer and see what works for you. A little from here and a little from there.

First we’ll start with Tammy Powley at about.com and her advice on starting up fusing. Tammy has tons of great advice on jewelry making in general so you may want to sign up for some of her regular newsletters. She covers many aspects of setting up a starter studio which really doesn’t require a lot of space but does require you keep things organized and clean. It is glass you’re going to be working with after all.

The other site to check out is craftstylish.com. She gives good advice on setting up. A lot of the same things are covered but that’s because that information is universal for setting up a small glass fusing studio. In a future posting we’ll cover what it takes to take your studio to the next level. More equipment, glass storage ideas and other goodies.

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Printable Houses to Use as Christmas Decorations

I guess this isn’t exclusively a kid’s craft or learning activity (though cutting and folding are great for developing fine motor skills!) but I think kids would love having some of these printable holiday houses around the house or classroom to play with in the holiday season. Because they’re made of paper, they’re inexpensive to make, and while there is assembly involved the results are well worth the work.

If you have a cutting machine you can use the cut files from Delia Creates to make making your own paper village that much easier. She actually cut out all her buildings in different colors of card stock and used them to decorate a wreath, but you could also put them on the mantle or on a low table for kids to play with. Make a whole small world scene complete with fake snow, little characters and other elements, and kids are sure to start making their own stories to go with the setup.

This set of houses is printed and cut out using a craft knife. It’s meant to be an advent calendar, with each of the buildings numbered and you can stick a treat inside. But you could also just play with the buildings! You can get a free download of four buildings from Little House on the Corner, or head to the post to see where you can buy the whole set.

The Mavelo website isn’t in English, but their printable gingerbread house template is super cute to use as a gift box or to play with. If you need the instructions the website is in Polish but Google Translate seems to do a pretty good job.

Bora Illustrates has an adorable little house to print, cut and assemble featuring a cat, bird and gingerbread person. You could probably print it in black and white and have your kiddo color it, too.