How to Make Fused Glass Bugs With Wire Legs

If you enjoy fusing glass, try other glass art as well, such as stained glass.

Fused glass is one of many types of glass art. Essentially, fused glass is created through the process of melting glass in a kiln. This style of glasswork is used to create many pieces of art and is considered to be less complicated to learn than some other glass techniques such as stained glass. Fused glass bugs make lovely additions to other fused glass projects or work well as brooches, magnets or jewelry charms. Making fused glass can be somewhat of an investment initially; however, once you have purchased all of the basic equipment, future costs will be significantly less.

Things You'll Need

• Glass
• Glass cutter
• Pliers
• Craft wire
• Kiln
• Glue gun

Instructions

1. Cut a rectangular piece of glass for the bug's body section using a glass cutter. This rectangle can be any size, based upon how big or small you would like your final product to be. If you are not sure, a good starting size is about 2 inches long by 1 inch wide.

2. Trim off the four corners from your rectangle in Step 1, creating a octagonal-type shape.

3. Cut two pieces of glass, 3/4 long by 1/2 inch wide, each. These will be the two wings of the bug. Line these up over the bug's body section and trim them to size with a glass cutter. Cut two 1/4-by-1/4-inch squares for the bug's eyes.

4. Place your project in the kiln until the glass has fused, achieving the look you desire.

5. Cut two pieces of craft wire, 2 inches long, each. Glue both pieces of wire to the bottom of your bug. These are the legs. Use your pliers to bend the ends of the legs, completing your fused glass bug project.

References

• Fused Glass: Project Tutorials