Glass Ornament Question
Cindy
ornaments?
TIA,
Cindy
ILIKEKITES
>Does anyone know how to remove the silvering from the inside of glass
>ornaments?
Plain ol' household bleach works great!
Cindy T./Serendipitous Skies
Custom Flags & Banners/Windsocks/Kite Tails
Jean
>Does anyone know how to remove the silvering from the inside of glass
>ornaments?
>
>TIA,
>Cindy
Yes!!! I do this all the time with old ornaments I pick up at yard
sales and flea markets. Take the tops off, (obviously), and soak them
in a sinkfull of hot water, with some chlorine bleach in it. I put a
cup of bleach to a kitchen sink of hot water. Submerge the ornaments
until they are full of water. Swish around now and then, until all the
silvering is off. One word of caution, though-- put a piece of
screening over the sink drain to catch all the stuff that comes out of
the ornaments, as it doesn't dissolve, just basically loosens and
peels off.
Rinse the ornaments and turn upside down in the dish drainboard to
dry. You can then repaint the insides, or stuff them with potpourri or
other filling of your choice.
BTW, what are you going to do with your ornaments once you get them
cleaned out? And do you have any really old ones? I collect old glass
ornaments.
Jean
Cindy
day and on the back cover it showed these marbleized ornaments. They were
gorgeous. It said to pour in 3 different colors of paint and swirl it
around. I tried a couple and they look fine except it seems that the first
color I put in is gonna be very dominant. It said to let them sit for 5
minutes at a time and then turn them and let them sit again. It also said
to let them sit and drain down into a paper cup for 5 days. Now I ask you:
Where on earth am I gonna let 2 dozen glass balls that are as fragile as
soap bubbles, sit and drain???
Also, I got them at Wal-Mart. Less than $3 for a dozen. If anybody is
going to do this, be smart and buy the solid silver ones if you can. I had
to spend some time with acetone to get the paint off the outside of the
colored ones.
Also, Jean, I hope you don't de-silver your old ones that you get at flea
markets and such. They can be quite valuable. But then if you frequent
flea markets and auctions you probably know this already. :-)
Cindy
Jean <drl...@hotmail.com> wrote in article
<36199144....@news2.ipa.net>...
Jean
<Great info snipped........>
>Also, Jean, I hope you don't de-silver your old ones that you get at flea
>markets and such. They can be quite valuable. But then if you frequent
>flea markets and auctions you probably know this already. :-)
>Cindy
>
Cindy,
It sounds like your ornaments are going to be pretty. I might just
have to try that idea myself.
No, I don't bleach out all the old ornaments I find at flea
markets. Just the ones that aren't really old. I collect antique blown
glass ornaments, so I've studied them pretty closely. But sometimes, I
find a good one in a box of cheapies, and have to buy the whole box. I
find recycling the cheap ones fun and they make great gifts when all
fixed up.
Do you collect? Does anyone else here collect, or have any ideas
where I might find good ornaments, other than flea markets and yard
sales? I've thought of running an ad in the paper to see what I get.
Jean,
hoping to someday find a Kugel in a box at the flea market.
IrishRose
> Where on earth am I gonna let 2 dozen glass balls that are as fragile
> as soap bubbles, sit and drain???
Empty egg cartons?
Linda
--
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"Not Everything that is beautiful is good.....
But everything that is Good is beautiful"
@->--- @->--- @->--- @->--- @->--- @->---
Cindy
pottery in a box of old dishes I got for a dollar at an auction. There
were dealers there too. I, however, got down on my hands and knees in the
mud and went through the box.
Cindy
Jean <drl...@hotmail.com> wrote in article
<3619a87a...@news2.ipa.net>...
Cindy
the house. They are actually kind of pretty sitting around. The ornaments
- not the dixie cups. I think they have the Cat in The Hat on them. The
dixie cups - not the ornaments.
Cindy
IrishRose <musg...@u.arizona.edu> wrote in article
<361A65...@u.arizona.edu>...
Cat
Cindy wrote in message <01bdf205$d7ef89c0$366335ce@newmicronpc>...
Cindy
the house. They are actually kind of pretty sitting around. The ornaments
- not the dixie cups. I think they have the Cat in The Hat on them. The
dixie cups - not the ornaments.
Cindy
IrishRose <musg...@u.arizona.edu> wrote in article
linda
Seriously, why not try to put 'em in a laundry basket (whether they be
inserted in paper cups, egg cartons, whatever) with a towel underneath to
help cushion and drain them, then put the laundry basket on a closet floor
and shut the door! Of course, if you have a bi-fold closet door and cats
who know how to open them, like mine do, it's not a great idea!
The cleaning technique and the paint swirls are an idea I want to try for
this Christmas. What if you also put some small item, like a crow or pony
bead (a plastic one or even a wood bead) into the glass ball along with the
paint to help it make patterns? Or added LOTS of glitter and sparkles to
the paint? Or added some of those seed beads you have lying around that
aren't the right size or shape for beading, but you just can't bring
yourself to throw away?
"One Cat Just Leads To Another" Ernest Hemingway
Linda Ruth
Cat wrote in message <6vgcp2$3vhm$2...@newssvr04-int.news.prodigy.com>...
>LOL
>>Cindy wrote:
>>I went and bought small paper bathroom cups and have them sitting all over
>>the house. I think they have the Cat in The Hat on them.
linda
I went back to read how you were applying the paint...then realized that
the bleach-water you're cleaning the balls in might contribute to the
problem. You know that slimey feeling you can get when bleach gets on
your hands? And how it takes forever for the slippery feeling to go away
while you're washing it off? I bet you need to rinse the balls longer, or
experiment with using less bleach in the water.
But you could turn the streaking to your advantage by PLANNING for the
streaks to show up and use one last VIBRANT color, like gold metallic, to
cover the streaks - after the 5 days have gone by, as a fourth color. ALL
THE MORE REASON TO ADD THOSE BEADS and glitter so they show through the
cracks in the paint !! You could add them after you've already added the
last paint color and let them dry for 5 days, then use a liquid glue to
secure them. Then you'd have beaded glitter cracks!
Or maybe it was a misprint in the article and you're supposed to use the
first color, let it drain & dry for 5 days - then go ahead with your second
color, drain & dry that, then the third color - ad naseum. But that sets a
base coat the other colors can attach themselves to. If the colors mixed
together into one shade, the above might help that problem. Remember those
"Swirl-Art" machines we had as kids or when you went to the fair and you
could drop the paint onto the spinning wheel? Even then, the colors were
added one at a time and the speed of the shaking has an effect, too. But
I'm betting the glass isn't completely clean so the paint can't attach
itself. I'm not sure about using acetone - the only acetone I can think of
is in nailpolish remover and again, that leaves a coating on your
fingernails, so why not on the glass? I'm pretty sure stores now carry
environmentally friendly paint thinner that cleans up with water - you
could check and see if that would work on removing the silvering without
leaving a coating behind. Sorry this is so long! Hope it helps you!
"Well everybody in Casablanca has problems. Yours may work out." --
Humphrey Bogart
Cindy
Seriously, I'm having a problem. The paint seems to cover the entire
surface of the balls, but the next day there are streaks where the paint
didn't stick. So what to do??? I think I will try rinsing the balls in
acetone next time. Maybe that will make the paint stick better. Some of
them are fine but I find myself using buckets of paint only to have most of
it drain out. All the colors mixed together of course.
Cindy
linda <lind...@wwa.com> wrote in article <6vhhm7$997$1...@hirame.wwa.com>...
linda
Check out Raven's answer to Thomas' question re: "magic dip" in this
newsgroup. Maybe you could check with Raven and see if you can create a
marbelizing effect - only inside the ball by filling the ball with water
and borax, then add the paint, then let everything drain out, creating it's
own effect - without a "whole lotta shakin going on.." your poor shoulder!
"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand."
-Confucius
Linda
Cindy wrote:
>Speaking of the swirl art, I couldn't figure out why my shoulder hurts.
>Well, I swung those balls around in circles trying to get the swirls.
Joana
would love directions on how to do this!
I tried it once a few Christmases ago with the clear glass
ornament balls that are always available. I dripped acrylic
paint in it, and used some beads to try and swirl it
around. It didn't work very well, and so I'd like a
"how-to" to see what I was doing wrong.
Thanks for your helP!
Joana
--
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Cindy
That should have removed any trace of bleach but who knows. I did use a
bright metallic (copper, gold, etc) to fill in the streaks and it seemed to
work pretty well. My problem (and this has ALWAYS been my problem) is that
I get toooooo impatient. Need to wait and give the paint a chance.
really is cool looking. I think part of the problem is that some of my
paint was kind of old and I think the thick stuff was stuck at the bottom
and I put thin paint in the ball.
I will keep working on this and keep you posted.
Cindy
linda <lind...@wwa.com> wrote in article <6vk0r1$3ov$1...@hirame.wwa.com>...
Cindy
Gardens "Crafts Showcase". It has christmas Boxes on the front cover and
the instructions for the xmas balls are on the back cover. However I
didn't follow the instructions exactly which I am sure is part of my
problem. It is also in the December issue of Arts & Crafts magazine. It
is a Delta Paint ad.
Cindy
Joana <joana1n...@home.com> wrote in article
<361EAC40...@home.com>...
FMCsea
for the one I want. You may find better sources than your ad as there are
collectors everywhere; where I live, the ornaments are a premium, and in other
places the price is noticably lower. Then, there is the web......
I like your idea of coloring the inside of ornaments.Q : would spray paint and
then drizzled liquid work?
Fran in Seattle
Silver...@webtv.net
give a pretty good idea of what's being sold and I've seen "Christmas
decorations" listed many times. These are especially good sources
during the summer as most people arent interested right then. This
year, instead of a big Christmas tree I had decided to have a whole
bunch of lit and decorated smaller ones. I paid $1.50 for a really
nice 2 1/2 ft. tree and $1 for an older aluminum 2' one.