Hand Blown Glass Ornaments

Step 10 Put it away and bask in your glory!

Your ornament is finished!  But in order for it to last, you need to put it into an annealer.

The annealer will cool your piece slowly.  If you cool it too quickly (by leaving it sitting too long at room temperature), you'll create stress fractures throughout your piece. While it might stay together if you don't put it in the annealer, it will be far more fragile, and the slightest thing could cause it to explode at a moments notice.

So grab your stick tool and hook the loop on the ornament.  Open (or have someone open) the annealer door, and gently place your ornament inside.  Once inside, close the door.  Once the annealer temperature is sent down, you'll have your very own hand made glass ornament!

There are many videos on youtube and other sites of glass blowing being performed.  If it sounds interesting, I suggest checking them out, and searching your local area to see if there are any glass shops you could check out.  A lot of places have live demonstrations you can sit in and watch as some amazing things are made (hopefully, they give you ideas of things that you can incorporate into your own work)!