How to Make a Halloween Platter

Hi Friends,

Animate a holiday platter with spooky ghosts.

Materials and Tools:

Bullseye glass:
- clear
- orange with rainbow iridescent
- yellow opaque
- orange opaque
- black
- orange Mardi Gras
dichroic glass
1/8" fiber blanket
glow-in-the-dark powder for lampworking
glass enamel paints
Glassline paint, black, white
ceramic mold for slumping platter
1/32" fire paper
oil reservoir glass cutting
glass scoring tool
running pliers
respirator
Morton board and cutting system
electric kiln
straight edge
school glue
cardboard ghost template
black permanent marker
container of water

Steps:

1. Measure, score and break pieces of orange opaque glass, yellow opaque glass, black, transparent orange and clear glass to size using a glass scoring tool and breaking pliers. The orange opaque and yellow opaque pieces will be placed on each end with strips of black, orange transparent and yellow glass in the center. The clear glass piece will be placed on top so it should be sized to span the width of the other glass pieces placed side by side.

2. Place the cardboard ghost template on a 1/8-inch fiber blanket and trace around it with a black permanent marker. Repeat two more times for a total of three ghosts.

3. Cut out the ghosts using scissors. Cut one of the ghosts in half top to bottom.

4. Glue the ghosts to the orange opaque glass using school glue. Place the edges of the ghost that was cut in half along the edges of the glass. This creates the kiln-carved effect and makes the Halloween platter 3-D. Let dry.

5. Turn the opaque orange glass upside down so the ghosts are on the underside. Place the yellow, black and transparent orange strips in that order along the right edge of the opaque orange glass. Place the opaque yellow piece of glass next to the transparent orange strip. Place the clear glass piece on top of the glass arrangement.

6. Draw the outline of the ghosts with white paint on the clear glass.

7. Draw a graveyard scene over the opaque yellow glass with the black paint. Let dry.

8. Using a sharp needle tool, scratch a design into the black paint to create wood grain on the tree trunk and grass on the ground.

9. Scratch the detail in the owl and cut small pieces of dichroic glass for the eyes of the owl and glue them in place. Let dry.

10. Remove the clear glass piece and wearing a respirator, spread black enamel powder on the opaque yellow glass to create eerie clouds in the background.

11. Spread white enamel powder on the ghosts.

12. Being careful not to disturb the powdered enamels, move all of the glass pieces to the kiln. Stack the clear glass piece on top of the other glass pieces in the appropriate arrangement. Fire the Halloween platter in the kiln to full fuse for approximately 6 hours or 1500 degrees. Let cool.

13. Cut a few decals to size (gold stars and black cheese cloth) and slip them into warm water. Place the decals on the spooky platter.

14. Place the glass on a ceramic mold in the kiln and fire it to slump in the ceramic mold.

15. Remove the fiber blanket ghosts.

Compliments of our friends at HGTV.

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Live well,
Yvonne