AAE Glass on Twitter

TWITTER

Good evening and thanks for taking a look at the AAE Glass blog.  We want to invite anyone who uses twitter to take a look at our PROFILE and follow @AAEGlass for tips, tricks and announcements.  We would love to follow your tweets as well.  We will actively "re-tweet" any tweets that we think will help other glass artists.  The sharing of information is encouraged.  It is a great way for you and your jewelry to be seen by other glass artists, as well as potential customers. 

In our quest to provide fast customer service, as well as new products, we have found many people use twitter to retrieve their information first.  We WILL NOT send repeated and outdated tweets.  We will only tweet relevant information and maybe a joke we heard that day.  "Why did the chicken cross the road...Oh never  mind..."


If you have been on the fence about using twitter or any type of social media, give it a try.  It doesn't hurt to open an account and click a few buttons.  Play around with it for a week and see if it can be useful for you.  If not just delete your account.  There are so many positives for your business that can come from social media marketing.  It is worth the try.  Oh, I almost forgot, it is FREE.

If you have a question about using social media, please post it below.  I will answer it to the best of my ability.

Mark Veit 

Popular Silver Settings Re-stocked

DROP CIRCLE SILVER SETTING

Back by popular demand, the drop circle, large oval and wavy pendant settings are back in stock. 


These are three of our most popular settings and we are happy to have them back.  They are a perfect way to accent your dichroic glass jewelry and set yourself apart.  We are letting our blog and facebook followers know first.  We appreciate all of the support you give us and want to make sure you have all of the tools you need to succeed as a glass artist.


Don't forget to check out Tanya's hand picked dichroic scrap packs and frit blends.  These will constantly be updated as we have so many combinations we want to give you. 

How to Avoid Bubbles in Your Glass Jewelry with AAE Glass

AAE GLASS FUSING DECALS AND SUPPLIES

 

One of the biggest enemies to any dichroic glass fused pendant jeweler is the dreaded bubble. No matter how hard we try, sometimes a bubble creeps into our piece and it is unavoidable. Nothing is worse then when a bubble forms just above your glass decal. Hopefully we can offer you a few tips on how to avoid the curse of the bubble. While there is no sure fire way to avoid a bubble, following these 4 steps should help.

1-Once the decal is applied, blot out any excess water with a paper towel.
2-When the excess water is removed, wrap the paper towel around your fore finger and GENTLY brush the entire decal design after the excess water is removed. Be sure to smooth out any wrinkles or folds in the decal.
3-You must let the decal dry for at least 12 hours before firing the glass.
4-***HOT TIP*** If you are in a hurry and can't wait 12 hours to fire, use a blow dryer at close range for 20 minutes.

 I hope this helps.
Tanya Veit

How to Apply AAE Glass Fusing Decals

GLASS FUSING DECALS

I wanted to share a technique that I use when making dichroic glass jewelry with water slide decals.

When I first started working with these decals I would center them on the glass and complete the piece. The decal looked great and I could change the color of the background. But after making hundreds of these it began to get repetitive. So I asked myself, "Self, how can we get creative with these pieces?"

I experimented with combining 2 decals on the same piece of glass. I remember it like it was yesterday. I put a tree of life decal on a pendant, I cut out some birds from another decal and put them above the tree of life. I used 2 decals for awhile and then I introduced a 3rd decal. Now whenever I look for inspiration, I lay out several different decals and put together a scene that I think people will like. Remember to be aware of your background colors when picking out your decals. Some decals may fit best with a blue or green background, or you can get really creative and make the background a sunset or sunrise . 

If placed correctly on the glass, you should not be able to tell it consists of 3 separate decals. It should just look like one complete image. It takes some practice to perfect this technique, but once you do, you will have a trick up your sleeve that other artists do not. It will separate your work from others.

Tune in next time for tip #2, how to photograph your jewelry to sell.

I look forward to seeing the fruits of your labor.

Tanya Veit 

Photographing Dichroic Glass Jewelry with AAE Glass

AAE GLASS

The business of making and selling dichroic glass jewelry has many steps. None more important than photographing the jewelry so it sells fast and for a good price. Many times the difference between making a sale and not making a sale is the quality of the photo. I wanted to share some of my experiences with you, what works, what doesn't.

FREE SHIPPING ON NET ORDERS OVER $200 (lower 48 States only, excludes equipment)

I have tried everything I can think of to improve my pictures. I have taken thousands of pictures over the years. I have spent hundreds of dollars on photo domes, photo cubes, cloud domes etc, and I wasn't happy with any of the pictures. After talking to a family friend, during Thanksgiving dinner, he gave me the best picture taking advice I have ever received. I started doing this 2 years ago and it has never failed...You can reach in the couch cushions or under your car seat to come up with the $2.99 it will cost you to purchase this top notch photo apparatus. Don't laugh. Are you ready? I purchased a gallon of milk, ate a few bowls of cereal and followed these five easy steps:

1.) Soak the labels off your empty milk gallon.
2.) Cut the milk gallon in half all the way around.
3.) Place your jewelry piece on your desired background.
4.) Place the milk carton over the jewelry piece and your background, place the lens of your digital camera in the top of the milk carton and click away.
5.) Take your photos outside. The best time of day is 2-5p.m. when it is slightly overcast or even a little shady. Direct sunlight is not good, it will only over-expose your photos.

So if you have a taste for Lucky Charms and need an apparatus to take great pictures, head out to your local grocer and pick up a gallon of milk. You won't be sorry :)

Tanya Veit

Tanya Veit's Frit Blends are Here

TANYA VEIT'S BEACH BLEND

CARIBBEAN OCEAN

Tanya Veit has been perfecting her most popular frit blends over the past couple of months, 6 to choose from.  These are the exact frit blends that she uses to create her own dichroic glass jewelry.  They are 90 COE and these particular frit color combinations can't be found anywhere else on the web.  If you have had an opportunity to attend an "Extreme Glass Fusing Workshop" you know how important frit blends can be when creating your dichroic glass jewelry.  Tanya has done the hard work by combining her favorite frit colors, all you have to do is open the container and get fusing. 


Also, Silver and Gold designer bails are in stock.  These popular bails give your dichroic glass jewelry a classy finish. For a tip on how to firmly secure these bails to your dichroic glass jewelry, read this step by step tutorial.


Don't forget to use some of our new decals and decal sheets to create a one of a kind scene on your dichroic glass jewelry.  Or if you want to add your own color to your decals, take a look at our "Color Me Bad" glass fusing decal sheet.  You can paint them with PEBEO paints and permanently fuse them to your glass jewelry the same as you do with all of our decals.  The colors wont fade, wear or rub off.


Finally, if you want to surround your wearable art glass in silver, take a look at our silver plated bracelets, pendants and earrings.  These findings are very popular and is a great way to set your dichroic glass jewelry apart from your competition.


AAEGlass.com is constantly working to provide supplies that we know will work for you.  We understand not everyone has time to be a full time glass artist.  We also understand that glass art is a passion to so many of our clients.  We want to help as many people as possible realize their passions as we know how fun and satisfying glass art is.  If you would like help or ideas on how to sell your finished wearable glass art pieces, visit this BLOG POST and leave a question or comment.  Mark will be happy to answer your question and point you in the right direction.

Have a great weekend and we look forward to developing a lasting relationship with each and everyone of our blog followers.

AAE

90 and 96 COE Scrap packs and Dichroic Glass Making Tutorials

  

     90 COE SCRAP PACKS

     96 COE SCRAP PACKS

   

Settings for Glass

 

Fusing Glass Decals

Tanya Veit hand picked these brand new 90 coe and 96 coe dichroic scrap packs.  These are the combinations she uses in her own dichroic glass jewelry as well as in her "Extreme Glass Fusing" workshops.  If you are familiar at all with Tanya's work, you know how well thought out these scrap packs are.  Here is a LINK to a video tutorial using dichroic glass scrap packs.

Several of our clients encase their glass art in our silver plated settings.  These silver plated settings are the best quality on the market for the price.   These findings are sure to add style and value to your glass work.

Our vast combinations of glass fusing decals have been a hit.  The combinations are endless when combining single decals and decal sheets with your wearable dichroic glass art. 

Be sure to take a look at our post about selling your dichroic glass jewelry using social media marketing. .If you have any questions, please post to the blog entry and Mark will answer your marketing question ASAP.

Also, the last tutorial I will share with you today is a very popular one.  I have received several questions regarding gluing bails, findings, etc.  Here is a LINK to a trick Tanya uses to secure bails to glass. 

If there is anything else we can help you with please let us know at info@aaeglass.com.  Be ready for some new products and services in the near future.  AAEGlass.com keeps striving to bring you new products that are streamlined for your every need.

Have a great day!

AAE

18" SIlver Snake Chains are here

SILVER SNAKE CHAIN

18" SILVER SNAKE CHAIN

These hard to find silver plated snake chains go great with dichroic glass jewelry pendants.  18" is our most popular length. 

As an added bonus to our blog and facebook followers, we are including these snake chains in the Mother's Day sale that ends tonight.  Use coupon code: 15MOM to receive 15% off your order and FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders.

AAE

15% Off Silver Settings for Mothers Day

BRACELETS BRACELETS

EARRINGS

PENDANTS

SILVER SETTINGS


In honor of all you great mothers out there, AAEGlass.com wants to extend a 15% discount to you for mothers day.  Use coupon code 15MOM to receive 15% all of your, in stock, silver settings.  We just received a new shipment and have plenty of inventory.  Don't forget FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders.


Be sure to relax this weekend and reflect on the great work you do and have done with raising your families. 


AAE

Finished Glass Jewelry Pendants from a Student

I wanted to share some work from a student named Ed.  Ed took my workshop at Firebug Studios in Venice, Florida.  I am really impressed with the painting and detail on these pieces.  Ed really put some thought into this and adapted the painting technique perfectly.  He even combined some glass fusing decals in with the paint.



This is just one of the many techniques you will learning my two day "Extreme Glass Fusing" workshop.

Thanks for sharing Ed and let me know if I can be of any assistance in the future. 

Here is a list of the workshop classes coming up.  There are only a few seats at each location available, so be sure to book yours today!

AAE

Glass Fusing Decals Released - Limited Quantities

We have released two new floral, glass fusing decals today, only at www.aaeglass.com. These fusing decals are available in different colors (turquoise, purple) and sizes.

These are limited editions and limited in numbers. Once these sell out, they are gone. They CAN NOT be reprinted. Set your dichroic glass jewelry apart with these unique decals.

If you are looking for finished dichroic glass pendants, earrings or bracelets, visit our artfire store to take advantage of coupon code 5OFF. You will receive $5 off EACH item you order from http://www.artfire.com/users/AAE-artglass

We hope everyone has a safe and happy Labor Day weekend.

AAE

Glass Fusing Artist of the Week, Russ Colwell of Helix Elemental Studio

I’ve dabbled in creative endeavors most of my life. Trying my hand at photography and writing and eventually digital art. I did alot of 3d modeling in programs such as Bryce and Cinema 4D, creating very detailed spacecraft and sci fi scenes which I posted in several internet galleries. I don’t have much time for this time intensive hobby anymore so I’ve preserved much of my sci fi work in one of my blogs (helix3d.blogspot.com). For a while I made metal furniture, incorporating mosaics into the tabletops, mirror borders, etc. Christina, my folk artist wife and Helix Elemental Studio partner would help me with the designs and work on these projects. Then one day I took a stained glass class and then followed it up with a glass fusing class. I became hooked on glass immediately. I did some lamps and mirrors and slumped some plates and bowls but resisted the idea of making fused glass jewelry because the market is so saturated.

Eventually I gave in to the temptation and started putting together some dichroic glass jewelry. I then realized why so many folks are making jewelry. It’s a fantastic creative outlet. There’s seemingly unlimited mediums and design ideas that one can incorporate into this wearable art form. Along the way I’ve allowed my designs to evolve, incorporating gems into glass and using fusible decals to embellish my pieces. I hope to eventually find time to try my hand at precious metal clay, silver work beading and wire wrapping. But it’s so easy to get stretched too thin when you’re trying to promote an Etsy shop and be active at craft fairs. So it’s best to take it easy and have fun. Christina and I spend nearly every waking moment on our creative adventures and we have no intention of looking back. We have many new ideas to start work on and I have some new directions I plan to take in my jewelry designs very soon. It’s time to move out the old and make room for the new!

-Russ Colwell

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Thanks Mr. Colwell. Your jewelry is fantastic. Be sure to click on the links above to view Helix Elemental Studio.

Email us for your chance to be artist of the week: info@aaeglass.com.

Don't forget to check back tomorrow for the release of our 2 new, limited edition glass fusing decals. They will only be available at www.aaeglass.com