Kawaii + Japanese Culture Glass Pendants

I made some pendants yesterday, right after I tore open the packages containing supplies. I was a little nervous, because I've never used the glaze before, and I don't know how it'll work - how long for it to set, and if it's possible to clean it off the glass before setting.

A lot of Etsy sellers and crafters are starting to get into this glass pendant thing. Majority prefers using Japanese washi and chiyogami paper as pendant base. Others in their attempt as to not follow the crowd, chose colourful scrapbooking papers and intricately designed wallpaper. Yet others try to incorporate Japanese kawaii into their products by using cute fabrics with animal motifs, namely squirrels, owls, birds and elephants.

I've been racking my brains before I even ordered the supplies, as to what sort of design I want to put on the glass pendants. I love the Japanese language characters, the way their letters look are just plain attractive to me. I wanted something to do with food, sushi, dessert and the like.

I have a handful of kawaii memo sheets I brought from home. So, what I did was screen the graphics on a chosen memo sheet using a glass tile, to spot a frame which will look best on the tile. Then, I measured the size of the tile, and cut out the exact size of the memo sheet.

{Oh ya. Thank goodness Jui Jien got camera. :P}

To adhere the paper to the glass, cover the bottom-side of the glass with a layer of the glaze. Then put the sheet of paper on the glass and press gently. It's very important that to get all the air bubbles out by pressing them to the edges gently. Wait for the glaze to dry, and then apply a second coat to cover the paper. The edges of the paper should also the covered with glaze - to seal it over the glass. The final effect is comparable to glass, in appearance that is - the texture is not as strong as glass, but more than durable by jewelry standards.

{Just to show you the glaze coat. This pendant got a bit of paper chipped off. T-T Me lah. To excited go touch touch before it dried. In the end I had to scrap off quite a large part.}

It's also crucial to remember to that the glaze is water-based, and paper with water-based inks should not be used along with it. I learnt it the hard way, even though I knew about this before I bought the glaze. I wanted to put my shop logo on the back-side of the pendant, because if not then it'll be a bit plain ma. The logo was printed by an ordinary printer, not laserprinted. At first I spread some of the glaze on it to see if the inks will smear. It looked fine - no smearing, so I covered the whole thing with glaze lo. Mana tau, after a few minutes ah, the logo macam kena siram air lidat. T-T

{2 failed pieces. The longer one with a smeared and bubbly back, and the smaller one not attractive enough in terms of colour and brightness}

I find that the most annoying problem about making these pendants is air bubbles getting trapped in between the glass and paper. If they're not squeezed out, they can be seen from the front - very clearly. T-T It doesn't help what with the glaze bottle always emitting little bursts of trapped air with the glaze. T-T Haih....

I regretted not buying more of the glass tiles. I thought as this would be my first attempt, I should probably not buy too many - I fear I might fail and lose any interest in continuing. Hmm... Looks like the more I make, the more addicted to it I'm becoming.

Well. At least I have 5 pieces I'm satistied with.

Last night, I suddenly got an inspiration from Shakey's Pizza's leaflet. :D Who knew side dishes can look so appetizing ho? :D So far I'm most satisfied with this piece.

{"Hey. Who put those veggies there?"}