Nifty Name Plaque Project

A few days ago I was sitting on the floor of my son's room making towers of Lego blocks because he likes to knock them over. That's why one of his nicknames is Eamonzilla, and he even has a cute little roar to go with it. So, as I was repeatedly building these towers I thought it would be cool to make him a wall sign with his name on it...not his Lego tower crushing name, but his real name.

As with most of my projects, I try to make them a little challenging by only using one or two types of glass elements and seeing if I can pull it off. Because we have a lot of new Buffalo Chips and Carolina Frits, I decided to use only those. And to build on I chose a Glass Slab, which is 12" x 6" and perfect for a sign. A Glass Slab, Buffalo Chips and Carolina Frit...no cutting required.

I thought of three different ways to make the name, so I gathered two of my co-workers, Kelley and Kelci, and got to work. The Buffalo Chips and Frit started flying (good thing we wore our safety glasses) and before long we had signs.

Kelci used only Frit to make her letters.

Kelley used only Buffalo Chips to make her letters.

I used Buffalo Chips and Carolina Frit to make these letters.

I think they all turned out pretty cool. This is a project that just about anyone can do, as there was no cutting involved. Sure you can use nippers to cut the Buffalo Chips, or you can cut the Slab if you don't want a perfect rectangle, but you don't have to. Some other glass components you can use that don't require cutting are Pebbles, Bits, and CutUps. This would also make a good camp project, and can take from 45 minutes to an hour and a half.

I recommend writing the name on the glass with a sharpie pen before you get started so you know the name will fit. It's very easy to make the letters a little too big and run out of room. Also, before you get started, think about how you want to display it, because you have several options.

1) Design Integrated Hanger with string or wire

2) Drill holes for string or wire

3) Jewelry Bails with string or wire

4) Plate Stands

There you go! Have fun with it!

Happy Fusing!

-Warm Glass guy