Glass Blowing- Pumpkins

Being a creative person I like to try new craft mediums. I don't always stick with them for various reasons but I do enjoy trying them out. So when I came across a glass blowing class at Live Laugh Love Glass I thought it would be fun.  My friend agreed and we decided to make mini pumpkins. 

When we arrived at the studio we got to choose what colour we wanted our pumpkin to be. So many choices.  My friend chose white and I went with a gold/amber colour. 

The instructor gets a nice blob of glass on the pipe for you and then you take over and turn it slooowly. I kept turning mine too fast and the instructor kept telling me, slower, slower. 

 Next step is to add the colour. Again, rolling slowly to coat your plain glass blob into the colour shards. The more you roll over the shards the more colour you pick up. I wanted mine to be full of colour so I made sure my little glass blob was good and coated. 

 Have to make sure to get colour on the bottom. 

 Once the colour is applied the glass blob is taken to a super hot oven where the colour gets baked on.  That oven was HOT even behind the shield. The instructor is again telling me to roll the glass blob slowly. Like a hot dog in the convenience stores warmers the instructor is telling me. After the colour is melted on, the instructor takes the pipe and squishes the molten glass into the molds you see at my feet. The mold is what gives the glass it's pumpkiny ridges. 

 This is the fun part. As you blow into the tube the glass blob expands and starts becoming more pumpkin shaped. I'm glad the instructor is the one shaping it and not me. Not sure I'd get the nice round pumpkin shape if I had to shape it. 

How cute! both my friend and I were getting pretty giddy at this point. The mini pumpkin was really taking shape. It's just so stinkin cute! 

Hey hey, I'm making a mini glass pumpkin!! My friend and I had so much fun making these. This would be a fun alternative to having a party at home. Invite a group of friends out to a glass blowing glass. You'll have a lot of fun. 

Look at my cute little pumpkin!! The instructor adds the stem for you. 

Here's my friends pumpkin before the stem was added. A pretty mottled white. 

My friends finished mini pumpkin. So cute and so much fun to make. This was a fun way to spend the day with a friend.

My finished mini pumpkin. I love how saturated with colour it is. I now have a fun new party prop too. Be on the look out in future posts for this little cutie. 

What do you think?  Interested in taking a glass blowing class now?
Check your city for glass blowing glasses, invite some friends and have a fun day creating.