This project is a family favorite. My kids *love* to “crack” glass stones with me. They don’t even make anything with them most of the time, they just enjoy watching the glass crack and then admiring their handiwork. I like to paint the stones, glitter them, set them in bezels, make magnets, and all kinds of other things. But let me back up a bit and first show you how to “crack” glass!
(This post first appeared at Dollar Store Crafts, where you can find me every Tuesday!)
Supplies Needed:
- Glass stones
- Water and ice
- Plastic Bowl
Step one: Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Arrange your glass stones in a baking dish.
Step two: Bake the stones for 20 minutes.
Step three: Prepare a plastic bowl with ice and add water.
Step four: When you remove the stones from the oven, pour them IMMEDIATELY into the ice water. They will crack instantly.
Your stones are now ready to work with. The cool thing with this project is that the stones have cracks on the INSIDE but the outside is perfectly smooth. There are no sharp fragments or anything that will cut you. Occasionally, a stone may crack too deeply and break in half, so make several at a time.
What to do with your beautiful “gemstones”? One idea is to just set it on a bail to make a pretty, diamond-like pendant. Another is to wrap it with wire like I did in this tutorial. What might you do with your cracked glass stones?
This is great! 50 years ago, when I was a kid, this craft was called ‘fried marbles’ and we did it with regular cateye marbles. I had forgotten about that till I saw your post. 🙂
Yep…same here. Sometimes we would use the gold colored metal filagree to mount each marble on a braclet.
love the look of the cracked glass stones! what a cool tutorial – definitely want to try this. 🙂
Glass mosaic tiles easily impart a decorative look to any setting. They may be used in large expanses or even smaller stretches like frames and borders to create ornamental accents. Thanks!
Can I paint these before or after crackering? What kind of paint would I use and what kind of glue would I use to glue to a mirror? I thank you for any help you can give.
Deborah
Yes, they can be painted. I would use a glass paint but you can also use multi surface paints or paint markers. Use jewelry glue, super glue, or E-6000 to attach them to a mirror.
They have to be painted after they have been crackled. My favorite look is to paint the flat backed side with mail polish
What does “bail” mean? I tried to look it up, (in the craft sense of the definition), but it only gave me the definition of what I thought the word ‘bail’ meant; when a person pays money in order to release a person in jail not yet sentenced. (FYI- that’s NOT the OFFICIAL definition that is in the dictionary)
It’s a jewelry bail. It’s the metal piece that you glue on so that the chain or rope can go through it. If you search for “bail” or “jewelry bail” on Etsy you will see several examples of it.
I’m disappointed with this project. I “cooked” the stones per your instructions, nothing cracked. I did this 4 times to the same stones. 5 stones crackled. No more than that. Any different method?
That is odd! I’ve done this lots of times and it always works. Some people have commented that they used to make these by “frying” the marbles. They said they heated the marbles up in a frying pan and then put them in the ice water. Maybe try that method?
Maybe your bowl of water wasnt cold enough? Try putting your ice water bowl in the freezer while your waiting for your stones to bake & then immediately pour them into the ice water as soon as you take them out of oven.
Would regular marbles do the same ?
Yes, regular marbles would work, too!
Excellent idea. I will try doing them too.