For my dad’s birthday this year, I decided to use my new skills to make some different gifts to normal.

Cufflinks

Here is a photo of him wearing the cufflinks I made in glass.  I had no idea you could make cufflinks from fused glass (or didn’t think of it until it was pointed out to me)!

I’m quite limited in my glass fusing skills at the moment, particularly in cutting, so I used inclusions for the decoration (note: inclusions are when you include certain metals between the two layers of glass so that they become sealed into the piece).  The inclusions are feet.  I chose feet as he enjoys running, so it fits in with one of his hobbies.

The class pieces were fixed onto the cufflink backs with an amazing adhesive called Hang-your-glass, which creates a strong finished piece.

Toiletry Bag

Here is a photo of the toiletry bag I made.  I used free machine embroidery to decorate this item.  I made up the design from a family saying – “A bath is worth two hours’ sleep” which I believe he relies on to keep up with his busy schedule!

I really enjoyed making the personalised design on this bag.  The bath tub was appliquéd on with an old curtain swatch remnant.  I particularly enjoy writing with the machine, which is great because I no longer gaze longingly at impressive but expensive embroidery machines with preset lettering options.  Sure, a machine program for lettering is faster and accurate, but free machine embroidery comes out differently every time.