Glass Marble Letters

A few days ago I was lucky enough to discover flattened glass marbles on sale at Michael's.  I was planning on buying them anyway, but was delighted to discover that they were on sale for $1 a bag, as opposed to $2.49. 

And why did I need flattened glass marbles, you ask?    For the mosaics, of course.  I use them to make letters with which I "write" where the pictures come from on the Mosaic Timeline squares.

I first print the letters and numbers I need on my computer - you can use a smaller font than the marble size, because the glass will magnify the print.

I then copy my printed page on a photocopier onto white cardstock.  I use the photocopier instead of my ink jet printer because the photocopier will print in ink that will not bleed when wet.  (And the inkjet ink will - yuck).  I use cardstock because it would get too saturated with the glue, nor will it wrinkle when it gets wet.

At first when I started the project, I punched all the letters and numbers out with a circle craft punch and then glued them to the marble.  However, I soon learned that it was just as easy to glue the marble onto the paper and cut around it when it dries.  The scissors just follow around the outside of the marble, and this goes very quickly.

Therefore, I just put some glue right on the letter.  (Today I was using Alene's craft glue).

I then press the marble on top of the glue, and rub it around a bit to make sure the backside of the marble is coated, and no air bubbles are in there.  I can dimly see the letter through the glue, so I center it in the marble.



 I then let it dry, and then I cut each letter out.  Finally, I line the letter I need up to spell out where the Bible story comes from.  As you can see, the glue dries clear.

 It makes a very nice and visible way to spell things out on the boards. 

I also got this sea glass for $1, too.  I'm going to use the small pieces for hail - for the plagues, of course.