Tutorial: Sandblasting Irids

Irid glass has a coating on the surface that shimmers and sparkles and catches the light. 

Here's a quick way to add some interest to your next project using Bullseye Irid Glass.

Materials List:

• Irid Glass (any color you desire)
• Clear Resist
• Craft Knife
• Sandblaster (etching cream may or may not work. Follow the instructions on the cream you purchase and do a test first)
• Black or silver permanent marker, depending on the color of your piece. Light color, use black; dark color, use silver.

Steps:

1. We are working with a pre-fused piece of irid face up on top of a piece of clear. Make sure you full fuse before going to step 2.
2. Cut the clear resist wit’s 1 ½” overlaps on each side of your piece. You want to cover the entire surface and fold the resist over the edges onto the back.
3. To stick the resist down, peel back a small part of the paper backing on the resist, place it on one edge of your glass with an overhang, and work your way across the piece until it covers the entirety of your irid surface. Then fold the edges over to stick on the back.
4. Draw a pattern on your resist with a marker. You can use stencils or templates if you'd like! They're an easy way to get a nice design.
5. Carefully cut your design out with a sharp craft knife. Make sure your blade is sharp, or you won’t have smooth cut edges. Don’t press too hard. Leave resist in spots where you want the irid to remain, remove pieces of the resist where you want to remove the irid coating.
6. Sandblast the resisted glass piece. The resist protects the irid where it remains, and the sandblasting removes the irid coating where there is no resist.
7. Peel off the resist and clean your glass. We recommend Aunt Martha's Towels and Spartan Glass Cleaner.
8. Leave as-is or slump in the mold of your choice! Use the lowest slumping temps you can. Higher temps will reduce visibility the shinier the image gets.

 NOTE: This only works if the Irid side is not capped.