There is another brand of vodka called Grey Goose and it has a really cool 3-D design, as well. I will be fusing one of those sometime this week, so I will show you what they look like.
Today I fused a Belvedere Vodka Bottle. As you can see from the photo, it has a really cool 3-D design on the bottle. Once the glass bottle is fused, the 3-D design is still visible. The building in the background was etched into the back of the bottle and the white trees surrounded the entire bottle.
Not many alcohol bottles have this etching and glass enamels, so these are truly unique!!
They can be used as trivets, spoon rests, or you can hang it on the wall. They are a great conversational piece.
Christine
February 1, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Hi Christine,
I love the fused glass bottle! It’s great. I always wondered how this was done in the kiln. Is there a certain firing schedule used to get this effect? I tried searching for a how-to on the internet but haven’t had any luck.
Thanks!
Jenny
February 2, 2008 at 5:02 am
Hi Jenny,
Thanks for the compliments about the Fused Glass Bottle!! It took us awhile to get one of these bottles and they are still hard to come by, because not as many people drink Belvedere as Grey Goose Vodka.
It also took us awhile to figure out how to fuse these bottles without them cracking right away.
Are you familiar with annealing? This is when you cool off the kiln very slowly, so your glass projects don’t crack.
This is my firing schedule:
400 degrees per hour up to 750 degrees hold 15 min.
600 up to 1450 degrees, hold for 20 min. or until fused flat
Cool off ASAP to 1030 degrees, hold for 2 hours (annealing)
Cool off at 100 degrees per hour to 700 degrees
Turn off kiln to room temp.
Open kiln and see how it turned out!
Remember, all kilns are different, so you will need to experiment to get it just right using your kiln.
I hope this helps!
Christine
July 11, 2009 at 6:15 am
Are these temperatures correct? My kiln is completely automatic so I’m still learning how to decifer manual directions. 400 degrees per minute up to 750 seems next to impossible to me not to mention hazzardous to the glass. I might be doing this all wrong but wouldn’t 60 degrees per minute down to 700 degree be 4-1/2 minutes. What am I doing wrong? HELP!
July 14, 2009 at 4:53 am
Hi Alyssa,
You are correct. For the firing schedule, I said I heated up the kiln at 400 degrees per minute. I meant to say per hour. It’s the same thing for cooling the kiln. I said I cooled it off at 60 degrees per minute — I meant 60 degrees per hour.
I updated my comment to my current firing schedule.
I hope this helps!
Christine
June 28, 2008 at 7:03 am
Awesome!
I do high definition etching, but we aren’t able to do bottles or glasses. We pretty much do the flat glass and mirrors. Maybe some day I will learn.
Keep up the good work.
Mark
June 28, 2008 at 9:42 am
Hi Mark,
Unfortunately, we do not do the etching. The company does the etching on the bottle, so this is what the bottle looks like when you buy it in the store.
Thanks for your comment,
Christine
October 27, 2008 at 3:17 am
Hi Christine,
Above you listed the schedule to fuse the bottles.
Do you mean 400 degrees per hour? You have listed per minute.
I have fused bottles and have had a difficult time with the thick champagne bottles. Wine and wiskey bottles are fine, but the large champagne bottles always crack at the bottom. Your bottle turned out beautifully.
October 28, 2008 at 12:20 am
Hi Michelle,
You are correct. I meant 400 degree per hour. I noticed another typo — spelled compliments with two m’s. I must have been tired that evening
If the bottom of the champagne bottles crack, try annealing for 2 1/2 or 3 hours. When I started fusing bottles, the bottoms would eventually crack, too, until I learned I needed to anneal longer. Since a champagne bottle is much thicker (has more glass), then it needs to be annealled longer.
Hope this helps!
Christine
December 25, 2009 at 4:17 am
Where can I find molds to slump glass bottles with.
Thanks for your help.
December 25, 2009 at 4:18 am
Where can I find molds to slump glass bottles. Thanks for your help.