I made Penguins!

[Glacier]

My niece, Emma, is obsessed with Penguins..or Pingus as she calls them. She turns five in a couple weeks. I already sent her a penguin stuffed toy, but last night I decided to try making her a penguin bead. After the first one worked, I had such fun that I couldn't stop!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v38/Glacier1998/bead/pingufamily.jpg
I made a whole Pingu family!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v38/Glacier1998/bead/pingudad.jpg
The Daddy Pingu
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v38/Glacier1998/bead/pingumomma.jpg
This one is my favorite, the Momma Pingu.

Emma's gonna love them! I think I'll turn a couple into zipper pulls and a necklace and leave the others for her to decide what to make with them.

[CountryWolf07]

That is awesome, way too cool. Are they made out of clay? You did a wonderful job - I love your artistic projects!

[gemini9961]

Those are darling. I'm sure she will love them.

[Glacier]

Are they made out of clay?

No, they are glass.

[pitc9]

Great Job! They look perfect!

[kuhio98]

Adorable! But, please tell me she knows that penguins don't live in the Arctic. :p

(If she knows this, at 5 yrs old, she's already smarter than most people.) :)

[Glacier]

Adorable! But, please tell me she knows that penguins don't live in the Arctic. :p

(If she knows this, at 5 yrs old, she's already smarter than most people.) :)

LOL, she knows they don't live near Santa! That's about as far as she's got with that so far! She knows all kinds of random pengiun facts, but I don't think she can pronounce Antarctica yet!

[Shelteez2]

Those are adorable!!!! My bf is obsessed with penguins.... and he's 22.... lol

[Karen]

They are great! How fun!

[Husky_mom]

OMG!!!... I want!!... I love penguins too!!

the is a tv show that was named pingu.... which was about a penguin....

my nickname since the day I was born is "Pingüi" which is short of "Pingüino", penguin in spanish.....LOL

If you ever ever make more of those I´m gonna want one myself :D

[Randi]

They really are cute - great job!! Your niece is gonna love them! :)

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

the is a tv show that was named pingu.... which was about a penguin....



We have this on tv too here! All kids love the "Adventures of Pingu the penguin" !!

These glass penguins are most adorable, Tamara!! Absolutely gorgeous!!

[gini]

Those are absolutely wonderful. I am sure they are going to be a gift that she will treasure from you for her lifetime. How fun they are!

[Killearn Kitties]

:D What a fantastic idea that was! Your niece is going to adore them. I quite fancy a little glass penguin family myself!

[Taz_Zoee]

OH my goodness, those are too cute! I wish I had a talent like that.
My favorite one is the momma penguin too. :)

[ramanth]

Those are so adorable!! Can you do dragons? ;) :D

I'd love a penguin too. How much?

[kuhio98]

Tamara ~ I think you should do a line of Husky's. You've got some wonderful models right in your own yard. :D

[Edwina's Secretary]

Those are marvelous! I had a penquin collection (probably still do somewhere!) and those are better than any I had!

My favorite though....my sister made me a mobile of oragami penquins...in case you need an idea for next birthday! :D

[lizbud]

They are adorable. Great job. You will make more right? I'll bet your neice will love them too.

[dukedogsmom]

Those are just too adorable for words! You are getting so talented. I don't suppose you'd be making bracelets with them??


Tamara ~ I think you should do a line of Husky's. You've got some wonderful models right in your own yard. :D
Great idea! Or, if you want to do black labs, I'd be interested.

[Alysser]

Wow, those are really adorable! Please do make more, you do a fantastic job!!

[captain]

Those are fantastic Tamara!!!!

[4 Dog Mother]

Those are absolutely adorable. What a talented person you are Tamara! Your niece is getting a very special gift and I hope she does keep and remember what a special aunt she has!

[Chica]

You did a grandtastic job!!!!!!!!!They are wonderful!!!!

[Chica]

You could actually sell them if you wanted to. I would buy one or two. :) They are really cute!!!!

[Cinder & Smoke]

EEE-WOW!!! :D

Those are Super-:cool:

For anyone who doesn't understand the process - those tiny figures are made
from super-HOT (molten) glass -

The glass starts out as a long, very thin, rod of solid, colored, glass which Tamara then
heats with a torch till it starts to melt and flow ...
THEN the "Artist" starts creating stuff by forming and adding multiple colors.

Those "Guins" could go into a Museum!

NICE Work, Tamara!!!

[kitten645]

Wow! Those are beautiful. You are very talented. You should sell them!

"LOL, she knows they don't live near Santa! That's about as far as she's got with that so far! She knows all kinds of random pengiun facts, but I don't think she can pronounce Antarctica yet!"

This made me laugh cause when my brother was about five, he decided his Star wars figures should go to Antartica. So he put them in the ice bin of the refrigerator. Now this was one of the first door dispensing ice makers so when my mom went to fill her glass with crushed ice, there were bits of Chewie in her cup! Hope you niece can't reach that high! LOL
Claudia

[Lilith Cherry]

Tamara , they are wonderful! Your neice will adore them I'm sure!

[cloverfdx]

W :eek: W they are gorgeous Tamara, what a special gift for your niece.

[Pawsitive Thinking]

They are fantastic!

I always credit Pingu with helping me pass my driving test on the 4th attempt :rolleyes: Watching an episode helped calm my nerves ( I was only 27 at the time :D )

[M&M's Mommy]

Oh my goodness.. Those penguins are incredibly cute!!! If you decide to make more & sell them, please let me know.

[cassiesmom]

Glacier, the Pingu family is absolutely adorable! What a special gift for your young niece!

[Jessika]

My sister is obsessed with Penguins, too, she'd love if I could make her stuff like this hehe.

You are so talented!

[My Peanuts]

Those are truly awesome! Is this something I could learn how to do too? How did you learn? I'd love to try. :)

[Glacier]

Is this something I could learn how to do too? How did you learn? I'd love to try. :)

Anyone could learn to do it. I took a few hours of lessons with another beadmaker first. I'd strongly recommend lessons with an experienced person. That way you can find out if you like it before you invest too much time and money. Once you learn the basics from someone, it's all practice, practice, practice!

Just as a warning, lampworking is a potentially dangerous hobby. You need oxygen and propane to melt the glass. Propane stored improperly will kill you in a hurry. You absolutely can not keep propane inside a building, especially your house. If you do and it blows up, you have no insurance and at the very least you are going to suffer serious injury. A BBQ tank of propane can level a house! Tanked oxygen is very volatile and needs special storage too. I use an oxygen concentrator which is safer, but much more expensive initially. You need proper ventilation in your work space. Melting glass produces dangerous fumes that cause lung problems, breathing difficulties, headaches and if you use metallic glass, heavy metal poisoning. Opening a window isn't enough. A fan and hood plus ducting outside is necessary. You also must have special safety glasses called didiydium lenses. Without those you are risking burning your corneas, plus the glass rods occasionally explode and send shards everywhere! A fire-proof work surface is essential--I have a concrete floor and my table is tiled. I wear a welder's leather apron to protect my body while I'm working. Expect to burn your fingers and cut yourself more than a few times! Those little bits of glass are sharp and they sometimes look the same hot as they do cold!

It's expensive too! Before I bought any glass, I'd spent close to 2 grand setting up my "studio". Besides the torch,oyxgen, propane and safety gear, you need a kiln to anneal the beads. An unannealed bead is useless and will break. Glass costs anywhere from 10 bucks to over a hunderd dollars per pound. A lot of glass gets wasted, especially when you are starting out! And you can never have too much glass or enough colors--those darn manufacturers keep coming out with new "odd lot" colors that they only make once and you just have to try them!! :rolleyes:

It's also a ton of fun and highly addictive! Stuart makes fun of me cuz I can't hold a pen anymore without turning it like a mandrel. I look at patterns on people's clothes and wonder if that would work in glass! I dream about beads and get cranky if I can't get to my torch at least every couple days!

[DJFyrewolf36]

Those are awesome! :D

[kimlovescats]

Those are absolutely PRECIOUS!!! WOW, I'm impressed! :eek:

[M&M's Mommy]

. It's also a ton of fun and highly addictive! Stuart makes fun of me cuz I can't hold a pen anymore without turning it like a mandrel. I look at patterns on people's clothes and wonder if that would work in glass! I dream about beads and get cranky if I can't get to my torch at least every couple days!

You sound like a true artist to me. It's a wonderful thing to be this passionate about something!

Keep up the good work girl, and pleaseeeeee share your art with us.

[shais_mom]

omg!
how CUTE! :D

[kuhio98]

Tamara ~ Ya know, if you put a little glass loop on their heads, you could put these on necklaces or create Christmas ornaments.

Now that's and idea! I think I should decorate this year's Christmas tree with glass penguins and polar bears. Whatcha think? :p ;)

[Jadapit]

Omg, those are so adorable! I love them. :D

[Killearn Kitties]

Tamara ~ Ya know, if you put a little glass loop on their heads, you could put these on necklaces or create Christmas ornaments.

Now that's and idea! I think I should decorate this year's Christmas tree with glass penguins and polar bears. Whatcha think? :p ;)
I think this is a brilliant idea, and I would certainly be in the market for some of those decorations. :D

[Barbara]

Wow- you could work on Murano island in Venice - this definitely looks like a new line in your business.
But the first ones will always be the very special ones :)

[NoahsMommy]

Wow!!! They are soooooo cute and it sounds like such a wonderfully fun and interesting hobby!

I just know she'll adore them!!

I can't wait to see more. :)

[captain]

Ummmm Tamara,
Thanks so much for telling me ALLLLLLLLLL about how to make the beads, setting up costs, etc.

*cough*
..... but I think I will just let you do it, and buy them from you instead, OK? :)