advent: day 21

ooh! i think this may have been the best advent adventure this year :). also might be considered our christmas date, since eric and i flew solo for this adventure: glass blowing!

a few months ago living social had a deal for a mini glass blowing class in redmond. eric gave me the green light so i bought two and because it was going to expire i finally signed us up. this was a very cool experience and we definitely want to do it again.

the class was pretty full but it went quick; everyone was done within two hours. this was probably due to what they would and wouldn't allow us to do, but it was enough! the instructor had been blowing glass for 16 years and walked us through the process before getting started. he pulled the glass out of the oven for us (i wouldn't have wanted to do that part anyway), then we rolled it in whatever color we had chosen - red, yellow, green or blue...although he pulled out purple later. once it was rolled - level, 45 degrees, dot on the top - it was put in a warmer oven, then rerolled in color, put back in the warmer one more time and if needed the instructor would roll it in color again.



the glass oven - on 24 hrs a day

our color options (red, blue, green) and in the background you can see the bench we sat at

hot glass being rolled in purple color

once colored properly, we the student sat down at a bench to shape the hot glass properly. we had the option to add texture (a waffle pattern) if wanted, and then the actual blowing occurred. this required a third party because the student was using giant pinchers to help form a bubble in the glass. the instructor was rolling the pipe that held the hot glass and giving instructions on how much air to blow in the glass. once the proper size, we had the choice of making a float (flat topped) or an ornament (looped on the top).

us on our date night :)

it was totally cool and we definitely want to do it again!! aren't they so pretty??

eric's green ornament, risa's blue float