Lighted Glass Block

These are a great project for anytime of year! I made mine with a Christmas theme but it can easily be adapted for any occasion. The block gives off a really lovely glow at night. Click on the thumbnails to enlarge the photos.



Here's what you'll need:
Glass Block of any size (pre-drill a hole large enough to fit your lights near the bottom of one large side)
50 Christmas lights
Tissue paper (cut 2 pieces 1/2" smaller than the raised edge that runs around the large side of the block)
Stamps
Ink
Snail Adhesive
2 Double-sided sticky sheets trimmed to be the same size as the front of the block, between the raised edges (regular adhesive won't work here)
Micro beads
2 1/2" or 3" wide ribbon, enough to go around the block and tie a bow
*I also used SU markers and a SU Color Spritzer (optional)


1. Cram the lights one at a time into the glass block via the hole. You can sort of rearrange them with a chopstick to spread them out once they're in. (Our hole was only 3/4" because my husband spliced the wire so that the plug on the end wasn't in the way. If you don't splice, your drilled hole will need to be big enough to accomodate the plug too.)


2. Stamp one piece of tissue paper to be the front of your block. (I used the color spritzer here to fill in the empty spaces a bit.) The other piece of tissue paper will be the back of the block; you can stamp it with a message, an image, or leave it blank.


3. Put a small amount of SNAIL adhesive in two places on the face of your block, then secure the main image. Smooth it out good.


4. Peel a corner of the double-sided adhesive sheet back and position it on the front of the block over the tissue paper. Continue peeling as you move, covering the entire area. THIS IS VERY PERMENANT. THERE IS NO REPOSITIONING!

5. Repeat steps 4 & 5 on the reverse side of the block. You may need to cut a wedge out of both the tissue paper and the adhesive sheet to accomodate the cord.


6. Slowly peel the remaining paper of the adhesive sheet off to reveal the adhesive. Pour the glass beads liberally over the face of the block. You can reuse any that don't stick, so you're not wasting. You may want to set the block in a pan or a tray to catch the runaway beads, these little suckers bounce! Rub the beads in circles with your hand until no sticky areas remain. Tip block and brush off excess beads.


7. Repeat step 6 on opposite side.

8. Tie the ribbon around the outside of the block and tie a bow on top to finish.