Aloe Vera Gel

Oh, the wonders of Aloe Vera Gel. Yes this is the kind you purchase at the drug store for sunburn. It can purchase it in green or clear.

Aloe gel has been used for the treatment of wounds, minor burns, and skin irritations, and now fused glass projects. Well, it can also be used with powdered glass and painted on glass. It is fairly inexpensive and readily available.

Aloe Gel vs. Liquid Stringer

What is Liquid Stringer Medium? It is used to draw with glass on glass. It can be mixed with powdered frits, powdered glass, and enamels. When mixed with powder you get an adhesive like mixture. Then you can apply the mixture with a squeeze bottle, Ziploc bag or cake decorator bag. You can use the mixture to draw words, faces, geometric patterns or free form lines. When mixed to a thick consistency, you can have lines that will look like a glass stringer. If you mix it thinner you can float areas of color. It is easy to use and burns out clean when fired. An 8 ounce bottle will cost you around $18 to $20 dollars.

Aloe is much cheaper than Liquid Stringer, and just as successful. A large bottle of Aloe Vera Gel will cost you anywhere from $1 to $5, depending on what dollar store or drug store you purchase it from. You won�t have the fumes coming from the kiln like you do with the Liquid Stringer product.

Mix Aloe Gel with powdered glass in a small container and then using a funnel put it into a squeezable needle nosed bottle. You can squeeze it through a bottle, or a Ziploc bag. If using a Ziploc bag, just cut off a tip of one of the corners, like a pastry bag, you can squeeze the liquid out from this hole. It is very simple to blend with no bubbles.

Mix

1 teaspoon aloe

2 teaspoons distilled water

� Tablespoon glass powder

You can write on glass just like you can with Liquid Stringer. Make designs or draw on glass with this mixture. Allow the liquid to dry before fusing. Then fire to a full fuse. It dries and fires clear.

Experiment with the gel. Try mixing it with frit to hold it in place as you are fusing. Aloe can also be used instead of Liquid Stringer, as a glue to hold glass in place in the kiln.

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