Best way to make fried marbles+a suncatcher... kind of.

[allyinthevalley]

I made fried marbles!! There are already several people who have posted these around this site, and on each post there are people trying to figure out the best way to make them. So I took the liberty of trying all of the methods to see which is best.
I tried boiling, "frying" in a cast iron pan... But the very best way, as well as the easiest, was to bake them in the oven.
Put your clear marbles (It's useless to use solid colored ones. You can't see the cracks on the inside.) in a pie pan. Bake them in a preheated 500 degree (farenheit) oven for about 20 minutes. There's no need to go over 20 minutes, though it doesn't hurt them. I tried different times and any left in for over 20 minutes all look the same. Have a metal bowl with ice cold water ready. Remove your marbles and immediately dump them into the water. The marbles crack, you ooo and ahh, and you're done!

And here's my idea for what to do with them. Keep in mind that this is still a pretty rough idea, and this is my first attempt and the ONLY experience I've had with wire-bendy-working-stuff... It's an attempt at a suncatcher. It's at a funny angle here... looks a little better in real life. I think someone with experience could come up with a much nicer one, but I'll keep working at it. 

Hope this inspires someone. It is a good project for a cloudy autumn afternoon.

[halblingefrau]

That looks really awesome.  I'll have to try it.  Also, I like the suncatcher.  I have something KIND of like that in my bedroom, but instead of a large marble, it has a glass bottle.

[RosiePosie]

I don't think I've ever seen fried marbles before. They're so pretty and sparkly! I'm addicted to sparkly stuff, so I'll have to try this out. I've been wanting to throw some CD's in the microwave but my hubby would freak.
I assume the marbles don't make any toxic fumes though, unlike CD's ,lol.
Did any of the marbles break in the process?

[allyinthevalley]

There's no smell at all from the marbles. And none of them broke for me, except for one that fell on the floor today and shattered.  I was very upset about it because it was my favorite. 

[janetmichelle]

WOW! I have never seen that before! Thank you for sharing!

[PlumCrafty]

So pretty! Definitely feeling inspired and will keep that project for a rainy day!  

[MissNoemi]

Wow, those are amazing! The marbles look great, as does your sun catcher. It's a rainy and windy day here right now...I wish I had some marbles.

[mintbamboo]

aaaaand bookmared 

they're so pretty! the sun catcher is amazing, i have a hard time believing that's your first time working with wire-bengdy-working-stuff.

[bookstorebabe]

Very professional looking-what gauge wire did you use? I'm going to try your method with some flat backed marbles I have.They're clear with a blue swirl.Thanks for sharing! I love your suncatcher.

[ChristelH]

Wow!
That suncatcher is awesome!  I'd love to have something like that hanging up in my room.
I really need to try this, thanks for sharing how you did it!