I think the cracked baked / fried marbles are the prettiest. Thoroughly heating the marbles and then “shocking” them with ice cold water causes them to crack on the inside, leaving the outside perfectly intact. After trying this several times (baking vs. frying), I have come up with the way that worked best for me.
You will need:
- Translucent Marbles (can be any color as long as they are clear)
- Oven
- Bowl
- Water
- Ice Cubes
- Protective Eyewear
- Oven Mitts
Step By Step Instructions:
- You will want to use translucent marbles. If they are opaque, you will not see the cracks. Often two-tone marbles crack down the middle. Here, I used clear but any color “clearies” can be used.
- Preheat Oven to 500 degrees.
- Line a pie pan or baking sheet with foil. You may want to use a pan that will not be used again for baking. Although none of my marbles cracked (this time), it is possible. Fill pan with marbles.
- Bake marbles for 20 minutes.
- Before removing marbles, fill a bowl with cold water and ice. A metal bowl works even better.
- Using protective eye glasses / goggles and pot holders, immediately dump the marbles into a bowl of ice water.
- You can stir to increase cracking. Let stand for at least 5 minutes. You may have some that split in half – this is totally normal.
- You have beautifully cracked marbles on the inside. From here, the sky’s the limit. You can make jewelry by using wire cages, bails, beadcaps, wirewrapping, etc. They would also be pretty vase fillers in addition to your standard translucent ones.
