We had snow today!!

Yeh, I know, most of the country has been hit by heavy snow this year. In this part of Tennessee we haven't had any. So, this morning was pretty exciting! By midday it had all pretty much melted away...

This is what I'm working on this week

I started working on a new piece a few days ago. Its a stained glass suncatcher with three yellow and orange daffodils. The pattern has been changed around a bit and the new design will be approximately 13 3/4" diameter when complete, similar in composition to the oval piece I completed last year.

I'm excited to complete this piece. The colors are bright and bold, sure to brighten up even the grayest days of winter.

I've gone rainbow crazy!! New items for January

There's something fun and happy about rainbows.

Here are a couple of new items completed recently.

The rainbow stained glass peace sign measures 9 1/2" diameter, approximately 24 centimeters. The glass I used for this one is called Waterglass, its manufactured by Spectrum. The glass itself is very bright and clear and ts got a light wavy texture to it like water on a lake's surface.

The stained glass hot air balloon is also made with the same type of glass. In this piece I've assembled the glass pieces in such a way that it appears that the balloon is full of hot air.

Both of these items are now available in my Etsy shop. Receive 10% off the cost of either of these items by mentioning that you saw them on my blog. Simply key in "blog" in the message to seller field and I will send you are revised invoice before you pay OR if you check out and pay I will refund the 10% to you. Cost of shipping not included in the discount.

New weekend projects--Its all about rainbows, man..

Someone posted on an Etsy forum that they like rainbows. I guess that's all it took to get me going on making a couple of new rainbow themed items.

The first I hope to get done is a stained glass rainbow peace sign. Once completed it will measure out at less then 11 inches diameter. I've done peace signs in glass before but not in this design. I'm excited about this piece and hope it looks great when its done (its a toss up sometimes). All of the colored and clear glass pieces are Waterglass, which has a light wavy texture to it and all of these pieces will be 'flowing' in the same direction. I hope to have the peace sign completed Jan 24 or 25.

The second is a stained glass rainbow hot air balloon. I've done several of these in the past and thought it would be a good time to add another to my shop. This piece like the peace sign is all Waterglass (except the basket) with the direction of the glass pieces positioned to give the appearance that the balloon is full and ready for launch. This piece should be completed in the next few days.

New items in my shop inspired by spring

This year winter came on hard and fast, it got cold quick and it stayed cold. I've been spoiled for the past 10 years in Tennessee where winters are usually mild. We don't get snow much on this side of the state but usually get some good ice storms. Even with the colder then usual temperatures our daffodils are starting to sprout all over the yard.

I get inspired a lot of the time by what is happening outside my window and figured it was time to create another daffodil. I've never done a white and orange daffodil and thought the color combination with the aqua blue might be interesting. It is definitely bold and bright.

Another piece I recently added to my shop is a single purple tulip. The glass I choose for the flower is a combination of violet and pale purple and the two leaves are a sea green and olive green mix. I'm still working on trying to get better pictures of the tulip.

Foling a stained glass panel

Foiling is fun. Cutting the glass is probably my favorite step, foiling comes in a close second.

In creating a stained glass suncatcher or panel using the Tiffany method (copper foil method) each piece of glass involved is wrapped with a self-adhesive copper foil. This is one component needed in order to 'bond' all the pieces together. There are several makers of copper foil and it is available in a variety of different widths and color backings. The color backings available include copper back, silver back and black back. I use copper back foil on pieces that are either dark or dense and black back on pieces that are either light in color or clear. If copper back foil is used on clear glass you might actually see a copper 'shadow' on the edges of these pieces once the suncatcher/panel is soldered completely. The time when this would not matter is when using a copper patina to finish the project. The choice is up to the individual.

The trick to foiling is to apply the foil to the center of the edge of the piece so that both sides of the glass receive an equal amount of coverage. Once the edges and sides of the piece have been foiled a tool is used to burnish the foil, to smooth it out. Once all of the pieces have been foiled we can proceed to the next step which is to cut the frame and solder the panel together.

New projects in the works

Welcome 2009. Yes, I'm a bit late but better late then never.

Lots of new projects are on the way for this new year. I've recently completed a fun rainbow colored stained glass butterfly. This is a shrunk down version of a much larger more complex panel that I'm hoping I can start in a few months. In this smaller version I've used various colors of Waterglass. Its a transparent glass manufactured by Spectrum Glass with a slight texture to it. Its one of my favorite types of glass to use since I love the sharp bright colors and the texture can be placed in such a way to give a good deal of 'movement' to a project.

The next item I hope to have done in a few days is a stained glass daffodil. I'm using white and orange wispy glass for the bloom along with light green for the stem and aqua blue for the background. Another piece that is nearly complete is a single tulip in streaky violet purple. Other projects that have been started include a large yellow orange daffodil suncatcher, a rainbow hot air balloon, a piece sign and three new cat face ornaments.

Wow, this blog has a layer of dust on it an inch thick...

All I can say is that I'm really quite embarrassed that I've let this blog fall to the wayside. The time has come to pick it back up and blow the dust off of it.

Let's see, where did we leave off? Oh, the stained glass quilt panel. There's a few more steps involved in order to get it done. It really turned out to be one of my favorite pieces, the colors are really gentle and compliment each other nicely.

I'll dig up the pictures and get the rest of the steps listed soon.