Designing Stained Glass Patterns- Part IV

FINISHED! I decided to put some pink pearls for more interest and also especially bought the jade beads for more accent. I really like the way it turned out!

Designing Stained Glass Patterns- Part III

This first photo shows the glass completely cut out and ready to wrap with copper foil. I had to adjust the design again because I miscut the largest piece of aqua glass. What I do is trace the edge of the glass to create new lines which will be the edge of the next piece( this works as long as I have not already cut the next piece) .

The next photo shows the piece soldered together and I am deciding where to place the wire leaves.

Designing Stained Glass Patterns- Part II

Once I have a rough draft of the design I will take a digital photo and upload it onto my computer. I like to use photoshop to help choose colors that are pleasing. I had the idea to use only one color for the background but stumbled upon the idea of using gradations of the same color and decided that was much more interesting. I will play with colors using the "hue saturation" feature to see what other color schemes are pleasing.

The actual glass will obviously not be exactly as shown but you can get an idea of how the colors blend together. Here were two options that I liked but I chose the pink and aqua.

Designing Stained Glass Patterns- Part I

I make all my own patterns for my stained glass designs and I will divulge a few tips that have helped me. First of all I use butcher paper for my renderings because it comes in a large quantity and is fairly sturdy. You can get rolls of butcher paper in warehouse outlets like Costco and Smart and Final.

Once I have an idea I will use pencil and start to draw. The above picture is an idea that came to me while I was practicing yoga at the Bikram (HOT yoga) studio! I get lots of my ideas while doing yoga (although I am supposed to be clearing my mind and staying present)!

When making a design for glass you have to consider where your cuts will be and if the cuts are feasible. In the above design the background is divided into four sections. After I drew the design, I realized that the middle section was too narrow for cutting and would have to be adjusted so I re-worked the lines and made them farther apart. I like to have the least number of cuts possible and keep it simple. I also try to make the cuts a natural part of the design as in this one, the cuts will be the branches of the plant. The leaves on this design will be made of wire and added afterwards so there are actually only five peices to cut (to be continued).

Industrial Chic - Business Card Holder

I found an old computer casing laying around and decided that some of the parts would make an interesting card holder with an industrial feel. I bought some metal clippers at the hardware shop and cut the metal shape for the back of the holder. I had to file down the sharp or uneven edges and then used the copper foil technique to solder the glass (you can't solder aluminum). To continue the industrial feel I added the metal strips to the front with several metal washers and a bolt! An interesting effect, no?