I used carved bone beads, glass beads, color wire, and bright green ribbon.

I like how this turned [...]]]> This year for one of my friends I decided to make an ornament – well it was almost going to be a pendant but I knew that she really likes having a decorated tree… so I added the ribbon.

I used carved bone beads, glass beads, color wire, and bright green ribbon.

I like how this turned out – now if I mark my calendar for July – maybe I’ll have time to make a series of ornaments for Christmas sales by the Fall shopping season.

My goal was to make a fairly large window and I only wanted to do it once. I knew that I would need to make a [...]]]> Since not everyone has ever heard of, let alone made a faux stained glass window, I thought that I would share with you some of my thoughts about making one.

My goal was to make a fairly large window and I only wanted to do it once. I knew that I would need to make a sample piece before I did the big window, but what size should I do? I decided that a small project was best.

First I took an unused basic plain wood picture frame, that had real glass, from my stockpile of “up for grab” items. Then I went looking for an actual stained glass pattern at a local store. (you may be able to find simple patterns online for free) I found a nice Pegasus pattern, which after I had it about half done I decided might have been too ambitious.

Having previously purchased a variety of the paint colors I was set to go, so I removed the glass from the frame and placed it on a work table over the cut out stained glass pattern.

There were a lot of curves and I was using the liquid “lead” paint. Taking my time and doing a few practice runs on scrap paper I quickly got the hang of starting and stopping a constant line of paint. If you are doing a basic geometric pattern then using the strips of straight self adhesive lead lines is really the way to go.

As advised in the instructions I waited for the liquid leading to dry before starting the coloring process. Which basically consists of squeezing some of the right colored paint into the designated area, and using either a toothpick or in my case a stainless nut pick to guide the pooled paint into the entire target area and especially into the corners.

Things went very quickly but I was less than satisfied with my first attempt. I made a few rookie mistakes, and I had to keep checking that I had the right color in the right section.

I found that when using Gallery Glass Paints that I needed to make sure that each separate color is done and dried before working on the next color. This will help to prevent you from accidentally smudging the paint causing blotching and unsightly wrinkling of the paint. While it adds a lot of time – it gives you the best results.

The colors will be opaque to start and then dry more transparent or with a pearl finish depending on the color choice.

Overall I was very glad I made a “practice” piece first….here is the result of my large window wall piece.

Here is a brief list of tips to help you avoid some of the pitfalls I made on my first attempt and allow you to create a more authentic stained glass effect:

Place a dot of the “lead” paint at each of the joint intersections – this simulates a solder joint nicely.

Use two or more paints lightly swirled together with a clean toothpick to give depth of field. I like to use a translucent pearl with a solid to give a shimmer. Be careful not to over mix the colors together.

Where you intend to leave clear glass – use a clear glass or very lightly tinted paint – then when the paint is just slightly dry… swirl it to give a textured effect.

To fix a mistake – do nothing until it’s dry. Then carefully cut out the mistake and re-do. If you try to clean up an area that you goofed before it sets – you usually end up with a bigger mess that is smeared and a lot harder to fix.

Don’t forget to use a clean toothpick or straight pin to lightly pop bubbles as they surface, or you may end up with mini craters in the dried paint.

Tape the pattern to the underside of the glass – that way if you bump the glass – you don’t shift your pattern.

Use a copy of your pattern – not the original – so that you can mark it with color choices. Once these are marked make sure to leave the pattern in place until you are done. You will be able to easily see which color goes where without having to frequently stop and recheck.

Creating your own faux stained glass window can be greatly satisfying or tremendously frustrating. But I encourage you to give it a try – you may surprise yourself. I consider this a great way for people who don’t think they are all that creative to make something they can show off and bring sense of confidence to other artistic en devours.

I really loved these pyramids – photo taken at Disney in FLA. Then cropped and embellished with a night sky to provide a portal effect.

This was an early picture of my dog…. when he was still cute and fluffy. Taken with an Olympus digital automatic…back in 1999 or 2000 I think.

http://flickr.com/photos/nickgray/2434200018/

I find it inspiring to find people who can be this creative, but equally refreshing that someone else can recognize it enough to want to photograph it.

This photo was taken in a darkened window at night and reflects several architectural details. Dec 2007 at the Greenbriar WV.

Went to a panel on miniatures – learned a few tricks to try on jewelry making.

Went to another panel on staying on target artistically speaking… and trying to make it work along with the rest of your life – called Life Hacks. It was primarily targeted to aspiring writers – [...]]]> Just got back from Penguicon 5.

Went to a panel on miniatures – learned a few tricks to try on jewelry making.

Went to another panel on staying on target artistically speaking… and trying to make it work along with the rest of your life – called Life Hacks. It was primarily targeted to aspiring writers – however I found it very useful for my own needs too.

While there I found someone selling rocks / stones etc as well as their own jewelry. Well I picked up several nice cabochons to experiment with in my silver work. And few loose polished rocks for wire wrapping.

http://afmetalsmith.livejournal.com/

I’ve added her to my links list and I look forward to reading her blog more in depth. She does some very beautiful work, and has some nifty scent lockets.

Her online store:

http://www.afmetalsmith.com/index.html

I really like her site design as well. The layout is completely different [...]]]> Found the following jewelry artist while lurking on the jewelry makers LJ community:

http://afmetalsmith.livejournal.com/

I’ve added her to my links list and I look forward to reading her blog more in depth.
She does some very beautiful work, and has some nifty scent lockets.

Her online store:

http://www.afmetalsmith.com/index.html

I really like her site design as well. The layout is completely different than mine – however there are lessons to be had from her site’s look and feel.

Inspiration on multiple levels today! Beautiful jewelry, good journaling, and hansome website.

I especially liked the glowing quality of the light streaming in over Eliza.