Step One, after agreeing on colors and size, draw up 2 exact copies of the pattern. One copy remains whole, and the other copy is cut very carefully on all lines with special scissors that trim away the areas of the marker lines. This allows you to cut the pattern, while leaving room for what will be filled in with either copper foil and solder, or lead came, depending on which route you take.

More to come!

A Stained Glass Window

I have made many many sizes and shapes of stained glass Peace Signs suncatchers over the years. Well, recently I was commissioned to create a Peace Sign Window! This is a 17 inch diameter window that will hang inside a 19 inch opening, and in front of a 17 inch round window in a 2nd story bathroom. It's cold and another snowstorm is headed toward the midwest, so I don't know how this will effect the delivery of said window, which seems to be in no-man's land according to the tracking system of USPS. I'm hoping to hear some word from its new owners that it has arrived! And better yet, that is looks fabulous in the room, the colors match and go great with the decor, and with the morning sun shining in it casts beautiful splashes of color throughout the room.

I decided to photograph each step of the creative process so that I can share this with you.

Artist Quote for the Day

Happy Saturday!
I am so excited as always to see that there are many people who are viewing my shop on Etsy, and also who are "favoriting" my items too! What, you say favoriting isn't a word? They are 'Liking' my page on Facebook and 'favoriting' my shop/items on Etsy! ;)

I'm still new on Etsy and am learning as I go. I have been adding new items as often as possible, to keep my shop on the 'new items feed'. Last week I added several of my wind chimes and then later wondered if I should have waited until it's closer to Spring since much of the country is freezing cold!

Well, it just so happens that someone in Virginia purchased one of my wind chimes tonight! They can always be hung inside in front of a window until the weather warms up. It never hurts to have some pretty colored glass hanging in front of a sunny window so that when the light shines through it warms up your home with rays of colors.

So sorry I didn't continue with my earlier post, but that will have to wait another day! I am considering starting up classes with private or semi-private lessons. Contact me or leave me a comment if interested and in the area.

Thanks for spending a little time here again!

Good evening everyone! I thought it was time to share some new information. If you have any questions on private or semi-private classes please leave a comment in the box below this post. I am always happy to share my knowledge with others.

I learned about making stained glass pieces in a college class at California State U, Fullerton. I'd wanted to learn about this for a very long time and finally found the opportunity to do so. We actually only learned the lead came process in class and I later taught myself the copper foil method (commonly known as the Tiffany method, as in Tiffany lamps) by reading a few very good books on the subject. I learned by trial and error that there are different solders that work better for this copper foil method.

Please return tomorrow for more on this lesson and detailed photos to assist in my explanation!

Today was a 'day off' and I enjoyed spending time with family. We three girls all contributed a lunch item, and hung out here at our house eating while the babies played or napped. Our dog Jake lazed in the warm southern California sunshine (in late January, yes), and we brought the food outside to eat on the back patio. 

Menu: 
~~salad of kale, avocado, tomato, Gorgonzola, and a home made vinegrette; 
~~fruit salad with bananas, apples, blueberries, raspberries, oranges, and Myer lemon juice
~~pasta of elbow mac and creamy cheesy goodness

We should open a restaurant!

All of the above were splendid and delicious and we are going to add this to our schedule, so if you are interested in a few hours hanging out with the girls, join us!

Back to my Blog! 
I've been spending way too much time creating my online presence. Well I digress; I knew from the beginning that this was a commitment of my time when I set out to do this, so, I will continue to enjoy what I can online, but I have created a schedule for myself so I can be more committed to making art and advancing my skills in the creative arena too.

Wonder what it means that I am still up this late after adding items to my Etsy shop, answering emails, working on my Mom's "photo book birthday gift" (I am creating a Snapfish hard cover photo book for her, and have requested all siblings, spouses, and offspring to send me a letter to her that I will copy and paste and add into the book), and now writing in my blog. Going to be quite difficult to stick to my new schedule. Can I ask, what does it take to change your internal clock to a whole new schedule? I have been a night owl my entire life, and now want to flip the switch!

Back to the Blog I was writing prior to my latest tangent: :)

I am taking advantage of all opportunities in networking and making new acquaintances who will grow to be friends. I'm joining groups and clubs; am volunteering on Meetup to help others less fortunate; have been building my online presence in many shapes and forms; have added an Etsy shop app to my facebook page; am helping out one of my LinkedIn groups, by offering my time to approve members and submissions for posts; am adding comments on LinkedIn whenever relevant; am on Pinterest watching the boards for trends, and after someone repinned my stained glass vase to her wedding board, offered my services (for a price) to create centerpieces for her reception; tonight after reading an Etsy blog and watching a video about Kat Von D 's purchases from Etsy shops, wrote a comment to Kat Von D offering to swap a butterfly tattoo for a custom hand made piece for her home. 
Hmmmm...............
...........................
Wonder what the kids will think of that one?....
 
All I can think is that my poor doggie has some gas that is clogging my thinking right at the moment and that I haven't posted any photos!

Just because I love this photo of our awesome lovable, gassy dog

You absolutely should buy one of these business card holders to make your life better

You can choose a color that you love

Yes, your cards will sit partially in front of the decorative glass, but, you will see that from the rear so you will love this one!

Pretty in Blue

Turquoise retreat

Ocean Blues

 Thanks for sticking around tonight! Don't hesitate to comment, or join my ever growing list of followers on:

DianeMarieArt on Etsy
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