Miniature Stain Glass Tutorial

It’s been quite a while since I’ve been of the mind set to add to my blog.  During the Spring I was fortunately able to attend a “Miniature Stain Glass” workshop by Barbara Sabia. My in-class project received a “When you get home, play around . . .” response from Mrs. Sabia.  Being a dedicated diy crafter, that is exactly what I have done. Recently, I shared a picture of some practice pieces with a friend who’s many hobbies include creating full scale stain glass. She was interested in the materials and steps required to complete stain glass in miniature. Instead of sending her a very lengthy e-mail, I’ve attempted to share, in this tutorial, what I have learned.  With a cautionary notice that I am still “playing around”, here goes:

Materials Needed:

·       Plex-glass, acrylic panel, (While you are playing/practicing I recommend the hard plastic that is free when you purchase package items. It’s rigid but can easily be cut to size with household scissors.)

·       Lead Tape (aka golf tape)

·       Glass Paint (I prefer Gallery Glass Brand)

·       Round Tooth picks or skewers

·       Fine point cutting tool

·       Straight edge (I prefer a metal ruler with a cork bottom)

·       Cutting mat

·       Stain Glass Pattern (find images on internet, in books, or design your own)

·       Tape (paper tape if you have it on hand)

·       Sheet of white paper (printer paper works fine)

·       Light Box (If you don’t have one, use the sheet of white paper.)

·       Marker, spoon handle (Anything that is firm and can be used to tap the underside of your project. Tapping helps the paint to even out and is useful for bursting paint bubbles.)

·       Paper towel for cleaning painting tool before changing colors.

Method:

Part One: Copying and Leading the Design

1.      Work in an area with good light.

2.      Tape acrylic panel over stain glass template. (I saw this quilt block on the internet and decided the simple lines would look nice in stain glass.)

3.      Lay out a length of golf tape on cutting mat,

a.      use the straight edge to control the width of the cut

b.      using the cutting tool, cut very thin strips of lead tape. Getting a supply of consistently thin strips really does take practice. That’s why I suggest doing your first projects on container plastic. The cheaper the practice, the better.

4.      On the acrylic, cover (copy) the lines of the stain glass pattern. Try not to touch the glue side of the tape; excess handling will cause it to lose its tackiness.

5.      Use a toothpick or the rounded bottom of a pen to smooth out and firmly adhere the golf tape to the acrylic.

6.      When the stain glass pattern has been completely reproduced, remove the acrylic panel from the pattern.

a.      Place the panel completed side down on a white sheet of paper.

b.      Secure the reversed panel to the white paper with tape.

c.       Using your reproduced lines, outline the stain glass template pattern on the opposite side of the acrylic panel.      

Part Two: Coloring the Design

This is where the fun starts. You can copy the color scheme of your template or be totally creative and create your own.

1.      Decide on your color scheme. Important – do not shake the paints. Shaking produces unwanted bubbles.

2.      Choose the best looking side of the acrylic panel and place on light box. If you do not have a light box, place your design on a sheet of white paper.

3.      Using the toothpick/skewer, dip the tip into the paint and tap the color into the design section.

4.      Slowly fill each section with color.

5.      Start coloring in the center of the design and work out to the edge.

6.      As you complete a section, use your tapping tool (spoon handle) tap your design under the wet paint to remove unwanted bubbles and to even out the paint.

7.      Lay the painted piece on a flat surface and allow time to dry. As the paint dry, it become translucent.  (I usually let mine dry overnight.)

                    

     Enjoy.

Primrose Cottage: Stucco to Stone

In the last pic that I shared of this house, the house was covered with siding. My intention was to strip the siding off and change to stucco. What can I say, plans continue to change.

This little house has really been a challenge. I have learned that water-based glue should not be used with thin Birch siding. The siding will warp and curl. I used a chisel to remove almost ALL of the previously applied siding and purchased fine sand to prepare the stucco paint. I decided on a basic medium brown for the house and got stuck on the accents. (Sometimes I become very color challenged.) What looks good in my mind looks awful in reality.

First Painting - Tan with gray accents - UGH!

Second Painting - Tan with red accents - NAW!

Third Painting - Tan with dark green accents - Not quite right.

At this frustrating point, the house went on the shelf to await further inspiration. Weeks later, I was in the garage, noticed a bag of Pea Gravel and "Stone House"  became the next project.

I decided to keep the green accents on the door. Kinda wish I had changed it to brown before I spent time drawing lines on and installing the windows. Maybe, I'll change the door to a solid green. The shutters aren't installed yet but, like the door, they are two-toned. I will have to wait and see how it all looks when the shutters and flower box are installed.

I cut foam board to make the chimney and fireplace additions. I really do like this rustic look. With all of my scraping, painting, and handling to add the stones, I have pulled a few of the roof  shingles out of line. Fixing that problem will be one of my last touch-ups. 

So far, I'm happy with the way this is going. I will add updated pictures to show my progress.

Happy Mini-ing!

Potting Shed 3 - Potting Table Tutorial

The dimensions of my purchased potting table overwhelms the interior of  the Potting Shed. As I sat looking at the beautifully finished commercial table, I wondered, how difficult would it be to replicate a smaller version.

Materials Used:

           Note: finished dimensions will be based on your needs.

          1/4" square dowel rod.(6 pieces cut to the same height)

          (Popsicle, craft, lolly) sticks - (2) sizes: one wide, one thin

               The larger (wider) sticks are used, side-by-side, for the shelf and top.

               The smaller (thinner) sticks are used as braces.

          Round tooth picks (to make the hanging pegs under the top shelf)

          Cutting Tool

          Sandpaper

          Craft Glue

          Paint

Step One: Determine how tall you want your finished table and cut the (6) table legs. If you prefer, the table can be made without the middle legs.

Step Two:  Using the thinner of your craft sticks, cut (6) cross pieces. the length of the  pieces is determined by how wide you want your finished table. Put (2) aside for later.

Step Three:  Decide on the height of your shelf and glue the cross pieces to the legs, as shown: One cross piece on the inside left legs, two cross pieces to the center leg, one cross piece on the inside right leg. Let dry (very important) leave it alone until the cross pieces are firmly stuck.

Step Four: Using the larger craft sticks, cut, install, and glue the shelf pieces.

Step Five:  Attach the remaining two crosspieces. One to the top, left, outside legs and one to the top, right,outside legs.

Step Six:  Cut the larger craft sticks long enough to reach from the left outside cross piece to the right outside cross piece. Lay the larger sticks side-by-side and glue. Let dry.

Step Seven: The upper shelf can also be as wide and as deep as you desire. My upper shelf construction is two skinny sticks wide. Using the two-stick wide model, I was able to use one long skinny stick (toward the front of the table), add a skinny stick shelf midway, and lock it in place with two smaller skinny sticks.

Step Eight:

    The top is finished off with two larger craft sticks, glued together at a right angle. 

    The round toothpicks have been cut into pegs and glued to the back of the right angle .

Step Nine:  Sand any rough edges and paint as desired. 

In a later post, I will share my method for making the little stools.  Until then,

Happy Mini-ing!

Potting Shed 1

Garden Trellis

Took a little deviation today. Decided to do some work on my "Potting Shed". The trellis was built using skinny craft sticks. The flowers are made out of clay. The flowers were hot glued to some store bought greenery. Of course I can't use a glue gun without burning my fingers. My tip for today (can't remember where I read it) is keep a small bowl of water nearby when using a glue gun. Cool water gives instant relief to burned fingers. Happy mini-ing.

The First Day

Although I am new to much of the 21st century's technology, I am looking forward to working my way through this program and learning to Blog. As indicated by the title, one of my passions is miniatures. Currently I only work in 1:12 scale. I fear the smaller scales while more appropriate for my physical space, may be too small for my aging eyes. It is my desire to use this space as a platform to share my completed works (and many works in progress). As well as a place where I can share the many tips and techniques I have learned throughout the years.

The very first dollhouse, I completed, was an expensive process because I had not learned many of the money saving hints I will share in this blog. For example. the wallpaper in that first dollhouse cost about $9.00 per room. Five (5) room dollhouse - $45.00. Scrapbook paper, wrapping paper, and for us older hoarders, stationary is available for less than $3.00 a room. One third the cost - a big savings.